Lancaster, Pa- Land of Good Food and Friendly People

As you can see, the boys are very relaxed and having a great time. They are still looking for that special campground full of birdies and squirrels to entertain them.

We arrived in Intercourse for a couple of days of good eating and shopping. The campground we stayed at was Beacon Hill, just 1 mile from the center of the town and in the middle of the Amish farmlands. There is just so much to see in this area that it really didn't matter where we stayed. This campground is very small and only accepts persons 16 and older. The owners were very nice and we had great Internet service. In August they have homemade ice cream from one of the Amish farms in the area. We were just too early for that luxury. Too bad. It was wonderful the last time we stayed here.

All of the farmers were busy plowing their fields with teams of mules.

I really hate to use Internet pictures to describe our trip, but I forgot to bring my camera--so here goes.

I was able to get the The Old Country Store before they closed to walk through their quilt museum. They had some beautiful quilts hanging. This is a combo museum, gift shop and fabric store. They had very nice fabric, but it's not my favorite store in this area of the country. I much prefer Zooks. It is more of a real shop and less of a tourist shop. They have lots and lots of fabrics both for quilting and Amish clothing. It's where the Amish and Mennonite shop and some of the Mennonite ladies work there. If you didn't know the shop was there, you would pass right by. They are next door to the handmade pretzel shop Immergut Pretzels. YUM!

The Old Country Store.

The Quilt Museum

Our next stop was to Shady Maple Farmers Market. This place is huge. Their selection of everything is overwhelming. We stopped in just to pick up Whoopie Pies and their scrumptious Chicken Pot Pies which are stuffed full of chicken and vegetable. YUM AGAIN!

This is the Shady Maple Smorgasbord where we had dinner. The food was terrific--especially the roast beef. Do I sound like I like to eat? You can't get this selection of food at home.

We're headed to Middleboro, Ma and Providence, RI. The tempurature has gone from 88 to the mid 60's and in the 30s at night. Much more enjoyable.

The Library of Congress

My good friend Madonna is a guide at the LOC and was kind enough to give us a VIP tour. The Library is incredible, not just the quantity and quality of what is there, but the architecture inside and outside the building. I hope these pictures do it justice.

The LOC is actually composed of more than one building -the Jefferson building that we were in, the Madison building across the street and the Adams building. The LOC contains about 750 MILES of book shelves. It has over 33 million books and printed materials, 111 million maps, videos, manuscripts, photographs, films, prints, and drawings. It is the main resource for Congressional research and started originally as the nation's law library. It also contains the Copyright Office with over 20 million copyright registrations.

The picture of the lobby is just a little dark, but note the architecture in these photographs. It's not your average library. Many areas did not allow you to take photos.

This is the Asian Reading room--one of 22 of the reading rooms with foreign materials.

This is the Congressional Reading Room. Eloquent!

Minerva

Me and Madonna

The stairway to view a reading room. No pictures allowed--but note the sign of our VIP tour in progress.

This is the Coolidge Auditorium. The next big event here will be to recognize Paul McCartney and his contribution to music, This whole area of the LOC is dedicated to music and musicians.

Madonna leading our private tour.

This floor is incredible. Wouldn't it make a beautiful quilt?

The lobby.

The detail of the art work and architecture is really something to see. For more information Google the Library of Congress or better yet visit.

The Supreme Court is across the street from the Capitol and next door to the Library of Congress.

Cherry Blossoms in Washington,DC

Our friends Madonna and Jim took us on a wonderful ride through the neighborhood of Kenwood. It was a perfect time to see the cherry blossoms in bloom. Every street in the neighborhood was lined with cherry trees in full bloom, As you can see we weren't the only people riding through looking at the beautiful sights. Afterward we went for a great dinner in the area. Thanks Madonna and Jim for such terrific time.

Washington, DC

We had a great tour of the US Capitol Building. Although we did not have access to the senate and house of representatives, it was still very informative. The architecture was impressive.

This is the National Statuary Hall or the Old Hall of the House of Representatives. It is now used for receptions and get togethers.

This is the rotunda with the beautiful dome. This room is where important people lay in state prior to their funeral.

The kitties all had to help me relax after our long and VERY WARM (88 degree) day out. Aren't they so considerate?

Each day we took the metro back and forth from the RV park to downtown. It was an interesting trip and lengthy, but it was easier than renting a car and trying to drive and park in DC traffic.

Another view of the Library of Congress (across from the Capitol).

The Washington Monument--been there-done that and didn't need to do that again.

Our good friends Trudie and Neal. We went to dinner with them--to a great little Irish Pub in Silver Springs, MD. We had a great time and wish we could stay longer. It was so good to see them again.

The White House in the distance.

The Jefferson Memorial.