Your first time???

Happy Wednesday! This is Dan recapping our day today.

We started out our day at The Vineyard at Hershey! It was an awesome place to spend the night, and had a large field filled with fireflies that the boys chased all night long. If you’re ever in the area check out this little winery and brewery, as they have some amazing concerts. Some artists that are coming up later this summer are Eve6, 3 Doors Down, Wallflowers, and Tonic. Pretty impressive for such a small vineyard. They set up the stage in the pasture, and it looks like it is an awesome venue. We cooked a fantastic breakfast of bacon and eggs, and took advantage of having no where to be and got a really late start to our day.

We decided to drive back over to the Antique Automobile Club of America. This was a place that is very special to our family. My grandfather, Pop, was a Grand National Judge at their HUGE show every October. Pop rebuilt two 1930 Model A’s, and a ’67 Mustang, he taught me so much about this old cars. Anyways, they sell commemorative bricks for the entrance, and I could think of no better way to honor him than a brick at this, his favorite place. We wrapped up the purchase and got back on the skoolie.

Jennifer and I were discussing what the day would look like, as the forecast called for another day of rain. We’ve been dealing with rain/overcast for a week now. We have been figuring out indoor activities, and other things to do; but these outdoor activities cost $$$. Since we have no income, we are trying to stick to our budget, so we knew that we needed to keep the costs down. The locals were recommending an arcade/go cart track; but entrance was $18.50 each plus the cost of the games. We came up with a great idea! Let’s look up a hotel with a pool. Thankfully, we have a discount code to Hilton Hotels (shout out to our special buddy). Jennifer found a room at a Home2Suites for $74, it had an indoor pool! We love the Home2 brand. Breakfast, S’more’s at night, pool, and a HOT SHOWER! We loaded up the skoolie and we were off.

We arrived in Lancaster, PA and Jennifer went to check us in, while I parked. She came out and I could see the disappointment on her face. The pool was closed! Well dang, that was the whole reason we booked the room. Oh well, we decided a hot shower, s’more’s, and free breakfast was worth it. We packed an overnight bag, and headed to the room. As we cut through the lobby, I inquired as to the time of the s’more’s. It was then that we found out this location doesn’t do s’more’s. SAY WHAT! This is inconceivable. Oh well, hot showers and breakfast was still a pretty good deal. As soon as we got to the room, Kaden jumped into the shower. Within 20 minutes we all had showers, and I even shaved! No not the whole beard, just a little clean up.

We explored the hotel. Home2 is a really great flag, and I recommend checking one out if you haven’t. In the lobby they have board games and cards. Walker smoked mom and dad in the game “Life”, while Kaden played on the computer. We played a couple rounds of fierce Slap Jack, and put together a puzzle. Jennifer saw there was a Chick-fil-a right across the street, and she had enough points to get us an 8 piece and a spicy chicken sandwich for free. We decided to splurged and eat out for only the 2nd time this trip (not counting the buckets of ice cream we’ve eaten along the route).

We enjoyed some good old southern cuisine, and that delicious Lemonade. The boys went out on the play ground, and Jen and I enjoyed some quiet time. Jen went out to help Kaden put on his shoes, and THEN. IT. HAPPENED. The family at the table next to me were getting their food delivered, and the mother said “This is our first time eating CFA!”. EXCUSE ME, man I realized we weren’t in the south any longer. I had to watch and see their reaction; as how often do you get to witness this?

Father: He scarfed down his food. It could have been dog food and it wouldn’t have mattered. His sandwich and fries were gone in less than 3 minutes.

Daughter: She was a little to young, with too immature of a palate to comprehend the divine moment she was partaking in.

Mother: about the third nugget in, she paused. The pause you take when you have a revelation, a break through. She sat there dumbfounded for what seemed like an hour, but was truly only a few seconds. She looked up, and to no one in particular said “This is it, wow!”.

We sometimes forget how blessed we are to have Jesus chicken just about everywhere, except you Titusville. Seriously, how does Edgewater have a CFA and not Titusville? When was your first time to experience CFA? Are you a zealot?