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American Heritage Tours Pennsylvania Trip
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American Heritage Tours Pennsylvania Trip
For years my mom has been going to these so called “quilt trips”. Every time she would tell me she was going on a “quilt trip”, I assumed these trips consist of quilting/sewing all day in different areas of the United States and going fabric shopping.
Just for the record, I don’t sew, quilt, rarely purchase fabric, or do anything sewing related. Here’s a little funny story for you. When I was in high school, during my senior year I decided to take a sewing class as one of my elective classes. I thought I would try it out because my mom has always loved sewing and everything related. My aunts do it, some of my sisters have done it and I wanted to try it out. Well let’s just say I never barely passed a class. Haha. Honestly, I probably could have passed with an A but I know no desire to learn or really try. I remember making a simple pillow and couldn’t care less about the results. My love was not in it at all. I figure I will have skills in other departments and sewing would just not be one of them. I can hand sew a mean button on though haha. But that’s it.
Ok back to my mom’s “quilt trips”, my mom went on a trip last year and she was telling me about it and told me “these quilt trips are not all about quilting, sewing and fabric, we actually do some fun tours, stop at some fun destinations, do some sight seeing and etc.” So after hearing that, I thought “maybe there is more to these trips”. My mom reached out to me at the beginning of the year about another trip coming up in April.
So here I am, trying this “quilt trip” actually known as an “American Heritage Tours”. They don’t quilt and sew all day but they do have a pit stop to one fabric (which I can tolerate).
You can check here for my printable itinerary. Usually I would include the top suggestions and such but since this trip is a tour and already a planned/guided trip I will include the exact layout they did. So you can do the same with your friends as well.
Day 1: Flight & Half Day
We flew into Baltimore, Maryland. It is closer to all the activities that we have planned than Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. We caught a 6:20 AM flight because of the time of flying and time change.
After arriving in Baltimore we made our way to our first hotel at Country Inn & Suites in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. We mostly got settled in our hotel and went over the next few days. We ate at G&M Restaurant & Lounge. The food was really good. They give you a lot of food for a very reasonable price. You can definitely share a meal.
Day 2: Gettysburg History Day
Today is the day to visit Gettysburg. I’ve always wanted to visit this place. It’s been on my bucket list for a long time. We started off with visiting the Museum & Visitor Center. We watched the 20 minute “A New Birth of Freedom” film, did the Gettysburg Cyclorama, and walked the museum and gift shop.
Next we stopped at the Gettysburg National Cemetery. I wish we would have had a little more time here but it was still very lovely to see and walk the grounds.
We had a buffet style lunch at the Farnsworth House Dining. It was fun to learn the history about the house and location. The food was okay but the experience was so great.
We had a tour guide ride along in our charter bus and tell us so many stories along with the story of the battle of Gettysburg as we drove and walked some of the battlefield grounds. He was an amazing tour guide. Not only did he make it fun but he had story after story to share. About individuals and what people went through during that time. You can get he had a soft spot for this piece of history. If you want a great tour guide, ask for Bob.
The battlefield’s grounds are very beautiful. The perfect day and weather to visit. Lots of green on green. Trees, flowers, reclaimed fences, memorial statues, old buildings and all. Seeing the open green field to where the battle took place was beautiful and surreal. But honestly, it’s more of the feeling and emotion you experience. You can feel the grief, hurt, cries, loss and sorrow. You feel a little heaviness in your heart. It’s not a bad feeling, just a sense of respectfulness and something very intense, major and heart wrecking happened in this very location. I felt some of the same feelings I experienced when visiting Pearl Harbor.
All in all, it was a great day. I wish we would have had just a tiny little more time at the ceremony, like 20 more minutes (we were there for maybe 20-25 minutes) and I wish we would have walked more on the grounds of the battlefield. We did the “car tour” on the bus. But maybe it’s a good excuse to come back again someday.
Lastly we drove to Lancaster and got settled in our hotel rooms. Then a few of us walked down the street and got some food at Capricio’s
Day 3: Pennsylvania History Day
Today we started the day at the Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant for breakfast. Of course buffet style. Haha. Next we went to the Bird in Hand Farmers Market and did a little shopping and browsing. I loved all the little local vendors.
Next we went to the Bird in Hand Farmers Market and did a little shopping and browsing. I loved all the little local vendors.
We had to make it all the way to Lancaster Home & Fabric. Our first fabric/quilt store for the “quilter ladies”.
We then drove over to the town of Lititz. We stopped at Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery and did a short tour there and of course had a pretzel or two. I can now say I’m a certified pretzel twister.
Walked down the cute main street and did some window shopping. We went to the Wilbur Chocolate Store. It was like walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. The smell of chocolate just hits you in the face as soon as you open the door to walk into. You can see the workers dipping their cookies or whatever in chocolate and making the candies. I wanted to buy the whole store but I kept control of my weakness and bought only half the store haha.
Walked down the cute main street and did some window shopping. We went to the Wilbur Chocolate Store. It was like walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. The smell of chocolate just hits you in the face as soon as you open the door to walk into. You can see the workers dipping their cookies or whatever in chocolate and making the candies. I wanted to buy the whole store but I kept control of my weakness and bought only half the store haha.
We got back to the hotel but Whitney, my mom and I took a 20 minute walk to this covered bridge location called Willow. It was beautiful. My first covered bridge experience. It won’t be my last though.
Day 4: Shopping Day
At this point I would recommend adding you bottom boards that will be the support to your rope. We did it after the bench was completed and that’s fine but the only reason why I would do it not is because I changed the leg lengths for you to cover that board up front ad give a cleaner look.
Center you board on the frame so you have the same amount on each side overhanging. You want to add the board flush with the frame. Nail in your board with 1 1/2in finish nails. You can also use 2 or 2 1/2in finish nails where the rope board and frame board meet on the edge as well.
Once those are in place, you can use a 1in whole sale to cut your holes for the rope.
We started the day by going to Intercourse, Pennsylvania. We had breakfast at Harvest Cafe and did a little shopping at the cut shops around the area.
We started the day by going to Intercourse, Pennsylvania. We had breakfast at Harvest Cafe and did a little shopping at the cut shops around the area.
Afterwards, we met up with a local Quaker, who shared their culture’s history. We walked the small grounds of their meeting house for a bit. Then we went over to Snyder’s Furniture.
After that, we went back to Intercourse, Pennsylvania and did more shopping. We had a yummy pretzel at Immergut and an ice cream at Lapp Valley Farms Ice Cream. We then drove over to Riehl’s Quilts & Crafts and hung out there for a little while. I fed some of the farm animals and soaked in the beautiful farm lands.
Lastly, we went over the Shady Maple Smorgasbord. Known for being the largest buffet in the United States. I’m not a big buffet person, probably because I’m never hungry enough to eat a ton of food but this buffet was actually pretty good. Everything that I tried was great. I would probably say it was one of the best buffets I’ve ever had. Shady Maple has a huge gift shop on their lower floor so we did more shopping there.
After that, we went back to Intercourse, Pennsylvania and did more shopping. We had a yummy pretzel at Immergut and an ice cream at Lapp Valley Farms Ice Cream. We then drove over to Riehl’s Quilts & Crafts and hung out there for a little while. I fed some of the farm animals and soaked in the beautiful farm lands.
Day 5: Half Day/Flight
Time to head home today. But before we made it to the Baltimore airport, we made one last stop to complete our trip.
We stopped at the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shire. This is considered a national park. In fact it is considered the only national shire out of all the national parks in the United States. Fort McHenry is a small national park. It is known for the birthplace of our national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
After watching a short film of the history of the anthem and how it came to be, we briefly walked the tiny museum then walked the ground to the actual Fort McHenry location. It was set in a beautiful area. Just outside of the fort, are these large open grass fields just along the ocean harbor. Very beautiful and quiet.
The actual fort, it is pretty small but you do get to walk into some of the small buildings. We also got to experience the changing of the flag, which happens at 10am. The ranger will start with a brief song on his instrument to get your attention. Next he will explain the reason for the changing of the flag and a little more information of the location. Lastly, the actual flag change will take place and that’s it. It takes about 25-30 minutes. But it will be pretty good to see. Luckily we got to see them change it to a bigger flag.
After Fort McHenry, we stopped and grabbed some lunch at Southside Diner. The burgers were pretty yummy. Very fresh and hot off the grill.
After lunch, we had just a little time to kill, so a small group of us walked down to the harbor to relax and enjoy that ocean breeze. I was finally able to touch the Atlantic Ocean, another thing off my bucket list. And that’s it.
So all in all, it was a successful trip. It was fun. Would I do it again? Yes, of course. I experienced some things that I would have never experienced before. Would I change specific things on the itinerary? Probably but I think that’s probably the case for any trip I go on. That’s why we go back to places to experience other things or a specific location again. My tour guide, Bonnie, has done this for many years and all sorts of different locations. Unfortunately, this is my tour guide’s last trip. I think she is 83 years old and has a little bit of health issues and just is getting too old and too much for her. It’s definitely open my mind to new ideas and adventures. Whether they happen or not, I’m not sure. I don’t know what the future holds but I know there are many possibilities. Thank you Bonnie for letting me share this experience and trip. I feel that it’s a start to a new adventure.