May 27, 2013: Ridgewood/Newark/Intercourse/Hershey

We had another busy day today.    We left North Bergen and headed up to the northeast suburb, Ridgewood, as I wanted to see the new Carlos Bakery there.    We got into a traffic jam in Ridgewood, as there was a marathon going on and the streets were closed.     We found the bakery, but unfortunately, it was closed for the Memorial Day holiday.  It was located right across from the commuter train station.

Our next stop was in Newark, New Jersey, to see where my Grandma Thomas lived when she was a young adult.    The home that she lived in has been torn down, but we were able to see the area and get a feel for it.  There are some new homes on the street, as well as some of the older styled homes.

We continued our journey towards Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is the home of the largest Amish community in the United States. It was about a 4 hour drive from Newark.    We got to downtown Lancaster and were wondering where all of the Amish people were located.   Looked at some more maps and tourist materials and saw that they are living out in the country, which is logical, given the fact that they are farmers.

Our GPS took us into this neighborhood, so we stopped and talked to an older guy who was out tending his flowers.  We asked him how to find Intercourse.    He snickered.    Afterwards, we were laughing so hard, as he probably thought that the four of us were propositioning him.   

We had a nice lunch at Dienners.  It was all homemade food which was delicious.    Then, we went to Intercourse, PA, to this little village.    Of course, I had to buy a coffee cup that said, 'I love Intercourse, PA'.

We drove about another hour to Hershey, PA, as Rose and Rhonda wanted to stop there.     I didn't buy much there, as I was watching my money.   I did buy a Reese's Peanut Butter cup, as that is my favorite.

We took the little car ride that shows you how Hershey chocolate is made.  At the end of the ride, you get a small Hershey bar.    We were not able to take the trolley tour of the area, as it was already reserved for the rest of the day.   My mom and I had gone to Hershey back in 2002 when we were coming back from New York City.
Drove around the Hershey Hotel, Amusement Park, and the downtown area.   

It was a long four hour drive from Hershey to Clearfield, Pennsylvania. I thought we would never get there.     I wish there was a better way to get to Clearfield from there.