Day Nine - Niagara Falls

....sloooooowly she turned....then step by step...inch by inch....

Well, you either get that, or you don't ;-) Anyhow, the drive from Harrisburg to Niagara Falls was long, but gorgeous. No interstate highways, so no big rig trucks! Wooded lands, and a long stretch along the picturesque Susquehanna river.

And finally.....finally! Cool weather! Cloudy skies, 60 degrees, mist blowing off the falls...aahhhhh...

 

We walked around the American side,  just enjoying the cool air, the sound of the rushing, crashing water, the beautiful water and trees, until we were ready to head back to our wonderful hotel. Built in 1927. Dog friendly. The Giacomo. Loved it.

 

In the evening, the staff came around to all the rooms with warm chocolate chip cookies and cold milk...and the breakfast the next morning was incredible. The bed was comfy and the shower was huge. Loved this. 

Here's Hart: Niagara Falls, one of the seven wonders of the world, in my book. It looked like a majestic hurricane. The mist was cool and refreshing. The hotel was magical, especially when I got some chocolate chip cookies and we saw fireworks from the window of our room.

Day Eight - Heavenly Hummus, Amish Country, and Hersheypark with the Gollottis

Much of the point of this trip was to get out of the Texas heat. Problem is, it has been hot everywhere we go. Not fair!

Anyhow, after a lovely dinner with the Gollottis, and a lovely night in a sweet hotel near Temple University, we headed out into the heat. First stop - Dizengoff, to pick up delicious, delicious food for later. 

Making the magic happen...those are fresh pita in the over behind the noble counterman

Here is a shot of the best hummus I have ever had in my life, ever. I mean, on a hummus-scale, it is off the charts, but even on just a pure scale of any kind of delicious food - this place is tops.

Packed that into the genius electric cooler, and headed for Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Hart was curious about Amish culture, and I was curious to see if my memory of the amazing pretzel I had in 1998 was accurate. Oh, and of course, Hart had to giggle about the many interesting town names in Lancaster County - Intercourse, Bird-In-Hand, Paradise, etc.

Just into Lancaster County, we pulled into a gas station - and just as we did, an Amish man in a buggy trotted in, with two portable gas cans in the wagon. He "parked" the buggy in a parking spot in the shade, and pumped gas into the tanks. What a wild juxtaposition of slow, plain life, and the fast-fueled modern world. It made us both wonder about the current parameters of Amish life, but we decided to learn about it here, rather than at one of the tourist stops.

Had to grab a pretzel in Intercourse ;-) where we saw white a few more buggies, and where young Amish women tended the pretzel store.

 

Better than I remembered, and Hart loved it too...Auntie Anne's is a pale, pale imitation...

And on to meet our friends at Hersheypark. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like...an amusement park/theme park/stadium/hotel in Hershey, PA....dedicated to...you guessed it...

 

We got a free sample in Chocolate World, and Rita was 1000% right - it was the best Hershey chocolate ever. Fresh, creamy, smooth...it reminded me of when I went on a tour of the Coors factory in Golden, CO. I'm no Coors fan, but the free sample we got at the end of the tour was delicious.

We spent a lovely afternoon in the park...Hart and Sabrina had a blast on every ride...Ben was quite the champion, riding most with them - did I mention he is my hero? Rita and I rode a couple each (one I would have happily skipped, too rough!)....but we managed to spend more time sitting in the shade catching up... it still feels like we barely scratched the surface.

Plotting the route

Ready to go!

Riding the rides

And of course I got no pictures of me and Rita, who Hart referred to as my "lady-friend." Next time. This was much too brief of a visit ... but it was memorable, and will stay with us for years to come.

We made our sad farewells, Hart bought a one-pound chocolate bar, we scooped up Nibbles from the "Barking Lot," and took a short drive to our motel in Harrisburg...where we unloaded the Dizengoff. Ohhhhhh yeeeessssss.....

We got one with ground beef, and one with this miraculous broccoli/peanut rough pesto-like paste. Salads of cucumber and pickled onion. Garlic roasted eggplant and red bell pepper. And that pita. Spicy red hot sauce, and a spicy herb and chile paste.

Just so good.

Plenty for leftovers, too. What a perfect day. Lovely.

Here's Hart: In Amish country, I had the best hand-rolled pretzel I have ever had. OMG :) We saw lots of horse poop, coming from buggies, which are horse-drawn carriages driven by Amish people. In Hersheypark, we went on some good roller coasters, and I tricked my mom into going on a pretty scary one. Mwah ha ha ha ha.... It was great to see Ben and Sabrina again...and Rita, my mom's "ladyfriend." Inhaled the rest of the Dizengoff for dinner...my mom came to tell me to save some, but it was gone in thirty seconds. Later!

Day Seven - Philadelphia Friends

No, not Quaker "friends," but a dear college pal of mine and her husband and daughter. We checked into a fabulous hotel smack dab at Temple University, parked the car, settled the dog, and grabbed an Uber down to meet Rita, Ben, and Sabrina.

Ben, my hero, took Hart and Sabrina to Pat's King of Steaks. I guess you need to know that he is a South Philly guy, and he took us there two years ago. Hart lost his mind over the Pat's cheese steak. Has been dreaming about it - waiting for it, and now was the time. Ben took the kids so Rita and I could catch up over sushi. Like I said, my hero.

Hart took a picture of his cheese steak, but I'm afraid in the excitement of reconnecting and catching up, no other photos were taken. It was a wonderful evening.

Hart's steak sammie - Pat's.

Here's Hart: Superb. Cheesy, meaty, bready goodness. Pat's cheese steaks, by far the best in the country. The people who brought me there are spectacular human beings named Ben and Sabrina. Sabrina got cheese fries 'cause that's her thing....I had one (or fourteen), awesome. I hope Ben takes me here every year. I hope Sabrina shares her fries forever.

Day Six - Four States, No Fun

I mentioned last time that we got no sleep in Obetz. As it turned out, that particular motel catered to truckers, and our room was close to both the parking lot and the lobby. 

Truckers arrive late.

Truckers leave early.

Trucks and truckers make Nibbles bark. Alot.

All night, we would fall asleep for a minute, then Nibbles would alert us to the arrival or departure of truckers. 

Finally, at 6:30AM, Hart gave up and started watching TV. When he went for the hotel breakfast I gave up on trying to doze. We had a long haul ahead - trying to see Harpers Ferry National Historic Site, then on to a motel in Frederick, MD.

We packed up, got coffee, went to a pretty amazing dog park (probably 2 acres of lush grass), and by then, Hart was ready for lunch. So we stopped at what would turn out to be the highlight of the day...

Have you seen this on TV, or read about it? Ohio does their chili on spaghetti. On the menu they offer "Ways," with most seeming to choose the "Three Way," which is spaghetti, chili, and cheese. A lot of cheese. Really, an obscene amount of cheese.

Hart chose the Four-Way, where you can add either beans or onions. He added beans. He loves beans.

The amazing server, Shelby, who was in school to either pursue pediatric neurosurgery or psychology, presciently offered Hart a bib. And, the rest is history. That is a small size four way, BTW.

We left the outskirts of Columbus OH, following the GPS to Harpers Ferry. I thought Hart would fall asleep immediately, but nope! We followed the route - us and a thousand big rig trucks - finding ourselves in West Virginia, then Pennsylvania, and then Maryland. Hart was up for hearing about John Brown - his abolitionism, his terrorism, and his martyrdom. We had a great discussion about Brown's place in history.

But, sleep was overtaking the teen, and a storm was brewing on the horizon...he fell into deep sleep just as sheets and sheets of rain pounded down. A stroll around Harpers Ferry was not to be. I set course for Frederick, MD. Our hotel was, mercifully, quiet. A local Chinese restaurant provided nourishing broccoli beef, and...

Here's Hart: I don't think I slept. I was there the whole time. Need to go back to Skyline Chili ASAP. The Comfort Inn was so Comfort-able. This day was tiring. Not really fun.

Day Five - Kentucky! Loved it!

We have a goal to visit National Parks whenever possible....also historic sites, monuments, etc. So, of course this was a destination for this trip. Sadly, our combination of non-adults and canines meant that we were not able to take a cave tour. We had a wonderful hike instead - the Heritage Trail and River Styx Trail. Overcast, drizzling rain, perfect.

 OK, it wasn't a mammoth cave, but it was a cave in Mammoth Cave NP!

Saw a cool caterpillar

Gorgeous waterfalls and springs - refreshing for boy and dog!

I should mention, on the way into and out of Mammoth, we saw a LOT of confederate flags along the road. We started talking about rural/urban, southern/northern, black/white, and the space between the binaries.

A while after we left Mammoth, we all three needed a break. The Kentucky rest stop was, perplexingly, in the architecture of a southern plantation. An older black man approached the car to help us offload our trash...he was kind, and fun, and as he moved on Hart said that he really hoped all the people who worked there weren't black. That would just be weird.

There was a white woman behind a desk inside the building...remember, this is a rest stop....who quickly mentioned that we were in Hart County. That was super cool - Hart County!

What wasn't so cool was that the woman told me that the county was named for a Civil War soldier from the region. That he had been a POW, and was killed, and so they named Hart Country for him. Google quickly revealed that the Hart in question had fought and died in the War of 1812. It appears that there was a Confederate victory nearby, so the folk process apparently conflated the two in local memory. Sigh.

Anyhow, Hart demanded that we have fried chicken in Kentucky. I get it. So, we started looking on Yelp. Found a promising place, called, they were closing in 15 minutes. Found another place, called, and they were open...and not only did they have fried chicken, they had the vaunted Kentucky Hot Brown on the menu.

When I mentioned the Hot Brown to Arthur, Hart's maxi-me, Arthur said it sounded like something he and Hart should be laughing about. This was nothing to laugh about! We took a short detour to Glendale, Kentucky, and went to the Whistle Stop Cafe.

 It was part of an old downtown, with hitching posts and everything...and yes, of course, it was right next to the railroad tracks.

We were shown to an adorable wooden booth, and soon, this appeared

Fresh baked bread, house made strawberry preserves.

Got the hot brown - basically white bread, turkey and ham on top, covered with cheese sauce studded with bacon. WHA? Hart said, as he tucked into it, "why have I never had this before?"



Two fried chicken meals in two days. Erm. Well, all I can say is, this skillet-fried bird made the indulgence worth it. Where Prince's had the spicy skin, this chicken had such deep flavor in the meat...it was delicious.

Slaw and greens were great too. But then, as we were reading the home-made pie menu, Hart saw Kentucky Pie.

Never heard of it? Us neither. But, in a nutshell, think really really good pecan pie...with chocolate chips, and a heavenly crust. And whipped cream. SHEESH.

We had quite a haul to the next hotel in Obetz, Ohio...we arrived tired, and got NO sleep....but that is for another day.

Here's Hart: Mammoth NP was beautiful, breathtaking, refreshing, amazing. The trees were so green, and Nibbles and I dunked our heads into cold spring water. Whistle Stop was super super good. I had something called a brown something, and I told mom "why have I never had this before?" :-(

The fried chicken was crispy and delicious - better than Prince's. Really good coleslaw. The Kentucky Pie was the most amazing thing ever. I told mom, you need to learn how to make this, now.

The End.

Day Four - Prince's Hot Chicken

We woke up in the stinky Memphis motel, went to another wonderful dog park, and set course for Nashville. Hart made it clear - he did not want to go to the Country Music HOF. He could not care less about Hatch Show Print, and he probably couldn't get into Tootsie's. But, he made it equally clear - if he was in Tennessee, he was going to Prince's Hot Chicken Shack.

I went in 2008...got the medium. It was fr***in hot, but so delicious, I couldn't stop eating. That spice blend is wonderful - just super yummy.

Lars went a couple of years ago - he got the medium, and said "yeah, that was pretty hot." If you know his spice "thing," you know that means it was off the charts.

Hart was determined to try it...but agreed with me to go the mild route. The line was long, the shack was hot, the crowd was diverse....and then, there was chicken...

See how happy he is up there? See the absolute determination to murder this meal and get his cred? Well, we did a great job, and  yeah, the mild was pretty durn hot. I had most of the meat, he had most of the skin, bread, and pickles. It is that bite - where you get the amazing spice of the skin with the wonderful juiciness of the meat - that makes this whole pilgrimage worth it. It was a hedonistic spice riot...and it almost beat H...

The Aftermath

 But he rebounded and was licking his finger for a full hour after. This is good. This is destination-worthy food.

That was the big experience of the day - we pushed north to Franklin, Kentucky to a hotel that, compared to the Stinky Elvis hotel, seemed like the 4 seasons.

Here's Hart: It was spiceygoodness. One word. That's all I got.

The National Civil Rights Museum

So, I knew they had re-purposed the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, into the museum.

What I didn't realize, was that they kept the outside intact...and I was a little flummoxed to realize I was standing just under that famous balcony. I mean, I have seen the famous pictures by Joseph Louw, and I have lectured on this many times...but it still took my breath away to realize that I was there. Right. There.

The museum was very, very good. It basically illuminated the major milestones of the Civil Rights Movement, but the exhibits were very immersive. So, after reading about Rosa Parks, we could get on a replica of a Montgomery city bus, circa 1955...

Hart is smiling because there is an audio loop playing of a white bus driving demanding that Rosa Parks move. It got kind of funny after we heard it 3 or 4 times...but it was still a terrific exhibit, bringing us into the moment - into the experience.

He also got to sit at a lunch counter while a film played about the sit ins

And just as I was telling him that one of the Freedom Ride Greyhound buses had been firebombed, we came upon this exhibit...really moving....

As we wended our way chronologically through so much pain, bravery, evil, and hope, we finally came to 1968. April 4. The rooms MLK and his people had in the Lorraine were replicated, and I suddenly realized that we were right there - just next to the balcony outside of room 306. I was overcome. Hart put his arm around me so sweetly as we slowly walked past...tears streaming down my face.

It was one of the best museum experiences I have ever had. Hart says he already talked about this so he doesn't have to weigh in on this one ;-)