Visiting Lancaster County in the Fall
Have your ever been to Lancaster County, PA? Well, today I’m sharing Part One of visiting Lancaster County in the fall!
VISITING LANCASTER COUNTY IN THE FALL
If you receive my newsletters, you probably already know that I had a wonderful trip to to the east coast at the end of October.
One glorious week of visiting Lancaster County in the fall was not enough… but, I am thankful to have had seven wonderful days there!
And if the light rain showers, turning leaves, and sprawling country landscapes were not enough, what made the trip the BEST was spending the whole week with my dear friend Yvonne from Stonegable!
Several years ago, I met Yvonne at the Haven Conference, a conference for home and DIY bloggers. You can read more about that story at last year’s Christmas tour.
A few months ago, Yvonne invited me to come and see Lancaster County in all it’s fall glory. So, while tickets were cheap (one good thing about “C”), I booked a flight and off I went for the last week of October!
Arriving in Lancaster County
Now, this post is Part 1 of two parts! We did SO much and saw SO many gorgeous sites, I just couldn’t pack it all into just one post!
So hang on tight… there are going to be lots of photos… in BOTH posts!
Yvonne met me at the Philadelphia Airport and on the way home we had a lovely dinner at Bertucci’s Family Restaurant. (Unfortunately, there aren’t any here in So Cal.) The salmon I ordered was grilled to perfection, but their homemade bread was the highlight of the dinner. I’ve never tasted such yummy bread!
After an hour or so drive, we landed at Tanglewood and we were greeted by Dr. Bob Pratt (Yvonne’s hubby).
Bobby carried my luggage upstairs and I was greeted by this lovely room…
We spent the rest of the evening visiting and relaxing.
Day 2 of Lancaster County in the Fall
The Morning
Each morning, Yvonne and I would get up and get our coffee and a light breakfast and work on our blogs at her desk.
Neither of us got as much work done as we wanted this trip… though Yvonne is much more focused than I am, I will say! 😉 We did agree, it was worth missing work!
And, on this day we actually did more design work than blogging. There are some big changes coming to the MWA living area! Stay tuned!
The Afternoon
We set out in the afternoon to meet Bobby at his office and toured Lancaster County in a big way…
This is a view of the drive away from Tanglewood.
The sprawling farmlands were amazing!
We also stopped at a couple of Yvonne’s fave decor ‘haunts’.
First, we visited The Treasure Place in Intercourse, PA. Yep, you read that right… Intercourse, PA.
And if that isn’t crazy enough, the adjacent cities to Intercourse are Blue Ball, Bird-in-Hand, and Paradise. Funny, right? (Are you giggling just a little, like I did? Bobby and Yvonne thought I was silly for giggling. 🙂 )
But the fun was to be had at The Treasure Place… and treasures they truly do have!
The store was transitioning from fall to winter decor, and it was so fun to see both seasons of decor.
I’ll share more about the second decor store we visited in Part 2!
After we shopped, we decided to do more touring of the countryside before dinner!
It was really interesting learning how to tell the difference between Amish farms and English farms.
The Evening
After the mid-afternoon touring of Lancaster County, we had dinner at Shady Maple Smorgasbord… the largest smorgasbord in the U.S. Known for their Pennsylvania Dutch food, the whole building includes 70,000 square feet of space and several different aspects, including a farmer’s market.
This is only one of the large ‘ballrooms’ where people enjoyed their meals.
As we walked down one of the long hallways to the ballroom where we were seated, these lovely dioramas lined the walls.
And the buffet stands ‘went for miles’.
As we left, I was pleasantly surprised by this life-size diorama. All the 3-D art pieces were amazing!
I believe this evening, we retired early, as it had been a BUSY day!
Day 3 of Visiting Lancaster Pennsylvania
The next day was special indeed!
We woke up and had our light breakfast and coffee and did some blogging work. Later we had a light salad for lunch and prepared to leave to experience “Sight and Sound”.
Sight and Sound is a musical theatre that presents Bible stories on a live stage!
This statue was in the front of Sight and Sound… LOTS of people were taking photo ops in front of it! 😉
It’s a blessing that not only do Yvonne and I share the love of blogging, decor, and even Hallmark movies, we both have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the stage or the musical, but just so you know, the stage is not only directly in front of us, also opens-up on both sides! The acting, costumes, and singing were all excellent.
This was part of the set that was visible on the outside… just a glimpse of what we got to enjoy!
I only wish these theatres were located across the country. The people of Lancaster, PA and Branson, MO get to have these blessings on a regular basis! However, there is an app called “Sight and Sound TV”… take a look. It’s worth it!
After the show, we enjoyed an amazing dinner at The Fireside Tavern.
After this wonderful dinner, we took some food home to Bobby, visited, and watched some Hallmark! 😉
Stay Tuned for Part 2 of Visiting Lancaster County in the Fall
Did you enjoy the first part of the tour? Do you have any questions about the trip? Let me know in the comments!
I’ll be back on Thursday with Part 2 of visiting Lancaster County in the fall with more photos of the Tangelwood home at Stonegable (and more)!
OMG! What a wonderful trip and so nice of Yvonne and Bobby to open their beautiful home Tanglewood to you. I live in north central Maryland and Lancaster has always been a favorite day trip for us. I have been to Sight and Sound several times and you just can’t describe how fabulous the shows are. UnfortanateIy, we missed seeing Esther but already have plans to go see David next spring. I can’t wait to read Part 2 of your trip.
Sight and Sound was definitely a highlight. I’m seriously contemplating a year’s subscription to their app so I can see the other productions. My kids and grandkids would enjoy it, too! Thanks so much for sharing today, Lynda! Makes my day to get comments!
I am from PA. Born in Philly, brought up in the suburbs, and now live in northeastern PA. I have been to Lancaster many times. So happy you enjoyed your time here. I do enjoy your blog as well as the others you post links to. What pleases me most about your beautiful posts is that you are not shy about sharing the Lord Jesus with others.
Thank you for sharing your ideas with us,
Suzanne
Yes, I definitely could see myself living there! It was amazing! And, so glad you enjoy the blog, Suzanne… It’s for His glory, for sure! Thanks so much for the lovely comment! Hugs!
Thank You for the tour, I found it very interesting and informative. Wish I could have joined you. Maybe some day I will get to visit on my own as it looks so much fun. The countryside photos remind me of Iowa with the bales of hay and harvesting in Amish farming too.
Yes, I agree… this definitely reminded me of my time in Iowa when I was 15. My family is from Newton! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the post, Fernie!
I so much enjoyed this post! I am glad that you had a wonderful visit to Lancaster and I’m already looking forward to your part two post.
Thanks, Paula… it makes me wish that I had taken more photos when I was visiting you! Next time for sure! 😉
Wow! So beautiful, so relaxing, so entertaining. Everything looks amazing. 🤩
It was amazing!
This was so enjoyable ! I loved
Sharing your visit together and im looking forward to Thursdays share . 🧡
So glad you enjoyed the first part of the ‘trip’, Joyce! Thank you so much for commenting! It makes me day!
Looks super fun! I’m adding it to my list! Too bad Yvonne doesn’t come as part of a travel package. 😉
Right? LOL! You and Yvonne would be GREAT friends, too!
Looks like a great time was had by all. It is a special blessing to have really good friends….enjoy!!!
My parents were born and raised in Pennsylvania, it has a lot to offer.
It was a wonderful time, Addie. It made me think about actually moving there myself! 😉
Yep….fall and spring are REALLY nice there…before you decide to make the move you better go in summer and winter. I too, was born and raised in California……when we went to visit Granny, that humidity in summer and the bitter cold and snow in winter was a bit hard to take!!!! That humidity can kill ya!!!!
I will be sure to visit in the other seasons if I decide to move… but CA is just gettin’ a little too cray-cray for this lady! 😉
Julie, it was so nice that you were able to get away for a week. I know you had a wonderful time with Yvonne and Bobby. Your pictures are beautiful. I am looking forward to seeing this lovely part of the world one day in the Fall.
It was a blessing for sure, Mary-Ann! So thankful the Lord provided for me to be able to go!
Sounds like y’all had a fantastic time. Makes me want to visit as well. I love that you go see blogger friends. Hope I’m on the list one day. Just don’t come in the summer! 😉
LOL! You are def on the list… along with Crissy, too! If I can get affordable plane fare, I’m there! 😉
Oh, I would dearly love to have an East Coast Blogger’s Mini Conference the next time you come!!! I’m glad you had a great time.
A mini-conference would be very fun! And we DID have a blast!
Oh what a wonderful trip so far! The scenery is just gorgeous and it reminds so much of my old home in Ohio. There is just something so incredibly peaceful in that countryside! I’m looking forward to part 2 and more pictures! Thanks for sharing Julie and have a great week.
Thanks, Denise… the time was perfect! Thanking the Lord for all of it!
Wow what a fantastic trip with great memories and photos to look back on!
It really was a wonderful trip filled with memories!
Julie, I’m so glad you are sharing your trip to visit Yvonne. I’ve been dying to hear about it. I had not doubt that Yvonne would be a wonderful hostess. What fun to work and shop together. The surrounding area looks beautiful. Sounds like you didn’t waste a moment while you were there. Can’t wait to read Part 2.
Thanks, Carol… we definitely ‘drank from the firehose”!
I loved reading about your beautiful trip to Lancaster County. How wonderful to have made a friend at Haven!
Can’t wait to hear more!
Niky
Thanks, Niky… it was such a treat!
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us! I haven’t been to Lancaster County in ages and ages! I can remember going with my grandparents and keeping an eye out for the Amish folks and their wares at all the local stores.
Yes… I did purchase a tote from an Amish woman… it was made from fabric that had Amish scenes on it, of course! 😉
My favorite place to visit. Haven’t been in a few years and would love to go back and stay for a week. My husband is a pastor and we’d take a group every other year. Only stayed a couple days which was never enough time for me. The food and the shows were always amazing. Next time you go you’ll have to try a fresh warm soft pretzel. So yummy. Thanks for the memories!
Oh… the pretzels were tempting me at the market, for sure! I should have done it! Thanks for sharing, Tammy!
So glad you enjoyed your trip to our state!! I am just 2 hours north closer to the Pocono Mountains…. we used to go to Lancaster often when the boys were young…shopping, Dutch Wonderland, tour the Amish Farms, etc…. Beautiful area…I have watched the shows from the Sight and Sound on TV last year…Amazing… Thanks for showcasing this wonderful part of my state!! And so lucky you got to visit with a fellow Blogger friend!!!How great is that!!!! Can’t wait to see Part 2!! Thanks for sharing!!
Hugs,
Deb
I didn’t know you were in PA, Debbie! I believe that Yvonne and her hubby made a trip close to you a couple months back! Yes… I need to remember to get my subscription to Sight and Sound TV!
Looks like you had an amazing visit to the beautiful Lancaster area of Pennslyvania! We have been there many times over the years since it is so close to Delaware. Next time I go, I will be sure to visit the spots you visited! Thanks for sharing your vacation. What a thrill it must have been to spend time with your dear friend! Blessings to you Julie! 🥰
Thanks, Cindy… it was such a wonderful time!
What a fun trip! I can only imagine the fun you had together. That Treasure Palace store looks like the twin sister of my favorite decor store here. I’m so glad you got some time away and look forward to seeing the changes coming at MWA!