It Just So Happened…

It Just So Happened….

How many times are you at a place, you see an event that interests you, but you aren’t there for that date. Well, we were at the right place at the right time for several events in this area here in Manheim, Pennsylvania! 😜

It Just So Happened… My mom had told me about a movie called Reagan, starring Dennis Quad. We hadn’t heard about it. In looking up a theater around here, I was beyond thankful to see they have a time most days where they show the movie with open captions! (Words ON the screen.) I was giddy with excitement. While I can most definitely use the box with the words on it at movie theaters, this is a million percent better. The theater is in  Lititz and is really nice with recline seats. Being deaf, I watched the body language of Dennis and he nailed the body movements of Reagan exactly. Kevin said he even changed his voice to sound like Reagan’s. The story was from a view point of someone in Russia. 

Largest Buffet In USA, They Say, Shady Maple Smorgasbord, East Earl, PA 09/24

After the movie we were hungry and ready for our next plans. Shady Maple Smorgasbord is about 20 minutes farther east. The place looks like a huge convention center. https://www.shady-maple.com/about/ The website said it is the biggest buffet in the United States and they have seating for 1200 people! The parking lot even has an area for RVs, which is nice. As you walk inside, you walk back an forth through the line. Kevin said he felt he was at the airport. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Dinner includes: 46 salad items, 3 soups, 6 homemade breads and rolls, 4 cheese, 8 meats, 14 vegetables, 10 cold desserts, 3 hot desserts, 8 pies, 6 cakes, sundae bar, drinks, plus featured grill items. On Mondays it is Steak Night with NY strip, steaks, brisket, pork chops, burgers, and more. We usually don’t do buffets but how could we resist!?! The first thing I got was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing. OH yes, delicious! We took several trips back to the buffet and everything was wonderful! One thing that was new to me was Dill Potato Soup. I am going to add dill to my wonderful homemade potato soup recipe. In the basement is a gigantic store with all sorts of knick knacks. When we got home, (footnote 1) it was dark, and we plopped ourselves in front of the TV but we were so full that we both fell asleep in our recliners. 🤪 Rated: If You Want A Buffet, And If You Want So Many Food Options You Might Be In A Food Coma, Come Here!

New Holland Manufacturing Tour, New Holland, PA 09/24

It Just So Happened… We went to New Holland Agriculture Haytools Plant Tour. We didn’t even know about this place until we drove past one of the New Holland plants and then wondered if they had tours. This is the headquarters; they make farm equipment, balers, combines, mowers, etc. What a find! I am so glad Kevin found out about the manufacturing tour. I will let him tell about it here….…KEVIN: Their factory is HUGE! it covers many acres and buildings. We toured the main hay machine manufacturing building. They were making big round balers and combine parts. I have always been fascinated with manufacturing, and this did not disappoint. They take flat sheets of steel and press it into baler parts. Then they assemble the parts into balers. They paint and test them. They hook them up to fake tractors – a PTO and hydraulics in a box. They had extra floor space, so they make several parts for combines. They get shipped to the midwest to another plant for assembly. There were New Holland balers, and they also make them for Case IH. The tour guide was a retired engineer, and you could tell he loved his job, and his touring in retirement. Now, back to Charla and your regularly scheduled program……CHARLA: I asked him not to interpret the tour for me because I wanted him to have all the fun and enjoyment of learning about the making of farm equipment and even some of the equipment he has used. 

The tour was with 18 people; we had to put on safety vests and eye protection. I was impressed that 80% of all parts are made in this factory. Tires, hoses and something else are made elsewhere, but in the USA. 

Out Of Over 535 Quilts, This One Was Best Of Show, Manheim, PA 09/24

It Just So Happened… The other day while driving home from Costco, Kevin saw on a changing billboard something about a quilt show. I googled it and found out it is American Quilters Society, the largest group of quilters in the USA. The have Quilt Week at several places throughout the year. It just so happened it is here this week. I did further looking and found out the classes I would want were sold out but it would be fun to see the quilt displays and the vendors. It is at a funny named place – Spooky Nook Sports Complex here in Manheim, PA. This building is humungous! And they even have a hotel in the building. It costs about $12.00 to get in and then we went up and down all the vendor floor. Fun fun fun. I saw Free-Motion Mastery in a Month booth with RaNae Merrill. https://ranaemerrillquilts.com Kevin and I asked a lot of questions. We walked away and looked at the rest of the vendors and some of the 535 quilts! Then Kevin insisted we go back, buy the book and package and buy the class she has on Zoom. I am so grateful. Wahoo! I went home and read the entire book through. 

It Just So Happened… After I booked this campground Kevin discovered we would be here during the Hershey RV Show. Now we can say that we have been to both places that boast they have the largest RV Show in the USA – Tampa & Hershey. 😃 We got a good parking spot since we were there early. Since we love our home (HOWE) (footnote 2) and don’t want to get anything different, we didn’t look at too many RVs. We went right to the building to see the vendors. Right off the start Kevin was able to talk with MORryde. I think they do individual suspension on trailers. He learned a lot and got great information. We were early enough that it wasn’t crowded yet and you really had time to get your questions answered. We continued around the vendors on the main level and then saw the ones on the floor. I saw a Pampered Chef booth and of course had to walk over and see if there is anything I want. I immediately saw on the “new” table a tea strainer. Yes, I have been wanting loose leaf tea. We bought it and I was so excited. We walked outside over to Alliance and looked at the new ones. Seriously, we wouldn’t want one of them. We really like our floor plan and colors. Then we walked around the vendors outside and Kevin got the orange liquid to treat black tanks from Matt. We were done around 1:00 p.m. There are a lot of food trucks at the show but the lines were long and we didn’t really want anything from there. On our way Kevin saw a sign for Red Robin. Yum, and funny, we ate at a Red Robin after the Tampa RV Show. It is tradition – we must eat there. HA A very fun day.

1. “Home” is where we park it. Home is our 2022 Alliance Avenue, 36 ft, 5th wheel.

2. “HOWE” is what we named our Alliance Avenue 36-ft 5th wheel. See: Home On WhEels and we pronounce it Howie. We live and travel in it full-time around the country.