If you are always bored, this is the place for you. It will feature local hotspots, tourist traps, Amish hangouts, entertainment, and places where cool people generally hang out.
A Hike in the Woods
Upper Leacock Twp. Pa 5/06/07
Last Saturday was a nice spring day and I didn’t feel like mowing my lawn, doing my laundry, or cleaning my bathroom, so I decided to take a walk into a woods near my house to see if I could find some mushrooms. I hadn’t taken a leisurely walk into a woods since my childhood, and of course it brought back many memories.
I walked down to a covered bridge, climbed a fence, and started walking along the
When I reached the woodland, I was surrounded by numerous birds, chirping and flying about in ways only birds can. I saw ducks, geese, titmice, woodpeckers, and birds I can’t even name. I even saw two owls fly overhead. Then I saw another owl sitting in a tree. It refused to move. It was sitting pretty high up and I through a few branches at it, but the owl did not move. So I walked on.
I looked under trees and in moist, cool places for mushrooms, but couldn’t find any. I was looking for Moral mushrooms, the only good mushroom in the world. I used to find them while growing up in the
I continued along and tried not to step in cow poop. It was evident the area was infested by cows at times, but the wildlife was still thriving. A ground hog ran out in front of me and I wished I had a gun.
Then I came upon a little pond. The water in the pond was quite tepid and I was happy to see a huge snapping turtle floating in the water. I tried to poke the turtle but he swam away. Lucky for me, there was a smaller turtle wallowing in the mud so I poked him with a stick until he snapped a few times. My goal was to get the turtle to snap onto the stick so I could carry him around. But he didn’t.
I walked on through the woods at a slow rate of speed, listening and watching the woodland around me. I sat down for a while and thought how neat it was. Then I came upon an Amish farm and a girl stood there and stared at me so I walked very fast till I was out of her sight.
Near the end of my walk I realized I wasn’t going to find any mushrooms. The forest floor was covered with a horrible weed, burn hazel, which burns and itches and I wished I could find something to kill it. I was ready to go home when I came upon a goose.
The goose ran down to the river and I ran after it. Below in the water were three more big geese and a litter of goslings. They all swam away very fast. Two of the geese swam with the goslings and two swam away and honked very loudly. I’m not sure if the big geese were all female or two males and two females. I found the goose’s nest and there were egg shells in it. Evidently the eggs had just hatched.
I didn’t find any mushrooms, but I had a relaxing walk on a beautiful spring day, I saw lots of woodland creatures and seeing the newly hatched geese made my day. I went home and drank a cold glass of root beer and thought about all the things I’d seen.
If you’d like to take a walk or hike, I don’t advise trespassing, but it’s likely there’s a place in your neighborhood where you could go. You could also visit the many state and county parks nearby. For more information check out the state parks link on visitpa.com
Intercourse, PA
On Good Friday I was bored and it was cold so I couldn't do anything outside so I drove toward Intercourse in search of something to do. When I got there I saw a few cold tourists stumbling around on the chilly streets, but mostly the town was tourist free. I thought it was my lucky day as I parked my truck close to a candle store.
Across the street, at the intersection of routes 340 and 772 is the American Military Edged Weaponry Museum. It's located in a red and white brick and wood building which was formerly The First National Bank of Intercourse. A cannon usually sits in front of the building but much to my disappointment the cannon wasn't there. According to Alex Williams, the lone worker inside the museum, the cannon has been taken away to be painted and refurbished.
The Museum is pretty small, but it holds hundreds of knives, a few guns, and a bazooka. The knives are from every branch and era of US military service. Some were for cutting people, others for cutting trees and brush, others for basic survival, and some were simple pocket knives. There is an extensive collection of bayonets, which are knives made to be placed on the ends of guns. During hand to hand combat soldiers use their guns as spears.
Some other interesting knives are common butcher knives which soldiers fashioned into weapons. During WWII knife manufacturers such as Remington and Bowie were forced to produce only guns so there was a shortage of military knives.
The knives are held in glass cases so you can't steal them. However, the WWII era bazooka, is not locked down. It would be slightly difficult to steal because of its size. I don't advise trying to steal anything.
Mr. Williams proved to be quite helpful. He knows a lot about knives and military action. He pointed out several rocket launchers which are still in use by the US military. If you ask him a question he will answer it and give you much additional information.
My visit to the museum was slightly disappointing due to a large contingent of children running around causing a ruckus. Their parents seemed to be really interested in knives and guns and spent a long time looking at them. Meanwhile their children ran around and bothered other people. It was difficult to look at knives with children running around my legs. After awhile the parents bought their children a few M-16 shells and grenades and they were on their way.
The museum offers several types of shells for sale for $10 to $20. Inoperable grenades are also available.
The Museum is open Mon - Fri. from 10 am - 5 pm, April to November.
