Back to Hershey

We returned to Hershey Preserves Thousand Trails on Tuesday.  While Ken and Bonnie have been VERY busy running errands, going to doctor appointments, and visiting family, we have been busier than we thought we would be.  After getting set on nearly the same sites we had a month ago, I got caught up on the blog and then we went for a walk around the campground.

Many of the campers are decorated for Halloween.  This site has a mini-haunted house.

Many of the trees in the campground are turning beautiful golds, reds and orange, but these two are particularly picture-worthy.

They're pretty even on a cloudy day.

But the colors really "pop" on a sunny day!

Wednesday was our very busy day.  We wanted to go back to several of the tasty places that Ken and Bonnie had taken us to a month ago plus we had several errands to run.  Our two first stops were errands at Batteries Plus and Kohls followed by lunch at Subway.  Our next two stops were delicious returns to some Amish country stores.  We went back to Eli's for his soft buttery pretzels.  We ate 3 in the car, bought 4 to take home and 2 to give to Ken and Bonnie.  Then, we went to Bird-n-Hand Bakery for pumpkin whoopie pies.  We tried a cinnamon sugar pretzel at Bird-n-Hand but it was not nearly as good as Eli's.  Bird-n-Hand has the best pumpkin whoopie pies; but Eli's has the best soft pretzels.

Next, we drove to Costco for groceries and samples (as if we hadn't eaten enough already).  You know you're in Amish country when Costco has a covered stalls for their horse drawn carriages.

Our last stop was at Wilbur Chocolates in Lititz to get some of their chocolate buds.  Chuck sampled at least 10 buds and I sampled probably 6 or 8 myself.  The store was packed with people buying chocolate.  We bought some Wilbur buds to take with us this time rather than just sampling.

As we drove back along Highway 322 to the campground, the leaves were really popping through the State Forest Game Lands.

We skipped dinner and just relaxed and watched some TV Wednesday evening.  We did eat one more pretzel and half a pumpkin whoopie pie.  It's a good thing we don't live here.  We would weigh 500 pounds if we did!  :)

On Wednesday morning, we chatted with Ken and Bonnie for a few minutes before they headed out; and then we left to run a couple of more errands.  We went back to a nearby Kohls to return the jeans I had bought yesterday.  I had found a better pair of the same brand of jeans for half the price at Costco.  Costco -- you gotta love it! Then, we went to Wal-mart to get stocked up on groceries again.  I finally used my Savings Catcher balance which had accumulated to $85 over the past year to pay for part of our groceries.  Using the Savings Catcher is a no-brainer to me -- particularly since Wal-Mart is where we buy most of our groceries all over the country.  You put the Wal-Mart app on your phone, set up the Savings Catcher, scan your receipts within 7 days of purchase, and watch the money accumulate in your account.  Wal-Mart searches the local competitors for prices on things you bought and pays you the difference if they find lower prices.

After we got back to the campground, I put some chili in the crockpot for supper and then we both took a nap!  We enjoyed our chili for supper and then Ken and Bonnie came over after their very busy 3 days.  We visited and even played one game of SkipBo which the women won handily.  :)  Tomorrow, we leave the northeast and head south for Virginia.  Based on the weather forecast, I think we're bringing the cold weather with us!