by Valerie Nusbaum
Last week, Randy and I drove up to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to visit a museum there. We were very excited to be out and about because we don’t get out much anymore. Our last big road trip was the trip we took to Michigan two years ago. Other than a few weekends in Ocean City, Maryland, and a short trip to Chincoteague, Virginia, we’ve been spending our time in Thurmont. This is due to family obligations, work schedules, and not feeling up to traveling for one reason or another. That day, we spent over an hour together in our truck, reminiscing about trips we’ve taken in the past. We miss those days.
As we drove through Dillsburg, heading to Harrisburg, we remembered the year we celebrated my birthday by going to Williams Grove amusement park. The park is closed now, but even back then it had seen better days. I remembered going there as a child with my parents and my brother. Randy had never been at all, so the two of us went exploring. We went up on a Friday, and as luck would have it, Fridays were “Hot Dog Days.” Every customer in the park got a voucher for a free hot dog and drink. We always enjoy a freebie, so this was an added bonus. Randy and I laughed as we remembered riding the Himalaya. The guy in charge of the ride must have fallen asleep, because that thing went around and around and up and down for a full twenty-two minutes. I know because I timed it. Going forward wasn’t so bad, but those backward rotations didn’t do my stomach any favors, especially with the free hot dog in there. We got off the Himalaya and headed toward the roller coaster. It was my fault. I honestly thought we were in line for the kiddie coaster that I remembered riding as a kid. Nope. This was the full-size wooden coaster, and it shook and jarred us until our teeth hurt. There were two young boys in the seat in front of us, and one of them turned around and said, “Hey Lady, it helps if you scream.” It didn’t. The Tilt-A-Whirl is my favorite ride, and we saved the best for last, which proved to be a bad idea, because when we got to it, the ride was on fire. Upon reflection, this might have been a good thing.
Still driving through Dillsburg, we reflected on the last time we went to the drive-in. We saw the sequel to the Halloween movies, with a grown-up Jamie Lee Curtis, so you know how long ago that was. I remembered that Randy was mortified because we hadn’t had dinner, and I begged him to stop at the Chinese restaurant in the strip next to the drive-in for some moo goo gai pan. Randy didn’t think that we should take food into the drive-in, but I promised him it would be fine. It was, but I still remember him trying to cover it up as we paid for the movie. It turned out that the dinner was better than the movie.
We love a factory tour or a good tasting, and as we drove further into Pennsylvania, we reminisced about the time we did the Turkey Hill experience. All the ice cream and iced tea samples we could eat and drink for the low price of $9.99 each. We opted not to pay the additional fee for creating our own flavors. We’re basic chocolate and vanilla people. We could have gone to the grocery store and bought two half gallons of Turkey Hill ice cream for $5.00 on sale, but we reasoned that this had to be better. Besides, we all know that a carton of ice cream is no longer a half gallon. Not even close.
We shared some laughs about visiting the Cape Cod potato chip factory when we were in Cape Cod. We could smell those chips frying from miles away, and we just followed our noses to the plant. It’s fun to sample everything, and we did. There’s a pretzel factory in the Poconos. I don’t really like pretzels, but when in Rome… The pretzel pizza wasn’t bad. Randy and I did a bit of Christmas shopping at the Utz and Snyder’s factories in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The folks on our gift list enjoy edible things because nobody our age wants more knick-knacks or decorations.
Wine tastings are another thing we enjoy. Learning new things is fun, and since my dad used to make wine, I’ve always been interested in it. We enjoy tasting the wines, but neither Randy nor I are big drinkers, so the five full glasses I was given at Elk Run Winery was probably a mistake for me. Ditto for the thirty-four tastes with cheese pairings at Linganore Winecellars. We remembered visiting wineries in Panama City, Florida, as well as in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I even brought home a bottle for my mom, called Wanda’s a Fruitcake.
The time passed and we made it to the museum in Harrisburg. We probably should have kept going. At the very least, we should have done some research on the exhibits. The lady selling tickets looked us over and felt the need to tell us that the downstairs exhibit was “provocative.” She was correct. When I stop shaking, I’m sure this will be another funny memory for us.
