Our site at Pinch Pond
We stayed at the Pinch Pond Family Campground in Manheim PA for 5 nights. The original plan was to use the campground as a base for exploring the area – Hershey, Harrisburg, Lebanon, Lancaster and the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside. However, the time was mostly spent recuperating from our nasty colds. Only on the last day did we venture out for some sightseeing.
Manheim PA area
Manheim PA, is a small (about 5,000 residents) town on the fringe of the Pennsylvania Dutch region. I drove into the town one evening early in the stay searching for food and beer. I didn’t find either, despite a fairly extensive search. The downtown area is occupied almost exclusively by Civil War-era housing and a few small shops and restaurants, most of which were closed by the time I got there (around 7pm). I settled for some ice cream (not bad) and hot pocket sandwiches (disgusting) from the only convenience store I could find.
Between this failed shopping trip and the rather nasty approach to the RV Park (which was more remote than I expected – Jett called in “Deliverance country”), my initial impressions of Manheim were less than favorable.
After Googling for supermarkets (2) and using GasBuddy to find service stations selling diesel (2), I set off the next day on another shopping trip. This one was more successful as I found a nice shopping plaza with a Weis market, a CVS pharmacy, a liquor store and a Chinese restaurant. I got some Chinese food from China One (pretty good) and staples (yes, fried chicken is a staple with us) from Weis and tried to get beer from the liquor store. But apparently liquor stores in PA sell only liquor and wine. I asked the owner who sold beer in Manheim. He gave me a tired look, reached over and grabbed a printed sheet which he handed to me. It gave directions to the one-and-only beer distributor in Manheim.
H-D, Iron Valley
I guess he had been asked that question before.
Yesterday we sallied forth with the intention of going to the Camping World in Harrisburg to see about repairing/replacing our GPS. But I am trying very hard to get my Medicare fully arranged before my medical benefits run out and had some questions about Part B. I noticed that there was a Social Security office in Lebanon, which was pretty much on the way to Harrisburg. So we stopped there first (after a quick stop at the local Harley-Davidson dealership to get a gift for Jett’s son and Burger King to try their chicken fries – which did not impress us).
I love small-town federal offices. Not only did I get to speak with a representative within 30 seconds of my arrival, she had me signed up for Part B within 5 minutes. Sure beats working my way through the cattle pen at the Boston office. Or even the SSA website.
Because the GPS was working flawlessly, we changed our plans and decided to spend a couple of hours wandering through the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside. It was a beautiful fall day and the farms were picture-perfect, as always. We stopped for a few minutes in Shaefferstown PA, which has the distinction of being the first town in the US to have a public, gravitational water system. It also has some very nice old houses and churches.
Shaefferstown church
Shaefferstown house
Village Farm Market
The highlight of the day was a stop at the Village Farm Market in Ephrata PA. This would appear, from the outside, to be a typical side-of-the-road farmer market. But it is much more than that. It has, among many other things, a wide variety of caramel corn (I chose the chocolate and peanut butter variety), homemade pies (we got half of a shoo-fly pie), a deli with local meats and cheeses (we got some turkey breast), a cooler filled with homemade soups (chicken rice and cream of potato) and salads (7-layer dip), alongside fresh fruits and vegetables. Most unexpectedly, it had a freezer filled with homemade single-serving and family-style meats (roast beef and chicken pot pie) and vegetables. I also got a bag of the local kettle-style potato chips.
The prices were surprising. In a good way. Everything was more than reasonable. The turkey breast was $6.99/lb. The 2 pounds of roast beef was $14.95. The potato chips were $1.59.
And everything we have tried so far has been superb. Recommended!
Village Farm Market
Buggy parking in Manheim
We gassed up on the way back to Manheim, in preparation for our trip to VA today. We also stopped at Weis again where I noticed the buggy parking sign. Proof that Manheim is, in fact, in Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Pinch Pond Family Campground
The campground site was suitable for our purpose, which was, primarily, recuperating. The office and common areas were very nice. The laundromat was clean with new machines. There were lots of trees and a scenic pond. However…
We had a few issues with the park and its rules. When we initially set up we were shocked to discover that the site was so uneven that the “auto level” feature had to completely lift the wheels on the left side to do its job. Worse, the sewer was located so far to the rear that I had to use three hoses to reach it. And the sewer pipe was so elevated that the drop from the RV was less than a foot – not enough to properly drain our tanks. We parked the truck at the rear as there was more open space there than in front. And more room to park the truck.
The lifted left tires
The next day we got a knock on the door. An employee requested that we move the truck. Parking in the rear of the site is not allowed, he said, because the road there is “only an access road.” I failed to see the logic, especially since the truck was completely off the road. Moreover, there was absolutely no visual difference between the front and rear roads – both were gravel. I didn’t argue, but it did solidify my decision to move the RV further back on the site, to get a better draw (and a shorter connection) to the sewer.
Another problem is the noise. Much of the park borders I-76 and the road noise there is constant. That was not a problem at our site; we had the other problem: the adjacent sportsman’s club and the constant gunshots. It drove the dogs nuts. Both were, much of the time, shaking with fear. This was not a fun 5 days for the dogs.
The park does have a scenic pond (which, unfortunately, is next to I-76) and there is a campfire always burning near the office. But, overall, I would rate this as one of the less enjoyable places we have stayed.
Office and closed pool
The constant campfire
The pond