Camping in Elizabethtown PA

We took our last camping trip of the summer season this weekend in Elizabethtown, PA at the local KOA campground.  Why Elizabethtown you ask?  Mike grew up in nearby Ephrata, PA, so this was like a trip home for him.  We booked this trip months ago so that we could combine a camping trip with a visit with Mike’s 91-year-old grandmother, Nan, who lives with his dad in Elizabethtown.

I have to admit, the trip started out not-so-well…the weather was fine when we left home on Friday, but by the time we got into central PA, it was POURING down rain.  And it remained raining as we set up our camper and pretty much the entire first night we were there and into the next morning.

Which would have been okay but…there was no cable TV at our site!  Yikes!  Stuck indoors in the rain with the kids and no TV?!?!  Oh…and then the bathroom roof started to leak as well…and did I mention that Geddy refuses to pee outside when it’s raining?

Andrew wasn’t with us this weekend – he was vacationing in Ocean City with his dad and step-mom.  I called him when we arrived and told him not to feel bad…he wasn’t missing much so far…

But we made the best of it – we threw a duct-taped trash bag over the roof (now that’s classy, ain’t it?), watched some movies and played some games…before we knew it, the sun was out.

We took a trip to the local flea market where we picked up some great bargains at the book stall.  Kids books were 3 for $1 and grown-up hardcovers were $3 each – not bad!  We also picked up some whoopie pies, one of our favorite sweet snacks.  For those who don’t know what a whoopie pie is, it’s basically a Pennsylvania Dutch version of a Hostess Devil Dog – but better.

We had a chance to visit with Nan in the afternoon – here she is with Matt and Emily:

Nan was kind enough to give Emily a lovely bracelet that her mother gave her:

The initials on the bracelet are “NM” for Nelly Marx, her mother’s name.  It’s over 100 years old – what a special piece to pass along to your great-granddaughter!  Emily is a very lucky little girl – and she was a very gracious 6-year-old, I’m proud to say.

This weekend, we also managed to fit in a hike along the Conewago Recreation Trail for a few miles:

This was a great trail (very level – I liked that!) that led through some cornfields and shady trees with lots of friendly bikers and hikers along the way.  We also saw an entire family of deer crossing the trail – and our own family didn’t even complain…that much, anyway.

We also took advantage of the campground activities – the pool, BINGO (Emily won a toy snake during one round – Mike was upset that she didn’t choose the Penn State coffee mug instead…), hayrides…

The activities also included a ‘wet hayride’.  We basically rode around the campground on a ‘pirate ship’ and were armed with large water guns and water balloons while campers sprayed us with hoses (and water guns, fire extinguishers, buckets of water…whatever they could put water in) as we rode by.  The kids had a blast – and we were soaked to the bone when it was all over.

But now summer’s over and it’s time to get back to reality…the back-to-school clock is ticking down – only 2 more days to go!