Maryland to Pennsylvania- Air and Space to Amish Country
We finished up visiting our family in Maryland and Virginia and hit the northern road!
Watch the video below to see our favorite spots:
First stop was the new Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly (near Dulles), VA- it’s actually called the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, but everyone I’ve heard talk about it was just calling it the new Air and Space Museum. This location is bigger than the one at the mall in Washington, D.C. There are more planes AND the space shuttle Discovery. It was a great place to visit with the kids and we had a great time…despite the boys’ over excitement that led to some misbehavior (hey- we’re all human!).
Star Trek Beyond IMAX 3D, Smithsonian, Chantilly, VA
While at the museum, we saw the new Star Trek Beyond!!! I love Star Trek (really anything Sci-Fi), and Stu is a big fan of the new Star Trek movies, so we couldn’t pass up seeing it in IMAX and in 3D. It was a great movie, and the boys liked it, too.
Mobile Quarantine Facility in Airstream, Smithsonian, Chantilly, VA
One of the super cool things we saw near the space shuttle was an Airstream used as a mobile quarantine facility- too neat!!! It’s a must see for all Airstream fanatics.
Just like the Smithsonians in D.C., this location has free admission, but (according to their website) parking is $15. We were lucky enough to just get waved through the gate and didn’t pay for parking (not sure why, we’re just lucky, I guess), but when you visit, plan on paying for parking.
Broken kitchen sink
After the Air and Space Museum, we headed West toward the Winchester area and stayed the night in a Walmart parking lot. And we are so lucky that we stayed in a city with lots of stores around….because the pipe under the kitchen sink broke! Stu was able to get the parts needed at Home Depot and we were on our way before lunch! I’m lucky to have such a handy husband. And the helpful employees didn’t hurt the situation either. Stu got help getting the best quality parts and even got a piece cut to size since we didn’t have the proper tools with us.
We headed up to York, Pennsylvania area and stayed at the Gifford Pinchot State Park. Unfortunately, we did not like this state park. The price wasn’t bad, but it didn’t save us enough money to make it worth the inconveniences there. The spot we were given (even though I asked if there were any full hook ups), only had electric hook up (but while I was walking around the park, I saw empty full hook up spots). I wanted to catch up on dishes and hand wash laundry while there, but couldn’t since water was limited to what we could hold in our tank. There wasn’t even a water faucet for non-drinking water near our site. The only playground was quite a hike from our spot, and there were “questionable” people staying at this state park. I’m not someone who is easily scared, but even I was put off by the look of some people staying there (some were just regular looking families or hikers, but others were straight up creepy). There was a large family living long term out of a group of tents in the tent site across the street from us. And large groups with multiple tents seemed to be crowded into normal size tent spots. And from what I saw, there are no pull-through spots either (fyi for those who need pull-through).
Stream across from our RV site, Lancaster, PA
View from RV site, Lancaster, PA
After Gifford Pinchot State Park, we stayed at the Old Mill Stream Campground at Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster. This place was beautiful! And made it into this week’s video- we had a view of the creek from our RV spot as well as the farm and cows on the other side of the creek. It was adorable and refreshing (especially since we LOVE farms and livestock). The facilities (bathhouses, club house, office) were all nice and clean, and full hook-up RV spots as well as grassy, spacious tent spots. There were only a few pull through spots, but the back in spots were wide and easy to back in to. It was a great campground.
We didn’t visit Dutch Wonderland (though from what we saw from outside, it looks like a fun time for a family). We had a great time in Lancaster, PA! We visited shops featuring Amish furniture, food, quilts, and other crafts, and other non-Amish country shops. If you find yourself in the Lancaster area, you have to visit the Kitchen Kettle Village– which is a cluster of shops and bakeries- most were not authentically Amish, but there were a few that were (and within a very short walk of the Kitchen Kettle parking were several restaurants and Amish stores). There’s also an amazing playground and petting zoo right there off the parking lot that is a must see for anyone with children…or anyone else who wants to pet and feed the cutest baby goats ever!
Kitchen Kettle Village, Intercourse, PA
We left Lancaster too soon, and I think if we knew how much fun we’d have, we would have skipped the state park and went straight on to Old Creek Mill Campground and hung out in Amish Country a little longer. We will definitely return in the future!
Next stop is our new home in New Jersey!!! But not before we hit up some of the cool touristy spots in our new “home state.” Our travels will change pace slightly now that the road trip is over and our RV time will be limited to the weekends, but we plan to live the RV lifestyle to the fullest Friday night through Sunday afternoon!!! LOL!! We’ll become masters of the two day vacation and find all that awesome within short driving distance to New Jersey. Stay tuned!!!
Anyone else in love with Lancaster, PA? Any advice on what we should visit in New Jersey?
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