June 10, 2000

Paradise, PA · 0  Miles Hiked Today · 1126 of 2167 Miles Hiked Total

Today was a busy, fun, and educational day. First, I went and bought an authentic Amish quilt. I've always wanted one and after looking at several hundred finally found one that was me.

After that we headed to eastern Pennsylvania to do some sightseeing. We visited my old neighborhood in Berwyn, spent several hours in historic (and scenic) Valley Forge Historical National Park, and then went to one of the nation's biggest (and nicest) malls in King of Prussia. Seeing my old neighborhood was cool and brought back a million memories. Valley Forge was very beautiful and I learned a lot about what was done by George Washington and Von Steuben to motivate and prepare the troops in a time of despair. I think their actions and leadership styles are applicable in everyday life. Although not educational, one of the best things about Valley Forge was visiting the cabin snack shop behind George Washington Memorial Church and eating shoo-fly cake. On the memorial arch are some great quotes about the sacrifices made at Valley Forge. Lastly, the mall visit was good because I finally got to get some Sushi. As a whole, the mall reminded me of all the excess and materialism in the world.

We topped the day off by having dinner at this cool local diner in an old train car. I tried chow chow, an Amish food staple, for the first time. It was okay. Egg nog ice cream from a local ice cream parlor concluded an awesome day.