Free Candy---Hershey Park---

[Trwhouse]

Hi again Julie et al,

OK, here is a Google map that we can use.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Lancaster+County,+PA&ie=UTF8&ll=40.122191,-76.05423&spn=0.360714,0.637207&z=11&om=1

I hope this helps.

From Wal-Mart we head EAST out Old Philadelphia Pike Route 340 to Route 10, then we turn LEFT to head north.
We take Route 10 all the way up to Morgantown and then turn LEFT or WEST on Route 23.
At Blue Ball (I'm not making this up), we turn right or WEST again onto Route 322 toward Ephrata.
We can then either head SOUTH on Route 222 or take a prettier back way back to Lancaster and to the Wal-Mart where the hotels are located.\
It's a nice ride, with pretty scenery and lots of Amish farms and places to see.
I can even take you to an Amish health food store which is fabulous if you want a mini field trip just off Route 340 in Lancaster County. It's fun and there is great stuff to buy there including bagged nuts, dried fruits, etc.
It's worth a visit if you want to go there.
We can also stop at the rural Smoketown Airport if you want to see a fun little flying field.
I like the sights as well as the ride, so stopping is fine with me if you want to see things.
See you soon,

Yours,
Todd

[Absolute Rescue]

Sorry everyone...we had a pretty serious incident here at work this morning, gonna be a long day (I'm just getting my lunch break now at 3pm). I'm not going to make it to Hershey. I was really looking forward to meeting you all damn my bad luck.

[Trwhouse]

Hi all,

OK, here's a ride report for our long-awaited Hershey/Lancaster summer 2007 ride today...
Despite a long list of people who said they'd attend over the last few months, it was only the most dedicated, the coolest and the nicest bikes who showed up in the Lancaster Wal-Mart parking lot at 3 p.m. today. 
We even waited until 4:30 p.m. for the stragglers whom we were sure would eventually appear, but it was not to be, so it was just three bikes and five motorcyclists who gathered for the ride.
The group was made up of Jason (Jace009gs) from Maryland and Nick (bargovic) from Williamsport, PA, Jason's girlfriend, Kayla, Nick's wife, Jen, and me. Actually, Kayla was tired from the three hour ride from Maryland and she stayed back at the motel while we went riding. The rest of us talked and  got to know each other a bit in the parking lot as we waited for others, so the time was very enjoyable.
At 4:30, the three motorcycles -- Nick and Jen on their 2005 GS500F, Jason on his Yamaha 750 sport bike and me on my 1991 GS500E, headed east on touristy Route 340, through Bird-In-Hand, Intercourse and White Horse, PA, through the Amish countryside, seeing lovely lush farms, tall fields of corn, horse-drawn buggies galore and a myriad of roadside stands selling quilts, fresh fruit and vegetables. All along the route we saw Plain people using Weedwackers and mowing their lawns with manual reel mowers. Ah, Lancaster County in the summertime!
We stopped in Intercourse, PA, for the obligatory tourist photos (they're on Nick's camera, so we have to wait for him to post those!) then headed north on Route 10 for a curvy, nice ride through the quiet countryside.
In Morgantown, PA, we headed west on Route 23 through the rural hamlets of Churchtown and Goodville, riding through lovely and hilly countryside dotted with more Amish farms and bountiful fields of corn and alfalfa.
We then headed west on rural Route 322 toward Ephrata, then zipped down to Brownstown, where we stopped for dinner at a Sonic drive-in -- carefully selected because Nick's wife Jen has seen Sonic ads but had never been to a Sonic before. You should do something new every day.
We pulled our bikes into a drive-in stall and waited for the roller-skate-clad waitresses (not all are talented enough to skate and some are in sneakers -- NO TIP FOR THEM!) to bring us our dinners, which we ate sitting outside at a table in the lovely breeze.     
After dinner, we headed west again, this time to Lititz, PA, where we went to a local go-kart track and tore the place up. That was fun.
We then headed south to Route 30 and I guided Jason and Nick back to their motel and wished them all a fun day tomorrow at Hersheypark (I live here, so going to Hersheypark isn't as exciting to me anymore -- I'm not an amusement rides guy -- I'll ride my motorcycle anywhere but I don't enjoy putting my life into the hands of some 16-year-old who runs the amusement rides there). 
It was a 94-mile, very satisfying, lovely ride that was fun even though the turnout was low, but we all made several new friends and I think that was worth the whole day.
I hope to see more of you soon.
Jason, Nick, Kayla and Jen, please be sure to post your photos and your experiences at Hersheypark after you are there tomorrow, too!

Best wishes,
Todd

Here are some photos from our adventure...

Todd (from left) Nick and Jason at Sonic


Jason, Nick and Todd at Sonic


Nick and Jen order at Sonic for the first time ever!


Nick and Jen on their go-karts


Go-kart at speed


On the gas...

[The Antibody]

Sorry to see that there was such a small turn out. I wanted to go, but I was in NC. Looks like you had fun though. I'll catch you all on the next ride.

  -Anti