Caledonia State Park, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania
He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. ~ Proverbs 14:31
I admit it. I fell victim to an influx of propaganda.
Billboards all along the highway to Fayetteville, drew me in and the next thing I knew, I’d drawn Blaine in too.
Mister. Ed’s. Not what you’re thinking. It’s not a horse is a horse of course of course . . . .
It’s a giant candy shop and . . . tah-ta-ta-taaaa! . . . . an elephant museum. (Did you hear the horns in your head?)
But first, we had to take care of a mountain of laundry. You think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. Since we kept putting it off, we had our large bin heaped with dirty clothes, plus a garbage bag. It took five large washers! Nice place though, and since you can do them all at once, it only took about an hour or so. 😊
Next, we went back into Gettysburg to walk around the town. We hadn’t had a chance to do that the past two days. Lots of shops and restaurants, and a few historical things, but not as many as you’d think. Still, it was a beautiful day, and a nice walk, and we stopped and bought ice cream.
Enough so, that I mistakenly thought this was it.
It’s not.
That’s the only reason for this picture . . . . : )
We didn’t go inside though. Too bad the glare from the window was so bad.
Founded in 1740 in a log cabin 3 miles away.
This building’s been here since 1842.
He attended a patriotic meeting that was held here at 5pm – after he gave his now famous address.
It’s an original building from before the Civil War and not too very long ago, they had two sycamore trees out front (hence the name). These trees (one of which is still standing), were what they call “Witness Trees”, meaning they survived the Battle of Gettysburg.
We had a hard time fitting it all into one picture!
In fact, we weren’t able to manage it.
By the way. . . I checked Google Maps. They’re correct. : )
And now, the star of the show!
Mister. Ed’s!
It’s time to let my inner child go free!!
Here’s what their brochures say:
When Mister Ed received an elephant for a wedding present in 1967, he never dreamed it would mark the beginning of Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum. At more than 12,000 elephants, the collection is the nation’s largest and draw thousands of visitors from throughout the United States and around the world. Since opening the doors in 1975, Mister Ed and his family have had many adventures, and he has become known affectionately as a legend, a character, and the “P.T. Barnum of Route 30”.
In 2010, a fire destroyed Mister Ed’s and more than 2,000 elephants were lost. Volunteers cleaned the saved elephants with toothbrushes and thousands were donated by fans from around the world. In early 2011, Mister Ed’s reopened, and continues to be a community staple. “Don’t miss our mosaic made from the broken and burned elephants in honor of those who helped us recover.
They also feature more than 1,200 varieties of candy, including more than 400 candy bars from around the world and a wide selection of fine chocolates. They even have more than 100 flavors of homemade fudge. (We tasted some and it was really good, but fudge is just to sweet for our taste! Plus, there weren’t even close to 100 flavors available, so I don’t know what that’s about). But they do have a giant PEZ display, too! They say it’s one of the largest on the East Coast. And there’s fresh roasted Virginia jumbo peanuts that they make each week. (Of course, Blaine bought some of those!)
Kinda puts a damper on the fun . . . .
Did you notice the clouds? : )
Gave me a reason to snap more pictures than I ever would’ve. : )
That’s Sooki! The Saggy Baggy Elephant! One of my favorite stories!
“When entertaining the public, it is best to have an elephant.” ~ PT Barnum
Fun House Mirrors!!
I’m certain they have another name, but they looked like ears to us!
We spotted these on the way back to the Jeep.
It was one of those fun, “off the beaten path” kinds of places to visit – even though it’s on the main drag. And it provided a break from all the seriousness of the past two days.
Great stop!