Day 2: All Day in PA

  Our choice of Motel might not have been the best. I didn’t want to go with the cheapest one we could find because I was afraid that they would have paper thin walls and it would be hard to sleep. We ended up with that and even more fun things. We were joking that we would have to go bang on the door next to us and tell them to stop having conversations at reasonable levels because we were trying to sleep. The mini-fridge in our room also liked to make wurring sounds when it was trying to keep cold and I’m pretty sure the clock on the microwave could double as a neon sign. You also couldn’t sneak into the bathroom while the other person was asleep because the fan sounded like a plane engine starting. Now we know for next time.
  There was an Ollie’s Outlet in the strip-mall next to our Motel and I introduced Krissy to the joys of shopping there. We were good and only got a few things each.

  We were headed back to Vegan treats when we stumbled upon Monocacy Park and Illick’s Mill. It was so pretty that we had to stop in and walk around.  They had a fishing catch and release program and so many people were enjoying the fishing. We also did a bit of Geocaching, it felt good to find one again.

  The line was out the door! I’m so glad for them!  It means there is a good chance we will be able to come back and spend more money.  I got two ‘chicken’ and waffle donuts, the coconut rice pudding, a traditional carrot cake, and a croissant.  At first the girl helping me forgot to put my two donuts on my tab, but laughed at herself and fix it once I pointed it out.  I think she was a bit shocked at how much I was getting.
  Some people wondered if they were so busy because of the fact that Easter was tomorrow, but one of the locals says it is always this busy when she comes.  They were impressed we drove so far just to come get some goodie.

  We went back to Monocacy Park to eat our goodies. It was no nice to sit in the sun and watch the river go by as we ate.  If I lived closer I would bring picnics there all the time when it is nice out.
  I don't know what magic they use, but look how amazing the croissant is.  It is super flaky on the outside while being light and fluffy on the inside.  They remind me of the one I got at the airport in Scotland.  I also turned my 'chicken' and waffle donut into a donut sandwich, and that was easier to eat than as they present it.

  We had a great debate if we should go to the local zoo or not.   There was a ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park farther away, but we were worried that by the time we got there we wouldn’t have enough time to really enjoy it.
  We decided to stop at a Wegmans to get some Kombucha before figuring out what to do next.  While trying to look where it would normally be at home, we ran into a guy offering beer samples.  We decided to try some before going back to our kombucha search.
  We got to talking to him and he was impressed we came all the way up here for Vegan Treats, which he lives near. We then asked him for things to do.   He said he liked going on the tour for the Troegs Independent brewery.   He said we even get a pint glass to take home at the end.
  Spring Gate Vineyard was something he had heard about from one of the other vender representatives. He said that she told him that Spring Gate had events almost every weekend. We did a quick search on their website and found out that they were having a mead event. We both like mead so it looked like we had our plans for the rest of the day.

  We had seen the signs for Crystal Caves on our way up and we saw it again so we decided to stop by.  There were only a few small signs and we managed to get lost on the way.  Once we got GPS going we got to drive through a covered bridge and managed to find it.  Tours were only $16 and we got on the last one for the day.
  The tour was really fun and there were a lot of amazing bad jokes. At one point we even got to see a bear eating chicken nuggets. You also get 1 year good luck if you get dripped on your head, 5 years if you get dripped on the nose, and anywhere else you are just getting wet.
  Unlike Luray caverns, there was an informative video. It started out and felt really cheesy, but then they give you the history of how the cave was found and how it became a tourist trap.

  We had planned on going to Spring Gate Vineyard, try some of the mead, and then move on to the brewery.  This did not happen.
  We first tried a wine flight because we didn't see anything about the mead.  After asking we got a sample of that too.  All that wine was making us feel fuzzy so we know we needed some food.  This place is doing something really smart.  They are working with some food trucks.  You can go get some food from them and have a few to choose from so you don't have to worry about bringing your own.
  We ate around a fire in our table and went back inside once it got dark and we started getting cold.  Before leaving we tried their cider flight because Krissy really likes hard cider.

  The nice guy at Wegman's had suggested a hotel for us to stay at, but it was a bit out of our price range.  There was another one nearby that looked better for us.  It was only a bit more than our Motel room had been, but was a ton better.
  We wanted one more drink before bed so we walked over to Angie's Brookside Diner and Bar.  The diner was closed, so we had to make a quick food run, but then we walked back to the bar.  The bar tender was really fun and we talked about funny 90s dancing with some people at the bar.  It was a lot of fun, but we stayed way too late for how little sleep we got the night before.