We spent our final full day in Manheim area taking a cruise up to Palmyra, Jonestown and Annville, three tiny towns north of the campground. On our way out we noticed a sign on the adjacent camp space that indicated the names of the tenants was Schittler. We have camped alongside many folks with strange names but the Schittlers and the Succos (2015 Texas) both have names that, were they mine, I would not advertise.
Our drive north initially passed through Jonestown, then Palmyra and finally through Annville. Jonestown and Annville are very small but Palmyra is larger and the home of the Beer Cove, a vendor with a good beer selection. We found some Edmund Fitzgerald porter here but no Deschutes Black Butte which we revere as the best. In 2015, we found a couple cases of Black Butte, made in Oregon, here at the Beer Cove but their selection this year was not as complete.
This part of Pennsylvania has an extraordinary number of buildings from the 18th and 19th Centuries and a good number of them are still in use. Throughout today’s drive we spotted absolutely gorgeous houses, churches and municipal buildings, miles of neighborhoods with brick row houses and balconies, and stunning farms. The farms seem to be mostly operated by Mennonite and Amish families and they are very tidy. It is strange to see folks plowing and harrowing with horses but they seem to think it is okay. They seem like nice folks that live without indoor plumbing, radios, cars, tractors, the internet, electrical devices, deodorant or bars. Travel is by horse-drawn carriage, bike or scooter. The fruits and vegetables in their roadside stands are beautiful and luscious.
On our way back toward our campground, we came across an old facility called Cornwall Furnace. There are some very stout buildings still standing here that were part of the furnace complex which operated, making iron from nearby ore deposits, from 1742 to 1883. The abbatoir here was very pretty, despite the use.
Check out the pictures. Click here