I probably could’ve filmed a whole lot more while we were in Pennsylvania, but that’s my home town where I grew up, so I usually relax and get too comfortable to bust out the camera and document our surroundings. Every time we go back to visit the east coast, without fail, we will surely do some of the same things, like go to a Chinese buffet with my parents, hang out with my friends at their house, shop for clothes TAX-FREE, and eat cheesesteaks.
But this time, my parents surprised me by saying that they REALLY wanted to take us to go see the play, Moses. Joe and I instantly snickered at the idea because we knew nothing about it and only heard that it was in Lancaster, PA, aka the Amish country! We’ve watched Broadway plays in NYC and figured how good could this be? But we decided to be good “kids” and not hurt my parents’ feelings. So off we all went, along with my Great Aunt and Great Uncle, in the minivan, to Lancaster.
We pulled up roughly two hours later to the Sight & Sound Theatres and were completely surprised at the size and scale of the production. The place was packed. Photography and video were not allowed during the show, but I really wish I could’ve captured some moments. There was singing and dancing, just like a Broadway show, great costume and set design…aaand LIVE animals! Yeah…there were seriously live goats running down the aisles and Egyptians riding horses across the stage.
But the way they depicted Moses parting the Red Sea was for reals impressive. I have to say, Joe and I ate our words and had to give snaps to our parents for taking us! My parents had already watched the production of Noah before, and they said that there was really a large ark on the stage as well as a ton of live animals walking in two by two. CRAZY!
But besides hanging out in the Amish country, we got to eat some awesome sushi and Asian fusion food at Oishi in Newtown PA. This is our friend John’s family-owned restaurant where I actually used to work as a waitress in my high school days. Since then, it’s expanded and grown in popularity because seriously the food speaks for itself. We met up with our friends John and Lisa and ate until we busted a gut. But you can watch more about what we did and ate in Pennsylvania in our video:
One of our last stops was at Steve’s Prince of Steaks in Langhorne, PA, not too far from my parents’ place, to share a cheesesteak… yes –gasp– SHARE one, because we were going to go to a Chinese buffet with my parents later (of course) and we didn’t want to be too full. Usually we get our cheesesteak fix from a little unknown shop called Golden Box in West Philadelphia across the street from my parents’ store, but we didn’t have the time this trip. But this one was still good… different than what I’m used to, but good.
Oh yeah, and then we snagged up a few boxes of TastyKakes to take back to Chicago with us. They were celebrating their 100th anniversary so their products were on sale in the front of the grocery store. Score! Anyone else from Philly feel nostalgic and giddy looking at these boxes? These were my favorite two: the Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes and Butterscotch Krimpets!
They just remind me of my childhood and brown bag lunches. Joe likes them because they’re super soft and not too sweet. I’m sorry to say I got him hooked. So now because of me, he has grown a real love for cheesesteaks and Tasykakes. Hmm… maybe Philly food isn’t the healthiest stuff come to think of it. But it is darn scrumptious and I love it!
Thanks for coming to Pennsylvania with us. Wish I filmed more, because we did do more. Sigh… next time, I’ll try not to be too comfy and lazy. It’s always nice to visit the places I don’t think twice about because I’m so familiar with them. But next time, I’ll be sure to share them with you.
