Noah

For Granny's birthday this year, I got her a ticket to see Noah at Sight & Sound theatre in Lancaster. We've been to Sight & Sound several times in the last few years, and I remember her saying last time we were there how she wanted to see Noah.

The original plan was to go up sometime in late summer/early fall, but then Mom mentioned that Cindy, my aunt (Dad's sister) wanted to make a trip there sometime in July to take Granddaddy Bull to see a show and eat at his favorite restaurant, the Shady Maple Smorgasbord.  Since we were planning to see the show too, we decided to make it an all family affair and go up together.

We went up on a Thursday morning so that we would be there in time to grab a bite to eat before seeing Noah at 4:15pm.

Granddaddy Bull and Dad think of two things when they think of Pennsylvania, particularly Lancaster.

They are, respectively:  Food and Food.

Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking at its best.

So, while we were there to see a show, the two men who accompanied us were there to do one thing: eat.

And, the best place to eat in Pennsylvania, according to Granddaddy is The Shady Maple Smorgasbord. While I'm usually not a fan of buffets, as the food tends to be bland and waxy, this buffet was no ordinary buffet.

It was 200 feet of fresh, home cooking.

I wish I had pictures of the actual buffet and the restaurant, which was huge, so big that I had to lead my elders- Granddaddy Bull AND Granny (who was following him)- back to our table when I found them walking aimlessly in one of the  other banquet rooms looking for our table. We had to sit in one of several large banquet rooms because all the main restaurant tables were full.  Full on a Thursday at lunchtime! According to the website, people come from all over the country to dine here. I believe it!

While I don't have pictures inside the Shady Maple, I did take some of the brochure (which Granddaddy has tucked in his front shirt pocket in the picture below).

Does this look like two men who just did some good eating or what?

Since we were there on a Thursday, in addition to the main buffet bar, which consisted of all the salad, soup, veggie dishes and starches you could think of, the side grills featured marinated grilled chicken (which I had), an oriental station where you could choose your own meat and veggies which they sautéed right there in front of you, and a burger bar.  Burgers- grilled to order while you waited.  While I have to admit the burger bar was tempting, as I love a good freshly grilled burger, I don't think of burgers when I think of Pennsylvania Dutch home cooking.

So here's what I ate (if you have an empty stomach, you might want to grab a snack before reading this- otherwise, you'll likely want one afterwards- and if you're thinking is she really going to list the foods she ate at lunch, the answer is yes, so if you're not interested you might want to stop reading here- in other words, consider yourself forewarned).

In true buffet dining fashion, I started by filling my first plate with salad. A garden salad with all my favorite toppings, in addition to two different types of cucumber salad, an Amish macaroni salad, some pickled beets, and homemade rolls with whipped butter.

Oh my.

Then, I filled my next plate with "real" food.  I had a grilled chicken breast (this was my effort to be healthy ), homemade redskin mashed potatoes, cheesy mac-n-cheese (yummy), homestyle green beans (cooked to no nutritional value), corn, squash casserole and more homemade rolls with whipped butter. And, a slice of raspberry bread (it was beside the rolls and I couldn't resist- I grabbed an extra spoonful of whipped butter to accompany it).

I ate it all.

And, for dessert I had just a smidgen of:  red velvet cake, apple crisp (with whipped cream of course), a bite of lemon bar and a sliver of pecan pie.  I know I had something else on my dessert plate but can't remember what it was now, probably something chocolate to even it all out.  What I do remember is thinking how I wish I could have eaten dessert first. It was that good. And, I made everyone laugh when I said (out loud), between my bites, how I wondered if they offered just the dessert bar (implying that perhaps we should come back for another "tasting' after the show).

We visited the gift shop just briefly as it was much too large for the time we had left in order to make the show at 4:15pm. Plus, we knew the road coming in was not a highway, and we had at least a half hour trip to the theatre. Turns out 20 miles on Pennsylvania back roads takes longer than 20 miles on I-95 on Sunday evenings.  We just barely made the showtime and had to be seated by an usher.

The theatre was full, as I knew from picking our seats three weeks before, and while our seats were among the few hundred remaining, they weren't all that bad. We were on the lower left section towards the front. Not the best we've ever had at this theatre, but not the worst either.

After having feasted beforehand, we were good and ready to sit back and enjoy the performance. 

The part of Noah was played by an African American who did a fabulous job depicting how difficult it was to follow the direction of the Lord against all odds and at the criticism of so many.  The stage really came alive as they constructed the 40 foot high ark, and we watched as the animals trotted  down the aisles beside us, two by two, many of which were real living animals, such as camels, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, etc., and some of which seemed so real you had to look twice to know for sure, like the giant apes that came barreling down the aisle only a few feet away from us. 

"Look, there's Junior," said Cindy, who badgers Dad about as much as he does her- I guess sibling banter doesn't stop when you get older.

Sight and Sound tickets are not inexpensive ($49 a ticket for weekdays), but the cost is worthwhile as the shows really are spectacular, and the sets amazing.

Following the show, we did some outlet shopping before retiring to the hotel to rest up for our big day of shopping on Friday.

After breakfast at the hotel the next morning, we returned to the Shady Maple to tour the gift shop and to visit the Shady Maple Farm Market. Then, Dad and Granddaddy returned home, while the four ladies shopped till we dropped (returning home around 9pm, so yes, we did shop till we dropped!).

One of my Dad's favorite restaurants is a German place near York, PA, on Rt. 30, which happens to be right on the way home, so guess where the men found their lunch spot?

Dad texted me this picture of "Nevin Sr. awaiting his German cuisine."

Meanwhile, I texted him this picture of Aunt Cindy with the fat free salad dressing she had stashed in her purse as we enjoyed the salad bar cuisine at Ruby Tuesday, still attempting to walk off the calories we consumed the day before at the Smorgasbord.

And, because Allie couldn't be there with us, as she's a busy real estate agent these days and couldn't make it this trip, I texted her this picture of Mom drinking an iced tea. Allie likes iced tea at Ruby Tuesday.  The Long Island kind. Only this one wasn't Long Island, but we didn't tell her that (shhh).  We didn't want her to think we weren't partying it up without her (even though we all know Allie usually does bring on the party).

Who's ready for our next trip? I am! I am!