My friend Sarah and I took a trip down the coast recently, with not much of a plan in mind, and made some fun stops in various places. On a whim, we decided to check out Amish country, so we headed over to Lancaster, PA. Once there (after an awesome ride in the restored Strasburg train), I realized we were very close to Intercourse, PA, and knew that we just had to make that a stop. I had grown up seeing "I heart Intercourse" (with a very small "PA" underneath) t-shirts, and I definitely wanted to head over there and pick up some fun souvenirs! (I'm not much of a souvenir shopper, so this was actually a big deal to me.) So we made the short drive over, through beautiful PA countryside, and boy was it worth it for a nice afternoon break before hitting the road again. I should admit here that I actually had two goals in mind that day: the second was handmade ice cream.
When we stumbled across Lapp Valley Farm's ice cream stand, I was thrilled! (I am Bethany's sister, after all - it should come as no surprise that our whole family is addicted to ice cream!) I had a difficult time making a decision from about a dozen or so flavors (nothing out of the ordinary, save for "Butter Brickle", which I now wish I'd been in the mood to check out), but settled on an old favorite, listed as "COOKIES' n. CREAM" (don't worry, they didn't lose too many points with me for the grammar!).
As you can see, the scoop I ordered was an unexpectedly brown ice cream, with no actual cookie chunks in the batter - it appears it was mixed in so thoroughly that it became sort of a light chocolately ice cream instead of the usual vanilla-with-cookies-mixed-in. Perhaps that was because of the hand-mixing. In any case, I wasn't disappointed - the ice cream was very rich and creamy, and delicious on a hot, sunny day! The perfect refreshment.The location of the stand is worth a trip, ice cream or no (although I do highly suggest a cold treat from Lapp Valley!). It was very busy even on a Tuesday afternoon in August, which makes sense as it is located within an adorable setting: a little old-style bricked seating area of tables with umbrellas is surrounded by various shops, including a kettle corn/homemade potato chips stand, a toy store, artisan shops, souvenir shops, and the like - there are even pony rides for the kids! And of course, the ubiquitous horse and buggy were parked nearby....
The ice cream itself was served up by girls dressed in Amish costuming (but I noticed, they did work in an air-conditioned booth!). The setting is quaint but still modern enough, and filled with groups of people doing the tourist thing on a late summer afternoon. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area; it's a very pleasant day trip destination. What little I saw, I have to say: I adore Intercourse! :)(Pricing is $2 for 1 scoop; fresh, homemade waffle cones are $2.50 for 1 scoop. Slightly more for 2 scoops, but all less than $5.)
Thanks, Arianna! Should we add this to Our Readers Recommend?
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