Kim's Thoughts

Over the last couple of days – July 18-19 – I enjoyed an overnight adventure to Lancaster, PA to see this year’s Sight and Sound Theater production of “Noah”. I could just simply say it was an incredibly amazing experience and close out this post and be done. But, you know me….that will absolutely not do at all! hahaha

I’ve been to Sight and Sound a few times, now – I have seen their productions of “Moses” in 2014, “Jesus” in 2018, “David” in 2022, “The Miracle of Christmas” in 2023, “Daniel” in 2024, and now “Noah” in 2025! I was booked to see “Queen Esther” in 2020, but it was canceled due to the Covid epidemic. Sight and Sound Theater is a spectacular 2000 seat, state-of-the art facility in Lancaster, PA. They bring the stories of the Bible to life – quite literally! The audience is surrounded by the sets, actors, and live animals as they act out each story – you truly feel like you are a part of the story as it unfolds all around you and reaches so deep into your emotions that you can’t help but be immersed in it all. They typically perform one story each year throughout the year to the total amazement of sell-out crowds. They also have a theater in Branson, MO, but I have never been to that one….maybe someday.

So – enough with the background…..let’s get on with this trip!!! Like I said, this trip was on July 18-19. First Choice Travel put the trip together and did an awesome job.

This is our bus – it was taken in the parking lot of the hotel we stayed at in Lancaster – more on that later! It was a sold-out booking, so that means we had 50-something people on the bus. It was a great group – several that I have traveled with on other First Choice Travel adventures and some that were new to their bookings. I sat with Ann – I’ve met her on several other adventures, but this is the first time I’ve really gotten to know her — sitting with someone for a 5 or so hour drive gives you that opportunity! I have to also mention that I was amazed by one of my fellow travelers……there was a lady that was celebrating her 100th birthday…..she was awesome — she had more energy than most of us! I just hope I’m still able to travel, let alone as energetically as she is, when I’m 100! God Bless her!!! There was also a family of three – dad, mom, and daughter, who had just flew back from a vacation in Japan late the night before and got up early to meet the bus and start another adventure — WOW — I would have been a zombie, but they were champs and made the most of the two day trip!

This is me with our driver, Marty, and First Choice Travel tour manager, Kathy Hamm! They both did an amazing job of seeing that we got there and back safely, stayed on schedule, and had a great time throughout the trip!

Kathy’s sign set the tone for the trip!

So – we left Batavia at 8:00 am on the 18th…..stopped at a Love’s rest stop / convenience store in Bath, NY and then stopped for lunch at Wegmans in Williamsport, PA. That Wegmans has an awesome food court with ample seating, so it’s perfect for a bus load of hungry travelers looking for a break from sitting! 😉

The bus looks empty, but it was early in the loading process – they assign seats based on the order of booking, so since I booked as soon as the date was announced last year, I was in the window seat in the second row on the door side of the bus – WOO HOO!!! I realize the other photo doesn’t “look” very appetizing – it’s not the best food photo I’ve ever taken….in fact, it just might win the prize for the WORST food photo I’ve ever taken, but it was DELICIOUS!!! I had chicken strips, potato wedges, and tomato soup (with crackers) during our stop at Wegmans and it was the perfect lunch!

We arrived at our hotel – Country Inn of Lancaster – about 3:00. We had enough time to check in and “flush and brush” as our fearless leader, Kathy likes to call it before heading out for dinner.

They have fresh popped popcorn in the lobby — since we were about to go to dinner, I didn’t want any when we arrived, but I knew they wouldn’t have it when we got back to the room after the show, so I grabbed a bag to put in my room for later!

Dinner was at the Plain and Fancy Restaurant in Bird in Hand, PA. We’ve been there for other trips to the area and I knew what to expect…..and, man, it did NOT disappoint!!! Our group had a private room with several long tables meant to enhance the sociability aspect that a family style dinner should encourage! We sat down with rolls, coleslaw, iced tea, water, and lemonade already on the table. It didn’t take long for the platters to start being passed…..fried chicken, ham, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, brown-butter noodles, salad, green beans……the platters were piled high, but when they were empty, another platter replaced it! We ate and ate and ate and the food was sooooooo good!!! Then…..they brought the dessert – cinnamon cake and oatmeal coconut pie!

I was too busy eating to remember to get good photos of the platters FULL of food! My favorite was the perfectly breaded and cooked fried chicken! YUM! But it was all fabulous!

They rolled us out to the bus on big wheel barrels (just kidding….sort of) so that we could get to the 7:00 pm showing of “Noah” at Sight and Sound on time.

View from the bus window as we drove along the driveway entrance to the Sight and Sound Theater…..it is a really spectacular sight!

We had GREAT seats —- section 102, rows M, N, and O — I was in row N….these seats were on the floor about center stage and about mid-way back in the section. VERY NICE!!!

This is from my seat looking at the stage…..WOW – did I say they were GREAT seats??? This is the last photo I was able to take…..as soon as the show began, photography, recording, and streaming was strictly prohibited, so you’ll have to rely on my commentary to imagine the show….which, of course, is impossible because it is totally indescribable!!!

The biblical story tells how Noah received a message from God that He planned to bring on a massive flood to destroy the earth and eliminate the hatred and sin that was rampant across the land. The Lord told Noah that he could save his family and pairs of every animal if he followed his instructions to the letter to build an Ark. Per the specific instructions, the ark was to be made of cypress wood and be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. It should have rooms and be coated inside and out with pitch. It had to include a roof and only one door on its side. It was to have three decks to accommodate the animals and Noah’s family. Noah was also instructed to bring two of every kind of animal, male and female, into the ark to preserve their species and to gather enough food for himself, his family, and the animals, but he wasn’t told how long they would need to survive on the ark.

After receiving skepticism and ridicule from friends and those in the nearby village, he solicited the help and materials he needed to get started. He ran into many roadblocks and attempts to sabotage his efforts over the next few decades, but he did it!!! The final scene prior to intermission showed the outside of the finished ark and the animals beginning to arrive in pairs to board the ark – all while the rains were beginning!

Every production at Sight and Sound involves live animals on stage and going up and down the aisles. I’m always amazed that the animals know exactly where they are supposed to go! Well…..this production went way above and beyond in this aspect!!! It was so incredible to see ducks and sheep and goats and pigs and more just running across the stage or down the aisles up onto the stage without getting distracted or veer off course – they just ran right into the ark without a single human guiding them – like they knew exactly what to do! Then there were bigger animals that were brought in by the actors – horses, camels, cows, llamas, and more! There were even “people” dressing in ape suits that were a riot to watch!!! It was awesome! After the excitement of seeing all the animals arrive and take their place inside the ark, we had a chance to get up and stretch our legs.

THEN…..after intermission, the house lights went down and the stage lights came on and we found ourselves inside the ark!!! ALL AROUND US – on the stage ahead and both sides of the theater – all around us (I know I already said that, but it needs to be stressed – we were literally inside the ark) – were the three levels of many, many rooms with each pair of animal in their own rooms!!! Some real live animals, some animatronics that I defy you to tell were not real live animals. The following photo (from the Sight and Sound Facebook page) shows just the part that was on the stage —- again, it continued around both sides of the auditorium!

Photo credit: Sight and Sound Facebook page

The following scenes showed Noah’s family experiencing the rains for 40 days and 40 nights and then the time it took for the flood waters to recede and the earth to dry……they began to worry that they were running out of food and would not survive, but kept faith in God’s plan. After 371 days from boarding the ark to opening the door to leave, they released the animals and came out to hear God’s instruction to be fruitful and refill the earth and his promise to never bring on such a flood again.

The emotions and the excitement and the tears…..it was a another wonderful experience and chance to learn more about one of the most famous stories of the bible. If you are able to arrange it, you really should plan to go to Lancaster to see this show!!! It is the 30th anniversary of the first time they put on this particular story. I kept hearing about it and was so very happy I had a chance to finally see it! It’s up there in my top favorites —- of course, ALL shows are spectacular — so I really can’t rank them, per se! And, Moses is still my favorite – just slightly eeking out the rest – I’m not sure if it is because it was my first experience at Sight and Sound (that first experience was overwhelming) or if the show was any more impressive, but it holds the top spot, regardless of the reason. All the others are a very close and totally equal tie for second place – each with their own very special “BAM” moment that made them reach out and grab my heart (with Noah, it was the scenes right before and after intermission – BAM-BAM), with Daniel ever so slightly in third place — not that it was any less impressive or spectacular, but I just wasn’t as totally engulfed in it as the others.

We got back at the hotel about 10:00…..totally wired and totally exhausted at the same time!

The hotel has the typical “grab and go” breakfast off their lobby, which I’m sure is fine, but our group arrangement was to go across the parking lot to their restaurant for a hot full buffet breakfast included in our package and it was wonderful! We were the only bus group that morning so we had the 7:30 time slot and had the room and buffet to ourselves.

While I was waiting for our 7:30 am breakfast time, I noticed this squirrel having HIS breakfast…..what a cutie!

After breakfast, we got back on the bus to start Day Two of our adventure! We picked up a step-on guide – a local woman named Sally who rode around the area with us for the next three and a half hours. She told Marty were to go and pointed out local points of interest and told us all about the Amish culture and stories. It was fascinating and she was amazing…..very knowledgeable and entertaining and was able to answer all our questions. We drove all around the countryside and pulled off on the side of the road when she had stories that she wanted to focus on longer. Here are a few photos from the bus window — excuse the glare on the glass:

Many of the area Amish have “Cottage Industry” jobs – side hustles – to make extra money. This family serves chicken barbeques every Saturday.

We passed several one-room school houses — the Amish send their children to school beginning at age 6 in first grade and their formal school career ends with the eighth grade – they go to the school closest to their home. Each one-room school house has a teacher who serves all the grades represented by the ages of the students in her classroom. They attend for the state mandated number of days and to meet the state criteria for education beyond the eighth grade, the state recognizes vocational work on their farms and businesses.

The Amish don’t want their photos taken – it is against their religion (I heard on a previous trip that they actually believe that photos steal their souls). We were told that we could take photos from a distance or if their faces could not be seen, otherwise, we were asked to honor their beliefs and refrain from taking any up close photos.

I didn’t get a photo, but right there in the midst of the Amish countryside, we passed a house on a corner with several young adults in skimpy bikinis and swim trunks laying in the sun and kids in bathing suits playing with a water slide thingy……several of us laughed out loud and said practically in unison: “they certainly aren’t Amish!!!” hahaha

We made two stops where we got off the bus….the first was a market that sells THE most awesome fresh hot pretzels…..the dough is so flaky and soft and delicious and they dip them in melted butter! YUM…..and so decadent!!!

They are HUGE and 3 for $8…..

The market also had a petting zoo with some of the most adorable animals, lots of crafts, baked goods, homemade cheese, ice cream, a working bee hive, and so much more!

I made friends with the little guy on the left…..such a sweetheart!!!

I didn’t buy much on this trip, but I did get this adorable angel made with a wooden spoon – I collect angels and have a “thing” for wooden spoons, so it caught my eye. It is now hanging in my kitchen! I also picked up these two refrigerator magnets…..all purchased at this market.

And, then there was this sweetie who came for a pretzel (or maybe some ice cream) with his family!!!

There was one of these scooters there —- we saw them all over the area! Apparently, some bishops don’t allow bicycles to be used by the Amish families within their groups, so they have these scooters that are bicycles without pedals – it looks like quite the workout, but also a great alternative to no bicycles!

We came up on this guy using one of the scooters (pedal-less bicycles) to transport a fence gate — it was a hoot to watch, but a pretty smart way to get something that big from one place to the next!!!

Our second stop was at a quilt shop — they also had animals, ice cream, baked goods, and crafts.

How cute is this little family!!!???

They also had a litter of puppies…..so cute!!! I had a hard time not taking one home with me….until I heard the lady tell someone they were $895 each!!!

Our last stop of the day was at Kitchen Kettle Village — a village of shops. We were there about an hour and a half to have lunch and shop. It was a beautiful day — not too hot, slightly breezy, and perfect for walking around to shop or just sit and people watch!

There is a couple options for lunch — when I’ve been there before, I ate at the cafeteria style diner that has wonderful soups, salads, and sandwiches…..but, I was still full from breakfast and that humongous pretzel, so I opted for a root beer float at the homemade ice cream stand. In fact, since it was on the small side and tasted so refreshing and delicious, I ended up having TWO root beer floats before I had to get back on the bus!!! 😉 YUMMY!!!

About 2:00 pm, we started the long drive back home! We made two short stops – one at the same Wegmans in Williamsport, PA for dinner and the last at the same Love’s rest stop in Bath, NY.

I wasn’t able to get a good shot of these, but this is a display representing little league baseball players in Williamsport, PA – home of the National Little League Hall of Fame!!! The street corner these can be found on is styled to look like a baseball diamond! Too cool!!!

Here’s one final “window” shot taken somewhere along the drive home…..Lord knows where it is, but it looked so calming and peaceful to me that I had to get the photo!

So — another great adventure in the history books…..thanks to First Choice Travel, Kathy Hamm, and Marty for putting it together and making it a great adventure!

Next year, Sight and Sound is doing “Joshua”….we’ll see if I am able to make it down for this performance!

My next adventure will be to Mackinac Island on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan later this fall. Looking forward to it! And, there are two more Mystery Tours later this year that I’ll be doing……check back to see how they all go!