by Zach McRae '12

So today is the day. No, not that day, it's the day that we get to eat at Miller's Smorgasbord in Lancaster County, Pa.! Oh you haven't heard of it either? That's okay, just know it was the most highly anticipated food stop on tour.

I was going to tell you about how I had a small breakfast at Chick-fil-A, and how awesome my chicken, egg and cheese bagel was, and how we had magic nap time afterwards, which all happened before lunch, but I don't wanna.

So here we are in Amish country. Not much to see here. And after much driving, it was finally time.  Most people didn't have a clue where we really were, but no one cared. The big sign that read:

Miller's
SMORGASBORD

was all anyone could see. We walked in, all of us, in awe at how ... country it was. And then, we all walked into the dining room, they were ready for us. I've been in buffet-style joints before; most of them feel like dirty troughs. But this ... this was truly a smorgasbord. Everything looked and smelled delicious. To start, here are the things I had never tried:

• pickled eggs - they looked cool, but it wasn't life-changing;
  
• raspberry tea - sounded good, tasted great! And they kept refilling it!
  
• Shoofly pie - I'd never heard of it until this trip, it may not sound appetizing, but it opened up new doors of dessert opportunity, and I can't wait to have it again. Oh, and they serve it a la mode by request;

A couple of standouts:

• Chicken corn soup - it just tasted like the comfort of home, there's no other way to describe it;
  
• Chocolate peanut butter cake - it's hard to say no to anything with that kind of name, and it was as delicious as it sounded. The cake wasn't too dense, the icing not too thick;

I think the only thing that could have made the meal any better would have been sitting next to the effervescent Christina Pier, but alas, instead I dined with mere mortals...

Let me just say first:
Thank you to Kris Watson for the suggestion of this culinary spa.

And second:
That was one of the most satisfying dining experiences of my life.

Side story:
Upon needing a break from her indulgent luncheon experience, Miss Katie Higgins (one of the sweetest girls I know) gets up to find the little girls' room and asks some random lady for assistance.

Katie Higgins:  "Excuse me, where's the restroom?"

Older Lady:  After a glance at Miss Higgins' outfit "Low-cut shirt, huh? Where is your stupid blouse?"

Her shirt was not low cut by most standards, and Katie was hurt by this, as it was a strong bit of unnecessary judgment, but she managed to stay strong.

End of side story.

After the meal, many of us walked around outside before loading the busses. This allowed for an opportunity to view the Amish way of life. It may not seem like much on paper, but I thought it was so interesting to see a man plowing a field using literal horse-power. I suppose it was the kind of thing I had only seen on television.

Past all of this, it was time to get back on the road. Our next destination: Church of the Apostles UCC in Lancaster, Pa.

To be completely honest, after singing in the National Cathedral, every other church performance starts to blend together. But because it's what we do, the Singers all put on our singing faces and kept the energy up as we performed our set to a beautiful domed church and a pretty receptive crowd.

Upon leaving with our new host family, Rob and I get into the car with the wife who doesn't normally drive, potentially a little unnerving, but hey, it was a short drive to their house. Unfortunately, on this short drive, we managed to turn left into a counterclockwise traffic circle — ALWAYS unnerving. Rob grabbed my leg and we looked at each other, fear in our eyes. Her thoughts (after the left turn, mind you) — "I know you're not supposed to do this, but it's just a little quicker this way." Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic, and obviously, we survived.

We remained all smiles during our time visiting the nice old couple. We learned that almost everyone in their family is a champion swimmer. The wife was really sweet and served us grilled cheese sandwiches, which are about as comfortable as comfort foods get.

The night was just fine, except that due to a feather pillow allergy, Rob woke up with crusted eyes and a swollen face. No, I don't have a picture; I'm not that kind of roommate. But it was a little funny, at least in retrospect.

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