I'm John Batchelor to Lancaster County, the best county in the Keystone State,

Jim McTag, former Washington editor of Barron's Magazine, now a novelist in Lancaster County

and other environs roaming around looking for prices and the American economy because

of Lancaster's doing well, Keystone State's doing well, and if the Keystone State is doing well, so is east coast, maybe the whole country.

Jim, you begin this week's journey in Harrisburg, the state capital.

Where were you and what did you see?

Good evening to you.

Good evening, John.

I was on my way to my dermatologist who was in Camp Hill, and I went through Harrisburg across the river, across the Susquehanna, and on the banks of the Susquehanna in a place called Wormleysburg, that's not very attractive name. There's a wonderful little restaurant called Dockside Willies. Well, actually, it's quite large. It's construction

to give you the impression that you're in Key West Florida. I mean, it has a river view,

you know, beautiful water view. They have plastic palm trees. So you have palm trees,

winter, summer, spring, and autumn. And there were quite a few people in there, and they were all baby boomers.

You know, the baby boomers are feeling pretty chipper and powering the economy.

And Doc Side Willie's waiter had a trainee with him. She was shadowing him.

And she did a really good job, you know, as soon as I took my first mouthful of salad,

she rushed over to ask me if there was anything else I needed. I think waiters and waitresses

are trained because that's when you can't tell them

anything. So I think they rush over deliberately when your mouth is full to ask you if there's

anything more else that you need. What the prices look like compared to the last time you were

there? Steady. They're holding their prices pretty low. I had a wonderful crab cake salad, one crab cake, but it's a huge salad. I couldn't

finish it. It was $22. So they are hiring. At least there's evidence of hiring. All right,

let's leave the Cessquahana and drive to Lancaster. You bought gas at Turkey Hill. What is

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