A Visit to Amish Country
Note: Not all of the photos I took this day could be put up here, but I have a set uploaded to my gallery here, two pages!
I had been to the Amish Country before, once with Marta and Pepe, and it rained and didn’t really know where we were going, then went with John and around Lancaster got lost and not sure where we ended up but we saw nice scenery. So when I found out that my sister and her husband go there kinda regular, I asked her if I could tag along one day and learn more about this place I only seem to get lost in and rained on.
Well between the two of us, finding us both in Maryland at the same time is getting difficult but we at last settled on a date and time to go, with Laura and Miranda with kids coming along too!
So Tuesday this week we packed up the car and went for a nice day outing to Pennsylvania, which Rubà learned to pronounce perfectly. 🙂
Pennsylvania holds the record for funny town names. There’s Bird-in-Hand, Climax, Hazard, Jugtown, Intercourse, Noodle Doosie, Paradise, Puseyville, Punxsutawney, Rough & Ready, and that’s just for starters! Have a look here for the origin of these names. This trip out I wanted to see Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse and whatever Linda suggested.
And we were off.
At least we could tell the children we were in Pennsylvania. Silas claimed this could NOT be Pennsylvania as there were CARS on the road. (Apparently he saw way too much of the Amish brochures in horse and buggies and had decided there were no cars in all of Pennsylvania. So we had some explaining to do there.
Linda made our first stop to the outlets. We found a few things there to my surprise, glass milk bottles I had been looking all over for!
The scenery was just lovely.
Amish farms are very charming as are the countryside in this part of PA.
Did you know the Amish grow tobacco? For generations, tobacco has been the lifeblood–or “mortgage lifter” as some have dubbed it–for the closely knit, devoutly religious Amish community of 19,000 in Lancaster County.
Cute to see a sign warning us of Amish Buggy rides.
And see them we did…
…again and again.
They are a regular tourist attraction.
Nevertheless it was always a thrill to see one go by!
There were Weeping Willow trees everywhere and they just happen to be one of my favorite trees.
We made a stop and came across this cute and curious goat.
They were quick to know when someone had food for them.
Rubà takes the barnyard scene in.
We meet yet another buggy as we head down the road once again.
Finally at Bird-in-Hand, this is where we ate lunch.
Inside they also had some sweets. I couldn’t help but wish Alejandra was with us to see the cupcakes. 🙂
Lovely cakes inside too!
Silas gets a doughnut treat!
Rubà liked the icing.
Bird-in-Hand shopping!
Silas joins the jack-o-lanterns.
Inside the shop was adorable from start to finish.
Rubà pauses to stop and smell some flowers.
Linda knows how to relax!
Until Silas came along wanting the swing to go higher and higher. Linda had to explain this wasn’t that kind of swing.
Laura and Rubà take a break too!
A lawn ornament for sale became a big source of fun for Rubà …
…making cute Rubà faces in it.
Adorable. 🙂
Back on the road…
…to Intercourse! This by the way is up there with the most stolen town signs.
And the rest of the story for the day was…
…the rain!
The rain was so bad I had put my camera away, so I captured this with my cell phone.
But Laura got the shot of the day or Rubà reaching for the rain.
The ride home was between downpours and the sun coming out.
Imagine my surprise when as we rode out, I saw a sign for the AUSTRALIAN Walkabout Inn Bed and Breakfast!
An Australian Inn right here in Pennsylvania???! Might have to check that out sometime with John!
Plowing the field the old fashioned way.
Back into Maryland crossing the Conowingo Dam with a gorgeous sky above us.
We had a fun day and I am really looking forward to going back!
