We ventured out to Amish country in Southern Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 12, 2013. We had a delightful visit, accentuated by the fact that we avoided the incessant rain that had pelted the region during the past 2 days (6 inches in 2 days). However, first things first. At 0000 hours (midnight), Sat. October 12, my boys and I made a pre-trip sacred pilgrammage to a place called Gamestop, where we joined 50 other southern Pennsylvanians anxiously awaiting the release of something called Pokémon X and Y. Surprisingly, my kids were the only people in the store under 16 (maybe that has something to do with my parenting skills).
One item of note was when an enormous man walked into the store wearing a t-shirt proclaiming "Walking Dead Survivor." Something to consider, for sure. He seemed a gentle giant, though, as he calmly took his place in Group 6 of the small throng amassed to pay exorbitant prices for children's entertainment. It is also intriguing to note the niche of the GameStop employee - a group of friendly, able, unquestionably dedicated personnel to their pursuit of all things gaming. They carry a certain spirit about them that certainly lends itself to gaming. They were pleased to welcome the presence of the boys and quickly assured us that our Virginia Gamestop store would reimburse us the $5 that we paid for pre-ordering these games in VA.
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| Arriving at revered Gamestop at a bewitching hour |
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| The transfer of property |
On to the Amish...our first stop in the small but crowded village of Bird-in-Hand turned out to be a lively Amish market store. Here we found many sweets and other precious goods to tickle our fancy, including 2 gigantic pumpkins costing only $5 each. It was also notable that the boys were "of a pleasant demeanor" during this stop for one of the only times during our séjour this day. We also dabbed into the neighboring hamlet of Intercourse, which is a thriving Amish tourist community in spite of being the butt of countless jokes.
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| Making apple cider doughnuts |
It appears difficult to actually be with the Amish, rather than find the tourist perspective of the Amish, but we gave it the old college try. What I can conclude is that the Amish are dedicated people, talented farmers, and fairly reserved folk. It was fun to see several buggies sharing the traffic lanes with the cars and we did see lots of Amish people. One of the coolest things we saw was a bike/scooter combination being utilized by teenage boys - the young men would "scooter along" as there was a foot rest for scootering, though the contraption looked like it could be ridden as a bike as well.
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| The Deluxe Buggy |
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| Been waiting to see this sign my whole life |
It was fun to taste this homegrown root beer, unlike any that I have tried before. The root beer was not too sweet, but had plenty of soul. I enjoyed it more and more after each Dixie cup refill. Next, we went on a buggy ride led by John, a retired Amish farmer who now leads tourists on buggy rides. I enjoyed his distinct Penn Amish dialect (I didn't understand about 10% of what he said), and he gave a good overview of Amish life. Amish children attend school in a 1-room schoolhouse from 1st-8th grade (all together), classes are often taught by teenagers. After 8th grade, students do 1 day a week of vocational training, but that is the end of their formal education. Men farm corn, soybeans, etc. while women make clothing, do house chores, etc. A simple life that the Amish seem content with. As part of the tenets of their religion, the Amish do not use electricity, but instead use natural gas and solar heating, surely in more prosperous and efficient ways than the rest of us use electricity.
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| Don't know how we conned this boy into smiling for this picture on board this buggy |
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| John, our Amish buggy leader, sharing his tales with the pack |
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| A true Amish gentleman and a true tourist |
Finally, as the boys were waring down, I toured America's first pretzel bakery, Julius Sturgis, in Lititz, PA. It was fun molding my first pretzel dough and learning how the Sturgis family pounded the dough, heated the dough in 550 degree ovens to make soft pretzels, and later put the soft pretzels in hot rooms for hardening. As a sidenote, do not pass up the opportunity to eat a few of Sturgis's Jalapeño pretzels - a beautiful creation.
Truer words were never spoken than "Oregon Dairy is More than Just Milk." What it is a pleasureable world of a large corn maze, a highly respectable playground replete with a horse swing (see pictures below), a fine general store, and a delightful restaurant. We enjoyed PA specialties at the buffet including chicken pot pie and stuffed ham. A great conclusion to a very fun day.
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| Horse swing |
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| A pumpkin whoopie pie sundae, a taste of whoopie pie heaven here on earth, and a fine precursor to "Fast Sunday." |
