What a great day! Soft rain during the night but pretty and bright in the morning. We set off for Amish Country….only 30 minutes from here.
Found an great old barn on the way there, with a ‘CHEW MAIL POUCH TOBACCO’ sign. Apparently…the ad still works, the farmer, that sold us a basket of tomatoes a few miles down the road was “a chew’n” away!
The countryside is just unbelievably beautiful. So many people have a lot of acreage and they all keep them mowed and well cared for. You just don’t see junky houses. There must be some around…somewhere! Deep woods and wild flowers everywhere. Beautiful little farms. And this was before we got there! Forget Disneyland…just go to ‘CHARM’ a tiny Amish Village. It’s like being on the set of a movie. The Amish don’t like to be photographed so much of what I saw will just be a wonderful memory….but I got a few long distance shots…of buggies on old country roads and parked outside of the general store.
We went to an Amish restaurant in Charm, called HOMESTEAD. I had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy with dressing. Rick and I took one bite…looked at each other and decided that we might as well just die now because this was the peak experience! In the kitchen was a bevy of little apple cheeked Amish ladies turning out the best food I’ve ever tasted. (Well…since mom died anyway.) And I’m not kidding…the gravy was unbelievable. I wanted to go in there and hold their little Amish bonnets to the flames until they gave me the recipe!
We drove for hours looking at the beautiful Amish farms in the area. Moments stand out…rows and rows of little Amish outfits hanging on clothes lines all alike. A man shoeing a horse while a wide-eyed little boy watched. Just little glimpses of a simple life. Two little girls in bonnets…peeking out the back of a buggy at us. We kept seeing little ‘houses’ (for the want of a better word) at the foot of each driveway…Some of them quite fancy. We decided that they were for the children to wait for a school bus…but they don’t travel in buses! Then, low and behold, here comes the ‘bus’…. full of kids…..A two team wagon…sort of like a covered wagon, with canvas sides that were held up by rope. And a dozen children, with straw hats and little bonnets…gazing out at us.
We found an Amish Flea Market…Man I liked to never get out of there. There were so many things I wanted! Got a great signed print of an Amish wagon and barn…in the snow. And the prices were so good….lucky we don’t live closer. (Although I’m tempted!)
One farm offered buggy rides….and we took one with a sweet young Amish boy and his horse ‘Blue’. He was so proud of that horse…said he had “some Arabian in him and he could just go all day”. The horse lifted his tail and started to do what horses do and the boy stopped him in his tracks. I, city girl that I am, said” Can’t he walk and do that at the same time?” He gave me a funny look and said “Well sure…but then I’d have to scoop up a bunch of piles instead of one”! And he was way too polite to laugh at the stupid “English”. (as they call all outsiders} We wandered through the barn. They had some’ barn kitties’ for free…but Rick…the meanie…wouldn’t let me take one!
There were two little kid twins born a week before…just leaping and kicking and having themselves a great at time. And a couple of new piglets……ahhhhh what a nice day!
And then since we were sooo close to Charm still.. yes…we went back and had home baked pie and hand made ice cream. I guess the Amish are close to God…at least their cooking sure is!