Day 29

The night before I'd researched about 8 tour options for the Pennsylvania Amish Country. While I'm fascinated by the culture, I try to be sensitive to invading the privacy of the people. I decided on an experience that would show the kids how a typical family might live including a bus tour.

The kids slept in again while I got everything ready for the day. I'm beginning to think I need to send the kids down to breakfast 30 minutes before me because they take so long to feast! Once they were finally finished with their three breakfasts, we got on the road to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This community boasts the second largest population of Amish in the world.

We arrived at the property just in time for the house tour. The house on the property was built in 1805 and was occupied by an Amish family at one time but now was simply a museum. We were taken around the house as our guide described the customs and culture of the Amish people.

We learned about the typical dress of all ages of boys and girls, ladies and men for work days, church days, and wedding days. We learned the history of the culture, how they typically make a living, and the reasons why some are moving out of the area. Once the house tour was over the kids couldn't wait to go see some of the animals on the farm. 

We met the donkey, miniature horse, travel horse, baby goats, chickens, quail, and peacock. The kids would have loved to stay with the baby goats for the rest of the day. I have to admit they were pretty adorable and loved the attention.

With the promise of returning we hopped on the bus for a 90 minute tour.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the area as well as the Amish culture. We heard some of what our home guide had told us but much more about their work, life, and farms.  There were many farms where the men were working on the buildings, with the animals, or in the field. We passed several horse and buggies along the way full of families.

About 30 minutes after we left we stopped at an Amish roadside stand with all kinds of interesting things to buy. A young boy offered us a pretzel sample and we made sure to be first in line for our own. These pretzels were the best I have ever had in my entire life. They were warm and just melted with each bite. Sorry, I hope you're not reading this at lunch time!

Our next stop was at a quilt shop that had some stunning designs. The lady running the shop has about 75 Amish women making quilts and other items for her to sell. This was the only instance where we saw any kind of wire coming to the property for a telephone outside the office. The families didn't use the phone as it was only there in case a liability issue with tourists occurred.

The kids and I walked down to the pond on the property to see the pair of swans. They came right up to us expecting to be fed but alas I only had a quarter. They were so elegant as they spun around in the water in front of us.

The fact that the Amish live without electricity is true. They do not want to be connected to the outside world. They have lights fueled by propane or kerosene. They have propane stoves and refrigerators. There are no radios, tvs, cell phones, or ipads. There are no cars or modern farm machinery. They have indoor plumbing sometimes pumped by windmills or water wheels.

Their simple lifestyle is fascinating to me and their emphasis on closeness of the family is something I believe we all could strive for. I especially love how the family all lives together and takes care of each other as older family members do not go into nursing homes.

We walked around the farm a little while once we got back and made sure to stop by the one room school house. It's always interesting to the kids how other kids learn. We also got to test out the "push and go" scooters the kids rode to get around. We'd seen a bunch parked at the roadside stand and several older kids riding them down the streets. I do believe they liked these better than their own scooters!

After milking the "cow" we walked through the gift shop to pick up a few things then headed home. The kids were excited to finish their olympic races and watch possibly our last night of Olympics. Lucky for us we made it just in time for chocolate chip cookies! We had to wait out a storm before swimming, but we did make it out there with plenty of time for fun. 

Day 11

Our site at this campground was set right next to a group of boy souts camping on several sites instead of the group camp area. The standard quiet hours are usually 10pm to 6am at most places. It was the boy scouts that woke me up at midnight. And not the scouts, the adults!!  I guess we just need to get deeper in the woods!

I had some writing and editing of pictures to finish, so I got up pretty early while there were bunnies, chipmunks and birds hopping hopefully all around me. Definitely a more acceptable kind of wildlife at our campsite! Once the kids were up we were out of there within 30 minutes again. We're getting pretty good at this!

We had a long drive again this morning so the kids watched "Night at the Museum" getting ready for our visit to New York in a week. Most of our drive was on mountain backroads which seems to be really affecting my shoulder. I've been trying to relax more when driving, but it sure is difficult on those winding roads! At some point we entered into New York, but I have no idea when as there was no sign!

Instead of going directly to the campground, the kids opted for a visit a little bit out of the way at Fly Creek Cider Mill. Their eyes lit up as we walked inside and were told they could sample everything that was out. They got to work trying salsas, dips, marinades, cheese, apples, peanut brittle and fudge. I limited them to one sample of fudge and they tried their hardest to negotiate for a purchase with our rendevous with Grammie coming up.

                                        

Next we went upstairs to learn just how their cider is made. It was super interesting for all of us as we've never even been close enough to a place we can pick apples in the fall. Their harvest is in just a month and the equipment they use is right there in the middle of the store all run with a water wheel and lots of belts. The engine is so old it still uses kerosene and was made by the company that eventually became John Deere.  They also use tractors they use from way back then for hauling and farm work.

Outside there were ducks to feed and of course once we saw it we just had to sample the cider float! The consensus was it was tasty, but a root beer float is much better.



Leaving Pennsylvania in the morning we traded the Allegheny Mountains for the Catskills at our campground on the eastern edge of the forest. The campground was huge with tons of people camping and in the day use area.

Once we were set up the kids were begging for food so they had a huge stack of pancakes and we headed to the beach area. Swimming without a lifeguard present was prohibited so we headed up a short trail to the view of the Mountain Hotel from the early 1900s. The journey there was difficult for the people fortunate enough to stay there but they were rewarded with spectacular views of the Hudson River Valley.

According to the information there, guests were awoken at sunrise to take in the view. I thought about hiking up there the next morning but with the strict bear warnings in the park, I was too chicken to go solo.  It will have to be added to my bucket list with Dave.

The kids looked at the view for all of 3.5 seconds and started to play, so we decided to head to the playground. They played for almost 2 hours! I guess the car ride was annoying for them too!  I'm not sure what they were playing but I heard horrible British accents in the production of a new science fiction movie I believe. They even acted out the deleted scenes and bloopers!

By the time they finished playing the sun was dropping behind the mountain so we sat and watched for a wonderful end to our day.

Until we got back to our campsite and Brayden couldn't find his glasses.  I did mention he is responsibility-challenged.  Luckily for him, Laney remembered seeing them at the top of the mountain so we raced back up there and grabbed them. The next time this happens, they will be duct taped to his head.