they just want to be left alone

We were busting our boiler to get there in time - Dad thought we were in good time but the last 20 miles or so were on single lane roads... with heaps of lights and heaps of traffic! But luckily the ticket salesman saw us rush by and held the bus up for a minute or 2 - just enough time for us to make a u-turn (not always easy to find a spot in a 35 footer)

This was a relief because they only do 1 tour per day at this time of the year and I'm glad we didn't miss it because it was a real eye opener. The circuit took us around the Amish country and stopped at 4 places. The first stop was at an Amish Bakery where they were giving out free hot drinks and biscuits. There was also some Mennonites working there, really hard to tell the difference, they both dress funny! We got some postcards there for our grandparents also (just for old time's sake!).

The next stop was at an Amish home... well it was more of a shop next to the guys home. Inside there were all these home made crafts, goods & food that they was selling - we got a proper block of Amish cheese and a chicken pie for dinner (& is was good!).

After that we headed over to the local winery (not Amish!) were we got to have hot chocolate in a wine glass - what luck!!

These people are basically Christian but have some strange customs – they believe things should be the way they were before electricity and cars. Therefor they have to use horse carriages, also known as buggies. The fourth and final stop was at the top of the valley purely for photo ops. A few years ago some bureaucrats were were very unkind to the Amish – they built roads right through peoples properties. So for some families the house is on one side of the road and the animals graze on the other.

On the tour we also leant that the kids had no holidays and their school only goes up to 8th grade. They are all taught in 1 room schools with all years in together. Their school goes between October through May non stop every day so that the rest of the year they can help on the farm with the harvest etc.

Everywhere you go, there are horse and buggies going around. Even in the campground at night you could hear a regular clop clopidy clop going past. There are some amazing industries, like buggy building, and also guys who repair old ploughs and other farm equipment that isn't made any more. Do you know that a buggy with all the options goes for around $7k. And they have to have lights, flashers etc so come with a battery underneath!

The towns near to Lancaster have such strange names, e.g. Bird-in-hand, Ronks and even a town called Intercourse! We spent the night at a campground in Ronks, off to check out some old battlegrounds tomorrow.

love from Amy