A Real Change of Pace

Easter Sunday

We left our Accommodation in Washington, DC for a scenic drive to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Leaving Washington we drove up the Potomac River with great views back over the city and then driving out into the countryside. The kids were amused that we passed through three different states within the first half an hour of driving (District of Columbia, Virginia and Pennsylvania). We were all looking forward to getting out of the city and having some space, peace and quiet. As usual Philip planned the route. Washington to our next accommodation at Intercourse should take 2.5 hours, Philips route took us about 6 hours.

As we neared Lancaster and turned onto the road to Intercourse and Bird in Hand, the kids eyes widened as we saw our first horse and carriages. We arrived at our accommodation to find a lovely country style cottage with lots of bedrooms, hand made quilts and a cosy fireplace. We were joined briefly during the evening by our host and he casually sat in the lounge of our cottage chatting about where we were from and telling us a little of this history of the home which has been in his wife’s family for 7 generations (since 1865).( Claire had great delight telling everyone that the toilet seat has a fluffy cover)

Easter Monday

This morning we awoke to squeals of delight from Hugh and Claire upstairs as they discovered that the ground was blanketed in white snow and that it was actually still snowing. The kids squeals were very soon followed by my own (Jo’s) as this is one of the experiences I had been hoping would happen! (P- fact correction – Jo’s excitement far outweighed the kids and commenced before the kids, she really had a smile on her Dial!) The snow laid on the ground for a good few hours before disappearing and leaving behind rolling green hills dotted with farm houses and barns. A lovely breakfast delivered by Anna, owner of the farm, which consisted of fresh farm eggs (an improvement on the insipid eggs you buy over here), homemade corn bread, homemade yoghurt and home made apricot jam.

Following this breakfast we went for a leisurely drive through some of the backroads of the area in search of the covered bridges. We then arrived in a town called Strasburg for a buggy ride in a traditional Amish horse and buggy. What a great experience… our Mennonite guide was very explanatory and told us about farming and schooling within the Amish communities. Pa, Tristram and the kids had a quiet afternoon while mum and I headed out to look at a few quilt shops and wander the streets of Intercourse and Bird in Hand. The evening was capped off with a wonderful meal shared in an Amish home. Our hosts Sarah and John Beiler cooked us a wonderful traditional Amish meal and very happily answered our questions about their way of life.

(P- Sarah and John equally asked questions about our lives and John and Tristram struck accord when they found out each other were Pyro’s (my words for volunteer firemen 🚒). When Sara was asked did she Quilt she very quickly replied “No I sew but quilting is too slow for me, I will buy my grandchildren comforters I certainly won’t be quilting them!” – that fixed the illusion that every Amish lady quilts very quickly! Sara’s mother made four quilts for each of her children as they were married. She had 10 children.

Many a joke and story was shared in a very special evening – even the kids went out and played with Sarah and John’s 3 youngest children. They have come home this evening to our Amish home with no electricity or lighting apart from torches and lanterns, no radio, wifi or tv and no microwave, very much wiser to a different culture and way of life. Note- a buggy can come complete with LED lights, Disk Brakes, and Air suspension and can cost upwards of $15,000 add a $7-10,000 horse to the buggy and the kit isn’t exactly cheap! )

We stopped at “The Village Farm Market” for a quick look. We were only just in the door and were very warmly welcomed by the owner and his wife who wanted to know where we were all from. And as a gift for first time visitors they gave us a Shoo Fly Pie and a dozen cookies for the kids. We also bought some other goodies to try as well. It was a great little market even providing precooked and frozen meals, shepherds pie, lasagnes, chicken dishes etc as well as many different pies, apple, lemon meringue, pecan. Could have spent quite a bit here.