Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Today we explored some of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Our route included mostly backroads from where we are staying into the Lancaster, PA area, with the destination being the Mennonite Information Center. We watched an informational film entitled "Who are the Amish" since neither Mike or I knew much about their way of life (and we did't have the internet to look it up). Along the way, we passed many Amish farms. I noticed that they usually had the windows open (no electricity, thus no air conditioning) and the clothes lines were full and hung high with the days wash. Also, if I saw a car, I ruled it out. We saw a lot of beautiful gardens and well kept homes and yards. Many homes had signs near the road advertising homemade Root Beer, hand decorated gourd bird houses, fresh picked flowers, veggies and fruits, and even chicken, rabbit, and other meats. We finished off the day with a meal at a local restaurant advertising Amish and Mennonite cooking. It was buffet style and pretty good, though basically just good home cooking.

This evening, the campground had a band playing 50's, 60's, and 70's music. We walked over to check it out and everyone seemed to be having a great time. On the way, we were walking with flashlights because it was dark outside, Mike convinced me to take a shortcut through the woods. He went first down the "trail". About a minute into it, he said, "There's a skunk". I looked up and there was a skunk about 10 feet ahead of us crossing the trail. That was enough for me. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Mike thought I was overreacting but why take the chance of getting sprayed by a skunk! We saw the same skunk on the way home too. It had wandered out to the road but soon wandered off, clearing the way to the motorhome.