Last weekend, we celebrated my birthday with a road trip to Amish Country. If you’ve never been to an Amish area (mostly clustered in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) it looks like this:
Along with a lot of cows in fields and somber apparel drying on clothes lines. It’s not our favorite thing to do, but we hadn’t gone in a few years, and it’s doable in one day. Holmes County, where we were headed, has the largest population of Amish in the U.S.
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| Our first stop was Heini’s (yes, you read that right) Cheese Chalet. You can watch them stir the cheese curds, etc. in big vats behind glass windows. It sells rows and rows of cheese and other delicacies. |
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My husband and daughter chose these cheeses to take home. We were prepared with a cooler in the trunk, as it wasn't our first Amish rodeo. Then we walked across the street to Kauffman's Bakery.
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Rather than get a birthday cake this year, I opted for a few of my favorite dessert: Creamsticks. Nope, we don't call them Longjohns because they're food, not undergarments. This is a chocolate peanut butter creamstick. (Not my picture; ours were eaten before photo could be taken)
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Our next stop was Sheiyah Market. We had never been here. It featured a gift shop, garden center and greenhouse. The decor was pure Magnolia (Chip & Joanna Gaines' store, for you HGTV viewers). Afterwards, we went to a little bistro for lunch. I had a veggie quiche with tomato basil soup. It was probably the healthiest entree in all of Holmes County. They are known for their 'truck driver' meals.
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A trip to Amish would not be complete if we didn't stop by 'Tis the Season, a year-round Christmas shop. I took this photo from the second floor. We bought an ornament for both our grandkids and Middle Child chose a microphone ornament, because she loves to sing. We also stopped at Coblentz Chocolates to pick up some goodies.
Next, we headed to my initial idea behind the trip. An open air art museum at the Inn at Honeyrun. The art was installed about three years ago. We had stayed at the Inn way back in the '90's for a quick anniversary trip. They are known for their 'honeycomb rooms' which are built into the side of a hill. The entire property is beautiful. The art walk is located in the woods and is 1.5 miles in length. Here are some photos from our walk. |
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| Not art, but I came upon this little seating area where someone had left mini cairns. |
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| Our favorite piece of art was this canopy of paint sticks that sounded delightful when a breeze was blowing through. |
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| Art using all recycled glass from the Inn. |
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| Nature themed haikus were attached to large rocks along the path. |
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'Primitive Gateways'
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Our last stop of the day was Lehman's Hardware. It's enormous and is more junk than actual hardware. Fun to browse, but we didn't buy anything.
Have you ever visited an Amish area? |
I have never been to Amish Country here in PA, although we have a market in Center City called, The Reading Terminal, in which the Amish have several food booths. And I have to say, I love their food. It's always so fresh and tasty. The have a bakery where they make baked apples with cinnamon and they are to die for!
ReplyDeleteLove your photographs! OMG, that Christmas shop looks AMAZING! That chocolate peanut butter creamstick looks delicious. I'm curious, is a creamstick the same as an eclair because it looks like a choclate eclair? And would have gone crazy in that Heini's Cheese Chalet because I'm obsessed with cheese -- and heini's as well LOL!
That open air art museum is just beautiful!
Thanks so much for sharing your day, my friend. And Happy Belated Birthday! Have a super weekend! X
That’s interesting about The Reading Terminal and the apples sound yummy. No, I would say an eclair is different. Creamsticks are the same dough as a raised doughnut that is fried, like a glazed one. I’ve made eclairs and they are baked and less dense. Some creamsticks have a yellow custard filling, but I much prefer the white cream ones. Lol, on the heini’s! Isn’t that a funny name? Thanks for stopping by so early!
DeleteThanks so much for explaining the difference!
DeleteYou’re welcome!
DeleteThere are a couple of 'Amish areas' in Michigan - one along the Ohio-Indiana state lines, and another further north, around Mt. Pleasant, which happens to be the area where my dad grew up. We were up for a family reunion on a Sunday afternoon a few years ago, and we drove past a barn where there must have been 50 buggies parked for the church service.
ReplyDeleteFor our 40th anniversary last summer, our kids bought us an Amish-made porch swing. Amazing craftsmanship; it even has a fold-down center console with cup-holders. . .
I didn’t know about those areas in Michigan. Yes, they do nice craftsmanship. The house I grew up in was built by Amish. So different than the Ryan home my husband and I bought as our first home. Lol!
DeleteWhat a nice birthday day trip. We have a small Amish community here but the only business I know of is a restaurant, and it is fantastic of course!
ReplyDeleteOh, that’s interesting in Florida! Do a lot of truck drivers eat there? Lol, I’m just kidding. The food is very heavy to me.
DeleteI have! When we lived in Northwest Indiana from '79 (wedding summer) until '91 and the kids were small, we used to drive them over to Rossford (Toledo) to stay with Grandma and Grandpa (his parents) while we took a few days to tour Amish country. Mostly Lancaster County. We were there again in 2011 and I did not enjoy it as much, but I would LOVE to go to Holmes County and see what you have pictured and described here. Especially the open-air art ... I mean, especially the Creamsticks, haaahaa xoxo
ReplyDeleteSo kind of you to visit, Jenny! That’s nice that you had the chance to visit some large Amish communities. I’ve been to Lancaster twice and it’s a lovely area, but quite a boring drive on that PA turnpike. I hope you get to experience Holmes County sometime and I highly recommend those honeycomb rooms at the Inn at Honeyrun. And don’t miss out on the creamsticks!
DeleteI've never been to an Amish area so that was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteYes, I don’t picture any Amish in Vegas! Lol.
DeleteWe used to fly fish on a stream that runs through a Mennonite Farm, they allow access as long as you are respectful. They were always friendly and waved from their horse drawn truck, but they did use some power tools, not as strict as the Amish apparently.
ReplyDeleteThat’s interesting. No, they are not as strict. My oldest had a college roommate whose family was Mennonite. Her mother and grandmother wore tiny head coverings and only dresses/skirts, but otherwise, they didn’t do anything differently than the rest of us.
DeleteHappy belated birthday! Glad you could celebrate it a bit "normally" this year! Looked like a fun/interesting adventure. That walk that you shared with us was just grand! I would enjoy doing it myself. Really, who could resist a Christmas shop no matter what time of the year (funny I like to look through them and haven't put up a tree in years). Sounded like a great way to celebrate getting a year older :) The closest I've seen of the Amish was visiting my sister/family in the DC area. Driving in the Maryland area we saw a horse and buggy with Amish driving them. We have a colony (not sure that is the right word) of Mennonites here and sometimes if we are out and about at the right time we'll see them walking home from church in clothes one would expect Mennonites to be wearing.
ReplyDeletebetty
Thank you! I had a nice birthday weekend. We went to a French restaurant Saturday night and it was fabulous. Aren’t Christmas stores fun? We’ve been to the huge one in Frankenmuth, MI a few times. Mennonites walking home in AZ sounds sweltering!
DeleteLooks like a fun outing! That's probably my one regret from our recent road trip to Ohio: not stopping by an Amish village. Eventually we'll get back out that way (if for no other reason than to stock up on cans of Skyline chili), and are definitely planning a visit to Amish country when we do.
ReplyDeleteWell, there’s always Amazon for the chili. I buy the Cincinnati Recipe brand of chili seasoning in envelopes and make it myself once or twice a year. It’s delicious!
DeleteApols are in order: First of all I forgot to wish you a belated but no less sincere Happy Birthday! Second, I misspoke when I said we went to Lancaster County in the '80s. In that era it was Shipshewana and Nappanee, more like. It was much later -- the early oughts -- when we visited Lancaster County in Pennsylvania and went to the Sight and Sound Theater and ate at Shady Maple Smorgasbord. OK as you were. Having a good weekend I hope. xoxo
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks so much! A friend of mine went to Shipshewana and really enjoyed it. Our main reason for going to Lancaster area was Hershey!
DeleteWhenever I'm in the States, you know back in the days when we were allowed to travel, I used to watch Chip & Joanna Gaines. I thought she was very talented although I never really liked the look she created. All a bit too farmhouse country for me.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had an interesting trip. Who can resist smoked cheese?
I’m not a fan of Chip, but I do like Joanna, and I agree that she’s talented. Their farmhouse decor still seems quite popular, if the shops we visited are an indicator. My husband loves smoked cheese. I prefer Vermont white cheddar and Cotswold, from your part of the world.
DeleteI do like to visit Amish country. We go to Shipshewana frequently and walk through the flea markets and furniture shops. Cute little area. We also like to go to Amish Acres. I believe it's a farmland area run by 3 generations of the same family. They have restaurants and a little round barn where plays are often performed. My daughter's boyfriend has an 80 year old grandma who is obsessed with the Amish. She'd probably be Amish if she could. Alas, she lives in Florida where I don't think there are many Amish so she gets her fill in when she visits good old Indiana.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who really enjoyed Shipshewana. Lol about grandma! I wonder what she likes so much about the culture?
DeleteI have no idea what she likes so much about the Amish, but the only books she reads are Amish ones and she's always yammering on about their culture. Maybe she just longs for a simpler life than the one she led? I remember when we landed in London I saw a bunch of Amish folk at Kings Cross Station. IDK why I was shocked to see them there. I mean, I just thought they stuck to rural American.
DeleteOh boy, don’t get me started on the Amish books....lol, I probably did a post on it years ago. Our library is full of them and I’m like, WHY? Yes, that would have been strange to see them in London!
DeleteNever been, but how cool this all sounds.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting!
DeleteNo Amish in the UK, so I know nothing about them. I had a google, and discovered some of their very strict rules, like prohibiting buttons and zippers, insisting on men wearing beards and women never getting their hair cut.
ReplyDeleteWe don't bother with birthday cakes, we prefer a box of Lindt truffles!
I like the open air art gallery. Nothing like that here. We've been to the open air sculpture park in Seattle which was fun.
I think the most unusual custom of theirs is not using cars, followed by no electricity. I love visiting outdoor sculpture gardens.
DeleteIt's interesting that all Amish communities aren't equally 'strict'; each community (with its bishops) 'sets its own level' of comfort with modern amenities. So you might have a group of families sharing a phone that lives in a booth on the side of the road, so long as it's not in any of their houses. Or, they might have a generator to run a refrigeration unit for milk on their dairy farm, so long as they don't have public power connected to their barns. But other groups might think those things are a bridge too far. To 'modern' eyes, it can seem arbitrary and bizarre, but if you take the trouble to understand their mindset, you can see where it's coming from. . .
ReplyDeleteI’m not a fan of their practices, as I see some of it as hypocrisy at best and idolatry at worst. There was a big scandal here a while back with a bishop and his cult of followers. It involved midnight raids of hair cutting and beard shavings (and photos taken with disposable cameras!) of those who disagreed with them, along with adultery as a side dish. You can’t make that stuff up!
DeleteA belated happy birthday! It looks like you had a great time :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteLaughing at your "not our first amish rodeo" comment. :) I've not been to Amish Country. yet. The cremestick looks interesting; something I've never heard of before.
ReplyDeleteThe outdoor art does look like fun and why have I never heard of an outside art installation before? maybe because I live in the most humid/hot state ever? Probably.
Happy belated birthday; I hope your day was all you expected!
You’ve never heard of a creamstick??? Well, they are often called longjohns by those who don’t know any better. Lol. I’m surprised that others have commented on not having outdoor art. Weather is not a factor as we are often covered in ice and snow. There are outdoor galleries in places like D.C., so I don’t think humidity is an issue. It usually involves metal pieces.
DeleteA belated happy birthday to you! I have never visited an Amish area before but I'm pretty sure there is one within driving distance somewhere! When I worked at the hospital we used to see Amish in there all the time. That is some unusual glass art and looks like a great area to explore!
ReplyDeleteThanks! My oldest is a nurse and also had Amish patients from time to time. Yes, you are probably close to one of their communities.
DeleteHappy Birthday, Bijoux! I wish you all kinds of love and happiness!
ReplyDeleteAnd what a fantastic trip! You had my eyes rolling with the cheese photo because I love that stuff so much I can't have it the house.
The creamstick looked delicious. Is that also known as an eclair? Forgive me for the pastry confusion, but I'm on a diet.
I visited Amish country in Pennsylvania once when I was a child, but I was too young to really appreciate it. Perhaps it's time for another visit...
Take care and, once again, Happy Birthday!
Thanks, Rob. Cheese is yummy, but I restrict myself to once a week indulgence. No, an eclair is a baked puffy, egg pastry with a custard filling (usually). A creamstick is a fried raised donut, similar to glazed. They just poke a hole through the middle and fill it.
DeleteI think a lot of us visited Lancaster, PA as kids if we’re from the eastern part of the US. It’s a pretty place to visit. Have a great week!
This reminds me of the trip we had to the Amish village in Philadelphia in 2019.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a nice trip to the States.
DeleteHappy birthday my friend!!
ReplyDeleteWe've been to Lancaster any number of times, in fact Queenie is warming up for another visit soon. They are an interesting lot with all of the extra-biblical regulations and requirements. Kind of a macrocosm of the many denominations that each over-emphasize some biblical principle(s) over others they deem less important. The Amish simply go to extremes it seems like, putting too much power in men's hands and leaving too little in God's and their fellow brethren's hands.
Then again, we're headed that way as a society, eh? Very soon the government will have hands in near everything we do at the rate the laws are flying into the books.
Anyhow, the one thing you can usually count on is the Amish goods are quality even if their lives are a bit nutty. Ask me sometime about the Amish and their respect hunting/fishing regulations and property lines .......
Lancaster is very nice. I totally agree with your assessment (see my reply to Craig). Yes, they do take pride in their craftsmanship. I grew up in an Amish built brick ranch.
DeleteI have lived near Amish in New York and Michigan. Here, there are lots of Memmonites, but I don't know of any Amish, but there are some south of here in NC.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be mostly in OH, IN, and PA.
DeleteWe have! We've gone a few times in Pennsylvania and did a few of the touristy things including an actual tour of their living areas and farms. It was really cool to see. I never heard of cream sticks or Longjohns.. they look like an eclair to me, but see your comment above with the difference.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Thanks, Jax! I can’t believe donut shops all over don’t sell creamsticks. What the heck? They’re the best!
DeleteWoow great birthday trip. I have not been to amish area but looks very interesting.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever get the chance,it’s interesting.
DeleteHappy belated birthday!! Never been to Amish country. I don't think we have too many out West but I have never researched it too much. I could really get behind some of those creamsticks. They look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Donuts are such a treat.
DeleteYou went to Heini's? Oh I haven't been to the Cheese Chalet in years. I am jealous. Holmes County is such a great step back in time, but only for a weekend.
ReplyDeleteYes, it’s the antithesis of Vegas, but you don’t want to stay too long in either.
DeleteBeen there many times! Lehman's Hardware was always the first stop. Seems I missed a lot of cool things on my visits!
ReplyDeleteIt’s fun to hear other bloggers have been there.
DeleteFirst, belated birthday 🎂 wishes to you, Bijoux, and you are lucky that these wishes were not vocalized as my singing is terrible 😟. You birthday outings looks like it was a fun day trip. We have been to Amish areas in Lancaster, NJ, and also in our native NJ. They do have some of the best foods to sample and to take home. Cheese is also one of our weaknesses and we are fortunate to live in new England where there is good cheddar. We have sample the English cheddar and enjoy it very much, just not the cost. I also wondered if the creamstick was the same as an eclair so thanks for the explanation. We would definitely have enjoyed that hardware store!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I love Vermont cheddar. So good! The hardware store sells just about anything, but caters to the rural community.
DeleteFirst, Happy Belated Birthday!! Second... Your birthday weekend looked wonderful but I didn't see any wine. :) My brother used to live very close to an Amish community in Michigan and I have to say, their homemade baked goods are the best. There's also a year round Christmas spot in Michigan called Frankenmuth. It's amazing and we would buy ornaments there too. Now, lets talk about that outdoor art park... I absolutely love it. What a cool place and what a cool birthday weekend! Your pics are great and I'm wondering how I missed this on IG.
ReplyDeleteWhere you been, lady? Wine is coming in another post. Yes! I’ve been to Bronner’s Christmas World a few times. Isn’t it the number one Xmas store in the world? It’s amazing! Now, go write a post soon!
DeleteGreat shots of your Amish adventure. We lived in Montana for a few years and while I don't think they have Amish communities there they do have Hutterites. Unlike the Amish they use modern farm equipment but their dress and the simplicity of their lifestyle is similar. They would come into town to shop and I was often in line behind them to check out. In spite of their use of modern farm equipment, they never used calculators. They could calculate in their heads what they owed faster than the clerk could ring their items up! Which confirms what I have long thought - that all this technology, while useful, is making us mentally lazy!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I've never heard of Hutterites. I totally agree with the mental laziness. My mom stopped and asked for directions the other day to something nearby (she doesn't have a smartphone or use gps) and the young adults at the store had no idea how to get to something in the next town over. When you're used to google maps, you don't learn where anything is!
DeleteOooo. It looks lovely! We pass a few Amish areas on our way up north and stop for bakery from time to time. And, I'm sorry, but that is a long john! And it is making me drool. Looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteLol, nope, it’s a creamstick!
DeleteHappy *belated* birthday!!! Certainly sounds like you enjoyed yourself. How weird that for all the day trips we've done, we've never gone to the Amish areas. We even have Amish markets not too far away, but we just don't get to them. I think only once we went to one in NJ. We've been to various Amish vendors at the Reading Terminal in Philly, but if we go on Sunday... they aren't open.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a fantastic year!
Thanks so much for commenting, Mary. Ron also mentioned the Amish vendors at Reading Terminal. I guess they take the day of rest seriously!
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