They say to write what you know, right? So I guess a good place to start would be with what's been going on in my life here lately. On Sunday, my mom, sister, granny and I packed our suitcases and headed spontaneously to Lancaster, PA. When I say spontaneously, I mean very spontaneously. While on the way home from dinner Saturday night at 9 pm, my mom called me and said, "Hey, your granny wants to go see the Amish country. Want to go?" "HECK yes, I'll go!" I love traveling to new places, and I wasn't that surprised - most of our trips are super last minute (and they always turn out lovely). We enjoy flying by the seat of our pants.
So, off we went Sunday morning. The ride up was simply awful as traffic had us going a rushing 25 mph all the way thru Virginia (though it gave us a chance to take pics at every state sign like the tourists we are!) Then, once we arrived in Pennsylvania, I was in for a bit of a shock. I'll admit, I expected all of Lancaster to be rolling pastures and livestock. Instead, it was very urban - yet all of the roads were extremely confusing. Finally, around 9 pm, we checked into our room at the Hawthorn hotel, which was very nice and a warm and cozy 62 degrees.
Monday, we began our day with brunch at the Good n' Plenty restaurant. It featured homemade dishes prepared in true Amish fashion. I was completely blown away with how delicious the meal was. Our menu consisted of fresh-squeezed lemonade, bread and butter, applesauce, chicken salad, roast beef, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, chow chow, fried chicken, sausage, noodles, cheesecake, apple cobbler, and ice cream. Everything was fresh and made by hand. If I ate that way everyday, I'd be bigger than the side of a barn. But it was so worth it! Afterward, we decided to drive around Lancaster to see what we could find. We had driven maybe five minutes when we passed a horse and buggy on the road. Squealing with excitement, we slowed down to get a better look. The Amish woman inside ducked her head, obviously trying hard to avoid our gaze. This made me think - how would it feel to have your day-to-day life scrutinized by dozens of outsiders? From that point on, I tried to be much more nonchalant about observing the Amish people.
The Amish countryside is absolutely, amazingly beauitful. When at the top of a hill, you could see for miles and miles - rolling farmland, gorgeous barns, and TONS of corn. I'm a country girl (JoCo, represent!), but even I was blown away at the picturesque land. Another thing I was shocked at was the size of the Amish houses. I was picturing small, quaint country houses. Instead, we saw, for lack of a better word, mansions. I mean, these houses were GORGEOUS - three story brick and stone houses, perfectly landscaped. I get that they would need bigger houses as most Amish families birth at least 7 children during their lifetime, but they supposedly want a simple life. Doesn't it seem somewhat hypocritical to have such magnificent houses when it isn't all necessary? Needless to say, I left PA somewhat confused about Amish morals. Anyway, after driving around for several hours, we headed back to the room and called in a pizza.
The next day, we headed out once again to tour our surroundings (we had barely made a dent in touring the day before.) We visited a wonderful little bakery where we got lots of delicious goodies, and ate lunch at Miller's Smorgasbord (not as good as Good n' Plenty, but not bad.) We went to several quilt shops, which isn't really my cup of tea, but I couldn't help staring in awe at the handiwork in each quilt. I wanted one so bad - until I saw the pricetag. $1500... Ouch!
Now, my favorite part of the trip just may have been Intercourse. No, not that kind (get your mind out the gutter!) I mean the town of Intercourse, PA - which just so happens to be a few miles down the road from Fertility, PA. I wish I was making this up. Several small jam and jelly shops proved to have a great selection. We definitely loaded up on snacks, but how often can you buy Amish goodies?
Tuesday night, we went to the Sight and Sound theatre to see a musical production of the Biblical story of Joseph and the coat of many colors. To say that it was spectacular would be an understatement. The acting and singing was phenomenal, as well as some of the most beautiful sets and stage props I've ever seen. Most importantly, the message driven home was priceless. I don't normally cry during that type of thing, but by the end when Jacob was reunited with his son, I may as well have had the Nile river flowing down my face. So powerful!
We had several other stops throughout the trip, but those were the main points. On the way home, we went through Baltimore, Maryland, which made me feel as if I was in one of my favorite movies, Hairspray. Good morning Baltimore! We also went through Washington DC where my sister was able to see the Capitol building for the first time (well, from a distance.) The most exciting part of the ride home was a quick stop at a Virginia gas station. On these girl vacations, we always buy scratch-offs as sort of a tradition. So, as I got out to stretch my back, we walked in and bought a few $2 tickets. We won 42 bucks! Woo! That may not seem like much (and probably doesn't deserve the term 'hitting the lottery'), but it made us all feel like winners. By the time we crossed over the Johnston County line, we all felt melancholy that our trip had ended so soon.
I've probably bored you all with my endless rambling, so wake up sleepyhead! I know you've dozed off. But I can honestly say, it was one of the best vacations I've ever taken. While it wasn't necessarily relaxing as we were on the go alot, I got to see new things and learn so much more. Beyond that, the memories made were priceless. My sister and I had a blast teasing my granny - "How's that Armish Resterenttt look?" As a whole, we bonded even more (if that's even possible!) and made plans to go back as soon as possible.
So, I guess that's about it for my first post. It was really therapeutic to be able to spill words out the way I have done the past hour and a half; just writing from the heart and mind without thinking too much about it. I hope it was as interesting to read as it was to write! Well, we're heading to the beach on Monday (yes, yet another vacation!) so I'm sure I'll be back blogging about our latest adventures. Ciao!
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