Sawyer woke up bright and early. Like 6 a.m.
Neither Grandmother and I had slept that well, so we tried to catch a few more Zs. But in a room the size of a caboose, Sawyer was literally bouncing off the walls, on the beds and driving us nuts.
We finally roused ourselves about 8 a.m., ate breakfast in the room and ventured outside to check out the place.
The colorful cabooses, all in a row, were possibly the most cheerful sight ever. We walked around the big grassy fields with Sawyer stopping every few minutes to cup his hand around his mouth and shout, "Alllll aboard!"
We drove around a bit to check out the nearest town, and I used the term "town" loosely. It was about a three-stoplight town. But it was very quaint. Historic homes along Main Street were all decked out in flags and bunting for Memorial Day weekend. Colorful flowers spilled out of window boxes. And placards showed the age of some of the homes, with a few dating back to the early 1800s.
Nothing was on our plates until the afternoon, so we headed to The Amish Village to learn a little more about the people and this different culture in this gorgeous countryside.
The "village" is built around an Amish house and barn. Some of the buildings were trucked in and an few of the attractions were added on-site. It wasn't quite the educational tour I had expected.
A English woman (non-Amish) took us through the house mostly hosting a show-and-tell on items. This is a wood-burning stove. This is a gas lamp. These are the hats and coats an Amish man would wear.
We learned a few things.
- The Amish typically have five to eight children. Multiple generations often live in one house or nearby.
- They go to school through eighth grade, where they're taught by someone with an eighth-grade education.
- They don't use electricity (they're against lines/connections to the outside world), but they do often have modern appliances powered by gas or compressed air.
- Church is held in rotating homes every other Sunday, followed by a large meal … Imagine having 150 people over for church!
- More Amish are using technology (computers and smartphones) for their businesses.
- They have modest weddings (also at home during the winter months, only on Tuesdays and Fridays) and funerals. They fellowship and meet each other at social events on the Sundays there's no church, and they're very private about who they're courting.
- Their clothes are very controlled by the church order (long, solid-colored dresses, prayer caps, black pants and coats, straw hats, etc. … all the stereotypical stuff you think of when you think of Amish dress), but they can largely wear whatever type of shoes they want. Boots, Nikes, Crocs. I thought this was so odd, but we actually saw two young Amish girls the next day and both were wearing Crocs. Also no buttons. No makeup. No cutting hair. No jewelry. Nothing that would call attention to them.
- The Amish vote and pay taxes, but don't accept Social Security or any type of welfare.
- They go to regular doctors but generally don't have traditional health insurance. They have a system called Amish Aid where a community pays money into a fund, and if someone gets sick, the fund pays for them.
I tried asking questions, but even that didn't give me much more insight as to WHY they do many of the things they do.
The rest of the village was self-guided. There was a barn with some livestock, a windmill, a water wheel, a covered bridge, a one-room schoolhouse and a blacksmith shop with lots of farm tools. And of course, several gift shops.
Thankfully, the Amish Village wasn't too expensive. And Sawyer was free … a good thing since he had zero interest in being there.
On the way back to the motel, we stopped at a yard sale. The yard sale offered nothing we cared for, but we did buy whoopie pies from two young Amish boys who lived next door and were taking advantage of the shoppers passing by.
We pooled our snacks together for lunch at the picnic table outside our caboose, and then made our way to the best part of the trip for me: Verdant View Farm.
The farm was right around the "corner" from the motel … if not for my hurt foot, we probably could've walked. I had found the farm tour online and bought tickets before we left. To say that I was excited about it would be an understatement. Maybe years of reading "Little House on the Prairie" developed a farm-girl wannabe deep inside me.
Two hours on a working dairy farm run by the fourth generation of the family, the Verdant View Farm tour was the highlight of the trip for me. It was us and one other family on the tour. The perfect size. Our tour guide, Elisa, grew up on the farm. Her great-grandfather started it; her parents still own it, and she, her brother and their spouses are taking it over. She was an excellent guide. Knowledgeable, good at explaining things so the kids would understand, and she never acted like anything was a dumb question.
We toured the bank barn (with hand-hewn pegs and timbers built 100 years ago by her great-grandfather) … so called because one side is built into the bank of the earth, allowing easy access to the second floor. The second floor holds the straw and hay (the first being for bedding, the second is for eating) and some machinery. There was a straw tunnel the kids could crawl through. The cows occupy the lower level, and there were trap doors that allowed the hay to be tossed down to the cows.
The barn also had a corn crib and racks for drying tobacco. (I was surprised at all the tobacco there!)
We got to check out some pullets aka teenage chickens. I was glad that Sawyer was the first to jump in and hold everything. He didn't once seem scared of any of the animals, and he latched on quickly to the farm's border collie, Scooby.
Then we loaded up chicken feed, water and straw to take to the chicken coop. At the coop, the kids got to fill up the watering feeder, dump the chicken feed into the trough and scatter fresh straw around the coop. Then they poked around in the roosts for eggs. I think they found three chicken eggs and one duck egg.
After that, Elisa showed us the proper way to catch and hold them, and we got to try to pick them up. (Any of them but the rooster!) Sawyer had a hard time catching them, but he was eager to hold them. So I'd catch them and hand them to him. He got flapped in the face a few times but was unfazed. Even the two older girls with the other family were a little nervous about picking them up. But I loved it. I held several ducks and chickens.
Next, we got to check out the baleage (the hay) … they make long covered rows of it that hold 84 bales. It's wet when it's baled, so the grass ferments making it good for cows to eat. (Horses, on the other hand, can only eat dried hay.) We got to feed the goats some hay.
From there, we headed to the cows. First, we learned about corn and silage ... how they get the corn into the silos, how the cows eat kernels, stalks and all, and how they love it like candy.
Then we saw the "maternity ward" where expectant cows are kept until the calf is born. They were all due to deliver in a couple weeks, and they looked pretty huge and uncomfortable. (I know how uncomfortable a 7-pound baby is. Imagine a 100-pound calf!)
Finally, we got to try our hand at milking a cow. It was HARD! I got a few squirts, and Sawyer got a few drops. Most people had trouble getting any milk. I felt sorry for this poor cow getting tugged and pulled on. The woman in charge of milking said it takes a fast person about 30 minutes to milk a cow by hand, and they get so tired they can only do about five cows. It takes the machines five minutes, and the cows much prefer them!
Then we got to bottle-feed the calves. Boy, they were hungry. Sawyer had a hard time holding the bottle alone, so I was happy to jump in and help. The calves stay with their mom for a few weeks, and then the mom goes back to milking. Then the calves are fed formula. Irony, huh? People drink the calf's milk. The calf drinks formula.
My calf drained 4 pints in about 90 seconds. It drank another 2 pints in about 30 seconds. I could've sat there and fed them all day!
The last part of our farm tour was a wagon ride. And the highlight of this, for Sawyer at least, was seeing the Strasburg train go by.
We sadly said goodbye to the farm, and then Grandmother and I decided to drive around a bit to get Sawyer to take a nap. We drove into Lancaster and found our other hotel, bought lemonade and just got our bearings.
By the time we drove back to the motel, Sawyer was awake and raring to go again. He and I walked around the motel grounds, which had a lot of things to see … two playgrounds, a silo viewing tower, some farm animals you could feed, and a gift shop and a video game arcade.
What you get when you try to convince Sawyer to pose for a picture!
After we explored, we woke Grandmother up to eat dinner at the Red Caboose Restaurant on site. A motel of cabooses wasn't enough. The owner put in a dining car, too!
I was lucky enough to find LivingSocial deals online a few weeks before our trip for the restaurant. I got two vouchers worth $20 of food for $10 each.
The dining car was very lovely. Wide enough for about 16 tables with an aisle in the middle. It was a tight squeeze, but it was very picturesque. Old-timey globe sconces overhead. An ornate brocade wallpaper on the ceiling. And the best part: They had a train mechanic rig up the car so that the greeter could flip a switch and make the car shimmy and sway. It felt just like we were rolling along the tracks! Thankfully, they didn't keep us in motion the whole dinner.
Amish friendship bread was delivered to the table, and we all ended up ordering Lancaster County turkey and dressing, which was quite good. Despite being stuffed, I had to try shoofly pie, a local favorite. It was very tasty. Sawyer's kids meal came with a choice of dessert, and he picked chocolate pudding. Funny how he can be full of dinner but lick the pudding dish clean.
Afterward, we wanted to walk off dinner, so we showed Grandmother the arcade and ran the model train. Then we hiked up to the top of the silo viewing tower (which was incredibly dark inside) to get a beautiful 360-degree view of the area just as the sun was setting.
The thing I could never get over while we were there was the sky. It was so expansive and wide-looking! Not sure how a sky could be so different than other places I've been … I guess it was a little flatter with a lot fewer trees than home. But it was breathtaking.
I left Grandmother and Sawyer at the playground while I strolled around trying to capture some of the scenery and the sunset. I can assure you my photography skills don't come close to doing it justice.
An antique truck for sale
The last light for plowing
Thankfully, the Amish Village wasn't too expensive. And Sawyer was free … a good thing since he had zero interest in being there.
On the way back to the motel, we stopped at a yard sale. The yard sale offered nothing we cared for, but we did buy whoopie pies from two young Amish boys who lived next door and were taking advantage of the shoppers passing by.
We pooled our snacks together for lunch at the picnic table outside our caboose, and then made our way to the best part of the trip for me: Verdant View Farm.
The farm was right around the "corner" from the motel … if not for my hurt foot, we probably could've walked. I had found the farm tour online and bought tickets before we left. To say that I was excited about it would be an understatement. Maybe years of reading "Little House on the Prairie" developed a farm-girl wannabe deep inside me.
Two hours on a working dairy farm run by the fourth generation of the family, the Verdant View Farm tour was the highlight of the trip for me. It was us and one other family on the tour. The perfect size. Our tour guide, Elisa, grew up on the farm. Her great-grandfather started it; her parents still own it, and she, her brother and their spouses are taking it over. She was an excellent guide. Knowledgeable, good at explaining things so the kids would understand, and she never acted like anything was a dumb question.
We toured the bank barn (with hand-hewn pegs and timbers built 100 years ago by her great-grandfather) … so called because one side is built into the bank of the earth, allowing easy access to the second floor. The second floor holds the straw and hay (the first being for bedding, the second is for eating) and some machinery. There was a straw tunnel the kids could crawl through. The cows occupy the lower level, and there were trap doors that allowed the hay to be tossed down to the cows.
The barn also had a corn crib and racks for drying tobacco. (I was surprised at all the tobacco there!)
We got to check out some pullets aka teenage chickens. I was glad that Sawyer was the first to jump in and hold everything. He didn't once seem scared of any of the animals, and he latched on quickly to the farm's border collie, Scooby.
Then we loaded up chicken feed, water and straw to take to the chicken coop. At the coop, the kids got to fill up the watering feeder, dump the chicken feed into the trough and scatter fresh straw around the coop. Then they poked around in the roosts for eggs. I think they found three chicken eggs and one duck egg.
After that, Elisa showed us the proper way to catch and hold them, and we got to try to pick them up. (Any of them but the rooster!) Sawyer had a hard time catching them, but he was eager to hold them. So I'd catch them and hand them to him. He got flapped in the face a few times but was unfazed. Even the two older girls with the other family were a little nervous about picking them up. But I loved it. I held several ducks and chickens.
Next, we got to check out the baleage (the hay) … they make long covered rows of it that hold 84 bales. It's wet when it's baled, so the grass ferments making it good for cows to eat. (Horses, on the other hand, can only eat dried hay.) We got to feed the goats some hay.
From there, we headed to the cows. First, we learned about corn and silage ... how they get the corn into the silos, how the cows eat kernels, stalks and all, and how they love it like candy.
Then we saw the "maternity ward" where expectant cows are kept until the calf is born. They were all due to deliver in a couple weeks, and they looked pretty huge and uncomfortable. (I know how uncomfortable a 7-pound baby is. Imagine a 100-pound calf!)
Finally, we got to try our hand at milking a cow. It was HARD! I got a few squirts, and Sawyer got a few drops. Most people had trouble getting any milk. I felt sorry for this poor cow getting tugged and pulled on. The woman in charge of milking said it takes a fast person about 30 minutes to milk a cow by hand, and they get so tired they can only do about five cows. It takes the machines five minutes, and the cows much prefer them!
Then we got to bottle-feed the calves. Boy, they were hungry. Sawyer had a hard time holding the bottle alone, so I was happy to jump in and help. The calves stay with their mom for a few weeks, and then the mom goes back to milking. Then the calves are fed formula. Irony, huh? People drink the calf's milk. The calf drinks formula.
My calf drained 4 pints in about 90 seconds. It drank another 2 pints in about 30 seconds. I could've sat there and fed them all day!
The last part of our farm tour was a wagon ride. And the highlight of this, for Sawyer at least, was seeing the Strasburg train go by.
We sadly said goodbye to the farm, and then Grandmother and I decided to drive around a bit to get Sawyer to take a nap. We drove into Lancaster and found our other hotel, bought lemonade and just got our bearings.
By the time we drove back to the motel, Sawyer was awake and raring to go again. He and I walked around the motel grounds, which had a lot of things to see … two playgrounds, a silo viewing tower, some farm animals you could feed, and a gift shop and a video game arcade.
What you get when you try to convince Sawyer to pose for a picture!
After we explored, we woke Grandmother up to eat dinner at the Red Caboose Restaurant on site. A motel of cabooses wasn't enough. The owner put in a dining car, too!
I was lucky enough to find LivingSocial deals online a few weeks before our trip for the restaurant. I got two vouchers worth $20 of food for $10 each.
The dining car was very lovely. Wide enough for about 16 tables with an aisle in the middle. It was a tight squeeze, but it was very picturesque. Old-timey globe sconces overhead. An ornate brocade wallpaper on the ceiling. And the best part: They had a train mechanic rig up the car so that the greeter could flip a switch and make the car shimmy and sway. It felt just like we were rolling along the tracks! Thankfully, they didn't keep us in motion the whole dinner.
Amish friendship bread was delivered to the table, and we all ended up ordering Lancaster County turkey and dressing, which was quite good. Despite being stuffed, I had to try shoofly pie, a local favorite. It was very tasty. Sawyer's kids meal came with a choice of dessert, and he picked chocolate pudding. Funny how he can be full of dinner but lick the pudding dish clean.
Afterward, we wanted to walk off dinner, so we showed Grandmother the arcade and ran the model train. Then we hiked up to the top of the silo viewing tower (which was incredibly dark inside) to get a beautiful 360-degree view of the area just as the sun was setting.
The thing I could never get over while we were there was the sky. It was so expansive and wide-looking! Not sure how a sky could be so different than other places I've been … I guess it was a little flatter with a lot fewer trees than home. But it was breathtaking.
I left Grandmother and Sawyer at the playground while I strolled around trying to capture some of the scenery and the sunset. I can assure you my photography skills don't come close to doing it justice.
An antique truck for sale
The last light for plowing
Jen, your pictures are beautiful! You are so talented in your writing and photography and your ideas for where to go to get the great pictures and stories!
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