This time was as well a good visit. We left our home (Hendersonville, TN) on
Sunday (5/25) via Knoxville and Bristol, TN (I-40E & I-81, respectively),
stayed overnight in Winchester (VA), and the following morning we continued on
to our final destination Lancaster area (Ronks, PA). Incidentally, the trip took about 12 hours of
driving time with the total of approx. 800 miles. Since we got there around noontime after we
checked in a motel, we went browsing around the local antiques stores and Farmers
Market in the nearby community named “Bird-In-Hand”. The community has a large
Amish and Mennonite population.
The following morning we signed up for the bus tour of the
back roads and the fields spread around the rolling hills scattered with Amish
farms and one-room schools. The tour
guide was also the bus driver who was very knowledgeable of the area, and the
Amish customs and the traditions. Although, we took a similar tour few years
back in Ohio, and were already familiar with what he was sharing with us,
nonetheless it was still enjoyable and quite informative.
After the two hours bus tour, we spent the rest of the day
visiting some more stores, restaurants and the following morning we took off
for the town Hershey, PA (about 35 miles west of Ronks). We got there well before lunchtime and after
we checked in the Hotel Hershey (an old world elegance from the 1930’s era among
the beautiful rolling hills of Pennsylvania), we visited the Hershey Gardens
and the Hershey’s Story Museum. At the
dinnertime we had our anniversary ‘celebratory dinner’ at the hotel, and the
following morning we checked out and headed for Holmes County in Ohio to
revisit our first Amish Country experience (circa 2006/7).
We went through Pittsburgh, PA (surprisingly it was an easy
driving experience around noontime!), and thanks to the GPS, we got to our
destination almost flawlessly (with just a couple U-turns). Once there we recognized many places we
visited before, ate some good Amish food at the same restaurant we visited
before--Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen in Mt. Hope, OH (only 4-5 miles from our motel). We drove around the ‘back roads’, visited quite a few furniture
stores both days we were there, and after the second night we headed home via
Columbus, OH, and Louisville, KY.
Finally after a couple of hours delay on the roads (Hwy I-71S) due to
road constructions/repairs we arrived home Saturday (5/31) at about 5:00 pm.
All in all, it was a good relaxing and fun trip! While we spent six days away from home and the
daily routine we were ready to get back into the routine and our own bed. We drove 1,776 miles (round trip), and went
through (in part) the following states: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Kentucky, and about 350 miles of our own state of Tennessee.
Here are some pics from this trip:
Hwy I-40E & I-81:
Ronks / Lancaster County, PA:
The Hotel Hershey, Hershey, PA:
Pittsburgh, PA:
Berlin (Holmes County), OH:
*
Images of Amish Country
http://tinyurl.com/ou4pvyv
*
Pennsylvania Amish history & beliefs
http://tinyurl.com/36c8msa
http://tinyurl.com/ou4pvyv
*
Pennsylvania Amish history & beliefs
http://tinyurl.com/36c8msa
