Friday and Saturday were days I was especially looking forward to on this trip. You see, between a show choir tour I did during high school and some travel Eric and I have done over the years, I have seen most of the places that we're visiting on our trip. But, I have not seen Gettysburg or Amish Country, so I was looking forward to seeing those for the first time.
Friday was a long travel day for us. We were traveling from Williamsburg, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We decided to stop at Gettysburg on the way, which was a pretty big detour, but we couldn't see when we might be in the area to see Gettysburg anytime soon.
On the road. There was some car dancing going on for part of it. Our kids are pretty good travelers. The fact that they like being together helps because they can spend hours making up all sorts of things.
It's a lot more green here than it is in California.
After 3 1/2 hours of driving, we finally reached Gettysburg and headed straight for the visitor center where we watched a video about Gettysburg, saw the Cyclorama (a 360 degree oil painting of the battle that was painted in the late 1800s) and checked out some of the amazing, but huge, museum before boarding a bus for a two hour bus tour. I understand how some people say you can easily spend 6+ hours at Gettysburg.
The cyclorama
The museum
Bus tour (not where he actually sat)
There are monuments to commemorate where the North's regiments and the South's states fought.
An ambulance. There were so many wounded in the battle.
It is hard to imagine that tens of thousands of soldiers dies on those fields over three days of fighting.
Looking up at Little Roundtop
The view from Little Roundtop
Looking out toward Devil's Den
Gettysburg is really big with motorcycle riders. They were everywhere, and they were loud!
And then it was time to drive to Philadelphia. Two and a half more hours.
The next day was spent in Pennsylvania Amish Country, also known as Lancaster County. Before we started out, we decided to tell the kids a little about the Amish people (We can't help but pre-teach!). I asked them what they knew about the Amish. Ashlynn's reply was, "Well, I am pretty sure they are similar to Mennonites..." Geez, that kid!
Our first Amish buggy spotting!
We started our time with a tour of the Amish Farm and House. It wasn't quite what I hoped for but it was very informative about the Amish people, traditions, and history.
We learned that they have always been very involved in tobacco production, which was surprising to me. Somehow the simple life of the Amish and tobacco don't mix in my mind.
There were some very cute goats who begged to be fed, which we did.
A covered bridge
I think the kids' favorite part of the day was getting to ride on the Amish scooters. The Amish boys get their own buggy and horse when they turn 16, but it seems that most kids use the scooters.
Like I mentioned before, the tour was really informative. I had known about a few of the Amish "rules", like no electricity, and was interested to learn why (I won't go into it here but it has to do with the Bible telling us to not be connected to the world) and how they still have things like refrigerators (propane powered, etc.).
We learned about their clothes and why they are designed the way they are. For example, a woman who has joined the church (which is done as an adult) does not have any buttons on their clothes because the Bible says that women should not have any adornments.
Another important thing we learned on the tour was that Amish people do not allow any photographs to be taken of their faces, referencing the Bible saying that we should not create any graven images. I was amazed by how literally they take the Bible. I was also bummed because that meant that I shouldn't take any photos of Amish people. A big part of a visit to see people with a different culture is photographing them doing what they do, and I couldn't do that.
We visited the Amish schoolhouse. They are one room schoolhouses and the Amish people only educate children from 1st to 8th grade. They don't feel it is necessary to educate beyond that point to be a good parent, a good producer for your family, or a good citizen.
Checking out a buggy
Milking a pretend cow
Petting real goats
After lunch at Cracker Barrel (our first time!), we did some shopping in Bird in Hand and Intercourse (don't get me started on that name... It used to be something like Cross Keys and they changed it). We didn't buy anything. The furniture was lovely and well priced but too expensive to ship (and we don't really need any more furniture) and the quilts were so expensive. Oh well. It's okay to just admire it.
It was pretty warm so we did pick up some lemonades from a shop of Amish girls.
After that we went searching for Amish people. You see, the Amish are in Lancaster County but they are scattered among the community of non-Amish people, or as they call them "English". Although the Amish seek to be separate they are also almost everywhere "regular" people are. We saw them pushing a cart out of Target, saw a teenage boy and girl having a late lunch at Cracker Barrel, and saw many of them working retail jobs.
A windmill is a sign that it is an Amish farm because they use the windmill to power things.
Another big clue you've spotted an Amish farm is a clothesline of colorful solid-colored clothes (they don't do prints).
After a long day exploring, we had a late dinner at Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant in the town we're staying, Media.
Phew! Two more super busy and interesting days.
