Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Until I get the blog up to date please remember that we left New York 3 weeks ago.  We are not in any danger, nor have we been.  Like the rest of the world we have watched in awe the violence of Mother Nature and the damage and chaos as the result.

So .... On 15 October we left Jersey City and New York City.  I was a bit shaken after having my wallet stolen. I rang the cafe where we had lunch yesterday to enquire if they had found a wallet - on the off chance - no, they were very sorry but it wasn't there.  I guess I find it difficult to accept that someone would consciously do such a thing.  Oh well!!!

Liberty Harbor RV Park New Jersey

We reversed our drive into Jersey City without mishap.  The tolls were a breeze; we were ready for them! Traffic not too bad. A nice day. We crossed into Pennsylvania at midday. Stopped at a Visitors centre just over the State line. We had intended to head for Gettysburg but decided to side track to Lancaster County and the Amish farming communities.






We got off I-78 at Allentown and onto Hwy 222 to Lancaster. We then travelled on Hwy 30 bypassing downtown Lancaster to Gordonville and the Country Acres Campground.
Although the skies looked threatening, we could see that we were in a beautiful part of Pennsylvania. The farms and countryside were a picture.
When we arrived at the Campground we put our name down for a tour of  Amish farmlands the next morning.

Lancaster, at the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country is surrounded by almost 5000 small farms. The region is famous for the German-immigrant 'Old Order Amish' Christians who live and work without modern conveniences.
All Amish trace their roots to the Swiss Anabaptist movement of 1525, an offshoot of the Protestant Reformation, whose creed rejected the formality of established churches. Today's Old Order Amish are the most conservative of the sect, disdaining any device that would connect them to the larger world, including electricity, phones and cars. They are especially conspicuous because of their plain attire and their horse and buggy mode of transport.



It rained a lot overnight, but the next morning was clear.
We set off for the tour, parking the RV in the carpark of the Bird In Hand Family Inn.
The tour was great.  Our coach driver was a girl (mid 50's) who grew up in the Amish culture but chooses to live in the new order Amish/Mennonite religion. She was very interesting and gave us lots of insights into the Amish way of life including the difficulties they face in the 21st century. Notable of their way of life are :
Amish children attend public elementary schools not high schools. They receive their schooling in a one room 'school' which holds all grades from one to seven.
The children are exempted from compulsory school attendance laws for their high school years
Their clothing is home made, without buttons or fancy trimmings; the men wear broad brimmed black or straw hats; they have full beards; the women wear bonnets and modest dress.
They shun any form of modern machinery, including farm machinery yet they have a reputation for being excellent farmers.

We saw numerous horse and buggies travelling along the roads.  At first we were hesitant to pass them but ... needs must!
Trevor found it hard to reconcile the primitive farm equipment being used out in the field right next to a John Deere dealership!

Looks like work to me!

We spent 2 more nights in Lancaster County and really enjoyed the 'rest'.!!!!  It must be the slower pace of the Amish having an influence!

We walked and biked everywhere.  I had a chance to catch up with paper work. We could not have found a more peaceful place.