Our first stop when arriving in southeastern Pennsylvania on Thursday afternoon was Lancaster to spend the rest of the day enjoying all the iconic sites I’ve often heard about.
Entering Amish Country, I was immediately taken in by the rolling hills, massive pristine farms, and all the clothes on the clothesline!
Amazing to me was how high some of the clotheslines reached, high into the sky!
Intermixed with clothes would sometimes be a lovely quilt swaying in the breeze.
FIRST STOP AMISH FOOD
Hungrily we drove to one of the many Amish restaurants, one with a buffet.
As we entered the restaurant, memories abounded of vacations to north-central Pennsylvania where my mom grew up.
The food at the restaurant reminded me of my mom’s cooking and my grandma’s (her mom).
Even my kids said it tasted like grandma’s food (my mom).
Crispy fried chicken and fresh sweet corn!
TRAIN RIDE THROUGH AMISH COUNTRY
After lunch we discovered a train ride in nearby Strasburg.
QUILT SHOPS GALORE
Driving around to look at quilts, we stopped at various stores. (see header photo)
Some houses have quilt shops, indicated by signs and quilts blowing in the breeze on the clothesline.
EVENING KETTLE KITCHEN VILLAGE
That evening we visited a canning shop at Kettle Kitchen Village, where they demonstrate the making of preserves.
We had missed the canning of blackberry preserves that day, so they were cleaning up.
SHOPPING
I found chocolate mint tea, local orange blossom honey with the honeycomb for one of our history presentation meals this year. and some honey cream for special breakfasts.
FRIDAY TOUR IN PHILADELPHIA
VISITING GENERAL HAND AT ROCK FORD PLANTATION IN LANCASTER COUNTY
Finding a travel brochure for General Hand’s Rock Ford Plantation, I immediately wanted to go, since I’ve met him at Colonial Williamsburg’s Prelude to Victory.
Since they were only open certain days of the week, we returned two days later, on Saturday.
Born in Ireland, Edward Hand he trained as a doctor at Trinity College in Dublin.
He served as a Surgeon’s Mate with the 18th Royal Irish Regiment of Foot and was stationed at Fort Pitt in America.
Eventually he resigned from the British military and practiced medicine in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
When the American Revolution began, he was commissioned as Lt. Colonel of the 1st Battalion of Pennsylvania Riflemen.
In 1781, he became Adjutant General to General Washington.
This house was built after the American Revolution in 1794.
Probably most interesting were the letters that General Hand and President Washington wrote to each other, including invitations between the two of them for dinner when Washington served as President in Philadelphia.
VALLEY FORGE
SUNDAY TOUR OF BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE AND REST OF VALLEY FORGE
MONDAY LANCASTER COUNTY
Four days later, on Monday, we packed up our stuff and left our hotel in King of Prussia, on DeKalb Pike.
Since Lancaster County was on the way home, we finished the day out there, picking up where we left off our first day.
MORE QUILTS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
Our first stop was a return to the Old Country Store where we immediately went upstairs to the free museum of the gorgeous quilts of Elsie M. Campbell, who has autographed books in the bookstore, downstairs.
Because marking for handstitching is my most difficult task and Amish feathers are my favorite motif, I purchased an autographed copy of her hand stitching book, Winning Stitches, which is full of marking tips and Amish feather patterns!
There was even a book there loaded with directions to reproduce most of the quilts in the museum collection!
As I purchased the book, the sales lady asked me what my current project was.
Repeating what I told the employees at the other quilt shops I visited that weekend, I received the exact same response everywhere!
I said that I’m a homeschooler and busy sewing historical costumes and colonial costumes for us to wear on visits to Colonial Williamsburg.
I explained that I wanted to hand quilt an 18th century petticoat which seemed to thrill her!
As we went through the museum, my daughter asked me for details about the specific quilts, which she had never done before.
I had fun showing her the difference between hand stitched quilting and machine quilting.
We identified specific block patterns, color choices, and the progression of movement of color, as in a rainbow, in many of the quilts.
I helped her contrast the traditional ones with the modern ones.
There was a room with mostly tumbling block pattern quilts and I showed everyone where the ones with black flowers interspersed were simply more tumbling blocks.
No one believed me but I told them that every piece in the quilt was the same shape.
With the use of color the designer tricks the eye into thinking there are two different blocks in the quilt, when there is only one.
When everyone slowed down and stopped to analyze that, they could see it.
Even so, we were all cocking our heads, even me, in dubious unbelief that it was even possible.
MISSED DJ’S TASTE OF THE 50S
Each tumbling block quilt displayed played tricks with the eye. Masterful!
For lunch we wanted to eat at a fun looking restaurant we kept driving by on Thursday and Saturday.
Oh no! DJ’s Taste of the 50s was closed for Labor Day!
Later this month they are showing “I Love Lucy” sitcoms!
Some of the servers even wear poodle skirts!
On the fun menu they list fun items such as:
- Oooo-How about a Doo-wop burger
- Fred and Ethel
- Lucy and Ricky
AMISH LUNCH AT PLAIN AND FANCY FARM
Since we couldn’t eat at the 50’s place, we decided to try another Amish restaurant for our big meal of the day.
At Plain and Fancy Farm we ate fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and stewed dried corn.
That stewed dried corn was a favorite growing up, that my grandmother would mail to us.
I was so glad to finally find it in their store, so I bought some and found out that I can order more on-line when that is gone.
COVERED BRIDGES
PRODUCE
Hoping to take some produce from an Amish farm home with me, I asked for recommendations.
Although the popular suggestion was the Marketplace, it was closed.
At a small farmer’s market we found some apples, still wet from the rain that day (the beginnings of Tropical Storm Lee had descended that morning).
I decided to buy enough apples to can apple butter!
I found a jar of orange blossom honey which I also bought, having forgotten I had bought some on Thursday!
AMISH FARMS
After final photographs of the nearby farms, we left for home.
