Amish

Mark and I took vacation days on Friday and headed down to Amish country. It's odd there because everything is only open 9-5:30, so you have to get there early and leave early. Neither Mark nor I had been there before, so we weren't what sure to expect. Mark's motorcycle group had been to a few flea markets on a motorcycle ride, but they weren't in the Amish country county we went to, they went a county over. There is an old (and super huge) Victorian house that you can tour, but that didn't open until 1 and we were several hours early for that. We hit a few gift shops, but didn't really buy anything except for some sesame stick snacks. I liked some of the stuff, but Mark hates chotchkies. Our main goal of going down there was for the huge flea market. It was all indoors so we didn't have to worry about the rain. I think the only thing we bought was a toy for the dog! I love the idea of flea markets and love to go to them. However, I hate junk so we never buy anything. We then went to an antique mall, and I had never been to one of those either. I had imagined they would be all beautiful antique furniture, lamps, and china. It's the exact same junk as a flea market! I did see a beautiful pitcher with four matching glasses, but Mark said I already have one that I have never used so I couldn't buy a second one. I hate to admit it, but he was right. We found a Christmas shoppe and went there and I bought an ornament that was painted like a peacock feather-beautiful and unique! I love Christmas decorations. We ate lunch at Der Dutchman Restaurant and I had broasted chicken for the first time. They supposedly have a bakery, but it's a separate entrance and it was pouring so hard that we didn't couldn't get to it. We hit a few more gift shops and then went to Wendell August forge. They have the workshop open to the public, but the guys were just getting ready to leave for the day. They did have the guy working the air hammer to stamp out the design onto the metal. It was kind-of neat to see. Mark and I need to get back down to Amish again to see all the stuff that wasn't open and we couldn't see. It was fun. The best part was seeing all the horse drawn buggies. Each time I saw one I would call out "horse!" like it was the first one I had seen all day. I love the horses.