Ohio Day Seven - Nine - Amish Country

On Friday we didn't do a whole lot, I had an upset stomach and didn't feel like doing much, which was fine with the kids, they had the neighbors over and rode four wheelers all day. Linda let the kids make their own breakfast each day, and Riley ate about 4 eggs every day, with toast and homemade apple butter!! Being out in the country really works up an appetite I guess!

Amish

On Saturday, while the kids rode four wheelers, yet again, Linda and I took a drive out to Amish Country. It wasn't far, about a 15 minute drive from their house. We weren't sure where to go, but all of a sudden we saw a horse and buggy cross the highway, so we turned off to follow it. Then we found a fool proof way to find them, follow the horsey poop! It worked, we soon found ourselves in the heart of Amish country, and it was amazing! I felt like I was in a movie set. They don't like having their picture taken so I tried to respect their privacy and not get too close. It was just too surreal to see them riding down the street in their horse and buggies. We even stopped at an Amish store and went in and shopped. I was surprised though, the inside of the store looked more like a Dollar Tree! They had all kinds of trinkets and kids toys things I would not expect to find there. I had my heart set on getting something genuinely "Amish" so Linda bought me a small handwoven basket and a hand printed magnet for my magnet collection, and a book of Amish remedies (which is VERY interesting!) and an Amish family cookbook. There were some girls running the store, probably around 8 and 13, and they had on the long dresses, the bonnets, bare feet, had the Dutch-type accent, they were adorable! We saw an Amish school house, complete with handmade swings and see saws, saw some very huge houses with the little buggies parked out front. It was so neat! I was like a goofy kid seeing it all.

Mt Vernon Playground

Then Linda wanted to wear the kids out so they would sleep good on the trip, so we went to Mt. Vernon which is the nearest town to them, about 15 miles away. They have an awesome playground there, the kids were completely sweaty when we left, they played so hard! I couldn't get over the beautiful country, I just always imagined Ohio to be flat and full of corn or something, but the trees were changing colors, from green to red to yellow and every color in between, rolling hills, green grass, beautiful old red barns, cows and horses everywhere, just a part of the country I had never seen before and never thought would be so beautiful (I just can't think of another word to describe it!)

So we left around 8:30 Saturday night, Linda was sad to say goodbye to her boy again! The kids were asleep before we left Columbus! Pete drove us to Memphis where we had breakfast and I drove us on home. Nearly 3,000 miles on my Expedition, the kids were awesome in the car, we made it home by 5:00 Sunday, David had grilled steaks waiting for us, he missed us bad!!