Round One of Summer Vacation

I just got back from my first visit to Pennsylvania and I must say I absolutely fell in love there ! The hotel we stayed in was in Ephrata which is not too far from Lancaster and the Amish. 

Now I have watched Amish Mafia and Breaking Amish and thought to myself I would never want to live like that and then I saw what it is really like. I love the simplicity of it, do not get me wrong I know it is a hard life but there was something about it that drew me to it. The Amish I interacted with were polite and kind as well as their children, I always got shy little smiles.

 We stopped at a farm stand where I bought the most delicious cantaloupe nothing like what you get in the store. Fresh onions and white peppers,and  green beans. I felt good buying this produce knowing it was fresh and local and the money was going to this family, not some big super market. 

While there I also got to experience a horse and buggy ride. It was nice and relaxing, would I want to travel like that all the time ? Probably not. While on the ride we went through a " drive thru " which consisted of stopping at an Amish families home and the kids came out with home made bottled root beer, lemonade ( which I had and was the best lemonade I have had to date ) whoopie pies, cookies, popcorn and zucchini bread. I tried it all with the exception to the popcorn and root beer, it was all so flipping good and the kids were so thankful for the sale.  Also while on the ride we saw about 100 or so Amish men building a barn, come to find out the barn had burnt down a couple days prior and these men all gathered together and rebuilt it, it touched my heart to see them all come together for one another.

We also did the usual touristy things such as Chocolate World which was yumalicous and a good time, Turkey Hill, Intercourse Canning ( got some yummy home made treats ) and Kettle Village for some shopping. Oh yes let's not forget Philly...we went there for the zoo which was amazing, great selection of animals of which seemed happy for animals in confinement especially the polar bears and monkeys. After the zoo we went looking for the infamous Geno's for a steak and cheese, the rest of my family was disappointed with the sandwich but I really liked it ! Normally I am not a fan of onions but the onions were a nice addition to the sandwich, next time I will try Pat's for comparison. I am not a fan of Philly though...sorry !! 

I would absolutely love to go back to Pennsylvania, maybe next time stay in a Mennonite Amish place, great a real feel for it. I cannot tell you enough how much I fell in love. Keep life simple, live simple and be happy...those are my parting words for tonight. Hope you enjoy some of the pics I took !