Hobnobbing with the Amish

Every few months or so, my husband and I put the big cooler in the car and head north about an hour and half to Shady Maple Farm Market in East Earl, PA. This place has the best meats and produce to be found anywhere and the prices are pretty darn good. It's a hike and a half for sure, but it's worth it. The scenic ride is an added bonus. Today, we got behind an open buggy and I snapped this photo with my zoom lens. Couldn't believe this Amish gentleman took out his open one, but maybe the closed buggy was in the shop. It was pretty cold out today!

We've been going to Shady Maple for almost 30 years. We used to live in Pennsylvania, and before our sons were born, I was working for a Mennonite man who owned a local weekly newspaper in Morgantown. I answered an ad in the paper looking for someone who could type and before I knew it, I was managing his newspaper. But I digress.

Today, I took photos of cows and sheep, people working outside, and this little boy playing ice hockey by himself on a homemade skating rink. This skating rink is pretty cool. We've been going to Shady for years now, and in the wintertime, the rink is always frozen over and there are always young Amish children playing on it. I would have loved to have my own ice skating rink when I was a child!

After shopping at the best grocery store ever, we went next door to Good's, a department store that takes you back in time. You'll find yourself shopping with Amish and English alike, not that it's any big deal because well, I used to live up here. Oh, and English = anyone not Amish or Mennonite. 

Way back, before my sons were born and I was working at the weekly paper, Witness was being filmed down the road. We sent one of our reporters to cover the scene and he came back excited, but saddened about something. Turned out he had this huge crush on Kelly McGillis and when he saw her in her Amish costume he went apeshit until he noticed that she was smoking a cigarette. He said it just wasn't right. It was over for him and Kelly at that point.

Today in Good's Store, I was looking for a warm pair of socks and found myself lost in the Amish lingerie section. I had no idea there were so many different types of bloomers one could buy. My husband was over in the Carhart section (his personal favorite) looking for work pants. Then we traveled back to the bird seed section. It's just past the extensive selection of clothes drying racks. It's such a cool store.

Well, we're home now and our cubboards are stocked full and we won't be traveling up that way until Spring. I'll get some more pictures then. Hope you enjoyed these!