The Amish and the not so Amish 12th Anniversary TR

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

7-27-12

DW and I packed yee ole Chevy Traverse and headed north to the Flint, Michigan area to drop the younglings off at Nana and Papa's house for a long weekend.

We pointed the sleigh south and headed towards Amish country in Northeast Ohio.

I know....some of you may ask why Ohio?

Why not Shipshewana(sp?) or Lancaster?

Well, Middlefield, Ohio is the fourth largest Amish settlement in the world and it is also much closer to the "Not so Amish" portion of this here trip.

We drove a few hours until we got to the place where we would be staying during this here 12th wedding anniversary shin-dig.

This was an old Amish farmhouse that was sold sometime in the past few years. The new owner had it retrofitted with modern conveniences such as AC/electricity, etc. Basically everything you have at home is in this house. The house was fully furnished so basically we just had to bring clothes, toiletries, etc.

This is the view from the upstairs bathroom to the rear of the home:

To the left of the trees in the pic is a 2 acre pond where we would fish later in the weekend.

There was an Amish community phone at the end of the driveway. It was explained to us that the community could have phones here and there to use when they were conducting business but they could not have any personal phones.

I don't really know why I took this pic except I thought it was weird that the caretaker left the venison in the freezer for us and also because it made me hungry:

We got unpacked and decided to go get some dinner because we were starving!

I found a place online before we left that seemed to get good reviews (cant think of the name of it now) so we decided to head there. They were supposed to have great steak and seafood.

When we got there, I did a double take because this sign says we are at the "Ironhorse". The place we were looking for wasn't called the "Ironhorse". We said "what the heck" and stopped anyway. There was a small group of bikers around back at the patio bar and a couple female employees. The waitress asked if we wanted to sit outside or inside. We were tired so we decided we would sit inside where there would be AC.......our mistake....we should have left.

See any other customers?

How about now?

Now?

There's got to be one customer inside, right?

There's one!

Oh wait. That's DW. She was playing along while I was talking about having just stepped into the bar from either Desperado or From Dusk Til Dawn. The topper for us (but for DW in particular) was the waitress who was wearing cutoff Daisy Dukes and a tube top. Using my mom's rules and TCDMR I will leave it at only this........not the correct wardrobe choice for her or anyone else. Sorry boys, no pics of that!

The waitress asked if we wanted the pulled pork dinner for $8 because that is what they had available to eat tonight.

Huh?

Um, I guess we'll have the pulled pork then?

I don't know why we didn't leave.....we ate the pulled pork which was actually chunks of pork and not pulled pork. When we ordered we asked if we could have something else to drink besides the ice tea that came with the pulled prok dinner for $8. The waitress said "Yeah but can it still be the eight dollars?" I said sure. Apparently she did not want to figure out any new math tonight. So I ordered a beer and DW ordered a diet coke. We somewhat ate our food, drank our drinks, paid the bill, and scurried away. We were laughing almost the whole time. We were referencing the experience with our other dining experiences the remainder of the weekend.

As were were leaving, DW says, "That looks like a Darth Maul tattoo on her lower back." I turned around and said, "Close. That's the devil honey." >:D

Next update=much better food including pood forn!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I can't wait to see where you take us next, Aaron. I don't think anything can surpass the Iron Horse!! :rofl2:

[SCTigerCock 171]

McDonalds?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, so the pork cubes weren't a hit.

Did you rent a canoe or kayak?

I'll bet those were nice.

I am surprised that this place is world famous. It can't be because of the food. It must be the canoes and kayaks.

Oh, and that house- it's not a bed and breakfast, right? You got the whole house?

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

7-28-12

The next morning we woke up and decided we would not be heading back to the Ironhorse.....even though it provided everything great from a good horror movie....

Instead, we decided to head into Middlefield and Mary Yoder's Amish Kitchen:

I ordered a Dutch platter with Eggs, Bacon, and home fries with Rye toast:

DW ordered Biscuits and Gravy:

Of course I also had to try the cream cheese cinnamon roll:

Cross-section taken for Dave's pleasure:

Photo of cinnamon roll thievery:

Pic of DW's favorite quilt that was for sale there:

The iphone pic probably doesn't do it any justice. The price was $1000.00. I new they would be expensive but I had no idea they were THAT expensive. :holysheep:

The food was great! The cinnamon roll was maybe the only one I have had that rivaled that of Main Street USA's bakery!

Anyway......if you travel to Amish Country in Ohio......Mary Yoder's :thumbsup2: :drool1:

Ironhorse? :barf: :1sm056pullhair: :achmed: >:D :panic:

BTW, The Amish apparently came up with a new word to avoid crashes in the town of Middlefield:

Next update: Driving around in Amish Country, sight seeing, shopping, etc

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

That cinnamon roll makes up for dinner! Looks YUMMY!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I can't wait to see where you take us next, Aaron. I don't think anything can surpass the Iron Horse!! :rofl2:

Um, I go all out for these anniversary weekends. :rofl3:

McDonalds?

If I would have seen the golden arches it would have been like rays of light shining down from the heavens G.

OK, so the pork cubes weren't a hit.

Did you rent a canoe or kayak?

I'll bet those were nice.

I am surprised that this place is world famous. It can't be because of the food. It must be the canoes and kayaks.

Oh, and that house- it's not a bed and breakfast, right? You got the whole house?

TCD

No canoes or kayaks for us.

The house was not a B&B. I wish I would have taken pics of the inside, but alas I did not. It wasn't the nicest old farmhouse I have ever seen, but there were cool things like the sun porch which was almost all wood with nice benches in the bay windows, the giant farm style kitchen table with booth style seating on one side and a bench on the other side. And it was very clean.

[H in SC 85]

Photo of cinnamon roll thievery:

This would be considered a high crime and misdemeanor in SC.

Glad ya’ll had a good trip. :)

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

late but in for the ride...

good job on the theivery!!

I am now hungry for biscuits and Gravy!

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Aaron, I love this TR! I know the cinnnamon roll was awesome, but those biscuits and gravy are what caught my eye! Thanks for \sharing with us.

[Judy in Texas 150]

Lehman's Hardware in Kidron Ohio. A definite must. You'll park next to all the Amish buggies. This store is right out of the early 1900's. Worth your time. Oh! Does your wife sew? There is a wonderful fabric store in Charm, Ohio. I think Charm is very near Millersburg.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Glad ya’ll had a good trip. :)

Thanks H!

late but in for the ride...

good job on the theivery!!

I am now hungry for biscuits and Gravy!

She deserved the cinnamon roll. She sat in the Iron Horse the night before!

Aaron, I love this TR! I know the cinnnamon roll was awesome, but those biscuits and gravy are what caught my eye! Thanks for \sharing with us.

She loves biscuits and gravy and southern style food. Her Mama (grandma but pronounced Muh-mo) was from Muscle Shoals, Alabama and was the best cook ever!

Lehman's Hardware in Kidron Ohio. A definite must. You'll park next to all the Amish buggies. This store is right out of the early 1900's. Worth your time. Oh! Does your wife sew? There is a wonderful fabric store in Charm, Ohio. I think Charm is very near Millersburg.

She is quite the knitter. She taught herself in five minutes watching a Youtube video. She is extremely intelligent.

We did not make it to Kidron or Charm.....but we did make it to the oldest general store in Ohio.

[dvccamper 32]

I am enjoying your report, too funny on the Darth Maul tattoo...yikes! Even though dinner left much to be desired at least it sounds like you had a lot of laughs.

We vacationed once in Amish country in PA. Someone recommended a driving tour where it takes you off the beaten path and really into the heart of Amish community. Well the kids were bored to tears so we put in a Bugs Bunny DVD for them to watch. It just felt wrong driving through these narrow roads, passing Amish women hanging their laundry, little children playing, in our air conditioned minivan with the kids watching tv, munching on Cheetos.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

After breakfast we just went for a drive and explored the area. These signs were everywhere:

There were buggies everywhere as well. I was amazed at how fast the cars approached and passed the buggies. I amsure they are all used to this by now, but it seemed like the driving was overly aggressive and unsafe to us.

Here are some pics of us driving around:

We would have liked some better/closer pics of the people driving there buggies but the Amish culture does not like there picture taken so we only took pics where you couldn't make out the people's likenessess....thats why a lot of rear and side buggy shots.

We stopped at several shops like this one:

Most of these shops were at people's homes in barns and other outbuildings. They were all very nice. I didn't take many pics of the shops but I liked the theft deterent signage! Works for me. It was a bit surreal how the shop attendant would leave and go in their house and leave us alone in their shop.....not that they had anything to worry about....just a much different way of life!

It started to rain around noon so we headed back to the farmhouse. When we got there the rain stopped so we walked around a bit outside:

We noticed there was a trail through the woods next to the pond. We started down it and about 10 yards in came to this:

The fence housed a grave marker:

Sorry the Pic is pretty bad and almost impossible to read.

We hung out at the house for awhile after our walk in the woods and then decided to head for the Cradle of Civilization.........

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I am enjoying your report, too funny on the Darth Maul tattoo...yikes! Even though dinner left much to be desired at least it sounds like you had a lot of laughs.

We vacationed once in Amish country in PA. Someone recommended a driving tour where it takes you off the beaten path and really into the heart of Amish community. Well the kids were bored to tears so we put in a Bugs Bunny DVD for them to watch. It just felt wrong driving through these narrow roads, passing Amish women hanging their laundry, little children playing, in our air conditioned minivan with the kids watching tv, munching on Cheetos.

Thanks DVCC!

Too funny about the two worlds colliding!

Most of the Amish we passed would wave at us, usually after we waved first. They seemed very nice, but also very private. We liked sitting on the sun porch watching the large number of kids playing in the yard across the street at night.....having fun with each other without a lot of "stuff". We saw how they were playing and it reaffirmed that me and DW are (in our opinion) doing a good thing by having the kids play together and outside as much as we do......with their cousins around the corner from us also.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Very cool!!!!! I get to go to Amish country next August as there is going to be a big National T@B rally near Sugarcreek, OH where T@Bs are currently being built. I'm really looking forward to it!!!

[stefa70 205]

To get into Amish character: WHOA!

I go off for a couple hours and you are on a trip report writing frenzy.

That house is beautiful! Looks like up around my Dad's home (Upstate NY)

We see a lot of Amish up there too and I am fascinated by them.

I always find myself staring. Not in a "Wow, you're freaking me out" way, but a "You guys are cool and make nice furniture" way.

Then they get all uncomfortable because I'm staring and it's just awkward.

I can't believe you took your wife to a biker bar! :rofl2: To EAT, no less. I see that 'Husband Of The Year' award, slipping through your fingers.

You did redeem yourself a slight bit with the sharing of the cinnamon roll. That looks like ooey gooey goodness.

All these reports going on are great! Just today I have sailed on a Dis cruise, been in a tent at the fort, and now hobnobbing through Amish country. Awesome!!

[Judy in Texas 150]

I can't wait to hear about the General Store. Joyce and I will be in that area in two weeks to visit my family and Joyce wants to go to Lehman's. Perhaps we can add the General Store to that day's exploring.

[Lou... 3,118]

To get into Amish character: WHOA!

I go off for a couple hours and you are on a trip report writing frenzy.

That house is beautiful! Looks like up around my Dad's home (Upstate NY)

We see a lot of Amish up there too and I am fascinated by them.

I always find myself staring. Not in a "Wow, you're freaking me out" way, but a "You guys are cool and make nice furniture" way.

Then they get all uncomfortable because I'm staring and it's just awkward.

I can't believe you took your wife to a biker bar! :rofl2: To EAT, no less. I see that 'Husband Of The Year' award, slipping through your fingers.

You did redeem yourself a slight bit with the sharing of the cinnamon roll. That looks like ooey gooey goodness.

All these reports going on are great! Just today I have sailed on a Dis cruise, been in a tent at the fort, and now hobnobbing through Amish country. Awesome!!

Stef, you're on your "A" game with this post.

Ok Aaron, anniversary, no kids, long weekend getaway, Amish country, did I mention no kids.

Which one of these things doesn't fit.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Ok Aaron, anniversary, no kids, long weekend getaway, Amish country, did I mention no kids.

Which one of these things doesn't fit.

Um..not to be indelicate, Lou, but just what do you think the Amish do in the evenings after the sun goes down, with no electric lights, no TV, no internet or FF.net? Sounds very anniversary like to me! :heartsmiley:

[Lou... 3,118]

Um..not to be indelicate, Lou, but just what do you think the Amish do in the evenings after the sun goes down, with no electric lights, no TV, no internet or FF.net? Sounds very anniversary like to me! :heartsmiley:

Good logic right there Marty.

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Um..not to be indelicate, Lou, but just what do you think the Amish do in the evenings after the sun goes down, with no electric lights, no TV, no internet or FF.net? Sounds very anniversary like to me! :heartsmiley:

:rofl2: Go Marty! I like your logic!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Um..not to be indelicate, Lou, but just what do you think the Amish do in the evenings after the sun goes down, with no electric lights, no TV, no internet or FF.net? Sounds very anniversary like to me! :heartsmiley:

:rofl2:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Aaron....ok, where to begin.

The biker bar dinner make me laugh out loud. That's too funny, and I don't blame you for not taking a pic of the pork pieces.

The cinnamon roll.....looks to die for! Z snap and all. I would love that thing.

The farmhouse reminds me a lot of the place I grew up in. Like Stef's dad's place, I grew up in NY. Looks pretty cool. And there were a lot of Amish folks around there too. They were always coming to my Dad's farm to pick strawberries and tomatoes.

Finally...an Amish business named "Yoder". Say it ain't so. What a shock. :rofl3:

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

This is hilarious and it just started. I'm in!