Lancaster County

May of 1987.
I suffered through the ceremony of my first marriage here.

I love visiting Lancaster County and wouldn’t hesitate to live there one day, if my job would take me there.

In February of last year, a friend and I were passing through on US 30 on our way to Philadelphia. A man dressed in a red bodysuit carrying a red sack and sporting a long white beard (very Santa-ish) was just walking along the side of the road. As we drove by, he stopped walking and smiled and waved at us.

Definitely not my first strange experience there, but it’s always good for a laugh!

I only went to lancaster to see Arlo Guthrie and that is the only way I will go back again. I wasn’t lancasters biggest fan.

Lancaster [[city]] has to be one of the most interesting cities I’ve ever been to;; Well one of them anyway. I absolutely loved the central market.

I have to say the food, candy, and misc. stuff they’ve got in there is really great.

I miss it. Since I live in North Carolina now, & if I had the chance to go back & visit I would!

Happy traveling.

I started off with a good lunch at the Bird In Hand restaurant, complete with a fantastic piece of shoo fly pie. then I headed for a buggy ride from aaron and jessica’s, we rode with a nice fellow named Meno, down a narrow road that led by several farms, as he explained some of the way of life here. Then we returned to our car, headed for a gift shop, where we bought a book on amish culture, and a shirt that states proudly “I Love Intercourse” Intercourse being a town in the area of course. then we headed out to a farm for some home made rootbeer. It was a fun, if touristy day.

there’s more to Lancaster than just the Amish. Even though they are pretty darn cool to go see.

I love the amish country. It’s so cute. We ate with a traditional amish family and had a traditional amish meal. I’ll never forget it.

DO NOT VISIT. I live nearby and the amish life that is depicted for tourist is nothing like the reality. Lancaster County has the highest concentration of puppy mills in the United States, 98% of them owned by Amish. Do a google on the Amish and puppy mills. Look at the pictures and read the newspaper articles that come up. Nothing has changed despite attempts by Harrisburg to push through laws. (Google “Daniel Esh” and you will be appalled. His is just one owner of the hundreds of disease ridden mills.)

While the landcape is among the most beautiful in the world, the puppies bred at the mills NEVER see the outside of a wire cages that are stacked on top of each other in dark and dank barns. Visit the counties outside of Lancaster such as Lebanon, Daupin, and Berks.

Lancaster is really a beautiful county, if you ignore the occasional haze and the fact that we’re destroying the Chesapeake Bay. After a trip, you’ll always know when you’re back…even with your eyes closed. (You natives know what I mean.) But it’s positively gorgeous in spring, and if you know where to go, the scenery’s great.

I’d love to see the quilts on wash day.