Have you ever visited the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania? Earlier this month my wife and I took a weekend getaway to Lancaster County. The county is a big tourist destination for those who want to see the Amish and visit the various attractions in the area. On this particular trip we were visiting various antique stores, farmer’s markets, Amish stores and we did the covered bridges of Lancaster County driving tour.
Let me first start off by saying the weather was terrible the entire weekend. It was bitter cold with periods of snow, freezing rain, rain and it was super windy. I’m talking about wind gusts of 50 mph. It wasn’t fun to be driving in that kind of weather. You have to keep your eyes on the road, watch out for other vehicles and of course…watch out for the Amish Horse and Buggies too.
The first photograph shows you one of the large Amish farms that we saw and we saw many of them! One thing they all have in common is that they’re LARGE is size with many out-buildings and barns. One thing my wife commented on was that she saw laundry (clothing) hanging up on the clotheslines at many of them. We’re talking about January with temps in the lower 20’s! They don’t have electricity, so they have to hang their laundry outside year-round to dry. Brrrr. I wonder how long it takes for the clothing to dry?
In the second photograph you’ll see one of the Amish Horse and Buggy’s that we saw coming down the road. If you want to see them out and about on the roads, in various retail parking lots, etc. You’ll want to visit Lancaster County Monday through Saturday. You won’t see many (if any) on a Sunday which is their church day and rest day. Just remember, they don’t allow you to photograph the Amish up close, no facial shots, license plates, mailbox address info, etc. Those rules always need to be respected.
I am fascinated by this way of living. It is so different than anything I have encountered. I would love to visit one of the Amish stores and the covered bridges.