08/13 - 08/23 Country Acres Campground - Part 2

Hail, hail, the gang's all here. Here's your 15 second introduction to the Hudson Islanders who were able to make this outing. From left panning right: John Sr., Carol, Mike, Chrissy, Roberta, Johnny Jr., Dawn, John, Sue, Ray, Tony and Doreen.

And, with everyone in attendance, plans were put into motion. As usual, my transportation was provided by Tony (thank you). First there was a trip to the Tanger Outlet Center Lancaster. Yippeee! I get to spend time in the equivalent of Woodbury Commons back home. I did wind up with a couple of pairs of sandals/shoes and a few shots at the candy story.

A very long and plentiful....

...selection of candy

Do you like gelato?

 

My adventure continues with:

THE AMISH FARMLAND TOUR

We picked up the tour bus at the Bird-in-Hand Family Inn

All smiling as directed for photo taken by tour director from the Inn.
All agreed we look better with masks on.

Myrna, our tour driver, is one of nine children who left the Amish community but
was not excommunicated nor shunned. She did volunteer work in a nursing home
before teaching Amish children for 14 years.

What I present here are from notes I took during the tour as Myrna related a ton of useful and little known facts about the Amish, the Mennonites and her own life growing up in the area. Hopefully, I will be corrected in the comments below by any of those on the tour who read this blog and heard something different. The Bird in Hand Inn is in its 8th generation of ownership by the Smucker Family. They're fifth cousins to the jam and jelly Smuckers in Orville, Ohio. Bird-in-Hand, legend has it that, in 1734, the two men who were surveying the Colonial highway between Philadelphia and Lancaster found themselves at a tavern/inn by a Conestoga wagon stop. After a discussion as to whether or not they should spend the night there or go on to Lancaster, one of the men said, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" and when the other surveyor agreed with his advice, they remained at the Inn. 

The popularly discussed town of Intercourse has an interesting history. Called Cross Keys in 1754 after the tavern the was established there, the name change occurred in 1814. Two theories include: The old racetrack was once located east of the village along Old Philadelphia Pike and its entrance was referred to as "Entercourse," which could have gradually become Intercourse with the help of some poor spelling. OR, the town could have been named after its location at the intersection...or "intercourse"...of roads know today as routes 340 and 772.

Lancaster, PA was the capital of our country for one day because President George Washington lived there. Further research on my part found Lancaster to be an important munitions center during the Revolutionary war. It was the National Capital of the American colonies on September 27, 1777, when the Continental Congress was fleeing British forces (who had captured Philadelphia). From 1799 to 1812, Lancaster was the capital of Pennsylvania.

Every day but Sunday is wash day. Long clotheslines are a common site
along our tour route. Note the solid colors of all garments.
Mennonites are allowed print fabrics, Amish are not.

15 camels (Dromedaries) are presently being raised on this camel farm.
According to owner, Amos Miller, their milk is said to have "a little bit of salt in it,
not quite as sweet as cow’s milk,” with higher fat content and creamier.  Lacking
two allergens, it is easily digested by the lactose intolerant.

We passed Miller's Organic Farm on Mill Creek School Road on our way to the first stop. I found more information from an article by Julie Matthews, CNC:

Camel milk can be easily digested by lactose-intolerant individuals. The lactoferrin in camel's milk has antibacterial and antiviral properties. It also has anti-tumor properties (Ueda et al., 1957). Some other benefits include:

• Positive effect on helping breast cancer patients (Eiseler et al., 1998).
• Three times the amount of vitamin C than cow's milk.
• Used for centuries to treat liver disease (studies performed for hepatitis and liver cancer with promising results).
• Rich in B vitamins and iron.
• The immunoglobulins in camel milk protect against certain types of cancer (Fage et al., 2005).

Camel milk has been helpful for the following illnesses:

•  Milk allergies or intolerance (Shabo et al., 2005)
• Autism (Shabo and Yagil et al., 2005)
• Tuberculosis (Agarwal et al., 2005)
• Crohn's Disease (Shabo et al., 2005, 2006; Donechenko, 1975)
• Female Infertility

A duck and turkey farm

In addition to having green shades, the Amish can be distinguished
from Mennonites by their grey buggies with rounded corners.
Mennonite buggies are black with squared corners.

No white cap; she's a tourist

Huge pumpkins now coming into season

Beside horse and buggy, bicycles with foot power only are common sights.

As Amish do use bikes, these youngsters are Mennonites. Mennonites are more 

progressive and are in greater number here in Lancaster County. 

Amish population is about 34,000; the Mennonites number about 79,000.

The rubber tires would be a no-no for the Amish

Our first 20-minutes stop was at the Country Roadside Stand and the second 20-minute stop at nearby Riehl's Quilts & Crafts on Eby Road.

At the Country Roadside Stand.

A soft pretzel with spicy yellow mustard drizzled along its entire shape
was an outstanding treat that served as my lunch

Handmade crafts in abundance

A group of tourists traveling by other means.

Entering the Riehl's Farm

The home of Sam and Susie Riehl, owners of
Riehl's Quilts & Crafts

Gourd bird houses. All products are handmade by over 100 local family
craft businesses boasting superior workmanship..

The following is a screenshot from Google showing the inside of store of quilts and crafts. Mrs. Riehl gave a demonstration on how to unfold, use and refold a Quillo. Have you ever heard of one? I didn't want to take photos or a video but the making and folding of it is quite interesting. I found a video where the person asked permission of an Amish girl to demonstrate and I'm sharing it HERE

This is an example of a Log Cabin quilt square that had a message for the
"fugitives" of the Underground Railroad. If hanging in a window and had a black center for the chimney hole, it indicated a safe house. There is no evidence that quilts ever played
a part in the Abolitionist movement. For more information, CLICK HERE.

As the Amish do not own phones for personal
use, they do have access for business. This is
a phone shanty that is shared by three families.

As we continued our journey we saw farm after farm growing one of their main cash crops: corn, tobacco or pumpkin. Here, leaves of harvested tobacco are tied to 3' stakes drying in the sun before being hung in ventilated barns. The main view, however, for miles and miles was corn, 99% of it for cow feed. 

The community cemetery at the Meyer home dating back to 1759.

SHADY MAPLE SMORGASBORD

L.to R. Johnny, Doreen, Charlie, Ray, Sue, Carol, John, Dawn, Ray. Thank you Tony.

Literally, "as far as the eye can see."

Shady Maple is a huge, efficiently run operation. I've never seen one as large. It's Lancaster County's largest smorgasbord and has expanded over the years to seat over 1,200 customers,  employ over 750 people and features 200 feet of deliciously authentic Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. I'm sparing my readers a video walk-through (which I should have done) showing every kind of food imaginable. Our hostess escorted our party of ten to socially distanced tables and directed us to wear face masks and gloves each time we left the table and ventured into the land of food. Upon returning, gloves were discarded in labeled containers and new ones used for the next trip.

Enter, pay and be escorted. A very good value. Seniors 10% off and
the birthday boy pictured above, free.

 Their Vision: "For more than 40 years Shady Maple has been a company based on faith in God, commitment to community and value to our customer." 

A 3-D Diorama depicting the beginning of Shady Maple.
Here, the original building is between the twin maples.

The fascinating 40-year history of Shady Maple is presented in this 14-minute video.
The 40,000 square foot gift shop downstairs was a great place to walk off a meal.

Hummels

Candle products featuring Yankee Candles, WoodWick Candles,

1803 Candles, Our Own Candle Co., Crossroads Candles...

...Candle Warmers and Battery Operated Candles

And so, to end the full day, we celebrated the retirements of Sue and John, Sr., the anniversary of Tony/Doreen's and xxth birthday of Ray. And to Kathy in absentia, a birthday toast to you as well.

Well, that's enough reading for today. There's more coming. The pot luck supper and some random photos and final thoughts that will wind down another great Hudson Islander's get-together. Stay tuned.