Amish Country – Lancaster Pennsylvania – Part 2

The first full day in Lancaster was spent checking out the shops.  My whole reason I came was to find some covered bridges.  You gotta admit – you would, too, right?  What is it about covered bridges that is so romantic?  Especially the red ones – gotta have pictures of red covered bridges or my life is not complete.

While the gang was preparing to visit Bird in Hand Farmer’s Market, The Kitchen Kettle and other hot spots along the “strip,” I had it in the back of my mind I was not leaving until I found a covered bridge.  Barbara, one of my friends who went with us, told me we’d find one later when the rest of the gang went to the mud hop, or whatever it was called where people love to take their expensive trucks and run them through the mud.  Meanwhile, I had to make the best of it by being dragged through farmer’s markets and shops and being forced to buy jars of homemade preserved vegetables and other Amish goodies.  Anything you could can, the Amish canned it.  Might I say I had a great time.

Bird in Hand Farmer’s Market

Well here we are at Bird in Hand Farmer’s Market.  Actually this is the sign for it and looking across the street.  Here’s a picture of the building itself:

Bird in Hand Farmer’s Market

Not overly impressive on the outside but good lordy you ought to see what’s inside.  A good word of advice when you see all those yummy things on the shelves…if it says pickled, it’s going to be SOUR.  I bought pickled asparagas.  I thought how neat – I love asparagas.  Well this was a little too tangy, but the pickled beets were out of this world.  I bought my daughter some hot pickled mushrooms thinking she would love that, but she said they weren’t that great, but don’t let me discourage you…there is something to suit everyone and lots of it.  I wanted to take pictures inside but there were too many Amish people (who I might say were the friendliest and most courteous people I’ve ever met) working in there and I didn’t want to offend them by having their picture taken.

I did buy this little lighted street lamp thingee for my deck.  Ain’t it cute?

Across the street, and all along the street in fact, were these quaint shops.  Here’s a picture of one of them.

Bird in Hand shop

After that, we headed off to Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse.  Kitchen Kettle reminded me a little bit of Colonial Williamsburg in a weird little way.  We even got some entertainment:

And there were, of course, buggy rides….

And more of Kitchen Kettle Village…

We had a great time.  And like everything, all fun comes to the end as we make our way back to our room before we take to the road again to find my covered bridge!

Until next time,