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Published: October 20th 2011
Well, we travelled to Indiana on October 1st for 18 days, and didn’t want to leave! Every time we think we have found a favourite spot, we discover something we like better. We were in Amish country, and were amazed at the beauty of the area. From the horse and buggies travelling the roads, to the plough horses still used to till the land, to the immaculately kept yards with amazing flowers, it was a peaceful, inspiring area. Homesteads include a very large house with several porches, barn, carriage house, several outbuildings, usually all painted white, and a few acres of silage corn. It was not uncommon to see laundry hanging on lines, as most families still do not use clothes dryers. The orthodox Amish still dress in their traditional black hats, bonnets, long dresses, with men sporting beards that are grown under their chins. We are not able to take close-up pictures, but I did catch some distance ones in their fields or in buggies.
There seemed to be a real mix of religious “levels”, from the traditional orthodox Amish, to the more modern Mennonite, with several in between. For example, they refuse to put a telephone in their
house, but it was ok to put it in a small "outhouse" in the yard with a loud ringer that can be heard inside the house, complete with answering machine. No electricity in most of the houses, but the workshops were fully equipped with the latest woodworking equipment, complete with phones, faxes and computers!
The main reason for coming to Indiana was to tour the Newmar factory (make of our motorhome), and look into having a few renos done to our motorhome. We replaced our main couch (which was worn), took out the J couch (which we were never fond of) and replaced it with a recliner, and had our dinette chairs recovered. We also replaced the front TV, and had a young Amish fellow redo the oak cabinets to fit. He also built us a cabinet/desk to put beside the new chair. He allowed us to park at his shop, which was situated on his friend’s acreage, so we had a view of a pond and acres of corn. Had beautiful sunsets every night. It ended up being a very busy time, choosing TV, furniture, fabric, designing cupboard, etc.
While waiting for work to be done on
the motorhome, we had amazing weather (high 20’s) so took advantage of the cheap golf courses, road our bikes through the countryside, and walked through flea markets and country stores that were big on folk art and country décor. We drooled over the gorgeous handmade furniture, wishing we had a home to put it in, and spent many hours browsing through their stores.
We were actually a little sad to leave, as we were becoming quite comfortable.
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Monika Morgan
non-member comment
Hi from the island
Just read your latest blog. Fascinated with the places you're visiting. So pleased to hear you're seeing all these new places. Weather has been quite agreeable on our island. We just got back from Edm. (another wedding.) and Pg. to see the babes. Weather also good for Oct. but good to get back to our hot tub and pussycat. Fun to get back out in the dirt. Take care. The Morgans:) ps. You never made it to the maritimes? Was the weather too inclement?