Black Ones, Gray Ones

Tim and I were up early this morning and like always, he sent me off with a great breakfast.  Scrambled eggs with chives, bacon, toast, home made jelly, orange juice, and coffee.  Tim is the best of hosts, and I always appreciate his efforts.  Thanks, Tim..

I hit the road about 7:15 and twisted south headed for New Jersey and Pennsylvania..  My route of travel is right here... I must have done all right, cause the GPS lady never yelled at me..

It was cloudy but never rained so it was a great day to travel. I drove for 4 hours straight and stopped for gas and lunch just west of Kutztown, PA.  Our old truck club knows this area from our attendance at the yearly Macungie Truck Show.

After racking up about 290 miles I rolled into my hotel in Lancaster, PA around 1:30.  I asked the gal at the desk what is to see around here and was handed a local map.  I headed south then east through the little towns of Smoketown and Bird in Hand.

I came upon my first horse and buggy and of course I whipped out the camera to get a shot.  After awhile this started to remind me of our Yellowstone trip.  The first time I saw a buffalo, I couldn't wait to get a picture.  By the end of the weekend, I had seen hundreds of them.  Same with the buggies.  I saw dozens during the rest of my afternoon.

The hotel gal explained the Amish businesses are all closed on Sunday.  Perhaps that is why I saw so many out on the road. With no work, they may have all been out for a Sunday Drive. I saw four or five volley ball games going on also, it looked like fun.

I learned Amish buggies are gray, and the Mennonites have black ones. I'm not really sure if I'll ever need that info,  but I'll have it if I need it.



I also learned they don't stop at the Stop Signs....

If you click on that pic to make it larger, notice the rocking chairs on the front porch.  It looked like a relaxing was to spend a Sunday afternoon. You can also see the buggy has directional lights.  Some did and some didn't..

Most of the buggy occupants were pretty stern as they watched the tourist from Boston take pictures.  Others were very friendly and waved at me in my old GMC.



There were lots of churches.  Most were fairly new structures stoutly built of brick and/or stone.  This small older one sat in the midst of a cemetery.

From the center of Bird in Hand, I headed south along South Ronks Road. This was typical view of the farm houses and barns once I left main streets.

While driving through Strasburg I noticed lots of small restaurants.  After a shower I am going to head back for dinner..  Later tonight I will lay out my route and plan my stops for tomorrow.