Amish Country

I don't know how far west and south the Amish have spread, but here in the NE, we know them to live mainly in Lancaster, though there are some Amish residences spread up further north. We go to Lancaster maybe twice a year, three times if we're feeling the need for a long drive.
It's about two hours away by car. Which, when you think about it, isn't too far. But it is mostly highway which is boring. We took a more scenic route today, due to an accident on our normal path. The alternate route took us past lots of rolling green hills (and yellow, in some farm cases) with cows, horses, ponies, cows, a few pigs, cows, some cows, and a few more cows. I didn't take any pictures, because sometimes you don't need to.

And besides, my mom took a few, so I'm sure she'll be posting them soon.

We hit up Clyde Weaver's for some of the Best Bacon In the World, as well as some Darn Good Ham. Also some Pretty Excellent Tea. I got Blackcurrant, a favorite of mine. My dad got something fruity smelling called Serene Temple, and we got some more tea that we all liked called Celebration, which is citris-y and sweet in a natural sort of way. I also got some dried blueberries, because they are delicious, and contemplated some sticky buns for breakfast tomorrow. Eh. Got myself some more green tea mints, this time with lychee flavors instead of the usual lemongrass. Those should be interesting.
After that we found Labadie Looms and lusted after some fibers. They had some absolutely gorgeous pale spring green merino laceweight that was just SCREAMING for me to pair it with some matching white and knit the Irish Diamond Shawl with them held double, but their price tags discouraged me from listening to the deceitful little strumpets. I just wasn't ready to part with that much money yet. I did, however, get a few ounces of some Corriedale roving dyed in a color called "antique pagoda." It's a dusty sort of dark-red-rust color, very pretty, almost brown.
And, down the road from that is the Farmers Market that Sells the Best Apple Cider Since The Creation of Apple Cider, Which Also Comes with Cherry. Or course, bought some of the best apple cider since.... yeah, you get the idea. The big draw with the farmers market is just the atmosphere. It's not that big, but everyone is friendly and everything is fun to look at. There's a Clyde Weaver's stall, a produce stall, a Jake&Amos place that does preserved foods and jams, several dozen bakeries, a leather stall, a tchachke stall, a gift shop (read: Mother of All Tchachke Shops), and a dry-goods stall that takes up a good 1/5 of the place. There, they sell all kinds of honey, and my mom goes there to find her favorite: cranberry honey. I picked up some blueberry honey out of curiosity (and you know how I love me blueberries). Some oatmeal, a few other dry goods, and the cookie things to make ice cream bars. They sell those at the farmers market. Genius!

We got back, and my parents dropped me off at the train station. I took the speedline into Camden, my friend met me at the station, and walked me back to her house. There we spent a good deal of time talking, laughing, munching on chips, and then the rest of the party got there. After that, we played a lot of Rock Band (more fun the more people are playing), talked a good deal about geeky things, and drank a lot of soda (we were advised against tap water). It was fun.

I, however, am going to bed now, because Patrick is dropping hints and it is getting late. I'm sleepy after a long, busy day.

"Great. The guys next door are loitering on their steps playing craps. The people I have coming over are going to see that and think, 'Wow, this is the ghetto!'"
"Ty, no offense, but if the people who are coming aren't already thinking, 'Wow, this is going to be the ghetto!' then there's something seriously wrong with them."
~Ty and I discussing her neighbors