Farm to the City

(written 11:20pm Wednesday, October 17, 2007)

Monday was our day off and we were in Lordstown, Ohio. Jenny and I were staying on a farm with a couple named Ken and Jan. When we got there on Sunday night we got to help feed their horse named McGee and the “furry herd.” They have 17 outdoor cats on their farm! There were cats everywhere! We saw two little kittens and Jan said that nobody had held them yet because they would just run away. I followed the little gray one into the barn and it let me pick it up. I am not a cat person but I think I may have just become one when I held that little kitten. Oh so cute! I held it for quite a while, sitting out on their porch. It was fun for us suburban girls to get to stay on a farm.

Ken does a lot of work on saddles and on our day off we went with him into Amish country to get some leather and to visit with Eli. Eli is Amish and has owned his own leather and saddle shop for over 40 years! He is one of the most well known side-saddle repairman in the United States and was also a volunteer fireman. He got his picture in TIME magazine because the fire department wanted to make him and a couple other Amish men shave their beards, saying that the air masks would not seal right with a long beard. Once Amish men marry they don’t shave their beard as it is a sign of their marital status. We visited with Eli and his apprentice Tom, for about an hour. He taught us a lot about the Amish way of life and was very willing to answer any questions that we might have. He and Tom were very interested in hearing about our trip. They got a kick out of my MinnesOta accent. Before we left Ken, Jenny and I went over to the general store and got some ice cream to bring back for Eli and Tom. I also bought some Amish maple candy. If we would have been left in that store any longer Jenny and I would have come out with a ridiculous amount of tasty stuff. I am so glad that we got to meet Eli. He was such a sweet man and a real joy to talk with. He even gave us a little leather souvenir keychain to remember him.

We also went to Middlefield where we visited the cheese factory and bought some pepperoni cheese. The Amish make the best cheese! In the car Ken taught us a lot about the Amish buggies and horses. Jenny and I now know how to tell the difference between a horse that is trotting and a horse that is pacing.


For supper Ken and Jan took us to a place called Little Wings where they have 43 different sauces for the wings. When we got home, Jan, Jenny, and I played dress up. Ya, that’s right we played dress up. Ken and Jan are really into reenactments and they travel all around doing reenactments of different battles. They have a whole room filled with guns and swords from different time periods. Jan has lots of dresses from the 1700’s and 1800’s and decided that we should try them on. We spent 2 hours doing this! She did our hair and everything. Then we went downstairs and she and Ken taught us the different time period dances. Jenny and I both tried two different dresses. You wouldn’t think this would take that long but man those dresses have so many layers and parts to them. We learned a lot of history and were pretty wiped out by the end. This was not the most relaxing day off but we had a lot of fun. Jan and Ken seemed to really enjoy having us and they made us feel so at home.


Tonight we did a program in Fort Salonga, New York, which is on Long Island. We drove from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania today and made a wrong turn ending up in the middle of Manhattan! Ua was driving and Dave was navigating and somehow they got us back on track to where we were supposed to be going. In the traffic it only took us about an hour.  We drove by Pennsylvania Station, Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building and we almost saw a fight right in front of us. You have to realize also that we drive a 15 passenger van, which was quite an adventure in downtown Manhattan. I wish we would have had more time to explore New York but it was cool to just to get to drive through.


I have a new friend. Jenny and I are staying with a couple on Long Island and they have a chocolate lab that I became friends with. It likes cuddling with Jenny and I on the couch and when I came out of the bathroom before bed she was curled up on my bed waiting for me. Too bad we don’t have room for a dog in the van. Tomorrow morning Jenny and I are getting up early with our host mom Corlyn and she is going to take us to the boardwalk where we are going to walk around and then have some breakfast.