Berlin, Ohio 7^th Sept.

 

This is Amish country. After days of flat corn and bean fields it’s a delight getting back into a few hills, trees, and a bit of action. Though the Amish are not renowned for too much action in the modern sense of the word.

It is amazing how they have kept their way of life when all around them are tuning in to the 21^st century, although many have melded their old ways with parts of the modern and you sometimes see a golf buggy trundling along the road instead of the more sleek and romantic horse and trap. The women with their long skirts and bonnets and the men in braces and straw hats look odd initially but you soon get used to it. They are friendly and happy to get into a conversation. Joan was intrigued in the washing on the lines in the front yards of the farm houses laid out in perfect order: towels all together, sheets next, then the men’s garments followed by the women’s. Not sure if they colour coordinated the pegs like my Mother used to. Many schools with the kids playing outside. And paddocks mowed by genuine horse power.

Talking to one of the RVers at the camp site he was saying how they loved coming to this area. The people were so friendly, so different. Then I realized to him it was the easy way to visit another country and not have to leave the comfort of your own. You don’t even have to learn a new language!

It’s a real tourist dive. The Amish don’t seem to mind getting their pound of flesh out of the gullible. But once you hit the back roads you experience their simple way of life.

 

Lionsgate, Vermont 16^th Sept

 

A lot has happened since the last post. We made it to Boston in time to meet Adam who ended up a day late with his British Airways plane breaking down. Where we stayed at Framingham, a suburb of Boston, is only 20kms from Concord where in April 1775 the Revolutionaries made their stand against the British who were marching on the town to confiscate weapons they knew had been stashed there. The bridge where the skirmish happened and where Waldo Emerson composed his famed words “The shot heard around the world.” Of course it’s not the same bridge, I believe its been rebuilt some seven times but it IS a very historical place and not ruined by over commercialization.

Very nearby is Walden Pond where Henry Thoreau lived for two years, built his little cottage and tried living as independently as possible. It is a tranquil lake surrounded by lovely trees showing their first signs of autumn colouration.

The airbnb at Framingham was a delight. Under the main house it was spacious, comfortable beds and looked out onto woods. We watched squirrels storing acorns and chipmunks scurrying from shelter to shelter.

We took the scenic route to where we are now. A mistake as it took us almost 9 hours to get here. But Lionsgate is an inn at the end of a gravel road. In the middle of forest where the fall is more advanced although greenery still outnumbers fall colours. A very beautiful area. Today we went for a drive ending up on the islands on Lake Champlain a kilometre or two from the Canadian border.