I see Amish people!
Last weekend we ventured off on our final east coast trek. Michael had arranged to spend Friday working at Fort Meade in Maryland and so we decided to combine business with leisure. We set off on Thursday, heading for Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, home to the Amish and Mennonite communities. Apart from wanting to see a bit more of the country, I wanted to shop for locally made crafts and in particular for quilts, which many Amish women still make entirely by hand.
After an unscheduled ‘drive through’ tour of Philadelphia (yep, missed the exit) we arrived in Lancaster, land of of green rolling hills and endless corn fields, all dotted with picturesque farmhouses and grain silos straight off the set of ‘Witness’. There were way too many craft and quilt stores everywhere but undaunted we trekked from story to store in search of the best, most authentic quilts.
We found the perfect quilt outside a small store owned by an Amish family and were delighted to find that it was made by the lady who served us. She was very friendly and helpful and very excited to hear that her quilt was going to Australia. She even managed to find something for Michael - a carved, inlaid wooden box with a magnetic puzzle lock - the perfect memento for a classy nerd!
We also enjoyed a delicious lunch at an Amish family owned restaurant, the ‘Stoltzfus Farmhouse’ where we were served home-cooked, German style fare which included an amazing creamy, corn chowder, delicious home-made pork sausage with buttered noodles and a mouth-watering cherry pie. Fabulous!
It was then on to Annapolis where we would stay for the next two nights. Annapolis is where we would live if we were ever to come on posting, so I was rather curious to see it. I’m pleased to say it is delightful. A beautiful, historic harbour town with lots of old buildings, winding lane-ways (some still cobbled), gorgeous shops, great coffee, friendly locals and a picturesque harbour. Of all the places we’ve seen, it’s the one where I think I could live most happily, which is nice to know if ever the day comes when we do come here on posting.
The next day, while Michael was trying to gain access to the NSA (a story way too long to tell here) and spending the day working and catching up with old colleagues, I roamed all around the town and harbour. Had an absolutely lovely time and spent the afternoon relaxing at our gorgeous B&B in a Georgian period house where we were extremely spoiled by our hostess.
That night, when Michael got home, we indulged in a glass of champagne on our private balcony before heading off for dinner at a little place I’d spotted that morning. As you know, Michael and I are pretty adept at finding good food and coffee wherever we are and this was no exception. O my! Cream of clam and langoustine soup, rack of lamb, duck ragout with parpadelle…scrumptious!
The next day, we drove to Washington DC which has a kind of cultured, Parisian vibe (but there is also visible poverty). The central public spaces are impressive and we spent five hours that evening walking around the mall taking in the monuments including the amazing, impressive Lincoln memorial, and the moving Vietnam memorial. We also stopped by the Washington, Jefferson and FDR monuments and the Einstein memorial.
As we walked around the lake, it felt remarkably like walking around Lake BG in Canberra - water, lots of green space, monuments and big public buildings. In fact Washington reminded me a lot of Canberra in may ways just bigger, older and of course, American. It was a beautiful time of day to be there - as we walked, the sun set and the full moon rose over the water - spectacular.
One monument we found quite by accident was to Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko ‘bard of the Ukraine’. Of course we took lots of pics in celebration of our Ukrainian heritage (okay, okay, Michael’s Ukrainian heritage - I’m just a Ukrainian wannabe) though confess we had never before heard of him.
The next day we took in the national Air and Space Museum where we saw the Apollo 11 space command module (cool!), a V2 rocket, the Wright brother’s plane and many, many other cool things.
Then it was off to Arlington National Cemetery which has a breathtaking location, high on a hillside overlooking the Potomac and Washington. We toured laboriously up the hill in intense heat and humidity to see the former home of Robert E Lee (who was the owner of Arlington until he joined the Confederate cause in the Civil War and the estate was confiscated) and finished by visiting the grave sites of John and Robert Kennedy.
On the way home we did a ‘drive through’ (planned this time) of Delaware, the smallest state in the union where we had an incredible bridge experience driving over the Chesapeake Bay.
Then it was back to New Jersey and Princeton for our final week of ‘livin’ in the USA’.