When Beth and I heard the words "Amish Country" we thought of Pennsylvania. As I mentioned in a previous blog, there are some Amish families near where we are currently staying (Kennerdell). However, in Pennsylvania "Amish Country" is Lancaster County which is in the Southeastern section of the state. What we didn't realize is that there is a large Amish area in Ohio, that according to some information I've read is actually the largest concentration of Amish in the United States. It is located in and around Holmes County, which included our destination, the small communities of Berlin and Mount Hope which were just a little over a two hour drive from here. Yesterday was Ben's day off and he is actually the one that suggested we visit that area. We were thrilled to have him with us for the adventure.
The drive took us through Akron, which is appropriately nicknamed "Rubber City" because it is the world headquarters of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Just a little south of Akron is the city of Canton, which is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We actually drove right by the Hall of Fame and the adjoining football stadium. The Hall of Fame will be a nice place to visit on another day, but this day was a day for Amish food and browsing a few of the numerous handmade furniture stores, antique shops and other stores selling "stuff" of all shapes and sizes for every budget and taste. One of the advantages of being intentionally homeless is that it's fun to look at everything but no temptation to buy.
US Highway 62, which is also known as the Amish Country Byway leads from the Canton area into the heart of Holmes County. Soon after getting into the green rolling farmland we began to see horse drawn buggies on the main road and side roads. We had arrived! Our first stop of the day was Sunny Slope Orchard. They had a great selection of fresh fruits, veggies, cheeses and of course something the Amish are famous for, sweets! Although everything we bought (apples, zucchini, pears, green peppers and an apple cider slush) was great , we did kind of make a rookie mistake by stopping at the first place we saw. Although their prices were very good, the prices at the roadside stands a little ways down the road were better. Ironically, our last stop of the day was also at Sunny Slope. We were heartbroken that the bakeries had all closed early and that we were going to be leaving without any cinnamon rolls. Our last ditch shot was Sunny Slope and they came through in fine fashion with some freshly delivered ones! We nibbled on them on the way home and polished them off at breakfast!
If you do visit Amish Country make sure you stop at one of the many hand crafted furniture stores you're likely to see. Even if you're not buying furniture, the skill and craftmanship of their work is worth taking some time to admire. Additionally, they are understandably proud of their work and happy to have you take a look at it. We spent quite a bit of time roaming through The Cabin Store and had a great time. Ben even picked up a few small items for his house!
We had a very nice lunch at Boyd and Wortman which is located on Main Street in Berlin. The food was delicious and plentiful but make sure you leave room for dessert! The restaurant is famous for their pies and they certainly lived up to their billing. Ben isn't much of a pie person so he opted out. Beth went for the Black Raspberry Pie a la mode, while I choose the Pecan Pie. Not wanting to miss out on any of the other Amish sweets, we picked up fudge, peanut brittle and a few other tasty treats at Heini's Cheese Chalet.
Food, furniture looking, treasure hunting and most importantly family time made for a great day in the Ohio Amish Country.
