Adventures With Nancy: Shipshewana, Indiana

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

To another adventure...

We had a long day yesterday, but things really went our way. No traffic on I-5 for the drive to SeaTac; easy check in and luggage drop at Delta; AND our boarding passes listed us as "TSA Precheck"! Than meant we got to go into the shortest possible line to get checked through to our departure gate. I was dumbfounded as to how that could be, but Vickie tells me they do this randomly and she has had it happen to her a few times. Whatever the reason, I will take it. That was the easiest and quickest time I have ever had going through the TSA check line.

Vickie drove 2-3 hours from her dad's house to pick us up in Detroit, with rental bikes on the back of her car. Then we drove another 2-3 hours to Shipsawana (I love that word) for our first night in Indiana. This is Amish Country, and shortly before arriving at our motel, an Amish buggy passed us with its yellow lights aglow on the sides of the carriage and the horse clippity clopping along. It was midnight, so we aren't sure where this Amish person was going or coming from so late at night. I have been in Amish country in Pennsylvania several times, and in Wisconsin once, and have seen many buggies, but this is my first to see clipping along at night with lights glowing. A very nice way to begin our time in Amish country.

You know you are in Amish Country when...

The thick gray clouds that blanketed the entire sky this morning very gradually thinned, then broke, then let in some blue to end the afternoon with sun, blue sky and just a few fluffy white clouds. Such a spectacularly perfect day for our bike outing.

I am so taken with all the Amish buggies around every corner in in many driveways, as well as driving down the roads and streets all through the day. I could not get enough of them -- as you are about to see in the number of photos I took.

Note the sign -- for horse vehicles only

Vickie visits with one of the parked horses

We took a route from a website that shows maps of some bike riding events. Leaving from the door of our motel we traveled along very traffic free roads through many Amish farms.

A display on the way out of town. Horses made from corn husks.

Buggies in driveways and garages much like our cars are kept.

Farming is big among the Amish and the silos and corn cribs are filled with feed.

We crossed the tranquil Pigeon River

More of evidence of a framing culture

As we rode along, I would wave to each buggie driver that we passed or that passed us, and they would give an immediate one hand up wave back. This is such a simple and quiet life -- except that now there are many tourist attractions (buggy rides, gift shops, demonstrations) and it seems that the Amish way of life has a slight feel of exploitation to it.

I did not get a photo of laundry hanging out on the line to dry. It seemed that every other house had some laundry hanging out in some part of the yard. Just like in the "olden days" ;'-)

As we drove along some of these neighborhoods, we passed several Amish schools. One had the playgrounds up on a hill and as we passed by the children waved enthusiastically to us. Two other schools were grades 1-8. We learned that from the Amish woman who had the M&M bike shop. I was disappointed to not get a photo of the store that did not look like a store -- more like the barn it was. With the Amish woman standing in the doorway saying goodbye to us, I could not take the photo with her in it (against their beliefs).

The kids all bike to school. And Vickie pointed out that the bikes are not locked!

In addition to the buggies, there are lots of bike riders commuting to somewhere or running their daily errands -- with no helmets, and the women dressed in their ...... Amish dress. At that bike shop a fellow riding his bike stopped to chat and tell us about the Pumpkinvine trail. We found it and rode it to the next town -- Middlebury, about five miles away.