Amish Country in Ohio -- a visit with my brother

Roger here...  My brother lives in Central Ohio, a little north and a little east of Columbus.   A visit to see Dick and his wife, Pam, has been on our itinerary for months.  Unfortunately, Pam was forced to go to Indiana before we arrived to take care of a medical issue with her mother.  So, it was just the three of us, Dianne, Dick, and me.  


We parked in Dick and Pam's driveway, where we connected to their electricity.  We had a great time despite Pam's absence.  Dick prepared meals on his new outdoor grill. We played Mexican Train. (Dick won every game and he had never played before.  Dick always wins, and I am really getting tired of it :-).  (I especially missed Pam while we were playing Mexican Train -- a little female backup would have been helpful; just a bit too much testosterone in the room for me!  You can read into that that I came in dead last each and every game -- D.)  We also did a little shopping and sight seeing.


Ohio Amish country was about an hour east.  We spent a day driving through the rolling hills and well-kept farms.  It is an extensive community, consisting of several towns.   Horses and buggies were prevalent on the main highways and the side roads.  Dianne told me that it was bad form to photograph the Amish without their permission.  I agree.  I did, however, take a picture of an antique buggy that was on display outside one of the shops in the town of Berlin (the opening picture).  

We stopped at a wine shop to sample some of the local Ohio wines and bought a couple of bottles, a Malbec and a Sangiovese.  Surprisingly good!


The highlight of the day was a stop in Kidron, Ohio to visit the flagship store of Lehman's.  The gigantic store (30,000 square feet, nearly a quarter- mile long) is billed as the best of Ohio's Amish country.  It was founded in 1955 to serve the local Amish with non-electric, old-fashioned products.  Dianne and I did some serious damage in the store, purchasing new dishes for the motor home (lightweight and unbreakable), as well as a few other interesting items.  (This then necessitated a trip to a Goodwill Store to drop off our old dishes -- something in, something out!  -- D.)  I will be very surprised if Dick does not make a trip back with Pam to buy a couple of the most comfortable Adirondack chairs that my derriere has ever rested in.  

We stopped for some amazing apple-cinnamon doughnuts and fruit at the local orchard (a mile from Dick and Pam's house).  We made the trip a couple of times.  The first time we were in the car. The second time we walked, making the purchase of the doughnuts a little less of a guilt trip.

We don't have any pictures of my brother, but we do have a picture of his fancy sports car.  Here is a shot taken from the motor home while he passed us
on his way to check on Pam and her mother.

(We had said our good-byes an hour or two earlier in Ohio and watched him speed off into the horizon.  We were surprised to see him pass us again in Indiana.  A phone call to Dick received an explanation that he had stopped for "a quick lunch."  I pointed out to him that it couldn't have been very quick, noting the discrepancy between his swift little sports car and our lumbering motor home; good to see him again, nevertheless!  -- D.)
  
We are back in the Indy area right now, waiting for the annual service appointment for our motor home at Mt. Comfort RV tomorrow.  After the appointment, we will slowly make our way back to our winter home in South Texas.  


The pet picture of the day shows Chaplin and Bandido resting on the couch.