Easy trip to Mount Joy near Lancaster in the heart of Amish country. Our wonderful B&B at 'Green Acres Farm' is run by a wonderfully warm and welcoming couple - Yvonne and Wayne! - who must be in their 80s but seemed indefatigable, and only happy when you'd eaten your body weight for breakfast. A reasonable sized farmhouse, it nevertheless seemed Tardis-like with 5 or 6 other families crawling out of the woodwork for breakfast, (eggs, potatoes, casserole, sausage, waffles, tomatoes, french toast, coffee...) all served at the vast kitchen table altogether, once Wayne had given Grace. Oh, and I forgot that once you'd waded through that lot they brought out 'dessert' - home made cake, cookies and freshly chopped peaches and blueberries. That this complete food overload did not once dissuade us from having lunch a few hours later is much to our shame. If we don't add to the Dubai stone with a US one, I'll be damned!
The children absolutely loved the farm, with the hayrides on the tractor, chatting to the goats, sheep and donkey, collecting the eggs, bouncing on the trampoline, making friends with the other children staying including a family of girls from Tennessee, but mostly stroking and playing with the many farm cats and kittens that hung around the kitchen door. In fact they loved it so much, they grudged leaving to go and explore elsewhere, but we ignored the grumbles and thoroughly enjoyed the oxymoron of the commercialised attractions of Amish country!
We got soaked (again!) at the big local market where we bought Shoofly pie and freshly made iced mint tea and pink lemonade, but the sun reappeared as we saw the farms and towns around Letitz, Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse (yes, really!) and Strasburg. We enjoyed fresh icecream from an Amish dairy farm once we'd watched the cows being milked and even manaded to squeeze in a traditional horse and buggy ride with a lovely Amish girl called Rachel (see what I mean about the Oxymoron!) It was all very 'Witness' and I think Iain fancied himself a little bit of a rugged Harrison Ford figure!
We then headed south for a fairly epic 5 hour journey to the top of the Blue Ridge Highway and our first night of Kamping (KOA - Kampsites of America!) Our log cabin included a/c, kitchen facilities, shower, loo and sink, 2 separate little bedrooms, and wif-fi access which enabled the last blog to be sent. Not exactly roughing it - our first impression was that Kamping US-style is a great deal more civilised that the camping we Collinses have been used to in the deserts of the UAE! Alas we were only there one night, as we then continued our journey, this time avoiding the highway and taking in some spectacular scenery across the Blue Ridge highway to get to our current spot where we're staying for FOUR WHOLE SLEEPS! Our picnic lunch stop in teh forest in the mountains was stunning and unforgettable, though not for all the right reasons - some little critter (we think a bee) got struck on the edge of Rosie's shorts and didn't give up until the fourth sting, poor love. Iain happened to catch the moment of impact on his camera and it's much to Rosie's credit that she managed to laugh at the picture only two minutes later.
The 'Kampsite' here at Lexington / Natural Bridge in Virginia is in the most beautiful spot and while our accommodation is much more basic than the last one (beds and a/c only, with electric hook-up and a tap outside, but we've very grateful for it all!) The Kabin (that 'K' is beginning to grate already isn't it?!) is in amongst lots of trees, right near the Blue Ridge Parkway and the facilities at the site are good, with swimming pool, games room, outdoor play area, clean washrooms and very welcome washers / dryers for the clothes, so we're thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Yesterday we took a trip to Natural Bridge which is pretty much what it says it is, an amazing, enormous limestone arch created from a mixture of plate movements millions of years ago and the river / stream that runs through it. A lovely walk too. Today we went for a fabulous 4 1/2 mile hike along the James river and Otter Creek, marred only in the children's eyes by the superfluity of insect life! Tomorrow we may try some kayaking but indolence may take over... well, must make the most of the slow life while we can because on Monday evening we fly to San Francisco. Aah, this is the life!
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