We were in Paradise

On part of our trip Kristene and I were in Paradise (Paradise, PA, that is!) What a fun and beautiful place. This is part of the Pennsylvania Amish Country. I have to brag about the hotel where we stayed - the Best Western Revere Inn & Suites. Not only were the rooms really nice, but they had an indoor pool (wish I had thought to pack my bathing suit) and computers were available for guests, which is a rare luxury these days. I guess most hotels expect everyone to have a Smart Phone, but I don't... Also, this was the very best complimentary continental breakfast I have ever experienced in the U.S. - we were even able to cook Belgian Waffles. Yum! Wonderful coffee and fresh fruit, too.

Here's a lovely fall display that greeted us at the door.

You will also find the historic Revere Tavern there. What ambiance! I had a delicious steak for dinner. The inn was built in 1740 and served as one of the better stagecoach stops between Philadelphia and Lancaster. In 1841, it was purchased by James Buchanan, our 15th U.S. President. How's that for history?

Daytime found us enjoying a visit to several quilt and gift shops, taking an Amish buggy ride tour, and eating lunch at Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse. Kristene and I shared a piece of Shoofly Pie so we could try it out. Here are the horses resting after our ride. Our tour guide was a very pleasant Amish woman who pointed out the sights and told us about Amish life. It's amazing to see the horses merge with regular street traffic and to see big trucks go right by them. I'm so glad they were used to all that traffic.

The farms were much larger than I expected because all of the work is done by human, horse, or mule power.

As we rode along we saw a school house (very small - with grades 1-8 all in one room), a blacksmith shop, furniture makers, and lovely autumn foliage and flowers. Here's where you go to get your horse's shoes.

As you can see, we got some rain that day, but it wasn't bad - just made it a bit harder to take pictures.

Here you will see Kristene at Kitchen Kettle Village where we spent a lot of the day.

If you are in Ronks, don't miss The Outhouse, a place with lots of laughs. You will definitely get a surprise when you walk into the Ladies Room! I took a picture, but I'll leave you in suspense.