The next stop on our adventure had us traveling about a half hour to another Philadelphia suburb, this time to visit Mike’s cousin Bil and his family. We spent the evening enjoying their company and meeting their adorable new(ish) addition, baby Margot.
The next morning I got to check a big item off of my bucket list! Bil and Liz live about an hour from Lancaster and I have always wanted to drive through Amish country. We told them that we (read: I) wanted to drive through the Amish countryside to get a glimpse of Amish life. Once again, locals make the best tour guides.
We followed them out towards Lancaster, and eventually departed the highway. We made our way through several back country roads before ending up at a Mennonite dairy, Lapp Valley Farm. You see, Bil and Liz drove almost an hour to get us to this spot even though they weren’t able to spend the day touring with us. Why? This dairy had the best ice cream I have ever had in my entire life. The italics add emphasis, but that is a true statement. Not too sweet, not too rich. Just perfect. 
We saw a few Amish farming or in buggies, but not nearly as many as I thought we might see on a Saturday morning. We stopped in a small Amish store (no electricity; lit by skylights) and it was interesting to look around at the various items for sale. Some things were very specific to Amish life (the bolts of muted dress fabric) while others could also be found at Target (dish towels and cooking utensils).
Slowly we made our way back to the main highway, and on the way back we stopped in Bird-in-Hand. Too touristy for my taste, but there was a store that looked intriguing and L.J. needed a car break, so we stopped in. Very neat store – mix of Amish and Mennonite-made items and assorted other wares. The type of unique store with local items that I always love to find when I travel! We purchased a couple gifts and a wooden push toy for L.J.
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