I think I might've been Amish in a past life!

My mother's mother's family were Mennonite farmers who emigrated from Germany into Ontario, Canada  where my great great grandfather Jacob Sauder was born into a family of 12 children. Most of the children trickled down into Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. My great grandmother and my grandmother were born near the Straits of Michigan where I still have a lot of cousins who I have visited twice, a very long time ago, but still keep in touch with some thanks to Facebook. Hi Rod, Barb & Linda!

As we turned into the Weaver family's long, dirt driveway yesterday, we passed a small one-room schoolhouse where there were about 30 Amish children playing outside, all with no shoes and as cold as it was outside! While we were enjoying dinner at the Weaver home last night, I felt right at home. I could see myself in one of the long, plain dresses and bonnets the three girls and their mother wore; the girls with bare feet. They do not use electricity in their homes so when it started getting dark inside, they lit kerosene lamps which is exactly what I remember at my grandparents' house on my father's side when I was young.

The Weavers have a 10 burner stove and gigantic oven in the basement where they do all their cooking. After all, they raised 11 children, the oldest is 28 and the youngest is 9. We were treated to roast beef, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, Amish noodles, green beans, homemade bread, salad and homemade pie. The salad had edible flowers in it and the tomatoes tasted fresh picked from the garden. They cooked enough for a small army and still had plenty of leftovers. Mrs. Weaver told us all about her family and  a lot of us asked questions. Then the family sang to us as they would in church, in German. Then our group sang to them our farewell song, as we do after every tour visit. It was a very enjoyable experience, and over much too soon. Next Monday we'll have a bus tour of the Amish Heartland which I'm really looking forward to.

We were allowed to take pictures outside the Weaver's home but we were asked not to take any of them which we respected. Here are a few shots of their beautiful yard and home. They have 52 acres.


The Weaver family home



Their yard was beautifully landscaped



Looking out at the pasture



Ornamental Hedgehog cucumber, about 2" long

 This morning, I sent Kris off on the tour bus to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, lunch at The Tap with a visit to the Schwebel Bakery in the afternoon where they make bread in huge vats, mixing 2000 pounds of dough at one time. They will get to see the process from start to finish and I'm sure they will taste samples. I think that's why Kris wanted to go on this tour, lol; he's not a huge fan of football.

Unfortunately, when we signed up for the optional tours, I was feeling very tired and did not sign up for many. There was only one neither of us signed up for, a Speak Easy which took place a few nights ago. Some of the tours I do regret not going on but I know my limit and if I don't have some down time, I won't be a happy camper no matter what the tour is about. I WILL be going on tour tomorrow to see the Harry London Chocolate Factory, a stained glass company, lunch at the 356th Squadron Restaurant and the Maps Air Museum. Can you guess which activity I'm interested in most?

Here are a few miscellaneous photos:



Another Amish home we passed on the road



Beautifully decorated campground in Dundee and the view from our RV



We actually wore Gabbi out one day ~ she likes to be up high so she can see if anyone walks by the RV



Gabbi decided to pull her toy box into the center of the kitchen and check out all of the contents last night



Taken at the Dixie Stampede in Branson

Here's Phil directing RVs to their sites in the "Amish" golf cart at our Dundee campground



We always receive a warm welcome wherever we go ~ this was in Shelby