The Amish Stores

Well, the hotel was another "get what you pay for" experience. It was definitely the cheapest, but also the most uncomfortable. The bed was too soft & a bit lumpy, the window looked out on the parking lot and there were trucks parked right outside, and the curtains were the kind that block out the light, so it was super dark when they were closed. But worse than all that was that not only were the other people in the building really loud (the other desk clerk explained as I was checking out that Amish people tend to walk hard on the heels of their feet which makes more noise, whereas "we" tend to walk on our toes. I'm not sure That's true, but it was an interesting theory), but the water pipes were even louder than the ones at home! And, people started getting up, showering, etc. at about 5:00am. Each time I started to fall asleep, I was awoken again. I finally gave up around 8:00, which is, after all, a normal time to awaken.

At first, it looked like the breakfast was the same: the ubiquitous scrambled eggs (I've decided that they're probably not fresh eggs but probably a powder or something because they're all the same lumpy, kind of watery consistency), bread for toasting, muffins, yogurt & some dry cereal. but then, I lifted the lid of a pot which I assumed was going to be oatmeal, but it was sausage gravy. And the container next to it had 2 biscuits in it. I knew one was for me. I don't know why I like sausage gravy & biscuits so much, but I do. So, I was happy with that -- and with the good coffee and flavored creamer. So, it turned out that the worst hotel had the best breakfast!

After breakfast, I went back to my room for a while, as the first thing I wanted to do was go to the Menno-Hof center and it didn't open until 10:00. After some quality internet time, I got my stuff together. I had the forethought to fill a plastic bag with ice to put in my cooler; I wanted to make sure the cheese I got stayed cool. I checked out and went over to the Menno-Hof Center, where I was the first person there. 

The first thing they do at the center is ask you to sign the guest book. I had no problem with that, but then, there was the column asking what church (there wasn't even the option for a temple or other house of worship!) you belong to. I left it blank & the tour guide asked me directly, and I said I didn't. I was kind of preparing for a discussion about why not, but he just said I should put a line through it so that people signing in under my name will fill in the column. (I did notice that most people on previous pages hadn't filled that in)

The tour guide had me sit in one of the extremely comfortable wooden rockers while we waited for more people to show up. He started is spiel and nobody came, so he ushered me into the first room & started the next spiel. Then, 5 more women came in and joined me, which made me feel less conspicuous. Funny thing was that he restarted the speech for them and it was exactly what he'd said to me -- word for word! 

The film was very interesting. I learned that the Mennonites split off from the Anabaptists, and the Hutterites and Amish split off from the Mennonites. The Amish are the most...conservative...of the groups, the ones who don't use electricity, tend keep to themselves and dress in the old-style clothes that we usually associate with them. Amish broke off from Mennonites because they felt that the Mennonites were being too influenced by the modern world, using electricity, cars, etc. and that they were losing the message of devotion to Christ. Mennonites dress in modern clothes, have jobs in the rest of society, etc. The film mentioned that while 90% of the Amish children do choose to remain in the Amish community after Rumspringa (the period of time from about 16-18 when the teenagers are encouraged to explore the outside world), most of those who choose not to remain in the Amish community become Mennonites. The views of Hutterites is similar to that of Mennonites in that they do accept the outside world, but they live very communally.

There were lots and lots of displays, tons of things to read. One of the displays explained the clothing that the Amish wear, and it said that men can hold up their pants with suspenders but not with belts. I asked the tour guide why that was, but his only answer was "tradition", and he proceeded to tell me that the men have to wear beards but cannot wear mustaches. (He said the rumor/joke is that communion is given from a communal cup and that the women didn't like the whiskers in the cup!) 

They also had a "tornado room" where they shook the floor & blew wind to make you imagine what it's like to be in such a storm. The film proceeded to talk about how Mennonites do go out into the world to help others who've been affected by such storms and disasters, whereas the other 2 groups don't. 
 
I found it all very interesting. And I figured out that I think that what I like about these groups is their very deep sense of community. For example,the tour guide (who I believe is Mennonite) explained how the Amish & Hutterites  (not sure about Mennonites) don't have health insurance, so if someone needs an operation, the whole community chips in and pays for it. And, because they pay in cash, local doctors usually discount the fees.  If there weren't that pesky devotion to religion thing, I could perhaps see myself gravitating that way.

After that, I went to the town area. Lots and lots of stores filled with tons of stuff. I'm not sure that all of it was authentic; some of the antiques didn't exactly look old. there were lots and lots of books about the Amish, books for the Amish, all of the expected religious plaques and so forth. And quilts. Very expensive quilts. Even things like table runners were $80. Quilts were several hundred dollars, even on sale. It somehow seems odd to me that the Amish culture has become something of a spectacle and that there's so much capitalization involved. But then again, since I went there, I'm part of that cycle, too.

As I was walking around town, there was a smell that was not agreeing with me. (And no, it was NOT the horses; while not a pleasant smell, it's not stomach upsetting.) As I thought about it, I figured it must've been coming from the grain elevator. I guess I don't like the smell of fresh grain! 

Still, I was getting hungry, so I decided to find something off the beaten path for lunch. I found a sandwich/bakery shop that looked good, so I went back to my car to get my Nook. (While I can eat alone at a restaurant, I can't do it without something to read.) I had a very good turkey waldorf sandwich -- turkey slices with lettuce and an apple, nut & mayo mixture on your choice of bread. (I chose rye.... so different from the rye I'm used to, but still good.) The restaurant was in a house that they seemed to have added the store part onto: after you order your sandwich, they give you a tray and you can either eat it in that area or take it to another room. I chose a very bright, sunny room with yellow checked wallpaper. It had pictures & the story of the family who'd owned the house. The daughter had become a nurse and lived to be 88 years old. It was so interesting to see pictures of her throughout the years.


I wandered in and out of the stores a little while more until I realized that my tolerance for all of the religious country kitsch was quickly waning. So, I got back into the car and decided to find the cheese factory. Either I have  really lost my ability to read a map, or the maps aren't labelled well. It also didn't help that there were not many street signs -- and when there were, the roads were just numbered.  So, I again drove several miles in the wrong direction until I realized my mistake. I finally found the place, and while they did have a viewing window, all they were doing was cleaning out the troughs (or whatever they're called). There weren't any actual tours, as I'd been expecting. Still, I'd made the trip all the way out there, so I bought some garlic cheese, dried & salted peas & dried meat sticks.

I decided that I was done with the area and that there really wasn't anything else I was dying to see at this point, so I started home....or so I thought. I headed back the way I came, forgetting that I was trying to make a circle. So, after one last Amish-type store complex (although a lot more commercial) and a pleasant conversation with one of the workers about cats, I got in the car & set the GPS to go home avoiding highways. I figured that, should I see anything of interest, I could stop & do it. Well, the GPS let me go several miles and then started telling me to make a U-turn. Turns out, I'd headed in completely the wrong direction and ended up back-tracking again. But, it was a beautiful day and I was even able to have the car windows for a little while. There weren't many cars on the country roads. There also wasn't any "there" there; I went through a few tiny towns of maybe a couple blocks, but for the most part, it was all farm land. I passed a couple gas stations when the needle was just above half, and I decided there'd be more, so I skipped them, even though the prices were fairly decent. (About $3.65/gal.) The next stations I saw were a lot more expensive, so, being the cheap person I am when it counts the least, I skipped them. Well, there weren't any more towns for quite a while & I started to get worried, as the needle was now between 1/2 and 1/4 -- not a place I like it to fall. But then, I saw a Dollar General, so I figured there must be civilization nearby. I pulled in there, and I was only 1/2 mile from another gas station, so I took that opportunity.

After driving for 2 1/2 hours, I was in Sylvania, OH. I hadn't seen anything of interest & I was getting tired, so I decided to change the plan and take the freeway after all. I know there are plenty of things to do in Toledo, and I do have friends who live there -- in fact, they were the first exit from the freeway, but I was just too tired to socialize and I really didn't want to try to find things to do there. So, I just continued on home. And I will say that the GPS is amazing at estimating the time you'll arrive some place -- it was right on the dot! (After it adjusted for the right way home instead of the way it suggested.)

I think 4 days was a sufficient amount of time for my first solo road trip. I was proud of myself for doing it, for continuing on (with the encouragement of my road trip friend ;) ) when I was about to give up, and for exploring things on my own. Hopefully, I will be more willing to do more things in the future, even if I don't have anybody to do them with.
 
I do have several more days off. I'm considering perhaps going to Frankenmuth tomorrow (in keeping with the spirit of religious country kitsch). Or not. But for tonight, I'll be happy to be back in my own bed. And Chloe was most glad to see me.