A day in Amish country

  Monday is always my second of two days off, and I usually shop a bit and eat out. Today, I did something different: I drove to Sugarcreek, Ohio, which is in the Amish part of Ohio. I started the day out with breakfast at the Dutch Valley Restaurant, and man was it good.

 Then I drove over to the main street of town, and since I was too early for my main reason for visiting the area today, walked around a bit. I visited the world's largest cuckoo clock, and took some pictures and also a video when the hour hit. A bird comes out at the top and does its thing, and then some mechanical figures join the two that are already out there. The girl and guy dance, while the other figures are supposedly playing the music that plays. It lasts close to three minutes.

   My reason for visiting the area was two Christian fiction authors were at a small bookstore there, and I wanted to meet them: Tracie Peterson and Kimberly Woodhouse. I am friends with Kimbery on Facebook, and have gotten to know her pretty well through it, but had never met her. It was awesome to meet both ladies, and I got to chat with them for around 45 minutes since no one came in after I did. I have been curious for a long time how two authors collaborated, especially when they don't live near each other, so they told me a little about their process. I parted ways, and headed out to do some shopping.

 I hit up a thrift store, and got a few CDs for $1 each, then headed to my next stop: Walnut Creek Cheese...which is much more than cheese....... but it is in Walnut Creek.  I went there for fry pies. If you have never had them, think those hostess pies that are usually apple or cherry..... only tons better, and several other flavors. I know, not in my diet, but I don't get them very often.

 I then headed to Millersburg to go to one of my favorite places: Heini's Cheese. Their main thing IS cheese, and they have tons of samples: cheese, fudge, salsas, beef sticks, relish, dips, etc... and I sampled a lot. The best buys there is a bin of cheese ends.... mostly misshapen odd pieces of cheese that are marked at less expensive prices. I loaded up, and headed for Berlin, OH.

 Berlin is a cool town with all sorts of shops. I parked my car at one end of town, and wandered all over Berlin, going in and out of shops, not buying anything until I reached the Gospel Bookstore. For the same of Christmas surprises, I won't say what I bought there, but they did have just what I was looking for :) This store is odd in that it is inside of a grocery store. You go in the grocery store, and the bookstore is straight ahead of you with its own entrance and walls. Kind of odd, but they have a big selection of the best music..... Southern Gospel.

 I headed home and happened upon another thrift store.....I can't pass them up often, so I stopped and bought a few things there.

 My trip ended on an amusing note:

I stopped off at a little post office today to mail a package. As the friendly lady behind the counter was weighing the package, I spied a flag on the counter mounted on a plastic base with a button on it. Curious as to what it did, I pressed the button. ...it played a whole verse and chorus of the national anthem....loudly

I commented that it must get annoying to hear that all the time. With a bit of a smirk, she replied "usually it's just kids that play it".

  I am thankful for a beautiful day I had to enjoy Amish country. I couldn't have asked for better weather, and am thankful to God for a safe trip, and for a great day off.