Amish Acres

My sister invited me to go with her to Nappanee, Indiana to Amish Acres.  It is a three hour drive from our home.  As I pulled into the parking lot where I intended to meet her, I had the thought that we should take my car or I should leave the car keys with her husband.  I did neither and as we were driving on the expressway, my sister asked me if I could hear the noise coming from the tire.  We drove further and eventually the car became undriveable.  We called for a tow and discovered that the bearing was bad.  My husband was kind and picked up the spare set of car keys and drove them to my brother-in-law.  He met us in my car, and we drove back 60 miles to drop him off.  We debated whether or not to cancel the trip, but decided to go on as planned.  Eight hours after our initial departure we arrived in Nappanee, just in time for a family style dinner of chicken, beef, potatoes, noodles, slaw, sweet pickles, gravy, bread, butter and apple butter....and dessert.  We scooted from dinner over to the Round Theater to see the musical Plain and Fancy.  In our room we chatted til two in the morning.  The next day we toured a 1860 and 1910 Amish farmhouse.  We took a wagon around the homestead and the guide pointed out the molasses press, mint building used to make mint to send to Chicago, one room schoolhouse.  We hopped on a buggy and rode through the woods, riding past the pumpkin patch where children roasted marshmallow, drank hot chocolate and choose a pumpkin.  After shopping at the cheese and meat and ice cream store, we had to leave.  A quick stop to see the quilts made of pots of mums and then the drive back to pick up my sister's car at the repair shop.