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My cousin Glenda and her husband John came to stay for a few days. My sister Clare also flew up from Georgia to join in the fun. We decided to take them up to Amish country near Lancaster, PA so we headed out on a rainy morning into the mists of lower south east Pennsylvania.
We drove through some magnificent farmland and arrived at the Strasburg Rail Road. And you thought I was finished with trains for a while!
The train runs from Strasburg to Paradise an back. It's not very expensive ($13) to take the trip and it covers about 9 miles there and back. It's a great experience for kids and also for adults who like steam trains. John loved the smell of of the smoke and the sight of the train.
The line to Paradise. The trip is very scenic, especially in summer when the fields are full of corn.
They have quite a few engines. This is another one they use which you can read about here where they describe the engines in more detail.
Puffing and smoking.
Leaving the station.
It was time for lunch so we went to a little restaurant where the waitresses appear to be Mennonites.
This will give you an idea where it is if you look it up on a map. This is looking west.
Glenda takes a photo while Clare looks on in rapt admiration.
It's a great old fashioned diner and quite inexpensive. Locals go there.
Glenda tried to get a photo of an Amish buggy as we drove along. Here is one used as a decoration. These days they are made of carbon fibre and there is a big warning triangle on the back. Unfortunately the Amish put it low down on the buggy instead of high up where you could see it sooner.