I love Intercourse...

...a town in Pennsylvania! The name may sound risque in today's modern world but really, it's more ironic than anything else. You see, Intercourse is in the heart of Lancaster County or Amish country. The community is well known for its traditional values, simple living and a resistance to adoption of modern conveniences. These include electricity, cars, bicycles and cameras. Unfortunately, that's exactly what busloads of tourists bring into the town daily. I too am guilty of unabashed curiosity.

Aunty Jo Jo sneaking a picture of a traditional horse & buggy used by Amish families

Andrew kindly took a day off work and we drove to Lancaster County on a very wet summer day. It rained non-stop and we could hardly find a dry spot to take photos. Still, we had a nice long chinwag in the car, while taking in the sights. There were enough farms, horse & buggies and families in plain clothing to satisfy my curiosity. I saw men and boys working the fields with nothing but horsepower (literally!) and women doing laundry with musclepower. Little girls pushed themselves along little scooters instead of bicycles. I stopped by the Amish Visitor Center to catch a one-hour movie about the Amish culture and lifestyle. It left me with a deep sense of respect and admiration for the community and their faith.

Andrew and I set off to look for a lunch spot and there were plenty of home-style restaurants to choose from. They all had old-fashioned names like Plain & Fancy, Good & Plenty, Bird-In-Hand and Yoder's Family. We settled for Stoltzfus Farm Restaurant because Andrew had eaten there before. It turned out to be a delightful old farmhouse with friendly staff and a LOT of food! It was all-you-can-eat from the entire menu which included:

• Homemade bread and apple butter
• Chow chow salad
• Fried chicken
• Homemade sausage
• Homemade honey ham
• Mashed potatoes
• Corn
• Candied sweet potatoes
• Green beans
  
• Shoofly pie
• Apple crumble pie
• Cherry crumble pie
• Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting

And so I let Intercourse filled with lots of plain, simple and delicious food, and memories of a happy day spent with an old friend, Mr Andrew Chatterton formerly of Barnsley inYorkshire.