We stayed two nights at the sweetest Airbnb in Bird in Hand, across the street from a beautiful farm and in the heart of Amish country in Lancaster County. When we had arrived the night before, it was so dark out, that we didn’t notice the fabulous view of the farm across the road.

Because of where we were staying, we had Amish families and farmers pass us often on the road, especially when we were sitting on our front porch. We actually came up with a code name so we could tell the others to look. I think it was something like, “Bear!” 😂

Another thing that we noticed when we left the house that morning, were all the many, many spiderwebs on the bushes and trees by the front porch. It was the perfect sort of misty fog that paints the webs with dew, and so they sparkle. To me, it just freaks me out and reminded me another reason I hate those types of evergreen shrubs, but of the few of the ladies were fascinated. They especially loved seeing the creepy giant spider in the web on the front porch. As for me, I avoided it at all costs 😉.

Our first stop of the day was early, because we wanted to get to the Central Market in Lancaster before it got too busy. These city markets are a very East Coast thing, but especially in towns in Pennsylvania. Reading Terminal Market is a famous one in Philly, that is a favorite of mine. There is a central market in York, near where I used to live, and the Central Market in Lancaster is the longest running in the United States, and was actually established in 1730, long before we were even a country. So cool!

I loved getting to share it all with my friends, from the locally made items, to the baked goods, amazing produce and flowers from local farms, and yummy restaurant stalls. There is something for everyone, and you find yourself wanting some of all the things – ha ha!

I was doing pretty well energy wise when we were there, but at one point, I feel myself lagging, so I went outside to rest while they finished up. While I was out there, these beautiful and sweet white Lab adopted me – it was pretty cute. And although I was trying not to get covered in his white hair, he was the sweetest and most well behaved dog, and I could see why the owners could get away tying his leash to the bench.

After the Central Market, we went back to the Airbnb to drop off our purchase, and to take a quick break (mostly for me – I needed a 30 min rest/nap). Some of the ladies walked down the highway to scope some things out for later, and soon, we were back in the car and headed to one of my very places – Kitchen Kettle Village – to go shopping. We didn’t even make it through a fourth of the stores, but we did sample all the yummy things, had lunch , and even found matching girl’s trip t-shirts.

One of my favorite places was the Christmas store, but at first I thought that it had gone way downhill, when really, they had just moved all the wonderful and beautiful upstairs. I may have bought another new nativity 😉. I have no self control – ha ha! I did not, however, buy either this ornament or the postcard, but my friends thought they were hilarious. And in truth, I own a magnet with the same signpost that is on the postcard. Good times!

When we came back from there, I really needed a longer rest, and so I happily sent the ladies off on their Amish farm tour, which they loved. I had never been on one of those tours, nad they loved it and learned a ton – which info they passed onto me, which was great.

At the end of their tour, they even got to play with puppies and pet horses, and were completely amazed about the corn that is 12-14 feet tall. Not like they see out west, for sure.

After they got back, we found a nearby BBQ place for dinner, and it was delicious.

It also was attached to a very fun and large gift shop, and so it took everyone a while to get out of there. In fact, at one point, Beth, Bonnie and I walked out to the car, thinking everyone was behind us, only to discover that we were wrong. Beth took this pic and texted it the group, which was hilarious. About fifteen minutes later, we were all together again – ha ha!

Back at the house, we had all the amazing treats ready to eat that we had bought from the market earlier in the day. We cut them up and got to sample all the things and pick our favorites. Yum!

Later on, we talked, played games, ate more of all the desserts, and laughed so hard my face hurt. It was perfect. Also, at one point, we pulled out our Family Search app and used the “Relatives Around Me” to see how we were all related to each other, which was actually so cool and fun!

A couple of us went to bed earlish (by 10:30pm), while the others stayed up later, but I definitely needed to make myself go to bed, so that I could actually function the next day 😜.

We didn’t have to get out too early, but since we had a list of things we wanted to do, and still had to drive across the state back to Raina’s house in Pittsburgh, we tried to get out by 9am. Our biggest issue was trying to fit all of our luggage and all of the things we bought in the rental car. We made it work, but it was not easy 😉. Then we headed off to see one of the historic covered bridges in the area.

We decided to do a little photo shoot while we were there, especially because we were wearing our matching shirts. The pics turned out super cute too, even if we did have to dodge cars coming down the road on occasion. And we may have taken a somewhat creepy “hiding in the corn” picture – although I warned them to be cautious of ticks and snakes.

After visiting the bridge, we headed to the Shrewsbury Market, the special Amish market that was about five minutes from my neighborhood when I lived in PA. It has a fabulous bakery, but also has the best soft pretzels in the world, which I had to have them try. I did have a moment of horror when I first walked in though, as the stall where they sold the pretzels was gone. Turns out that they took over a space that was four times as big, so they were able to expand. Disaster averted, and everyone got to sample the amazingness. Then we headed down the hill to visit the antique store.

Next stop on our adventure was to visit Brown’s Orchard, where they got to sample their amazing apple cider and I bought apple cider donuts for the ladies to sample. After Brown’s, we headed to Perrydell Dairy, so that all the ladies could not only see the baby cows, but eat their fabulous ice cream and drink the best chocolate milk I have ever tasted. It was so fun to show them these places that were so close to my home there, and such a part of my family’s life.

Before we knew it, we were on the road again, but we had one more stop along the way – Gettysburg. Almost all of the ladies had never been there, and although we didn’t have much time, I am so glad we were able to show them what we could.

After a stop at the visitor’s center, we headed to the Pennsylvania monument, which is my favorite (followed by New York, but we didn’t have time for that one). I love the beauty of it, and the secret staircase that takes you to the top, which has spectacular views of the area. While we were there, Raina was even able to find the name of an ancestor on the wall of those that fought in the battle.

We didn’t have too much more time, so our final stop was the National Cemetery there, which is also the location of where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. It is also very sobering to see all the graves, some from other wars, but many from the battle there. And how many of them were of unknown soldiers. I am so glad I got to share this special place with them all.

After our visit there, we were finally on the way back to Raina’s house. Raina was amazing, and drove the whole time, because she was the only driver on the rental car – and a lot of it was in the rain, in the dark, and on back roads. Not fun. The rest of us managed to talk and keep each other entertained on the drive.

When we finally made it to Pittsburg, it was time to say goodbye, as I would be heading to the airport way too early to wake anyone up. We got one last picture – a picture of all of us wearing our white lung cancer bracelets. Wow, I sure do love these amazing ladies, and feel privileged to call them my friends, especially after so many years. This trip was truly a gift, and I count my blessings that it all came together.

Before I knew it, it was Sunday morning and I was flying home to Texas. I was filled with love, appreciation, and all the fabulous memories I was blessed to make with my wonderful friends.