We went to visit the homeland of my beloved and got to see several of his family members still living in the area. We started out in Philadelphia, rented a car and made our way around the countryside. If you have never been, it is really something to see.

Here’s why you need your own trip to the Pennsylvania Amish Country.

Crazy Community Names

Let me share with you some of the towns that we visited. You are not going to believe this…

There was Bird in Hand, PA. But they did take time to explain on the sign where the name came from. Very helpful?

Then there was Blue Ball, PA. I’m not even kidding. But again, they explained where the name was derived. At least that is their story…

We then ran into a very interesting town, called, yes, that’s right, Intercourse, PA. 

You have got to be kidding me! I don’t believe the explanation on this sign either!

We did drive through Paradise, PA but there wasn’t a sign just a lot of businesses using the name.

We were unable to find Fertility, PA. I guess it dried up! But we did see several houses and a church where we thought the town was but no sign. The church’s pastor according to the church sign out front was Pastor Phil Good. Is that a coincidence?

The final town we saw on our incredibly enlightening journey was Virginville, PA. So at this point, I was thinking these early settlers had a lot of interesting things on their mind!

They also have a place to rectify the situation in case you were wondering.

Amish Country

Also, equally interesting are the Amish. This is a world I do not understand. I thought that they were opposed to electricity but apparently that rule is a little fluid. We went to the Reading Terminal Farmer’s Market in Philly and this is what we saw and bought.

And this is who we bought it from.

Did you notice the iPad and what looks like a camera phone peeking up?

I don’t know. I was very confused by the whole thing.

Anyway, who am I to judge? I happen to prefer electricity!

Driving through the Amish Country

Another interesting part of the Amish life is that they live in very large farm houses surrounded by several acres. Everything is spread out. The roads are mostly two lane and buggys have the right of way. You see a lot of this.

Buggy Car Lot

Where do these freakishly retro vehicles come from, you ask? The buggy car lot.

I really don’t know what they call it but I have never seen anything like this before!

They had new and used and were going to auction off them all that afternoon. I wonder if this was a trade-in?!?

But by far one of the funniest things we saw on our Amish Country journey was driving by this bank.

And Sam with his 13 year old boy sense of humor stated, “The driver made a withdrawal while the horse made a deposit!” Ew.

Travel Anyone?

So have you ever been to a place that was so different than what you are used to? What did you see? What was interesting about it? Would love to hear about your travels in the comments below.