Among Friends

[Mom2Dogs]

My husband went to a flea market today (July 4th)  in Shipshewana Indiana...a few hours from home.  

We really debated about going, one year we went and waited on the road for quite a while just to get into the parking lot!  We did not want to do that this year but took a chance and went...we  both wanted to get out of the house.  

We were really surprised that the flea market was not overly busy nor was the restaurant downtown...we even remarked to our waitress, she was surprised as well.  

As we left, the restaurant was filling up but usually the place is elbow to elbow.  

Glad it was not busy and that we took the chance, it was warm but we got there early and made it home by 3:00.

[4kitties]

Sounds like fun!  And nice with fewer people.

I have never been to Shipshewana, but love to go to Parke County, Indiana for The Covered Bridge Festival in October.  I highly recommend it.

The Bridgeton covered bridge and the mill are my favorite!

[PA Mom-mom]

@Mom2Dogs  How great for you! Sounds like a wonderful time!

DH and I went to Roots in Manheim, and it was wall to wall people.  I hadn't been there in about 8 years and forgot the claustrophobic feeling of being shoulder to shoulder, front to back with hundreds (thousands?) of my new best friends in sweltering heat. We bought dollar bags of Lebanon bologna and cheese chunks at Glicks and hightailed it out of there. 

[KingstonMom]

I'd love to go to Amish country, I adore their quilts and would buy several!

But I live in Coastal GA, so that would be quite a drive for me!

Lucky ya'll!

[haddon9]

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@4kitties wrote:

Sounds like fun!  And nice with fewer people.

I have never been to Shipshewana, but love to go to Parke County, Indiana for The Covered Bridge Festival in October.  I highly recommend it.

The Bridgeton covered bridge and the mill are my favorite!

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We have about a dozen covered bridges in Bucks County, PA that have been maintained from the 1800s.  A few times DH and I did a self guided driving tour around the area's back roads to cover most of them then stopped for lunch.  It's a fun thing to do to explore particularly in the fall with all of the foliage and autumn colors. 

We also have a local Amish farm market but the Amish live about 1 1/2- 2 hours away.

[4kitties]

@haddon9 

Oh I love Pennsylvania, it is a beautiful state.  Wish I lived closer and could explore there more often.  I think the New England area is one of my favorites.  That whole area is gorgeous.

Parke County has 31 covered bridges.  Such fun to see them!  Some can be driven through and of course one may walk through them all.  And the fall foliage.🍁🍂🍁🍂

All around the county there are vendors selling just about everything one can imagine.  And the food vendors and restaurants too.  I am in downstate Illinois and it makes a great day trip.

[haddon9]

@4kitties It sounds lovely!

[Mom2Dogs]

Thanks, I will have to see how far it is from home..

[JeanLouiseFinch]

@Mom2Dogs  Shipshewana is our home away from home!  We visit many, many times throughout the year, attending concerts and events, eating at The Blue Gate, and staying at the inn. I like to joke that we go there so often that our car knows how to get there by itself.  And we've even told our kids to cremate us when the time comes and sprinkle us around town.  LOL. Since it was a holiday, I'm not too surprised at the lack of traffic yesterday. Normally it's a busy town. Mel has turned that little town into a goldmine. 

[Mom2Dogs]

@JeanLouiseFinch   Last year at Christmas we had plans to stay Christmas night...but the weather turned just awful and we had to cancel.  Maybe this Christmas....we do Christmas before the actual holiday so Christmas day is quiet at our house.

We enjoy the BlueGate Restaurant as well.  Shopping downtown, well, it is not what it once was and we miss the large building that was once an antique store..individual vendors.  I think it was turned into an event center.