We took our first big driving vacation as a family of seven last month...8 hours in our van to Philadelphia and the kids were great all the way. We spent two days seeing historic sites like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We also took a tour by horse and buggy and bought Philly cheese steaks from a street vendor for lunch...the kids now have a new favorite food.
Next, we headed to Pennsylvania Dutch country. We rented a beautifully renovated Amish farmhouse in Bird-In-Hand, PA, seven bedrooms, 3 baths, and a kitchen to die for. The kids loved the many staircases and "secret" passageways and the big yard.
We enjoyed being surrounded by Amish and Mennonite folk as our neighbors, shopping at farm stands and buying homemade root beer. We took a ride in an Amish buggy and our tour guide told us about the history and culture of Amish and Mennonite people; it was especially interesting since he was Mennonite himself.
We also took some day trips. Dad got to be a train engineer at the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum; the girls and Aniyar and I visited an Amish Village; we went to Gettysburg; Madiyar got to spend the night at his friend Borya's house after we met Borya's mom Anne and her brood for dinner at Miller's Smorgasboard. We spent the last afternoon of our vacation hanging out at Anne and Fred's house which was a huge treat. There were fish to catch, horses to pet, dogs to play with, and kids everywhere so it was a lot of fun.
It's amazing when I think about our visit with Fred and Anne. Counting our 5 kids and Anne and Fred's 6...well, that's 11 kids...and 7 of them are from Kazakhstan. It was a fun reunion and the perfect way to complete our April vacation adventure. Thanks, guys, for sharing your "Funny Farm" with us!
3 comments:
to eat a sandwich?
looks like a wonderful adventure. we think of you all often and hope all is well.
xo
katy boc-boc
looks like a lovely vacation. we think of all of you often and hope all is well.
xo
katy boc-boc
Post a Comment