We recently took a bus day trip on Jefferson Tours to Montgomery, Indiana to learn about the Amish lifestyle. We visited a quilt shop and it was there that we picked up our Amish Guide, Lydia. She was a very sweet lady that shared with us about their Amish community which is the third largest in the United States. Amish live with no electricity or running water and their transportation is horse and buggy. Even their children drove a pony and buggy to school. They attend school through 8th grade and then for the most part they work for their families.
We went to an Amish farm where they had prepared a wonderful meal for us. All food is made from scratch and those ladies sure do know how to cook.
We learned that they use solar panels and generators for lights and to run their appliances.
Mennonites differ from Amish because they chose to have electricity and drive cars.
The Amish life is simple yet so complicated with all the man made rules and regulations that they must follow to remain in the Amish church.
We also visited another Amish farm that had greenhouses filled with beautiful flowers that we could purchase for very reasonable prices.
Our last stop was Gasthof Amish Village where they had a restaurant, bakery, flea market, gifts shops, and antiques and collectibles. This was a great place to walk around and walk off the large lunch we had eaten earlier.
We highly recommend taking this trip. We learned so much about how the Amish live.
Keith & Terri