It's hard to overstate how informative and enlightening this tour is! It started with our guide, Kent, giving his history in this area and his contact with the people we are visiting. He has been friends with them for years and knows them and their families intimately. As he drove us around he would give the names and histories of families whose house we had passed and the differences between the different groups of Mennonites and Amish in the area, this in and of itself was a good tour of the area.
Our first stop was an organic dairy farm, the owner, was a quiet man who was happy to show us the in's and out's of his business and his family.
Second was a carriage maker, a much more boisterous man with a wry sense of humor. The carriages we in various states of assembly and all of the options and types of carriages (and sleighs) were there to see. The craftsmanship was amazing and the options were things I (in my ignorance of the Amish) would have never imagined.
Our last stop was an Amish home, our host was a small, fireball of a woman who was a nonstop flow of her family, her beliefs and her way of life. I could have stayed all night getting to know her and her 3 daughters that were so happy to talk with us, answer questions and make us feel welcome in their home.
This is an absolute MUST if you are in the area, don't let the price or the time fool you, you will come away a changed person and will want to do it again the next time you are here.
Response from Host
Aug 2022
I'm so glad you picked up on the different personalities among the Amish stops. Just goes to show how there is variety and a range of styles among the people - from the outside the Amish may seem stoic, but when you visit, you get a chance to see their humor and humanity.