among the Amish
visiting Pennsylvania
Spent last week in northwestern Pennsylvania, visiting my husband’s family. We took our bikes, hoping for some nice riding on the rural roads with leaves turning and crisp temperatures. Sadly, the weather did not want to cooperate. Gusting winds, rain and temps in the 40’s (F) held little enticement for cycling …
Pennsylvania countryside near the Amish community of Atlantic
My in-laws live in a small community in rural PA; there are lots of Amish and Mennonite families in the area. It’s an odd feeling to pedal along and approach (or be passed by) a horse and buggy. Better than being passed by cars any day.
Toward the end of the week when the skies began to clear, we took a ride to the Conneaut Lake Park – an old amusement park that originated in the 1890’s that became a local area attraction in the mid-1900’s. In it’s steel boom hey-day, it was a big draw to families employed by the railroad, as well as a convenient vacation getaway for people from Pittsburgh. When my husband was growing up in the area, he and his brother and sister all had summer jobs at the Park. Sadly, it has become one of those places largely lost to the past … although it still opens in the summer, it is barely able to survive any more. It was kind of fascinating to walk around the largely deserted grounds, covered in falling leaves.
marshland ride-by
(can you spy my bike?)
along the boardwalk, Conneaut Lake Park
Even though we didn’t get to ride as much as we had hoped to, it was a good visit. Nice to see family, good to feel the chill of the North, and great to have a slice (or two) of my mother in-law’s always-amazing pies. 😀
A few of the other pictures ….
my mother in-law and her famous Shoo Fly pie
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shebicycles 
fabulous photos as always
Really nice pictures. I rode yesterday with blue skies and temps in the 80’s. Sorry, I’m in California!
Thanks for the memories! My one and only roller coaster ride was at Conneaut Lake Park in the summer of 1957. I’ll bet I was on the Blue Streak! I came right up out of my seat and was holding on for dear life…scared me enough that I never tried it again. LOL! I imagine that was a mild ride compared to the ones on the huge roller coasters of today.
Lovely images. Great and interesting blog! Always enjoyable!
I grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo area, Ontario. An area with German-Mennonite and Amish roots. I did return long after I left the area to visit and cycle which is a differrent experience than being in a car.
I only wished that we had taken photos of the farmers’ market in the area..which is definitely not typical for the rest of Ontario at all. Photos that is, from far away since the Old Order Mennonite don’t truly want many photos taken of them.