As we were approaching the place, we could see buggies sharing the road with automobiles. The Amish use buggies as their main mode of transport...
Nice sign that greeted us as we walked into the area...
Lots of scarecrows decorated the compound...
The first building we went into was the Greeting Barn to get our tickets. We got the Passport Package, which included House & Farm Tour, Farm Wagon Ride Tour, Documentary Films and Family-style Thresher's Dinner. Inside the Greeting Barn is a gift shop and also the room where the documentary films are showed...
Some other nice and interesting stuff...
I tried on a bonnet! =p
YH also tried on the guy's hats!
The hats and bonnets sold in the shop...
Handmade Amish dolls and some were without faces as Amish rejects graven images, and thus Amish children grew up playing faceless dolls...
Various sizes and types of dinner bell sold as souvenirs. You can also buy lye soap, which is made from lye and lard. It is not recommended for bathing as it can dry your skin but it is very good for getting rid of stains...
Then, it was time to view the documentaries - Genesis and Exodus...
After viewing the documentaries, we decided to go on the House & Farm Tour. The path we walked along with our guide towards the house...
This is the orchard with apple trees. We learned that the bottom of the tree trunks are painted white to repel insects. There are also syrup filled tin cans hung on the tree so that insects would be attracted to them instead of the fruits...
There is also a vegetable garden where the herbs are used for cooking...
An Amish toilet...
Food Drying House where the food to be dried are placed in the trays and a small stove inside the house keeps the interior warm, aiding the drying process...
Pot over fire used to cook apple butter...
Brick Bake Oven used to bake various pastries, bread and cookies. We even got to sample a cookie baked from the oven...
Lye Kiln that is used to make kiln by layering ashes from fire with straw and then letting rain water fall through. The lye together with lard are used to make lye soap...
Smoke House used to preserve meat...
Then, we entered the original house, constructed for Moses...
Inside the house - pantry and dining area...
Traditional way of washing clothes. The clothes will then be hung out to dry or if during winter, it will be hung indoors over heat...
On the left is a butter churn and we were told that it was usually a little kid's job to stand beside it for hours to make the butter. On the right is a giant wooden cabbage shredder on top of an egg incubator.
These are two different types of apple corer and slicer...
The rooms in the second level...
Another room on the ground level where the furnace is located. Near the furnace is a medicine cupboard and a bed which is for sick children (so that it is near medicine, heat and parents' room)...
Amish clothes hung on the wall. They do not have closets and use pegs to hang their clothes. On the left are men clothing and they do not have buttons on their tops and trousers but use hooks. Women clothes are of a plain colour and older women will wear a darker shade. Pins are used to fasten the women dresses. Women wear a white prayer cap daily and will wear a bonnet over it for formal occasions. The right picture shows clothing for children...
The master bedroom which is on the ground floor and faces the porch so that they can see who is coming...
The porch area with the water pump connected to the well underneath...
Open well under the porch that provided all of the family's water before the use of windmill...
Next, we visited the grandfather house, which is a smaller house at the back. The parents will move to this house when they retire and pass over the running of the farm to the next generation...
Inside the house was quilt making demonstration. This year is the 40th anniversary of Amish Acres and this old lady is making this huge quilt to be given away as a prize in a lucky draw. Will we have a chance to win it? =p
Another quilt inside the house...
Wooden ironing board and old fashioned iron...
Our guided tour ended after the visit to the grandfather's house and we were free to walk around. We went back to the Main House to take more photos. The main house was extended from the original house and was built in 1893 by Moses' father-in-law. We had visited the interior earlier on... Us with the house...
Me on the swing... =)
Farm machinery that were made 1910 or earlier displayed in the farm yard. All these machinery were horse drawn...
At the side of the field is a windmill and deep well that replaced the open well in the 1920s...
Schwietzer Bank Barn built in 1876. On the upper floor was for machinery and the lower floor is for animals. In addition, the upper floor could be accessed directly by vehicles...
This is the upper level which is the threshing floor. Similarly, the machines here were made 1910 or earlier. In the right picture is a hay sling used to unload loose hay from wagons...
On the lower level is stables and milk stalls...
The surrounding farm area...
Hog House which now houses some other animals...
The animals that we saw inside and outside the hog house included turkey, goat, chicken and llama...
Wagon shed that houses the buggies and wagons...
Us with a buggy...
This is a blacksmith shop...
Maple Syrup Camp that was moved to Amish Acres from the area. It is used to boil down sap water into maple syrup in early spring and its evaporator is also used to boil down sorghum from sugar cane...
Ice house near the lake which is used to store ice cut from the lake before refrigeration. Inside the house, the ice would be tightly packed in layers of sawdust.
Us by the lovely lake...
Then we headed back to the wagon shed to wait for the next wagon tour to start...
You could also take a buggy ride around the lake but we did not go for this...
Me on board the wagon which will bring us on a tour around the farm...
We passed by this long building which according to our guide, will have its windows opened during the annual arts and crafts festival. It is a rather huge event with many vendors...
We stopped at the schoolhouse and got down to wagon to enter the building...
Inside the building... The Amish went to schools that were a one classroom building. We learned that Amish children only studied till the eighth grade and they do not have homework. This is because Amish children will have chores to do when they go home and will not have time for homework.
A horse drawn school bus parked outside the school...
We also went to a pumpkin patch and little kids were allowed to pick out a free pumpkin. There was one little girl in the group and we waited while she went to choose her pumpkin...
Lots of scarecrows were seen at the pumpkin patch and were remains from previous scarecrow competitions...
While waiting, we asked someone to help take a photo of us... =)
Nice scenery...
This was the wagon we rode...
After the Wagon Tour we went back to the main area...
Making of apple butter in a huge pot. Basically you boil apple cider and apple together for hours till it reduces and is the consistency of apple butter...
There were a few shops and we went to the Meat & Cheese Shop first...
Different types of Amish cheese being sold and then we discovered chocolate cheese! First time seeing such a thing and we got to sample it. Chocolaty cheese - awesome! =)
Cider and Grist Mill - each fall apple cider is made from the orchards of surrounding Amish families...
Soda Fountain & Fudgery
One side of the building is a shop that sells various chocolates and fudge. There's even an old fashioned scale. The other side of the building is something like a cafe that sells drinks and desserts...
Then, we went to the Restaurant Barn for our Thresher's Dinner...
We had to wait while our table was being prepared, and thus we browsed around the bakery beside the restaurant. I was really attracted to the various bins of hard candy as they were so colourful! =)
Me with a big coffee grinder...
Bread and various jams, jellies, butters and preserves were also for sale...
Old fashioned register on display but not for use! =p
Here's the first part of our Thresher's Dinner that included drinks, soup, bread and starters... Yummy!! Its buffet style so you can ask for refills if you want more of any dish... =p
Us with the next part of our meal...
Then, it was time for the main dishes and side dishes... In addition, we get to choose a dessert each at the end...
Us with our dessert choice which was absolutely great! =)
The meal was really good and we were really full after it. We were so full that we skipped dinner that day. =p Anyway, we walked around the area a little more after lunch to burn some calories... The area was nicely decorated for fall harvest and Halloween...
Very cute scarecrows! =)
YH posing with one of the scarecrows...
We also went back into the farm area to take pictures of the buildings we passed by during the wagon tour but had no chance for photos. This is the railroad watchman shed as wagon traffic across the railroad was busy in the 1880s, and thus a watchman is required to stop traffic when the train passes through...
A pump house...
Next, we went to a broom shop which is a working one that still produces handmade brooms for sale...
There was a guy inside showing how to make a broom, which is made from broom corn...
The different types of broom for sale and a machine to bundle and cut the corn for the broom...
Mint Still that was used in the past to produce mint mostly for Wrigley Chewing Gum Company in nearby Chicago...
Root cellar that was used to store root vegetables...
Bee hives that used by farmers to house honey bees so as to pollinate the orchard and for honey...
Outside the Round Barn built in 1911. The Round Barn is now used for performances and is the national home of Plain and Fancy, the Broadway musical of Amish life and love...
We left Amish Acres around 4pm. At downtown Nappanee, we saw this parking shelter for buggies at a carpark. Similar to a car, the driver had to make the horse walk backwards and back out of the parking lot when leaving... =p
Saw a couple more buggies as we were leaving Nappanee for our drive home...
Our souvenirs from Amish Acres were 2 pennies from the Press-A-Penny machine...
Websit:e: http://www.amishacres.com/
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