Day 58 September 19, 2026 Ephrata Pennsylvania to Lancaster Pennsylvania 32 miles
The start of the day was much cooler. Didn’t take long to warm up however. Was cloudy most of the day.
We started our day at the Ephrata Cloister. Neither of us had ever heard of this place but found it very interesting. We started with a tour of their small museum and then took the guided tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and loved to tell the story. So our 1 hour 15 minutes tour lasted nearly two hours. A man by the name of Conrad Beissel came to what is now Ephrata from Germany in the mid 1700s. He came there looking for freedom of religion. He convinced others to join him. He believed in celibacy for both men and women. The community was about 300 people at the largest. Of those about 40 were celibate men and 43 were celibate women. The rest were married couples with families. Each group had their own duties. The only time they all got together was for church services on Saturday. Then the men all set together on the ground floor and the women all sat together in the balcony. They didn’t fight in the Revolutionary war but did run a hospital for american soldiers. Only a few of the original buildings still remain. The last remaining 28 acres are now owned by the state of Pennsylvania and are maintained as an historical site. All very interesting.
Then we headed for the Strasburg Railroad. It is located in the heart of Amish country. We soon saw several horse and buggies. Then we came to a large flea market. Lots of Amish people and others also. We decided to stop. No purchases other than food were made. Turns out this is an annual event hold every year in September. We each had a grilled sausage sandwich and a raspberry shake. That was followed by a fried pie. Those are just hand held empanada shaped dough wrapped around a filling. They may very well have been commercially done.
Then we were off again. We got to the train station which was overflowing with people. We figured we would be unable to get seats. They were having a Thomas Event. Not knowing what that was we asked. Turned out Thomas the Train was there today. I had forgotten about this character. We were able to get tickets for the 3 pm train. As we waited another train pulled in the engine in front looked like Thomas the Train. Sure explains all the small kids. That is who Tomas appeals to. The train we rode however was a coal burning steam locomotive. The ride lasts about 45 minutes through some of the Amish farm country. One area we traveled through called Cherry Crest appeared to be a fun place to take the kids. A corn maze, food and games cover a couple of acres. Lots of people here too.
One couple was working on their farm. She drove a five horse team with a hay baler followed by a wagon. The man grabbed the bales as they came off and stacked them on the wagon. On the return train ride we saw several men unloading the hay and wrapping it in plastic. Two horses were used to pull the hay wagon. Don’t know where the other three and the baler went.
Also passed a turkey farm that was supposedly one of the largest. Don’t think so. It didn’t look that big. Maybe the largest in the county.
Spoffords Travel 