No, we weren’t staying with royalty but we certainly got treated well while in Ohio. Diane is a chat room friend of Miss W’s and she met her last time she came to America as well. This time we stayed at Diane’s house for three nights and went touring during the day. There were two places Miss W wanted to see: The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and some Amish people.

Day 1 was the hall of fame. Charles drove us into Cleveland through detours and road closures and dropped us off in the rain at the hall of fame. Diane, Miss W and I then spent over four hours checking out the displays, listening to the music, watching the movies about the inductees over the years and having our photo taken. Diane liked checking out the clothing worn by the singers while Miss W could be seen lip syncing with the music. No photography was allowed inside the main exhibits in the hall unless it was by the official photographers so we had to take some outside or just inside the front door. We were all given a wrist band and even though I didn’t have to be paid for, I got one put around my neck.

When we left the hall, I found we had been put on the front cover of the magazine “Rolling Stone”. I wonder what song I will have to sing when I get inducted into the Hall of Fame? Maybe that could be another post with you giving me ideas.

The next day we headed to Amish country. First stop was the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center at Berlin. Wow! Inside was a 360 degree painted panorama of the history of the Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite cultures around the world. The display was called ‘Die Behalt’ meaning something to remember. A guide spoke to us about the history as he took us around the panorama. I was amazed to find out that a new mennonite group has started in Tasmania. Looking it up on the web, apparently the idea began with some Tasmanians back in 1995.

We were supposed to meet Peggy, another chat room friend, at Berlin for lunch, but apparently we got our wires crossed. She was there at 10am while we got there about 11.30 and so we missed each other. Miss W will go back via Cincinatti to visit Peggy later in the trip.

I had been wondering why there were so many Swiss type buildings in the area, but after finding out that the Mennonites originally came from the area of Switzerland, this answered my question. Lots of cheese making in the district, so Diane bought some of Charles’ favourite to give him when we got back.

We took lots of photos of Amish riding in the horse and buggies but apparently, many also use bicycles now. Wherever we stopped for food or gas, there were Mennonites working in the shops. Tried another ice cream with Miss W; this time a hot fudge Hershey chocolate sundae.

Diane is a bit like Miss W; she likes driving around and getting off the beaten track. Apparently we began to head home and Miss W said we needed to turn right according to the brochure map we had, but after a few miles, Diane got out the …………….

Yes Tracy, you guessed it. The GPS. We then started following the directions of the female voice on the GPS to get us back onto highway 77 which would take us straight back to Cleveland area. We were following a fantastic little road called ‘Crooked Run Road’.

Back home, we enjoyed a great meal of turkey with some trimmings that Charles had begun while we were out traipsing around Amish country.

Have you ever visited a group of people like the Amish, Mennonites or Hutterites? What did you enjoy about their lifestyle? Would you be able to live like them?