Events of Wednesday, November 10, 2010

          At 5:00 in the morning in Amish country, the farm wakes up to milk the cows, do some chores, and get a start on the work of the day. Since we are getting a partial Amish experience and not a full one, we decided not to join them on this early morning venture. Instead, we slept in until 7:00. While we were off in our dreams, our hardworking Amish friends were up working hard. That lifestyle would take some major adjustments from our casual morning routine.

          At 7:30, we joined Ben and Katie King, our hosts, for breakfast. The fare was extensive, including scrapple (corn meal fried in pork), over-easy fried eggs and ham, fantastic apricot jam, and grape juice. This ranks as one of the best breakfasts on this trip by far. The food was so good that we had to force ourselves to overstuff our stomachs just so we could enjoy the delicacies. After “returning thanks”, grace at the end of the meal, we headed outside to hitch up the buggy. The black buggy, a common symbol of the Amish, reflects their simple lifestyle. It is a modest black box on wheels, drawn by a horse. Inside were two benches, each capable of seating two adults or three children. The interior was surprisingly more comfortable than it appeared. Although not quite as spacious as a compact car (or an RV), it did allow for some leg room. That was good, because I didn’t really want to be riding around with my knees knocking on my head.

          A ride in the buggy takes a little more preparation than jumping into the average car. Typically, we just open the door, hop in, turn the ignition, and zoom off into the sunset at 60+ mph. The Amish have to hitch up the horse (quite a complicated task—keep reading!) with three different harness units: the bridle, the collar, and the saddle/breeching unit. There are a whole bunch of buckles that need to be strapped, tightened, or fastened. Mr. King took about ten minutes instructing us city slickers how to put on the harness, hitch up Janie, their horse, and load up the buggy. Caitlin, Mom, and I took the first ride around the King’s farm. Since it was partially uphill and Janie was pulling four bodies, we probably averaged around 10 mph. Not as fast or easy as driving a car, but it is a necessary part of Amish culture. We saw the entire King farmland and a little more, including the area’s Amish school, which is home to 24 students in 8 grades all in one room, a public middle and high school on what used to be King property, and the homes of their sons Reuben and Emmanuel. Once we returned to the house, it was time for Dad, Abby, and Lindsey to have their buggy experience. To pass the time, Mr. King encouraged me to try to hook up their miniature horse, Smoky, to a small two-wheeled cart. That was an adventure in itself.

          Mr. King helped me find the harness and told me about the slight differences between hitching up Janie and hitching up Smoky. I should have paid a lot more attention to the way Janie was hitched up. I got the saddle and breeching on (or so I thought). Since Smoky was being stubborn, Mrs. King came out from the kitchen to help us get the bit in. Smoky just wouldn’t open his mouth! Once that was taken care of, it turned out that I had mistakenly put the collar pieces on upside-down. At last, we were ready to hitch to the cart. But for some reason, the “back-up strap”, which keeps the cart attached when backing, wouldn’t connect. As Mr. King pulled into the driveway, he hopped out of the buggy and gave us a hand. It turns out we were making two straps too tight, which affected the ability of other buckles to attach. It was definitely a learning experience for us city kids, who have only ridden horses a few times and never harnessed to a cart!

          Concerned that I wouldn’t be able to handle Smokey, Mrs. King drove me around first, just to make sure that everything was all right. Except for an energetic animal, everything seemed fine. Next, I got the chance to drive Abby around. Smoky had around 10 times the energy of Janie, so we went twice as fast. It is quite hard to try to learn to drive a stubborn horse that wants to sprint! Much to Mom’s relief, both of us made it back to the farm alive. Enthralled by her experience, Abby wanted to drive, so she took Dad on a ride. When they returned, Caitlin and Lindsey drove each other down the lane and back a-gain!

          We could have driven around for hours, but Mom was determined to keep us on schedule. Dad perfected his 23-point turn as he skillfully turned the RV around in the narrow driveway, then we loaded up and headed out to the town of King of Prussia, near Valley Forge. As we drove, we kept asking, “Which war was this part of? Who fought here?” All the Civil War history from the past few days had totally thrown us off. But through videos, informative exhibits, and our Junior Ranger programs, we cleared up our misconceptions and learned all about Valley Forge and the part it played in the Revolutionary War.

          Valley Forge was a wintering location for the Continental Army between November 1777 and May 1778. Set up outside of British-controlled Philadelphia, it was a strategic defensive location. Here, the troops built around a thousand cabin-like huts, each of which slept 12 men. The encampment was set up in a triangular formation. They used the Schuylkill River as a natural barrier and then set up an Outer and an Inner Line of Defense along high ground. Throughout all this, they dug redoubts, or earthen barriers, to deter the British troops. We don’t know if Washington's planning worked or not because they were never attacked. Conditions for the troops were variable; conditions depended on where your regiment was camped and your home state, as some were supplied better than others. Some soldiers had a pretty good winter, but for others, the cold weather and harsh environment were unbearable.

          Despite this, some good came to the encampment. In February of 1778, France decided to aid the American cause. The important French who came were Marquis de Lafayette and Baron van Streuber. Lafayette was a great leader, and van Streuber was a fantastic drill sergeant. Together, they turned the misshapen Continental force into a quality army. The Auto Tour showed us the encampment, historical houses, and the redoubts. As we drove along the higher, Inner Line of Defense and the sky dimmed into dusk, we suddenly started seeing deer; just a few at first, but then large groups, up to thirteen at a time. We saw a total of 65 deer in less than an hour! After this superb history lesson, we headed to the campground closest to Philadelphia—in New Jersey. Really! It is about 15 miles away from the city, but we didn’t expect to go into a different state to find camping!

          Once settled in our campsite, we had dinner and then watched the first bit of 1776, a movie about the Continental Congress’ journey to independence in Philadelphia. It got us in the mood to see Independence Hall tomorrow.