Amish Adventures in 2019

I love to tell readers about my (and Stacey’s) Amish adventures. Especially our trips from this past year. Did you know we visited seven different Amish communities? What fun we had!

But here it is, already June, and I’ve been through Chouteau (again), but nothing else. I could laugh and say things like ‘Time flies’ and ‘Where does it all go?’ and it would be an honest account. But the rest of the truth is that things change. I have-had a senior this year and if you’ve been through that experience, there is a lot of money and time involved. And then most of you know that Stacey’s mother had a stroke and is still in recovery. Needless to say life has sort of put the kibosh on most (if not all) of this year’s travel plans.

But that’s not why I invited myself into your computer today. I have a story to tell. See, it’s something of a joke in my family that wherever I go I manage to find the Amish. Like the little boy in the movie the Sixth Sense, except, “I see Amish people.” The joke goes a bit further in that I still haven’t managed to find the Amish KC Chiefs fans, but I’m hopeful for next season. (This is not a joke. There really are ex-Amish season ticket holders! And since we have tickets ourselves…It’s inevitable, right?)

Seriously though, I go to the mall, I find Amish people. The flea market, Amish people. McDonalds, Amish. And it has happened again.

My mother came into town for my son’s graduation. Her route to Oklahoma was interesting though not straight forward. She drove from Alabama to her friend’s house in Memphis. This friend was driving out to Bentonville, Arkansas, to her own granddaughter’s high school graduation. Since my mom caught a ride with her, all I had to do was drive to Arkansas to pick Mom up.

It was a fun drive over for me, little road trip consisting of me, my Beetle, Google maps, and Apple music. Then I hit a light in small town Arkansas and looked over at the gas station across the way. You know, just checking things out. I saw a tractor.

Now I’m always looking for interesting things to take pictures of to share with you, and it crossed my mind for a moment to take a picture of the tractor and its as-of-yet-unseen driver. But “Nah,” I thought. “It’s not like it’s Amish people.”

The light turns green and I go, just in time to pull up behind the tractor which is now on the roadway.

Wait…what? Are those Amish girls on board? Not just one, but two!

I quickly snapped a picture to remember the moment and did a speedy voice note in my phone so I would record where I was: Gentry, Arkansas. I knew there were a couple of Amish communities in Arkansas but had no idea one was so close. So far I haven’t been able to find out much about them online. I guess Stacey and I will have to put this on our list of places to visit. I do know one thing…they drive tractors. But you’ll be the first to know when we find out more!