My favorite part of being in Amish country had to be hearing the horse hooves constantly clip-clopping by! I loved watching the various buggies and catching glimpses of their occupants. So it naturally followed that when Bill and I spied the sign advertising "Ed's Buggy Rides," we had to take advantage of the opportunity!
The buggies most commonly used for this commercial enterprise weren't quite as traditional - but close. Here is another group coming back in.
I'm not sure if we were in any danger of exceeding this posted speed limit, but I can say it's amazing how briskly these horses can go, especially considering the load they're often pulling! And Amish country, in the Lancaster area at least, is hilly! So much so that I saw at least one Amish man get out of his buggy and just lead his horse up the very steep hill - good for him! Good horse owner!! We also learned that most Amish workhorses are retired racehorses. No wonder they're speedy, eh? From what we saw, it looked like most were pretty well taken care of. Yeah, they work hard, but they get their breaks, and most seemed pretty happy. Hopefully that's the case for the majority at least.
Our tour buggy parked at an Amish farmhouse we stopped at. They were included as part of the tour to try and sell their homemade goods (wooden crafts, quilts, jams, etc.). I hadn't brought any money with me so had to beg it out of Bill's wallet, but I tried to be as obliging with our Amish hosts as possible!
And up-close view of a traditional buggy.
I was very surprised to see such a "fancy" looking interior, but Bill told me that was sort of standard fabric back in the day for all sorts of vehicles!
We visited with one of the sweet horses at the farmhouse. Must've been his day off. And I think Bill made his day even more special because Bill shared some of the homemade root beer he'd bought there, offering it out of the palm of his hand! I guess the horsey enjoyed it and happily slurped it up! 
A look at part of their farm. And the ubiquitous laundry line! It was fascinating to see a culture, so determinedly set apart, function. It is amazing how many remain so committed to the beliefs and the choices of a religious, non-modern day agrarian society. I was very impressed with that commitment and what seemed to be a life of basic, down-to-earth joys and hardships. Of the close-knit families that farmed, prayed, and raised children together. Going about their everyday activities, often right next to all the trappings of this contemporary world - cars, semis, people in fancy - and often revealing - outfits, cell phones, ipads, ipods, etc. (I did see one young buggy driver with what looked like an ipod going down the road...). They seem to largely remain side by side but separate from today's society. And if you want to talk about small carbon footprints, these folks are the ultimate! If more supposed "green, eco-minded" people lived this way, I might believe more of what they have to say - instead of being constantly astonished by the often outright hypocrisy I see in most of them! But I also marvel at the vulnerability of this lifestyle - this otherwise functional community seems to me to be sort of living in a bubble. As long as things are relatively OK in the outside world (ie, no wars directly affecting them, a relatively benign government, cooperation from local cities, counties, people driving down the road, etc.!), things can be OK in their world too. And heck, I guess that's true for a lot of other citizens as well! 
Another passing tour buggy. That made it OK for me to take a direct, head-on photo. The Amish do not like to be photographed, which made getting any good, interesting pictures in this area very challenging and a bit frustrating! I certainly didn't want to offend any of them, but I also wanted some photos! I tried to take photos where there were no recognizable faces, as I understood this was sort of a middle ground.
One of the beautiful farm scenes that this Amish area was replete with!
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