We decided to go a little out of our way and explore around the area, thinking we might be able to drive through an Amish community. As we went along the road, we found houses with distinctly Amish-looking clothes hung outside to dry. We also passed by several buggies. Not only a buggy that an Amish guy was driving, but also one by women. I’m not sure why, but they smiled at us, so we smiled back. I was happy to meet such friendly Amish people.

We were able to recognize the area as an Amish community not only because of the clothes hanging outside to dry, but also because of the wheel tracks on the road (see the photo below). Since the Amish ride buggies, there were two dark lines on the road that cars normally don’t make. This was something I hadn’t noticed in Holmes County, so I was glad to make this discovery.

I knew that bread or sweets made by the Amish were always good, so if possible, I wanted to visit their store. However, this area didn’t look touristy, and I didn’t expect a small Amish store to appear on the Google Map, but I tried looking for it, just in case. And then, to my surprise, I found one, Yoder’s Bakery. I was thrilled, and we decided to go there. Before visiting, we had to go to the ATM to get some cash because we imagined they only accepted cash. This is a bit of a tangent, but surprisingly, the ATM was in a drive-thru. I hadn’t even thought an ATM could be a drive-thru, so it was a culture shock.

Back to the story, we successfully got some cash and drove to Yoder’s Bakery. The bakery was on the first floor of a normal house, so we were a little bit nervous about whether strangers like us would be welcomed. There was also no parking lot, so we weren’t sure if we were allowed to enter, but we parked our car in a space that wouldn’t block any buggies if they entered, and we visited the bakery. Between the bakery and the house was a window, and Amish children were watching us. I guess it was unusual for them to see people who look Asian in person.

Inside the bakery, there was a horizontal shelf with about five rows, displaying jams, pies, cookies, and more. We bought a bag of mini chocolate pies and a jar of jam. Near the checkout, they were also selling wooden keychains, which made me think English visitors also came here. A woman who looked like an Amish mother helped us at the checkout, and we left the store.

On our way back home, on a regular road where cars normally drive, we saw an Amish buggy. The other cars didn’t pay extra attention to it, so I thought that for the English living there, it was an everyday life to drive a car on the same road with buggies.

It was a whole new experience compared to visiting Holmes County, Ohio, which is rather touristy. I’m so glad to happened to go through Kenton. I hope to have more unexpected encounters like this on my future travels.

• Yoder’s bakery on Google Maps

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