The Beauty Around Us

Our last daycation of 2014 was on Monday, December 29th.  We hadn’t been out of the house in a while, except for shopping and errand running. We wanted to get out of the house, so we went for a drive to Volant, PA.  Volant is a unique village of quaint shops and restaurants located on Route 208 in the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania Amish country, only a few miles from Grove City. Our trip to Volant wasn’t for shopping or to eat in any of its restaurants. We visited Volant a couple years ago. The only camera I had with me that day was the camera on my mobile phone. I wanted to take some pictures with my Olympus digital camera. The day started out nice but clouded over very quickly. I took some pictures but feel I can get better pictures on a sunny day. We will return another day, perhaps in the fall.

Imagine seeing a fisherman at Volant Dam during the last week of December!

Covered bridge at Volant Mills

Volant Mills

Volant Mills and Route 208

In addition to Volant, we drove into New Wilmington, PA. New Wilmington is home to Westminster College and serves the Old Order Amish community in the surrounding Wilmington Township. We attempted to fuel up at a BP in New Wilmington. The fuel pump worked very slowly. I approached a cashier about the slow-moving fuel pump. The cashier said to hold the nozzle in the air for 30 seconds. Then return to pumping gas. Bob did as suggested, but he didn’t see any change. After several minutes, Bob stopped filling the tank at $2.72.  Life (and apparently fuel pumps) move slower in Amish country! We made two more stops in New Wilmington. We stopped at The Cheese House, where we purchased a sampling of cheese, sugar free fudge and no sugar added blackberry jam. We could have spent so much more money. The Cheese House has one of the largest varieties of Gluten Free foods in the area; over 75 different types of Amish Jams and Jellies to choose from; hundreds of greeting cards; gift baskets made to order; dozens of pickled foods; mustard for every occasion; old-fashioned popcorn; an arrangement of pastas and noodles; and of course cheese! Our second stop was at a covered bridge.

The Banks Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that spans the Neshannock Creek. Constructed in 1889, the bridge is a Burr arch truss built on stone foundations and supported by steel girders; it is 121 feet long.

Banks Covered Bridge

Banks Covered Bridge is drivable.

In my opinion the best photograph I took, while photographing the bridge, was NOT the bridge. 

I loved how the light hit a tree, setting it apart from everything around it.

 Our day away from home was enjoyable.  I am looking forward to daycations in 2015!