Urban’s Ashes – Day 2

We hit the road this morning at about 7 o’clock and drove north through Indiana. Indianapolis was a bit confusing, as it always has been for me, and we managed to make a wrong turn on the loop around the capital. However, it was only a short detour and a quick turnaround to get back on track.

We went up the eastern side of the state on I-69, though my earlier planning had mapped out a route straight up on US31. We got to Amish Acres in the town of Nappanee, Indiana at 4:00 PM and watched a short movie about Amish life and customs. Then we toured the grounds and eventually went to the “Threshers Dinner” in the restaurant.

Tom had never tasted shoofly pie, so I gave him a taste of mine. He wasn’t captivated by it—it’s an acquired taste—and he opted for blueberry pie for his dessert. The dinner was also great, with tender beef, chicken and all the trimmings, well worth the $18 price.

We only had about an hour to drive to our hotel in Dowagiac, Michigan that night, and it had a hot tub, so I was happy. However, the place was a bit rundown, and I was a little disappointed at the accommodations. We were glad to be on the road the next morning.


The farmhouse is very clean and commodious. It looks like it was meant for a large family.

The Round Barn Theatre is the permanent home for the play “Plain And Fancy” which depicts the conflicts of the secular and Amish worlds in a humorous way.

The Meat and Cheese Shop was wasn’t open when we got there, but it would have been nice to have bought some goodies there.

The Soda Fountain and Fudgery was also closed up. All we could do was take pictures of the outside.

The sign is self-explanatory. This is a nice farm to visit.

Life in the slow lane is the way in Nappanee, Indiana

The restaurant for the threshers dinner is a converted barn. The food was excellent. I even had shoofly pie for dessert.