Never On Sunday In Amish Country

"TROPICAL DEPRESSION" BY PATTI LISZKAY IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER  

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​NEVER ON SUNDAY IN AMISH COUNTRY

      Last Sunday, February 19, being Tom's and my 46th wedding anniversary, 

​...we decided to head back to our old pre-COVID anniversary go-to spot, the Berlin Resort in Ohio Amish Country, where we hadn't been in three anniversaries.

      Now, I had originally wanted to book us a room for Thursday and Friday nights, but as those nights were already booked up by the time I got around to making the reservations, I knew of no reason why we shouldn't spend Sunday and Monday instead. The reason I knew of no reason was because I didn't know about Sundays in Amish Country.     
         And so we were blissfully unaware of what awaited us - or, more accurately, what didn't await us - on this sunny Sunday afternoon when we took off from our neighborhood,

...and picked up U.S. Route 62 where it passed through our suburb of Gahanna, then drove north east through the farm country that begins where metropolitan Columbus ends.

       It had been our plan to stop after an hour, as we usually do, for lunch in the town of Danville.

...an Amish Country exurb about 45 minutes from our destination of Berlin.
         However our Danville lunch spot, a terrific little eatery called The Hangout, where they serve the best veggie sub on the planet and probably the best fries as well,

...was, to our surprise and disappointment, closed for the day. In fact, the whole town appeared to be closed for the day. But, we figured, Danville is a small town, and so maybe there wasn't enough commerce to warrant the businesses staying open Sunday.
       And so we continued on through the pleasant Ohio countryside,     

...until we reached the next town, Millersburg, which was deep in the heart of Amish Country and bordered our destination town of Berlin, which was deep in the tourist heart of the area.
       However, Millersburg appeared to be just as closed down as Danville was.

     That's when the though hit us: Could it be possible that Ohio Amish Country, aka Ohio Tourist Central, closes down on a plum tourism day like Sunday? Never having been in Amish Country on Sunday, we didn't know the answer.
        But that, in fact, turned out to be the very case. We drove into Berlin to find every store, shop and restaurant on the main drag empty and shuttered tight.

       It was our good fortune, though, that there were, in fact, three places open in the area where one could procure some nourishment:
          A Subway we found in a mini-strip mall on the outskirts of Millersburg where we snagged some lunch,

...a Burger King on the edge of Berlin, 

...and the sole establishment open on the Berlin main drag, and an East of Chicago Pizzeria.

     It even occurred to us to wonder whether the doors of our hotel might be closed on Sunday.
     But no, the Berlin Resort was open for business as usual.

     The lobby was as bright and cheery we remembered it,

     Our room was clean and pleasant as past rooms had been,

...with a view of the grounds from our balcony. 

     After we settled in we did a once-around-the-place.

     Among the amenities are the pool,

...work-out rooms,

...aerobics/yoga room,

...basketball court, massage rooms, barber shop and beauty salon,

...and several areas just to hang out with (or without)  a hot drink always available from the machines in the lobby.

       And then there's our favorite amenity, the mini-movie theater inside the hotel.

     We took a dip in the pool, then when dinner time rolled around we drove into town,

...to where the only action was, East of Chicago Pizza.
      The place was not as crowded as one would have expected for it being the only eatery open in town,

...unless everyone else was at the Burger King or the Subway, or else eating at home.
      In any case, the service was good and, in the opinion of this amateur food critic and East of Chicago Pizza aficionado, the pizza was delish,

...as were the newly added items since our last visit: 
​       hot subs,

...mini-stromboli's.

...and chicken and french fries.

      And then there were the cinnamon rolls,  which I can eat my weight in.

     After our very satisfying dinner we returned to the Berlin Resort.

       When 8pm rolled around we headed down to the movie theater to watch that evening's feature, 

..."Daddy Day Care," an entertaining flick starring Eddie Murphy.

     And so went our Sunday afternoon in Amish Country. It was actually nice enough. Though we decided that next time we'll come on a Monday. Or a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. But never on Sunday. (And never on Saturday, either, because Saturday in Amish Country is waaaay to crowded!).
        To be continued...