Watch out

Mrs Walles and I had to go to York earlier this week so that the government could "capture my biometrics".  It's less violating than it sounds, they just wanted my fingerprints, photo and signature.  We didn't get to see much of York itself, our business being on the outskirts, but from what I can tell, the New York is a little more exciting.

On the way back we took one of the state roads (routes, as they call them here, all with numbers, all of which everyone except me seems to be able to remember).  At a few points along the way we passed signs like this one.

That's fair enough.  There are plenty of deer here, even around towns.  We had one browse through our back yard last summer and that was just the one we saw.  They aren't that worried by people, or roads, so they are a real hazard.  More than once I've seen a carcass lying on the side of the road.  But wild deer aren't that weird to us Kiwis.  The next one isn't something you won't see back in New Zealand, though.

That's a horse and buggy, specifically the kind that the Amish like to use.  They have to use the road just like everyone else, and you'll see them out in their buggies or riding bicycles in their uncomfortable-looking, old-fashioned garb, even in the ludicrous heat and humidity that the summers bring here.  On this trip I saw an Amish man ploughing a field with a team of horses and an Amish couple tending their garden.

The generally acknowledged Amish centre in Pennsylvania is Lancaster County, around the town of Lancaster (surprise, surprise) which isn't far from where we were in York.  Unfortunately the Amish and their way of life have become such a tourist attraction that many of them have left for distant parts of the US to start a new life away from the glare of publicity.  There are still plenty there, though, and the tourists flock in their thousands to tiny places like Intercourse and Blue Ball (I know, I know) where specially built attractions cater to their every need.  It's pretty much like Rotorua or Queenstown, but in a corn field.  And, though it can feel a little exploitative and artificial, it's really great fun.  More on that another time, perhaps.

For all their differences, which are many, I do feel an affinity to the Amish in one tiny way.  Like most New Zealanders, and unlike most Americans, they dry their washing outside on a line.  That's probably where the similarities end, though.  I doubt I'll be joining them in their spiritual endeavour any time soon - I don't think I could handle the beard for a start.