This is The Barn. We stayed on the second floor, which is the top area. This is the back of the B&B from the front you can totally tell it is a barn!!
The first place we went to was the Heini's Cheese Factory in Berlin, Ohio. They make the cheese for Trader Joe's and a lot of the local Farmer's Markets. This is the home of the original Yogurt Cheese. You can get a tour of the factory. and watch them make cheese. They only make cheese 4 days a week because they only use milk from cows milked by hand - and they can't get enough milk to make cheese more than 4 days a week. The best part is that all through the aisles (see pictures) they have their dozens and dozens of cheeses - with little samples of each kind. You can taste them and decide what you like and then purchase them (at reasonable prices). Same thing for their gourmet cheese fudge of which they have many varieties. The majority of the employees are Amish. I was very impressed with the Amish we talked with (especially the teenagers) they were polite and nice beyond belief. I only wish that most teenagers acted like the Amish kids we saw.
We were told about the leather shop where you can buy great leather belts cheap - guaranteed not to crack and to last for 20 years - and if you get any skinnier you can take the belt back and he will punch more holes in it for you. I bought 3 belts - one light brown, one dark brown
and one black - they may be the last belts I ever have to buy. Most of the Amish don't want their pictures taken - so I asked the owner operator R.W. Leather in Sugarcreek, Ohio if I could take a picture of his shop and he said fine as long as I didn't get him in the picture. Again,
just as nice as could be. They didn't have a black belt in my size - so he made one on the spot for me. Could have taken some more interesting pictures, but didn't want to offend the Amish.
The place we stayed gave each couple a coupon for a Christmas ornament from Wendell August Forge in Berlin, Ohio that does handcrafted hand hammered metal giftware. Apparently their marketing tool worked because we bought two other hand crafted items while we were there. Connie got a bread tray and I got a brass coaster with a US Navy emblem on it (I will use it to hold my loose change)
The place we stopped for lunch, Walnut Creek Cheese in Walnut Creek, Ohio We had some unbelievable ham and cheese sandwiches for $2.50 a piece and some ice cream/custard waffle cones that were so big I could barely finish mine. Only $2.50 each. Connie purchased jello mixes (cheap) and the things she uses to make her delicious breads.
Just a few photos of the beautiful countryside. We also visited Kiem Lumber in Charm, Ohio (unbelievable lumber/hardware store - specializing in home remodeling - floors ,doors, windows and cabinets) I bought a weather vein. On the way out we stopped at a couple of Amish furniture stores - which might have been a mistake because there is a particular bed frame I have been looking for - and I found it. We ended up ordering a new bedroom set and a new kitchen table. Now I just have to put in a new kitchen floor in and get new carpeting installed in the bedroom. To do the area justice you could easily spend 3 days there with all the interesting things available to see and do. There was a lot of things we didn't see and do, but hopefully will do some of them with the kids and family we can talk into coming to Ohio to visit.
