Itinerary
Join us for this fabulous journey through the Quilt Gardens of Indiana and through Amish Country. The Quilt Gardens are 17 different locations where gardens have been planted in the style of a quilt. Along with this, many of the locations also have large quilt murals on the buildings outside. But the Quilt Gardens Tour is only a part of our adventure. We will also experience the Amish life visiting historical homes, talking to the people there, and tasting their incredible cooking. We will have demonstrations of cooking and gardening from an Amish perspective as well a visiting some well known Amish quilt shops. In addition we will have quilting classes and lectures from quilt artists – even an Amish Quilting Bee! One of the highlights of our trip will be spending a day at the Amish Acres Art and Craft Festival held annually in Nappanee. For more information on the Quilt Gardens visit http://www.amishcountry.org/QuiltGardensTour2010
Tuesday, August 3 (Dinner)
We leave Chicago and have a 2-hour trip to Goshen, Indiana where our first stop of our trip will begin at Peterson’s Steak & Seafood Restaurant.  We will enjoy unique dining in a Victorian house built in the 1800’s. A dinner featuring Prime Rib with the trimmings will be served. Alcoholic beverages are available to purchase on an individual basis.
We will then go to our host hotel, check in and get a good night’s rest to be fresh for our next exciting day!
Wednesday, August 4 (Breakfast, Dinner, Trunk show fee)
After breakfast at our hotel we will head out to the Amish Country Visitors Center where we will begin with a brief overview about the unique, one-of-a-kind Quilt Gardens Tour.  We will then explore the beautiful, handmade works of art by fiber artists Diana Bennett and Lina Zerkle.
Since it is Wednesday we will head toward Shipshewana for the Shipshewana Flea Market & Auction. This is known as “the trading place of America”. Shipshewana is home to the Midwest’s largest outdoor flea market – over 800 vendors filling 1000 booths covering 60 acres. The antique auction barn has 11 rings going on at once selling quality antiques and collectibles. Grab lunch on your own anytime during our visit.
After lunch we are headed to visit the Quilt Garden at The Farmstead Inn and then we go on to Yoder’s Department Store for a bit of shopping. Since 1968, Yoder's Shopping Center has built a second-to-none reputation among shoppers who frequent Shipshewana. On any given day, Yoder’s Department Store carries Amish Country’s widest assortment of quality fabric, clothing, linens, hats…you name it! Yoder’s Hardware Store - just across the hall - stocks wonderful surprises like enamelware, cast iron cookware, wood-fired stoves and silk flowers. (Yes…they carry hardware, too…) 
We will leave Yoder’s for the Menno-Hof Amish/Mennonite Interpretive Center Quilt Garden and then depart for Middlebury. There we will visit the Quilt Garden at Dutch Country Market, Greencroft and Krider Gardens.
Later in the evening Elaine Jones at The Carriage House has invited us to join her and her family and friends in an Amish quilting bee. The ladies will first serve us a delicious home-cooked, 2 meat, traditional Amish meal. Then we will pull up a chair around 4 original quilt frames filled with hand pieced Amish quilts.
They’ll demonstrate how to piece, mark and get the quilt ready to sew. Then we’ll sit beside them and participate, watch, learn or just chat as these Amish ladies lead the novice and experienced quilter in an old fashioned quilting bee.
After dinner Rebecca Haarer, known across the nation as a collector of vintage Indiana quilts, will discuss the history of Amish quilting in a format she describes as a "quilt museum on the road”. She will show vintage Amish quilts and discuss how they have been influenced by the Amish culture. Rebecca also points out how changes in society have affected the Amish and their quilts.
Thursday, August 5 (Breakfast, Dinner, Guide, Tickets to 3 events)
Our day will start shopping at Linton’s Enchanted Gardens. We will explore the many themed gardens of this new, large garden center including the Japanese Tea House, Southwestern garden with Mine Shaft, Victorian House, Dutch Gardens and Grist Mill. We will shop inside the Garden Center and enjoy the Quilt Gardens while on site.
Next, we will enjoy the Quilt Gardens at Elkhart City Central Park and at Ruthmere in Elkhart. "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, Oh, what a relief it is" is the famous Alka Seltzer advertisement. Mr. Albert Beardsley helped to found the company that created Alka Seltzer in Elkhart, Indiana. His elaborate 1910 beaux-arts style house, Ruthmere, named after his deceased daughter Ruth, is our destination.  We'll see a fine art collection including Tiffany leaded glass, Rodin sculptures, velvet window coverings, hand painted walls, and walnut woodwork.
Then it is shopping & lunch on your own at American Countryside Farmers Market. The spectacular American Countryside Farmers Market provides a unique group experience and the excitement of demonstrations, entertainment, and cooking shows. Browse row upon row of fresh wholesome foods and Amish crafted products, take in the action of special programs, or sit down to enjoy a variety of tasty options from Amish cooking to Scandinavian cuisine. Visit the Quilt Garden at the Farmers Market at your leisure.
We will leave the American Countryside Farmers Market and head to the Quilt Garden in Wakarusa and spend some time shopping at the Wakarusa Dime Store and downtown area. While in Wakarusa we will visit the Butterfly Garden. The Wakarusa Memorial Park Butterfly Garden is a delightful surprise. Tucked away in a quiet corner of the town, this gem is bursting with more than 65 varieties of beautifully maintained perennials, ornamental grasses, shrubs and annuals – all carefully selected to be irresistible to butterflies and birds.
Later that evening we will visit the Quilt Garden & Mural at the Essenhaus. While there we will dine in Indiana’s largest restaurant on family-favorite recipes and tasty treats handed down thru the generations. Try one of the 29 kinds of fresh-baked pies! Yummy!!
 After dinner Gail will walk us through basic quilt patterns to incorporate into our own back yard garden, talk about color placement, make flower suggestions, and provide us with handouts to take home. Then, it’s Locker Hooking! This fun and easy project is a perfect way to use up those left over yards of quilting fabric or material we bought but never used. Locker Hooking is the latest craze among quilters. The 12in square kit comes complete with our own hook, string, canvas, 2 yards of fabric and directions for future at-home projects. Roz at the Essenhaus Quilt Shop leads us thru this fun and easy way to use scraps and leftovers.
Friday, August 6 (Breakfast, Dinner, Guide, Event tickets, Show tickets)
Stepping into Benedict’s Nursery is a bit like stepping into a scene from a fairytale – tiny, remarkable plants that make ordinary plants seem huge in comparison fill garden racks and specially made containers. That’s because Esther Benedict specializes in alpines and other unusual species that are seldom seen in a garden shop. It may seem curious that an Old Order Mennonite woman living in Nappanee, IN is knowledgeable about species that manage to survive in high altitude or harsh desert terrain, but it’s her hobby. Esther can tell us all about these amazing, slow growing little plants. She also makes and sells the rugged, rock-like hyper-tufa pots ideally suited for these hearty miniatures and gives classes on making our own.
 Then, here we come Amish Acres, Nappanee. The 80-acre restored Amish farmstead, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the focal point of Amish Acres. This heritage resort echoes the simple life of Amish society through historic interpretation, dining, lodging, theatre, countryside tours, baked goods and 10 different shops. A sixteen foot covered farm wagon with padded seats is pulled by an International Harvester H tractor and gives us an overview of the historic farm as it travels down the gravel lanes, around the pond, past the historic buildings, and through the woods.
The rest of the day we will enjoy the special ABA Top 100 Event “Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival”. Over 350 artists and crafters from around the country surround Amish Acres pond to ply their trade and sell their wares.  Live entertainment on three stages throughout the day includes country bands, magicians and square dancing. Festival foods are a very important part of the four day event featuring everything from apple pie to zucchini bread. This festival is one of the Top 200 festivals in the nation and the 8th Top Traditional Crafts Show by Sunshine Artist Magazine. There will be continuous entertainment on 3 stages, roving clowns, medicine show & musicians, square & line dancing, paddle boats, cloggers, festival foods from roast pork to preaching pies, tasty ice cream to sassafras iced tea. Old time music fills the main stage while kids ride the swan paddle boats on the pond. Everyone is on their own for lunch. In the evening we will enjoy the Thresher’s dinner and afterward the Broadway Musical Theatre.
Saturday, August 7 (Breakfast, Dinner, Show tickets)
After visiting the Quilt Garden sites in Goshen, we will visit the Log Cabin Quilt Shop featuring original and unique contemporary designs that provide for breathtaking quilts. You won't believe the artistry, stitches and techniques used to create these masterpieces all hand stitched by the nation’s top 10 quilters. We’ll meet owners and artisans, Dave & Shirley Shenk, who will explain their philosophy, technique, and showcase their unique, one-of-a-kind trademarked patterns that showcase quilting as an art form. Then we will shop in the artisan complex of The Old Bag Factory complete with pottery, furniture, candles, unique gifts and handiworks.
We will have a guided tour of The Calendar Garden nestled within the River Preserve County Park in Benton, IN. The centerpiece of this captivating garden-- a pond filled with lush pink water lilies. And just like the seasons, the views in the garden are ever-changing. Time spent in the Calendar Garden will be time well spent, time for all seasons and time long remembered.
 Afterwards we will Visit an herb farm and garden where we will listen to a discussion on the most popular herbs as well as a variety of uses for them along with basic information for growing and harvesting our own herbs when we get home. Complete with a “make-it-take-it” Herbal Bath Salt demonstration.
Then it is on to Meadow Brook Farm where we will tour one of the first farm homes in Elkhart County including the original home, barn, granary and smokehouse. While here we will learn colorful history direct from the owners of their personal heritage while touring this immaculate property. Also we will enjoy the “agri-quilt” and will participate in quilting on the community donation quilt, and enjoy numerous themed décor rooms, sites and scenery. Our visit will be completed with the enchanting Quilt Storyteller who brings quilt heritage to life by weaving her tales.
Had enough flowers?  We are not finished yet! Mac Boyer loves Dahlias and considers them “the most diverse flower in God’s kingdom”. Each summer from late July through September we can witness that diversity in all its glory at the gorgeous American Dahlia Society Test Garden at Bonneyville Mill County Park. For the past 22 years Mac has managed the garden; each year testing and showcasing about 140 new and different hybrids all grown from seed. We’ll go home ready to start planting and dreaming of Dahlias as big as dinner plates!
F or our evening entertainment, we will enjoy family-style dinner at the Blue Gate Restaurant. Resembling a rambling, white farmhouse, this 600-seat restaurant at Riegsecker Marketplace in Shipshewana serves up a feast of home-style Amish and Mennonite favorites in a wonderful setting. We will dine family-style on Blue Gate’s much loved meatloaf, chicken and noodles, meats and homemade bread and 25 kinds of pie. After dinner we will enjoy the gospel music of “Jeff & Sherri Easter” at the Blue Gate Theatre. Jeff & Sherri Easter are a well known Southern Gospel couple who often travel with the Gaithers.
Sunday, August 8 (Breakfast)
Our trip is almost over! We will check out of our host hotel and head toward Chicago. Please make travel arrangements for 1PM or later.
Images courtesy of:
Amish Acres Round Bart Theatre
Northern Indiana Amish Country |
Call Toll free:
Luxury motor coach transportation and area tour guides
Arrival at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport is 4:00PM. We will board our luxury motor coach and leave for Amish Country. NOTE: Transportation to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport is not included
