Oklahoma Travel

Oklahoma Travel
O is for Oklahoma and Ohio Amish

As I mentioned in my Edmond Sun article, the Amish group tours are probably not the best bets for traveling with younger children. The best way to learn more about the Amish and let your kids absorb at their own level is to visit the Yoder's Amish Home on State Route 515, close to Millersburg in Holmes County, Ohio. This 116-acre Amish farm has lots to attract the visitor. You can tour both an 1866 Amish home and a contemporary one. Take a ride in an Amish buggy; pet farm animals; see an Amish school house or just swing on a swing underneath the big trees. Yoder's is open from mid-April through October. Call (330)-893-2541 for more information.

Here in Oklahoma, the largest concentration of Amish is around the eastern Oklahoma town of Chouteau. You can buy Amish cheeses produced both locally and from other communities at the Amish Cheese House. Amish baked goods are available at Ropp's while Amish-style meals are served at the Dutch Pantry. If you're traveling with a group, contact the Chamber of Commerce (918) 476-8222 about dining in an Amish home.

Every year people flock to Clarita (this year it's September 9th) for the Amish Auction, Crafts and Antique Show at the Ben Troyer farm. Call (580) 428-3458 for more information.

Oklahoma Travel

Arcadian Inn, Edmond, Oklahoma
I mentioned the Arcadian in my last blog as one of my favorite B and Bs in Oklahoma. Since it's right here in town, I don't visit often but I know I can count on owner/innkeeper Martha Hall.

I'm doing a food column for the Edmond Sun on B and B recipes so I called Martha and asked if I could come take some pictures and get one of her recipes. She had guests coming and she said she'd ask them if they minded.

I showed up at the specified 9:30 this morning to find that they did! Seems one of the party had been to the inn before -- with another partner -- and was feeling camera shy.

Martha hadn't called to cancel the photos -- she simply fixed an entire extra breakfast for me to photograph! That's typical of the hospitality people can expect at the Arcadian Inn.

And the breakfast was superb. Of course, I sampled it -- strictly in the line of duty.

I'll include photos in the next blog -- after I figure out how to do it!

Oklahoma Travel

In answer to a question about b and bs in Oklahoma -- here are a few of my favorites:

Arcadian Inn, Edmond -- Charming Victorian, fab food and walking distance from a lovely downtown with lots of public art and interesting boutiques.

Aaron's Gate, Guthrie -- Owned by the Halls who own the Arcadian, this one is a clutch of cottages in the woods. Really away from it all, each cottage has many amenities and a ready-to-do-it-yourself breakfast so you can sleep in as long as you want.

Montford Inn, Norman -- a Select Registry property, that says it all. Great accommodations, afternoon lemonade and cookies, great breakfast and a fun college town.

Inn at Price Tower, Bartlesville -- fulfill a fantasy in a Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper.

Stardust Inn, Medicine Park -- I love this funky little town, the big porch at the Inn, the beautiful Indian art and its proximity to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. And there's a new winery in the vicinity.

I'd love to hear about your favorites, too.

okietravel

I hope by now you've checked out my website, read my bio and looked at some of my photos. I'm going to try to make it more useful with this blog -- add quick up-dates, travel tidbits and, in this case, make some corrections. Unfortunately, there's occasionally a slip-up somewhere in the ether between what I write and what actually gets printed. I try as hard as I can to be accurate -- and I know my editors do, too. I'll take responsibility for anything I get wrong but, oh, do I hate it when a mistake I didn't make gets in. So, for local Okies who are AAA members, the article on food in central Oklahoma has a picture of an attractive couple in front of their restaurant. They're Leticia and Mario Hernanez and that's the Adobe Grill -- not KhaZana, a very nice, but not pictured, Indian restaurant! For Okies and anyone else who gets AAA Home and Away, in the article on Oklahoma City -- the Oklahoma Trails are not open yet and the Great EscAPE does not have a rainforest with waterfalls. Other than that, I think we're on target. If you don't get the magazine and would like to see the Oklahoma City article, click www.homeandawaymagazine.com/Index_capitol_weekend_ok_city.cfm.
If you try to type this in, put underlines where the spaces are.

okietravel

Dear Friends,

I am creating this blog to share my comments about traveling in Oklahoma, although I welcome comments about visiting other sites as well.

I write a travel in Oklahoma column for the Edmond Sun, a daily newspaper in Edmond, OK.

Elaine Warner

Please visit my web site at www.okietravel.com