Ephrata Cloister

So -- here's my mystery location. The Ephrata Cloister. Have you ever heard of it? Me neither. But once I knew Donna and I were going to have a "day" somewhere in the middle -- I started looking around on the internet. And I found this... So interesting...a religious cult from the 1700's...

Because William Penn, a Quaker, wanted to develop his state as a place FREE from religious persecution -- Pennsylvania got more than their share of religious zealots. Shakers, Amish, Mennonite... And an orphan boy with some very odd beliefs -- Conrad Beissel -- brought his followers to Ephrata. And -- more than 200 years later -- the remains of his settlement survive as a museum and an archelogical dig.  Donna was bummed out because Lucy couldn't go into any of the buildings.  But I insisted we take the tour -- and they both got over it....

One of the reasons you never heard of Conrad and his crew is because he believed in celibacy. The brothers had their own building -- and the sisters lived apart. They didn't even eat their meals together. So, as both a religion and a town -- they were pretty much doomed.

What remains in the middle of Ephrata is 28 acres of pure history. We watched the little film -- then got a private tour from Michael, who was incredibly knowledgeable. I enjoyed his lesson in 18th century religion. There were so many things I did not know...and it was a fascinating time...

Several of the buildings are original to the site. The grounds are stunning. The day was gorgeous...

It was one of those days when I found myself thinking, "there's no place I'd rather be -- and nobody I'd rather be with..."

THANKS FOR PLAYING my road trippin' game, Donna. Didn't we have a great time, Lucy??