Dst’S Amish Experience Tour On Solo Travel Girl Blog
Things to do in Sarasota: The Amish Experience Tour
Jennifer A. Huber | Solo Travel Girl Blog
January 29, 2022
Sarasota is home to a unique culture for Florida. Within 10-square blocks of the Pinecraft neighborhood is an Amish and Mennonite community where you’ll see residents pedaling adult tricycles and find eateries serving the best comfort food ever. Hop a trolley with Discover Sarasota Tours to learn how and why the Amish are part of Sarasota’s cultural fabric.
Sarasota Isn’t Your Typical Spring Break Destination
When I worked at the Sarasota tourism office, a major newspaper published a photograph of three girls at Siesta Key Beach wading into the water as they held up the skirts of their dresses. While some Florida beaches attracted the Spring Break and “Girls Gone Wild” crowd, this was prime opportunity to tout Sarasota as a more family-friendly beach destination where you’d find “Girls Gone Mild.”
And, for as long as I can remember, I’ve always had an interest in Amish culture. Growing up in Western New York, we frequently visited friends in Titusville in Western Pennsylvania and home to an Amish population. The trip seemed like an eternity, when in reality it was less than a three-hour drive, and when my mom said, “Look, there’s an Amish horse and buggy,” I knew we were close to our friends’ house.
A few years ago, I went home to visit my family and we drove through the country of New York’s Cattaraugus County. We attended an auction where I enjoyed some delicious apple cider donuts then purchased butter from an Amish home.
Discover Sarasota Tours Has the Perfect Guide for the Amish Experience
Growing up aware of the Amish culture there’s still so much I don’t know. Quenching my thirst for knowledge, I joined about 10 other curious passengers to learn during this Amish Experience Tour offered by Discover Sarasota Tours.
Kendra Cross is the perfect tour guide. Strands of tinsel in her perfectly coifed hair sparkle as much as her welcoming personality. She grew up around horses and buggies in Amish and Mennonite country, and as an adult, she worked for a corporation known for recognizing top directors with pink Cadillacs. Throughout the hour-long tour, she shared how she grew up Mennonite.
How did she end up leading tours about the Amish in a Florida beach community? Having successful careers and raising a family, she and her husband retired to Sarasota from Indiana. She took a city tour with Discover Sarasota Tours and after speaking with the company’s owner, well, the rest is history. The tour company specializes in unique excursions like Psychic Sunday, Rainbows and Unicorns, and Tiki Trivia. The Amish Experience tour Kendra mapped out fits in perfectly with other options…