I'm a European who, reading tourisme brochures, has found how, on the route Washington to Niagara Falls there are two curiosities:
first of all, the so-called "Amish-country", which looks interesting.
Secondly -and more often than the first- some kind of "glass museum", presented as a must. It might be, but at the first sight, I don't find this theme very very interesting. Could someone write about those places, if they have visited, if it is worth a stop on that route (if not, it might be done at night, so that you save money and time).

The Amish are a group of people who have freely chosen, over the last 150 years, to shun modern society and inventions. They do not have cars, electricity, or phones. They live peacefully and simply; shunning wealth and fancy possessions. You can find their communities at various places around the eastern U.S.; but these places are NOT a zoo, a freak show, or a theme park. The Amish just want to be left alone, to live their lives as they see fit.

Unfortunately, non-Amish recognize have long recognized that tourists will come to places where the Amish live, just to see the unusual. Thus, many of these places have become dedicated to materialism and ostentatiousness; the very qualities the Amish reject. The juxtaposition of people living life as it were 1850 a few kilometers from a mega-mall can be quite jarring, to say the least.

There are a few reasons to visit an Amish area: (1) there are often high quality crafts sold where they live, sometimes even by the Amish themselves; (2) if you like mega-malls and lots of shopping, you can sometimes find them; (3) there are not many places in the US where you'll see horse buggies parked in front of a store.

Just remember that the Amish themselves do NOT want visitors to their homes, nor do they want to discuss their lives with strangers. Also, they consider photos to be vanity, and do NOT want to be photographed. They just want to be left alone. So honor their wishes if you come for a visit.

The Amish are a religious sect that lives without the use of electricity and motor vehicles. They are from various European descents, mainly German and Swiss but also English, Welch and Scottish. They are very well known for their fine craftsmanship in all that they produce. They are known most for fine furniture, superior quality barns and homes, wonderful baked goods and other food products.

I am more familiar with the Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana Amish areas of our country. The Pennsylvania Amish country is very pretty with open fields and rolling hills in farming communities. Seeing the Amish live as they do amidst today's technology is quite interesting, especially if you enjoy history, as it is like stepping back in time. If you go, do stop and sample some of their baked goods - I once bought a raspberry pie from an Amish woman and it was the BEST I've ever had!

See this link for more information: www.800padutch.com/amish.shtml

Sorry but I can't help with a glass museum. It might help if you include in your post the city and state where the museum is located.

Enjoy your trip!

I think the museum you're referring to is the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY, in the Finger Lakes region (www.cmog.com). Corning is a huge producer of industrial and consumer glass products, but the museum isn't just about the company, but rather about glassmaking and the art of glass from around the world.

Between Washington and Niagara, you can also visit Buck's County, PA, which is just a little east of Amish country. It has some very charming B&B's, restaurants, and towns - a little bit touristy, but for that reason a little easier to deal with than the elusive "Amish Country" designation -- which as others have noted, simply refers to areas where the Amish may live. Note that Amish country is not like an Indian reservation or wild-animal preserve, where the Amish are confined to live.

Re:Corning -- the glass museum is actually rather interesting and there are many independent artists working in glass who have their studios in the area. Steuben Glass sculptures, after all, are made there. There are some beautiful pieces to be seen, including Tiffany works.

Your choice -- to observe "quaintness" among "real people" and perhaps purchase handmade, well-crafted but very simple items (quilts, wooden bowls) (=Amish); to see a unique collection of art in glass (= Corning); or to stay in a stone inn and eat at some fine restaurants in Bucks County.

Let us know what you decide.

Thank you very much for all your responses! Well, you're right, I was writing about the Corning museum but did not have the brochure in my hands, so that I could copy the name. If you say it is so interesting it might be worth a stop -rather than Amish people, at least for respect-. To say the truth I know almost nothing about glass, I was once in Venice seeing impresive glass artists, but nothing else.

Living near the Amish, I can tell you something about them that's a little less sappy than a previous post.
Many Amish make a living (they don't shun wealth, just modern-day machines) by selling their wares to tourist. You think they're selling pies and quilts to each other?
The Amish, like the rest of us, want to be left alone, but if they're going to be hassled, they try to make money from it.

I've taken many trips on the route you suggest and here's what I'd do:

1. Make no effort to see the Amish. They'll be around if you want to buy something--at rest stop craft shops, village square markets etc. Any more aggresive marketing is non-Amish exploitation ("Amish" restaurants, bars, malls, movie theatres etc.)

2. Visit Gettysburg, PA. It is the site of a terrible battle and a focal point of American history. Even in winter it is well worth the time.

3. Corning New York contains the breathtaking glass museum and a wonderful museum of Western U.S. art (think cowboys, Native Americans, cattle etc.)

4. Make a quick stop in Buffalo to visit the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. They have a fine collection of modern art.

If you have enough time and you enjoy winter hiking you might want to stop at Alleghany State Park for some wonderful deep woods.

Enjoy your trip!

The Amish don't completely shun vehicles. They ride in cars (well, usually vans), but they can't drive them. I grew up surrounded by Amish. I always got a kick out of seeing them in K-Mart. No, these weren't Mennonites. They were Amish.

My abiding memory of them is how after a tornado devastated the countryside near my home, while the "English" (as they call outsiders) were still trying to dig themselves out of the mess, buggies and vans full of Amish from around Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana came pouring in. They had rebuilt all of the Amish farm houses and barns in the area before the rest of us even cleared off our properties. Then, they started helping out the rest of us.

The Amish don't shun electricity entirely, either. The Amish realize that to earn a living, they need to branch out. I live in Maryland and there is an Amish market up the road from me. Three days a week, Amish families are driven in vans from Pennsylvania to work the market. According to one Amish man I spoke to, they are not allowed to own property connected to a power line, but they can rent or make use of such property. You can't imagine my surprise the first time I saw an Amish person there on a cell phone, or the day I saw three Amish girls in the CVS a few doors down looking through Cosmo.

I don't know if such is available in Washington, but in Illinois Amish country there is an Amish Interpretive Center which arranges visits to Amish homes and farms for meals and tours. The farm tour we took was very interesting--I'm sure 150 years ago there were many general family farms like the one we saw, but nowadays their inventive uses of labor and machines within the limits set by their customs and beliefs are certainly far from the norm. For instance, they can use machines, ie, small diesel driven engines, to power their washing machine, and they use a baling machine for the hay, but it is drawn by horses since tractors are still not allowed. Although the man who showed us around his farm was very pleasant and resourceful, I found it somewhat upsetting that Amish children typically only attend school through the 8th grade.