Meet Michael “Amish Ambassador” DePasquale
Real People. Real Stories. Real Connections.
Michael “Amish Ambassador” DePasquale has developed a genuine appreciation for the people, businesses, food, farms and traditions that make Amish Country unlike anywhere else in America.
Rather than simply passing through, Michael believes the best way to experience a community is to slow down, meet the people who call it home, eat where they eat, support local businesses and listen to the stories behind the places you visit.
Through Amish Ambassador, Michael is sharing those experiences with a wider audience—introducing travelers to family businesses, makers, restaurants, farms, destinations and unexpected stops that deserve to be discovered.
The goal isn’t to turn Amish Country into a spectacle. It’s to encourage a more thoughtful kind of tourism: visit respectfully, buy directly, stay locally and leave more economic value in the community than you take from it.
Eat Local. Travel Slow. Meet America.
The Amish Ambassador Road Journey
From Pennsylvania Dutch Country to New York’s Amish Trail
The Amish Ambassador Road Journey begins in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, traveling through communities including Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse, New Holland and Ephrata before heading north through New York toward Cortland, Ithaca and the Finger Lakes, the Southern Tier and the communities surrounding New York’s Amish Trail.
But this isn't simply a route on a map.
Along the way, Michael will seek out the meals worth stopping for, locally owned accommodations, roadside markets, craftspeople, family businesses, farms, regional attractions and personalities that give each destination its identity.
Some places may become a quick roadside story. Others may become a feature, interview, overnight stay, culinary experience or Michael’s Amish Ambassador Road-Worthy Award recipient.
The journey creates one connected story across multiple destinations while allowing every community to retain its own personality.
One road. Many communities. Thousands of stories waiting to be discovered.
Communities Along the Way
An Invitation to Be Part of the Story
Amish Ambassador is being developed as more than a travel series. It is a multi-market tourism and storytelling platform designed to connect travelers with destinations and the independent businesses that make those destinations worth visiting.
That creates natural opportunities for tourism organizations, hotels, restaurants, attractions, chambers, local businesses and community partners to become part of the journey—not simply as advertisers, but as places and people genuinely worth introducing to the audience.
Partnerships can range from hosting Michael during a stop or suggesting a local hidden gem to collaborating on destination features, culinary experiences, itineraries, interviews and larger multi-market campaigns.
There doesn't have to be a complicated pitch.
If there's something special happening in your community, we'd simply like to hear about it.
The larger vision is to build a road journey that encourages travelers to get off the interstate, spend locally, stay another night and discover parts of America they might otherwise drive past.
Lancaster County → Pennsylvania Dutch Country → Finger Lakes → Southern Tier → New York Amish Trail
Experience it. Respect it. Support it.