Monday, June 4th the Amana Colonies

Today we visited the Amana Colonies. These are the result of a movement started in Germany around 1714 when two men started a belief that a prayerful relationship with the Lord would lead to a Godly life. Due to persecution, taxes etc. they moved to America in 1842 where they purchased 5,000 acres of land in New York, near Buffalo. As the movement grew to over 1,200 members they moved to Iowa and purchased land where they ultimately owned 25,000 acres by 1855.

 As time went on and leaders died out, the followers lost interest and by 1932, due to the depression, and drought the communal way of life was abandoned and the members worked for wages, owned their homes etc. The church was preserved however and they prospered.

 Many businesses were started including Amana Appliances which is now owned by Whirlpool. They still farm the land, have a large forest reserve and operate a variety of businesses. The villages, there are seven of them, are still viable and the population stays at around 1,800 people,

We enjoyed our visit very much; again learning more about this countries history. Lunch was German food, naturally, and we did some shopping, naturally. Funny how a tour of this kind can take all day.

We returned home and tomorrow will head slowly westward.

Just one of many, many homes or businesses. 

Shirley loves her flowers.

Kinda a hardware store and gift ship.

When Shirley was a kid her dad painted her bike orange and red.

This was a gift shop, couldn't resist the flowers.

These are real looms, not like those we saw this year operated by a person doing it by hand.

Ya like my new hat?

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Davenport to West Branch, IA

We left Springfield, IL after getting the Ford serviced. Oil, Filer and Lube. Had a burned out tail light that went dead on Friday. Not bad for 95,000 miles. Always risky getting service 'cause you never know the dealer, although the only time I have ever been ripped off was in Kerville, TX. This was a pleasant experience. Everyone was nice. The guy that took my money even was so enthusiastic about Abe that he spent time showing me a map for future excursions when we return here. As I entered the waiting room a man waiting for service told me I had found the best dealer in the state. Made me feel real good. By the way the light cost 65 cents. A similar quote in Roseville for my VW was $40.

By the time we left Springfield it was raining, sometimes pretty heavily. Wind, rain, trucks, and splatters. When we reached Davenport, IA we stopped at a Cracker Barrel to eat and decided to stay the night. Had a good nights rest, even if trucks could be heard all night. The food did not agree with me and I have decided not to eat there again. Coffee the next morning was awful and this morning I had good home made coffee made right here at home.

We left relatively late, just couldn't get going and drove the one plus hour to West Branch, IA which was our goal the previous day. Here we visited the Herbert Hoover Library. This took about 4 hours. Was perhaps one of the best presidential libraries we have visited. We have now visited eight of the 12 libraries. We have not yet visited Carter's, though we did have lunch with him. We have also not visited Johnson's but we visited his childhood home and ranch. Lots to see and do yet.

Hoover was fascinating. In school we were taught he was a smart guy but a lousy president. His was the 4th library and a film of Truman's speech at the dedication said it best, Hoover was president at a time nobody could have done better. He was truly fascinating and did so much during his life. Each time we attend one of these libraries we leave with a greater understanding of the men and their times.

Shirley has had a bad cold ever since we left the Springtime in Kentucky caravan. Just as she is getting over it her husband is fighting it now. It's so hard to avoid colds when we are actually living with folks on these caravans. Nevertheless we are enjoying our travels and are still in the sightseeing mode.

We are currently camped in a corps campground and are away from most of the other campers. This is a huge place and a ranger was nice enough to drive us around the area before we unhitched.

There is a whole neighborhood preserved to show Hoover's birthplace.

Some very nice homes.

"Bert" was born in this house. Very cute. Five people lived here.

"Didja' fall in?"

Yes he went to school.

They had a black smith shop.

If you look to the right of the picture you can see our trailer parked. Hoover's family placed a stove on the back porch in the summer months for cooking.

They were Shakers and this is inside of their meeting place.

Hoover was orphaned by age 10, both parents died and his other two siblings and he were separated.  Herb was sent to Newburg, OR to live with his uncle.

Herbert and Lou are buried here.

In the 1800's Iowa was all prairie, this farm has been replanted. Most trees did not exist.

NIce to have a moment for a breather. Shirley is under the awning in a light rain.

Today, we will check out the Amana Colonies? More on that later, 'cause I have no clue as to what we will see.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL

We arrived here in Springfield, IL, in a pretty good downpour. Lucille, our GPS,  did just fine. The campground is not a five star place but it is OK. Poor people seem to be living here, they are nice but pretty much keep to themselves. Some of them go through the trash so this must be their homes. I suspect they have some assistance as many live in tents. Reminds me of the Okie camps near Bakersfield when I was a kid.

Illinois is not my favorite state. We came here to see the Lincoln Museum and that is what we did. Springfield is partly old and some new; mostly old. Without Abe's memory we feel they would have no claim to fame. Abe is all over the place.

Our first experience down town was a parking garage. To make the story short we ran into a guy that would make a great dictator only was without a military uniform to give him authority. We left there and found a place to park where they were a lot nicer.

The museum was one of the best, maybe the best we have ever seen. To describe it would just take too many words. They have spent a lot of money and time making it what it is. It appealed to us and (it was Chicago kid day) and seemed to appeal to the kids too.

Speaking of Chicago kids, they were very polite and friendly. Must have been 300 of them, but they gave nobody any trouble that we could see. Speaking of Chicago, we have been told by friends who live in IL that Chicago is not part of the state. I commented on that to one of the docents and boy did I get an earful. This lady certainly feels that way. She stated she wished they could just vote Chicago out. Period. Illinois seems to be like so many places. The populated areas are able to outvote the unpopulated areas.

Us after the rain stopped.

The camp hosts digs.

Something old in our campground. No idea what it is.

Abe's office.

Who is that interloper?

The old capitol building, was here when Abe was around.

Which one is the real person?

We did not spend much time here, they had a Civil War display and we came to see Abe.

Can't miss, it's right across the street.

The villain. Hisssssss.

The family was nice enough to pose for me.

Mr. Douglas and friend.

Sherman and Grant discussing the war with my friend.

Abe with his favorite teacher.

This is Lincoln's home office where he sat when he was notified he was nominated for president.

Abe's kitchen was in the house, most houses of the era had the kitchen remote from the house. And had no stove.

Lincoln's house when he was a successful lawyer.

A picture of his house while his body lay in state.

Just a pretty park near Lincoln's home.

Today we leave. The plan is Iowa and the Hoover Library.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Jackson Center OH to Veedersburg, IN

We finally got on the road Wednesday May 30th. The plan was to leave on Tuesday the 29th, but the shade cord that had been adjusted broke on Sunday so we waited until Tuesday due to the holiday to get it fixed. Plus, the low for the morning was 87 degrees and a severe thunder storm occupied most of the day. By evening it was pleasant so we went to New Breman with our new friends and had a delicious dinner there.

Wednesday I hitched up and as I undid the power cord it was discovered we had no battery powered lights. Were we ever going to get on the road? After exhausting all procedures it was discovered that the battery disconnect switch had turned itself off. This has not happened in all our travels so far. But finally we were on the road, a little breezy but very nice weather. Never knowing what we might find we arrived at a little town named Fort Recovery, OH and saw a park with an Obelisk sticking up so we stopped to explore. After realizing I was holding up three big rigs we parked off the road.

The monument was a marker to commemorate St. Clair's defeat in 1791. The Miami indians wiped out a whole army of US soldiers. The park which occupies a city block also commemorates those Ohioans lost in all the wars. Very interesting place along with a museum and remnants of the fort where three years later the offending indians were crushed.

From here we drove on back roads enjoying the country side and the little towns we drove through. Along about 4 in the evening we had traveled 200 miles and decided it was time to find a place to stop. As we fueled up in a town in Indiana named Willimsport we called a couple of RV parks. None sounded like anyplace we wanted to stay; so out of an adventurous spirit Shirley called a number on our list of courtesy parking. Now Courtesy parking is where Airstreamers list their names etc. and have parking for fellow WBCCI members. We had never tried it and have heard many complaints that people do not use this service much. My fear was finding someone we did not like or being held up for days visiting. And then there is the fear of the unknown.

Well Shirley made the call and the lady sounded very nice. They were only about 4 miles away and we figured we were tired and would try it. It was terrific. We love the people, Bud and Ida Mae. They were a little older than we are and have been Airstreaming a lot longer than we have. They live on a farm near a little town called Veedersburg. We had such a nice visit, then went into Hillsboro, another little town, for a meal at The Chatter Box Cafe, yep, that's it's name. After dinner we got a tour of Veedersburg, a great little town. Then we came home and had home made ice cream and cake. Talk about nice! We loved it.

Next morning we said our good byes and headed for Springfield, IL to pay our respects to Abe Lincoln.

What it's all about.

We had to stop, you just don't see one of these in "Small Town, USA.

St. Clair himself.

What a great view from our nights stay.

Great sign.

Which one is the sorehead?

Ida Mae and Bud.

Had to show off the barn.

Next Blog will be from the land of Obama.


See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Still at Jackson Center

We are still at Airstream, Jackson Center. The problem is camping. Due to the upcoming holiday, there is no place to camp. Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor day are family days and events are scheduled everywhere. Car clubs, boat clubs, etc., etc., fill up the RV parks and lakes. We have checked out two RV parks and from experience we have decided to stay here until Tuesday. We will stay at a larger town Tuesday then get on the road on earnest later in the week, because the truck needs service. We could stay here but they are having their annual Alumapalooza and we have decided not to attend this function.

Our stay here this time is interesting because we have met a different type of Airstreamer. Most of these people do not attend caravans or go to any local events. Most don't even belong to WBCCI. Some are a little weird by our standards but most are really great people who are more interested in "tricking" out their trailers than seeing the country. This is an over generalization but describes their attitudes a little.

Some of the folks we have met and like are from PA, long story here but they are headed for CA to visit their daughter so heaven only knows how they will turn out after that experience. A couple of other rigs are from PA and both have side-swiped their rigs in construction zones. One really bad, had a tire knocked off and did huge damage to the trailer. This is a good place to be to soothe your own ego as to how bad it can be.

Never wanting to waste time we toured yesterday. Ohio is a beautiful state and has such a great history of producing great people. U.S. Grant, Herbert Hoover, the Wright Brothers, to name just three. Yesterday we visited the museum for Neil Armstrong. Very interesting. We have driven by this museum at least twice on previous visits but have never taken the time to drop in. Very interesting man. One of the things we liked most was it covered the whole space program, from the seven Mercury astronauts, right through the shuttle.  Walking on the moon, however, is hard to beat. This museum is in Wapakoneta, OH. Say that three times real fast. No wonder he flew to the moon!

After the museum we went to Woody's, a mom and pop type place and had a delicious wrap and apple pie smothered in ice cream. Then we drove and toured the Erie canal ending up in New Breman where the Bicycle Museum of America is and we have been before. The museum was closed but we were interested today in the canal. On an earlier visit we found the town renovating the canal, this time we got to see the finished project. This we enjoyed a lot because it capped off a project we had seen them start.

We walked the canal for about two miles then drove to Sidney stopping along the way to see and photograph what ever caught our attention. Then we drove home. It was hot all day. Today and tomorrow it will be a high of 92 or better and very, very humid. These folks are afraid of earthquakes and live daily with the threat of tornados and thunderstorms. The rain two nights ago made me wish we had an arc to ride it out in.

Met this couple, loved their flower box.

Remember the bicycle pulling the trailer?

Not too elegant in those days.

Some vintage trailers.

Can't resist these things. They have not changed on the outside that much.

One of the first Airstreams I ever saw, 1937 vintage.

My dad liked this model when I was a kid.

One of four planes built for the "Dyna-Soar" program that never developed. This is the only plane left.

Is this a moon-scape?

I'm not very big but this is cramped.

Not much of a view either.

Nice museum. Looks like a plane.

One of the two man space capsules.

Neil's plane hanging from the wall. I flew one of these way back when.

The man on the moon. Is he standing on green cheese?

A church in Wapakoneta.

Maybe a better view.

They are redoing their court house.

Lock number one in Breman.

The oldest bridge of it's type in Ohio.

Can you read this?

Not too wide but the boats were small and pulled by mules. 

As we walked this Blue heron followed us along while he ate.

Houses on one side of the canal, very nice area.

Most of the non inhabited area was park.

The Bicycle Museum of America.

This is a very cute town.

The church was in Fort Loramie, OH it can be seen from route 66.

Will be very hot today, so must keep hydrated.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley