October 26, 2014. That's All, Folks.

 

 

 

 

 

October 26, 2014.  That's All, Folks.  Today was a barn bonanza.  We toured all seven colonies.  Remember that I told you the colonies started in the 1850s,  The Amana believers were primarily farmers.  As you might imagine, this area is overgrown with barns.  I spent more time eliminating pictures than usual.  For each picture shown above, two were eliminated.  Oh, the General Store picture was taken to show you how new construction is designed to fit with the existing architecture. 

We will start home tomorrow.  The trip hasn't been as long as we planned.  That's okay.  We have traveled about 4000 miles in T-Harvey.  We have discovered a few glitches.  For example, the stabilization bars aren't working correctly.  The heat pump also has a stutter upon startup.  We'll get those taken care of.  But, the size is perfect and the fuel mileage has been good. 

T-Harvey runs on diesel fuel.  Diesel costs about twenty percent more that gasoline.  That means that you need to get 20% more miles from a gallon in order to compare favorably with gasoline.  We got 13-14 mpg from Harvey.  We get about 16 from T-Harvey. 

I discovered, the hard way, that drivers of diesel-powered vehicles need to be alert to the availability of diesel.  I allowed T-Harvey to get low on fuel.  I left the interstate to look for fuel in a small town.  There were three gas stations there.  Two had gasoline only.  The third offered diesel, but it was closed.  I got back on the interstate and backtracked 13 miles to an interchange where I knew diesel was available.   By the time I got there, the empty light was flashing and Annie was squirming in her chair like a sinner in church.  She also sounded like a sinner.  I haven't had anyone talk to me like that in a long time.  I won't get low of fuel again.  I promise. 

So, that's all for now.  Check on us in late December and January.  The plan is to be somewhere in Florida.  I'll talk to you then.   

October 25, 2014. Amana Colonies, Iowa.

 

 

October 25, 2014.  Amana Colonies, Iowa.  The Amana Colonies in Iowa were established in 1855.  The Colonies were established by a religious order from Germany which fled to America about a decade earlier and settled in New York.  Originally, the order farmed about 5000 acres in New York.  They needed more land and moved to a 26,000 acre tract in Iowa.  There were six colonies initially.  When the railroad came to this area, a seventh colony was established near the tracks. 

The Amana Colonies are one of the oldest communal communities in the United States.  Houses, food, medical care, schools and other necessaries were provided to residents of the colonies.  That condition continued until 1932 when, due to the Great Depression, the commune was dissolved and a profit sharing corporation was created to manage the farmland, the mills and the larger enterprises. The Amana Church was maintained.

Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors come each year.  This RV park was carved out of a corn field.  I took a photo which shows the corn growing at the end of our row of campsites. 

We had "linner" about 3:00 PM today at one of three comfort food restaurants here.  The food is served family style.  You order an entree and the side dishes are brought in large bowls.  One of the sides was sauerkraut salad.  Annie asked for the recipe and the server brought it to her.  The recipe called for the addition of a cup of sugar.  I have never eaten sweet sauerkraut.  It was actually pretty good. 

We plan to visit some of the other colonies tomorrow.  We are about 280 miles from home.  Chances are we will head south sometime Monday.  See you soon. 

October 24, 2014. Columbus, OH to Crawfordsville, IN - Frisbie and KOA

October 24, 2014.  Columbus, OH to Crawfordsville, IN - Frisbie and KOA.  I am supposed to get out of the car and move around about every two hours.  The purpose is to keep the blood from pooling in my legs so as to avoid another blood clot from forming in my legs.  So, on this trip, Annie brought a Frisbie.  Every 100 miles or so, we stop at a rest area and toss the Frisbie for ten minutes or so.  Does it work?  I don't know.  But, I'll feel better if I die while exercising. 

We drove about 250 miles today.  There was a time when we would drive 5-600 miles daily.  Over the years there have been 5 or 6 times when we have driven over 1000 miles in a day.  Our record was the trip from San Diego to Kansas City, approximately 1500 miles, in a day and a half.  Now, 300-350 miles in a day seems about right. 

And, as it turns out, that is about the distance the Amana Colonies are from Crawfordsville.  So, if Annie doesn't wear out too early tomorrow, we will be in eastern Iowa tomorrow night.  I told you last night that there are five colonies.  I read somewhere tonight that there are 6-7 colonies.  The Colonies own, collectively, about 25,000 acres of Iowa farm land.  I believe they still profit share.  I'll look that up and have an answer for you within the next several days. 

Hold on to your hat.
  

October 23, 2014. From Yogi Bear to the Pennsylvania Wilds.

October 23, 2014.  From Yogi Bear to the Pennsylvania Wilds.  We left the Yogi Bear campground this morning and made our way to Columbus, Ohio, this evening.  En route, we passed through the Pennsylvania Wilds, several  million acres of untamed, publically owned forest in northern Pennsylvania.  I looked at the VRBO web page tonight.  You can rent a cabin in the Wilds for less that $100 per night.  It looks like great wilderness fun.

We think we are headed to the Amana Colonies in the middle of Iowa.  There is an RV park there along with five villages settled in the 19th Century.  I should know more than I do about the colonies.  I think the residents of the colonies share a common religion and a communal society.  I will learn more about the colonies over the next couple of days and tell you what I learned.  Then we will both know more. 

Hold on to your hat.  Knowledge will blow it away. 

October 22, 2014. Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park - Milton, PA.

 

October 22, 2014.  Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park - Milton, PA.  We fled the rains of Vermont this morning and find ourselves in Milton, PA, in Yogi Bear's campground tonight.  There are several hundred sites here, but most of them are filled with campers and fifth-wheels which appear to be year-round residents.  We called ahead to be sure that the campground had cable TV.  The Royals are in the World Series of baseball, you know. 

We are 325 miles from where we spent last night.  We drove through clouds all day and a little bit of rain.  The entire east coast is catching heavy rains tonight.  We decided we'd had enough. 

Where do we go from here?  We still don't know.  It is too early to go home.  It is too wet to stay in the Northeast.  It is too cold to stay up north.  So, we will go south and west, I guess.  I don't know where that will take us.  Well, eventually, it will take us home.

I got a text from Bob tonight which said, "Ice, rain, closed campgrounds, getting pecked on.  I'm almost starting to feel sorry for you.  Why are you sleeping in Murphy's bed, anyway?"  That Bob.  He knows what a Murphy Bed is,  Well, maybe not.  He is an engineer, you know.  If the answer doesn't have 1s and 0s in it, he doesn't understand.  At least we liberal arts majors understand analog. 

October 21, 2014. Vermont General Store, Weston, VT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

October 21, 2014.  Vermont General Store, Weston, VT.  We have been on the road ten days as of this evening.  It has rained at least eight of those days.  The rain shows up in the pictures; you can often see rain drops on the windshield as I take pictures through it.  But, there is a benefit that comes with the rain.  Colors are more saturated.  Sometimes, the sun will wash out the color, whereas the cloudy sky allows the natural colors of the subject to stand out.  I actually like the look I get on a cloudy day contrasted to a sunny day. 

We stayed in Manchester last night so we could watch the first game of the World Series on cable tonight.  As of this moment, the Giants are leading the Royals 3-0.  But, the Royals have been behind before in post-season play, trailing the Athletics by 4 runs in the eighth inning of the one-game wild card match before winning in the 12th inning.  We'll see if they can come back again.  The game is in Kansas City.  That will help.  The Kansas City fans bring a lot of energy to the stadium which motivates the Royals players. 

Today, we drove the 25 miles from Manchester to Weston, VT, to visit the Vermont General Store.  You may be familiar with the VGS.  The Store is owned and operated by the Orton Family.  The store has about everything conceivable for sale, from toys to clothing to fudge to housewares to hard candy to cheese to shoes to . . . well, you name it and the General Store has it.  Don't look for bargains though.  The store charges full retail prices.  But, it is neat to see things we played with in the 1950s.  You can see the store's wares by looking at the web site for the Vermont General Store online.

Do you seen anyone you know sitting on the porch of the store?  Look behind the mums.  She thought about a "Where's Annie" contest today.  You know, like Where's Waldo.  However, I only took the one picture of Annie, and that makes it hard to make a game of it.  So, no game tonight.  Maybe another time.

The store was started by Vrest and Mildred Orton in 1946.  Years ago, the Orton family bought the Bryant House, next door to the store, and converted it to a restaurant.  We had lunch in the bar of the Bryant House today.  Behind the bar was a black and white photograph of Robert Frost inscribed to Vrest Orton.  The inscription describes their relationship as a "lasting friendship".  I really like Frost's poetry so I asked Sylvia, the bar tender, for permission to step behind the bar to take a close-up of the picture and inscription.  It was a thrill to take a picture of the picture. 

We don't know where we will be tomorrow night.  The Giants are now leading 5-0 with the bases loaded and only one out in the 4th inning.  I am beginning to lose interest. 
So, we may not try so hard to be in a position to see tomorrow night's game.  That opens all the options for where we will stop for the night.  How about I just tell you tomorrow where we are?  Is that good?  Good.