We managed to be on the road to Amish land by 8:30. We only had 4 places I wanted to go, but we did also add the post office and gas station. The first shop we went to, Bargain City was run by an Amish family. It’s basically a tiny grocery store. Quite a bit of bulk food items, which is what I was looking for. Got some Amish made noodles among other little items for Kerry. I asked what the big gathering was up the road last night and found out it was a viewing. An Amish man of 50 died suddenly of a heart attack. The funeral was today and we passed again well over 50 buggies along the fence. The second stop was on a gravel road which didn’t make Bill happy. Actually, we had no street number for any of the places, just a spotting map and street name. They have the shops at their homes and don’t put signs out, just lettering on the mailbox so it was hard to find. This lady had a room of bulk and food items and a room of bolts of fabrics and sewing notions. I got to ask her some questions about the Amish. We had noticed many Amish homes with buggies and cars/trucks. She said they do not drive motor vehicles but could have visitors, children home to visit or workers leaving their cars to go out in the fields, etc with the farmers. She said they no longer outcast the children for leaving the faith. She said it was sad but many of the boys now marry girls in the village. Some convert to Mennonite and some just don’t do anything. She also told me that her home and store were wiped out in a tornado in November, 2005. They survived in the cellar and what a horrible experience it was. They moved back into the new place in January. I’m sure that meant the neighbors got together and rebuilt the house and shop for them. The last shop was again part food, part fabric but a lot of very fancy glassware. I believe it was antique reproductions. Things my grandmother would have had in her house left from the previous generation. The last stop was a cheese house. I was disappointed they don’t make the cheese there anymore but was able to get a good price on a round of Colby to share with my family. We got some snacks for the road and some summer sausage, which is one of my favorites. I was hoping for some trail bologna.
We had a goal 
of 12:30 to be packed up and on the road and to our surprise, we were 10 minutes ahead of schedule! That NEVER happens. Our campground tonight is the Lincoln State Park, IN. Some things say it’s in Santa Claus, IN and some in Lincoln City. Anyway, it’s a great location directly across the road from the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. So once we set up (we renegotiated for the ONLY pull thru) and had lunch we went across to the memorial. The building the visitor center is in is quite unique. It’s curved. They had displays on one end about Lincoln’s mother and the other abo
ut his life. They showed a nice video about his 14 years there. Then we walked up the knoll to the cemetery where his mother is buried, then down the back side to the Living Museum, which is a reconstruction of the house and out buildings. They have two interpreters to explain the life they lived with 8 people in the small cabin. They have a garden growing and livestock. The woman Pa Lincoln married once Nancy died came with 3 children of her own and Nancy’s nephew had come to live with them, so there were 6 children. The cabin had skinny logs embedded in the wall that were stairs to the loft. That way they took little space from the living quarters. 4 of the 6 slept there and 2 on a trundle that was stored under the parents’ bed. Abe’s sad story just goes on. His only sibling, Sarah, who took over as lady of the house at 11 was his closest companion, died at 21 while birthing a stillborn baby. The husband died just 3 years later. Poor Abe, lost his mother at 9, his sister, 3 sons and father. On the way back from the farm there are 12 stones from 12 places/things taking you from Lincoln’s birthplace to his death. We got some exercise today as the round trip walk was about 1 ½ miles. At least it was only 83 and we were in the shade. It was a beautiful day. Back in the park we drove down to see the amphitheater, the beach, which is awesome, and the cemetery where Sarah is buried.
of 12:30 to be packed up and on the road and to our surprise, we were 10 minutes ahead of schedule! That NEVER happens. Our campground tonight is the Lincoln State Park, IN. Some things say it’s in Santa Claus, IN and some in Lincoln City. Anyway, it’s a great location directly across the road from the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. So once we set up (we renegotiated for the ONLY pull thru) and had lunch we went across to the memorial. The building the visitor center is in is quite unique. It’s curved. They had displays on one end about Lincoln’s mother and the other abo
ut his life. They showed a nice video about his 14 years there. Then we walked up the knoll to the cemetery where his mother is buried, then down the back side to the Living Museum, which is a reconstruction of the house and out buildings. They have two interpreters to explain the life they lived with 8 people in the small cabin. They have a garden growing and livestock. The woman Pa Lincoln married once Nancy died came with 3 children of her own and Nancy’s nephew had come to live with them, so there were 6 children. The cabin had skinny logs embedded in the wall that were stairs to the loft. That way they took little space from the living quarters. 4 of the 6 slept there and 2 on a trundle that was stored under the parents’ bed. Abe’s sad story just goes on. His only sibling, Sarah, who took over as lady of the house at 11 was his closest companion, died at 21 while birthing a stillborn baby. The husband died just 3 years later. Poor Abe, lost his mother at 9, his sister, 3 sons and father. On the way back from the farm there are 12 stones from 12 places/things taking you from Lincoln’s birthplace to his death. We got some exercise today as the round trip walk was about 1 ½ miles. At least it was only 83 and we were in the shade. It was a beautiful day. Back in the park we drove down to see the amphitheater, the beach, which is awesome, and the cemetery where Sarah is buried.Then we took Xena for a walk to the beach as we discovered the RV park backs up to the beach on one side, but you can’t drive to it from here, you have to take the long way around. This park has NO trash cans. Not even in the restrooms. They have hand dryers. All trash has to be taken when you leave to the dumpsters on the way out. After dinner of grilled chicken, that super good corn on the cob I just bought and salad, we sat outside with Xena and chatted and read. I got to laughing too much over my book for Bill, so he went inside. I really like the down time. Time to read and sleep!
No comments:
Post a Comment