Forest City Ia-York Ne-sojurn

Thur.  We got up and got the rig ready for our service person to pick it up at seven.  We then went on a walk around the area.  I found that I am not as quick on my feet as I use to be.  I tripped on the RR tracks and fell.  I was quick enough to roll so my arm and shoulder which are sore.  Linda said it was like a scene out of a movie.   We then walked up town.  As we walked we came to Sally's restaurant which makes homemade pies.  We got two pieces of rhubarb and one coconut cream.  They did not sell them till 10:30 so we got there 10:38 and all but two pieces were sold of the rhubarb.  We only got two blocks before were stopped at a park and ate one.  This afternoon at three they finished a lot of our list of things we wanted done.  The leak in the washer and dryer area they thought they fixed leaked when Linda and I took our showers it was still leaking.  They are going to see if they can fix it tomorrow.  Below is our rig before it was picked up for repair.   The rest is the courthouse, a bike park where they had six different art work of sculptures created by bike parts, and of course Linda's flowers.

 Fri.  They came and got the rig to see if they could find the leak.  We sat and watched TV for awhile. We went on a walk to the courthouse when they called and said the rig was done.  When we walked back to the service center it was lunch time.  Linda went to the store and I to the dump.  When we got back our service person came and we went through everything he did.  We paid for our service that was not under warranty.  We started driving and before yu knew it we were at York College in York Ne. We pasted many elec. wind mills and the water tower a York(see pictures below).

Sat.  We went to a lecture at the College sponsored by the Sojourners that just got done with there workshop.  I worked on getting the hoses tighten around the water filter.  We played cards at night.

Sun. The church was two blocks from the school so we walked.  Afterwards we went to the Iron Skillet for lunch.  The Salmon was good but we did not care for the veggies.  We got back to the school and had our meeting.  Then John the team leader took several of us on a tour of the campus.  The sojourners had there evening church service in the chapel just 20 steps from our rig.  That is also the tornado shelter we will meet in if needed.  After our church service they have a group here of retired alumni and they invited us to there opening night dinner and get together.

Mon.  We started our Sojourn at York College.  They had a breakfast for us, afterward we had a bible study, meeting telling everyone where we were working, changed clothes, then Linda and I started painting along with others, some of the boys suites.  We had 1 1/2  hours for lunch which they supplied.  After work we took showers then went to Ace to get plumbing parts for the water filter.  After dinner we played cards.  As we got ready for bed we had our first encounter with hail.  They were the size of a pea, but made us just a little. scared.  There was a lot of rain and wind along with the hail but thankfully no damage.

Tues.  After breakfast and our devo I went to bed I think it was the allergy's in the air.  After lunch we went back to painting.  We had dinner then we played cards.

Wed. We both did so more painting(see pictures above).  We went to church then both exhausted to bed.

Leaving St. Louis-Hannibal Mo.-Springfield Il- Amana Ia-Forest City Ia-Amana Ia Forest City Ia.

Thur. Our last day with the Niebrugge's.  Linda made a Tammy's special dinner for her and the family.  Cube steak with potatoes and gravy and carrots.  She also made some soups and blueberry cake.  We took Hope to cheerleading practice then to Brandan's boy scouts.  After the meeting they launched 2 liter soda bottles.  We picked up Hope from practice when we got her home we said good buy to everyone and went to Park Avenue coffee.  They were on the food network for the home made gooey butter cakes,  Shannon gave Linda a gift certificate for Mother's day.  We were to have one gooey butter cake and two for the road tomorrow.  We ate the key lime one then thought that the traditional one had to much power on it so we didn't want to make a mess in the rig we just had to eat it there. We have the turtle for the road treat.  We got a bag of coffee and they fixed Linda a special cup for there.

Fri. We drove to Hannibal Mo. where Samuel Clemens who is Mark Twain grew up and wrote a lot of his books about the town and people in town.  Top left is Grant’s Drug Store, above it is where he and his family lived.  Bottom left is one of the many pictures Norman Rockwell drew about Mark Twain’s books.  Bottom middle picture is two of the folks Mark wrote about Jim and his mammy.  Top right is a picture of the sculpture the town wanted to do, it shows some of the character’s from four of his books.  Because of the great depression it was never built. Right middle is Becky Thatcher’s house who is really Laura Hawkins. Top middle is the island Mark Twain wrote about in his books. Just a side note Unsinkable Molly Brown was born there also.

We left there and drove to Quincy Il. We got to the campground and got set up then drove to town.  We went to the Il Veterans Home which has an  All Wars Museum(first four pictures). They had two area of animals.  One of deer the other buffalo middle picture). The area was training for the army before the civil war.  We left there and went to Saint Francis Church. The picture does not show how big and beautiful it is(bottom left).  Bottom middle is the organ and bottom right is just one of the many statues.  Middle right is an old house downtown near the river.  We also went to the Woodland Cemetery  and other sites in town.  

Sat. We got up very early and drove to Springfield.  Linda had made her famous blueberry coffee cake which we ate on the way.(42 degrees when we left at 6am for 2hr ride! It only warmed up to 52 but was extremely windy. Linda said coldest she's been in along time)  We got tickets for the first group to tour Abe Lincoln's home. Top left picture is of his home.  It was a single family home and as the family grew and his income grew they added a floor. Next two top pictures is the formal living room where the Lincoln's entertained guest.  It is also where the democratic party came and offered Abe the nomanation for the party in 1860.  The middle picture is what we call the family room.  The boys were allowed there but not in the formal living room.  The rest of the pictures are of the Lincoln's home.

We walked to the Lincoln Presidential Library.  Top middle picture is one of the many sculptures of Abe.  They had a miniature Funeral train and maps of the train route.  They also had kids from all the grades make pictures for the Library's 10th ann. Some of the pictures are the second one below.

 

Across the street is the Lincoln Museum.  They had exhibits from the one room cabin he was born in(middle top picture), slave traders(top right), When he left home his first job as a merchant (middle left).   In the middle is when he courted Mary Todd. Middle right is a display of the Lincoln's family we stepped into.   Bottom left is Mary and some of the gowns.  Middle bottom is when the Lincoln's son got sick and died while he was in office.  Bottom right his hat, you can see two of the three finger marks he made when he tipped his hat.(Awesome museum)

We walked to Lincoln-Herndon Law Office.(it was being redone)(middle top row).  Then across to The Old Courthouse(top left) in the square there were statue(top right) and the next two rows are of the courthouse. 

We then went back to the old neighborhood of the Lincoln's(middle two top pictures).  There were a lot of homes from the Lincoln's time and they had a sign in the front of the house saying who owned the house at that time and how they knew the Lincoln's or why they did not like the Lincoln's.  By this time we were hungry and drove to Maid-Rite.  They were the nations first drive thru.  They offer hamburgers (which is ground beef that looks like sloppy joes without the ketchup).They have fries and home made rootbeer.  The last place we visited in town was Lincoln's tomb(bottom left).  They had a statue of him which you were to touch his nose for good luck(bottom middle).  Bottom right is the tomb marker because the casket is six feet under it.  Two men from Chicago once tried to steal the casket they were caught and since it was not a crime to steal caskets they were put into prison for two years for breaking and entering.

We drove East out of town to Clayville where Broadwell Inn(bottom right) is and where Abe would have stopped for the night when he was a circuit lawyer.  The rest of the pictures are of the Inn and a one and two room cabins. Bottom left is a amour that has never left the building. Bottom third picture is the original steps and wall paper on the walls. 

The last place we went to was Lincoln's New Salem(pictures below).  They have gotten 23 historically furnished buildings as you walk around the interpretive site.  This is where Abe read poetry worked as a store clerk, postmaster, rail splitter, and other jobs before being a lawyer and politician.

Sun.  After church we left for Coalville Iowa.  After we got set up we saw a movie of the area over time.  It is known for it's fossils which we hope to find.  We had a great day getting here and setting up but both of us are very tired.

Mon.  We walked around the camp area.  Then to the over flow water area of the dam.  It has over flowed 3 or 4 times.  Each time it peels back layers of rock which exposes the fossils. The top row is some of the fossils.  The middle left is a walkway along side the spillway.  We drove to Amana Colonies (they were formed just  at the same time as the amish that is 50 miles away.  They are like the Amish, they work directed by the elders of their community.  They are given jobs as they got older (age 14 last time for school).  They did not get paid nor did they owe money.  The houses did not have kitchen’s they ate together in a community area.  It all ended in the 1930’s with the depression. they were known for making furniture and clocks. Later they had to buy hard wood because the area they lived did not have enough.  There is 7 colonies the first one  we went to Amana seemed to be the biggest. Middle picture is a barn with the corn cribs on the sides.  We went to a Furniture and Clock Shop est. 1855 they took the best workers in the 7 colonies and made one shop. They have a walkway where we were able to watch the craftsmen at work. They made furniture, toys, and clocks(middle right and bottom left).  We went to a woolen mill (only one in Iowa still working est. 1857)(bottom right 2 pictures). 

Top left picture is me holding a root beer and German Pilsner at Millstream Brewing Company. It is Iowa’s oldest craftbrewery. They also have three wineries which we did not visit(bottom left picture).  They had rhubarb, flower(top middle), statues(top right) and lots of stores.  We ate at a German restaurant called Ronneburg.  Linda found a boy to entertain while their food way coming out.  We went to Amana refrigerator's  which was bought out by Whirlpool.  We were not allowed to go on the tour only employees.  We did see a display of fridges (middle bottom).  We drove to West Amana to the Broom and Basket Shop.  Inside the 11-foot-tall walnut rocking chair(bottom right), weighing 670 pounds.  When we got back to the camping area we drove around to see three of the other campgrounds.  

Tues.  We got up and drove to Forest City where the Winnebago is made.

Wed. We dropped off the rig to the Winnebago folks and he worked on the rig.  He got most of the list done and will finish tomorrow.  We did take a factory tour and enjoyed seeing how they put these big things together.

Hendersonville Tn- St. Louis Mo. Mother's Day

Thur. We drove into Nashville and went to lunch with Jennifer.  We came home and started to get the rig for leaving tomorrow.  After we ate dinner we went to Mackenzie softball game.  They won 10 to 1.  She played first and did a great job at First andbatting.  It was cold and windy you can see Katie all bundled up(2n row right).  After the game we went to Jen's for bundt cake.  We celebrated Katie birthday. We took photos of the girls and the family.

Fri.   We got up at 6 did our bible study and got on the road by 6:45.  Linda made breakfast and two times she made snacks(I am getting more and more use to motorhome living).  She says she likes it because she can get up and walk around.  We got here 7 hours later and got set up with bikes and boat all ready to go.  We got pizza so when they got here we ate then took the boat out.  We took a walk around the park.  Hope stayed the night, we made a coffee cake, played games and watched a movie.

Sat. When we got up in the morning we had our coffee cake then took Hope to Archery.  When we came back to camp Tammy and Kenn and the kids met us.  We played ball and the kids played in the mud and we payed games.  We were going to have hobo's and smores but the rain came and all left but Brendan who spent the night.  We had dinner, ice cream, made coffee cake for in the morning, played cards, and watched a movie.

Sun. Happy Mother's Day!!!!  After our coffee cake we went to church and met Tammy and the family.  After church we had lunch then went to Six Flags.(It was bring a friend free day)  We all had a great day and went on many of the rides. We had Bryce for the night had ice cream, made coffee cake, played cards and watched a movie.

  

Mon.  We had our coffee cake, played cards, and watched another movie.  We got ready to leave. After going to Costco for gas and lunch we drove to Babler State Park.  We got the rig level then Bryce and us played chicken foot.  We drove to Tammy's, Hope was home and we walked to get Brendan.  Tammy and Kenn took us to the Hill for dinner.  We ate at Antonino's On The Hill, Guy from food network "diners, drive-ins and dives" has two shows there.  We had  both toasted ravioli and dolmathes (grape leaves stuffed with ground beef, lamb, and rice) made in house. We also shared three other dishes, home made pasta, yogurt Tzatziki served with pita, and Greek pizza.  It was a wonderful way to spend mother's day and father's day.

Tues.  We got to Tammy's and I started a fire for our hobo's.  Top left three pictures the kids getting them ready. Top right and bottom left Linda and I cooking them. You can see Hope relaxing in her hammock.  After dinner we made smores then off to hear Brendan's school violin concert.  When we got home we all went to McDonald's for ice cream.

Wed.  We went to Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.  The home was his in-laws.  It was interesting to hear and see history of their life. 

  Next door to Grant's Farm was the Clydesdale's.  Those horses are very big.  They have several sections or corrals for the horses.  We were not able to walk around  Laumeier Sculpture Park because of the rain.  We did see a few of the sculptures from the car.  We went to Tammy's and  Tammy, Brendan, Bryce and I played cards while Hope and Linda made dinner which was breakfast, egg benedict, biscuits and gravy, and sausage and gravey casserole.  The boys and I played games in the front yard then showers and Bryce and I played sudoku.

Knoxville Tn.-Hendersonville tn.- Williams

Thur.   We both woke up early so we started our day.  As we were doing our bible study the sun rose for another nice sunrise.  We drove 30 miles short of Knoxville (Danridge).  We ate then washed the car and the rig top to bottom to get all the sea salt off.  The picture is our trip here, we went through tunnels  and crossed  a bridge to get here.

Fri. We drove into Knoxville to the visitors center.  Just two blocks away they were having the Dogwood Festival in market square. The first outside business we came to was a coffee shop so we stopped and watched folks.  We noticed a tent across the street to find out they were having a "Diva Dinner."  Three of Knoxville lady chiefs were cooking.  There was only six tickets for fifty people left.  We bought two and I will tell you more about it later.  In and around the square were many statues, arts, and live music.  Middle and bottom left two pictures is the federal court house. Bottom middle Sara Palin came here when her e-mail was hacked into and testified.   Bottom right picture is Darrell Scott and Scott McMahan singing at the welcome center which was also the radio station 89.9.  They were having what they call Blue Plate Special where artist come and sing live on the radio.

As we walked around town we went outside the Sunsphere of the 1982. World's Fair (which Linda and I took the kids to).  They have many parks, fountains, and the Tennessee River.  Many of the trees and plants here are in bloom.  We were to late for the dogwood in bloom.  They had many driving trails to see them going through many elaborate neighborhoods.  We drove in one of them that had many large beautiful homes.

Top left is outside the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. This is where we were going to when we went to town but got side tracked and never made it.  We are going back to see it and many other things around town someday.  Now back to the "Diva Dinner". As we entered the tent were given candied bacon and a Pickled beet deviled egg and they were paired with two different wines. On the right top our first course Knox Whiskey Works Gin Cured Gravlax, Celery Root Salad, Beetroot Creme Fraiche, Brown Bread Crisp paired with Simi Chardonnay.(fancy words for Salmon something) As you can see Linda and I were outside the box.  All I can say is the food was delicious.  For the main course BBQ Chicken and Grilled Shrimp with Bacon Chutney paired with Mondavi Private Selection Heritage Red Blend (I know what the food is but not the wine) with the food we had smoked Leek Grits, Seared Asparagus, and Hen of the Woods Mushroom Confit with Summer Radish and Blueberry.  (As you know we are plain folks so all this description of the food means nothing to us).  Now for dessert we had Chocolate and Balsamic 3 ways: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Balsamic Sauce, Dark Chocolate Balsamic Ice cream, Chocolate Balsamic Truffles paired with Ruffino Prosecco.  All in all we were very happy that we got tickets and stayed.Middle picture is us seated at dinner and first course. Bottom is the three chiefs and bottom middle one of the chiefs with us.

Sat.  We drove to Hendersonville after we got set up Jenny and the girls took us to "Chocolate Covered Strawberry(top left) Restaurant"  for our Mother's Day and Father's day present.  The restaurant was from an old house.  2nd picture we are posing next to a water fall on the side porch. Top right our dinning table. Middle left the girls and I waiting to be seated.  When we got to Jen's house Katie and Linda made an owl cake and decorated it(decorating items she got for Christmas).  We went  shopping and at Fresh Market the girls got to pick out candy(bottom right picture). Katie came and spent the night.  It was late so after making cowboy coffee cake we watched a movie then bed.

 Sun. After church we ate and for our Christmas present they took us to "Breakout Plan".  We are put into a room where we are given hints and we try to break out.  It took us a half hour to get out of the first room to the second.  We were two locked boxes away from getting out. It was a lot of fun. At Jen's we had Katie's cake and ice cream.  We played Clue then came home.  As we left we found a turtle so we put in into a box and released it by a creek.  Just as we got there it was raining and God gave us a beautiful double rainbow.

 Mon. This was to be the first morning to sleep in! At 6 I woke up!  We went through our mail and got caught up on the blog. This is Betty and Fred’s Ann. and we were able to celebrate it with them by going out to a BBQ for lunch.  We did some banking since our banks are here in Hendersonville.  Then to Jen’s for dinner and cards “phase 10”

Tues.  It was a rainy day but we still got a lot of thing s done.  We got a boat for Christmas so we filled it with air.  Betty picked up Katie from school and the two of us went on it’s first ride.  Katie did a great job rowing and I did a great job relaxing.  We started a fire and enjoyed s’mores.  We went to Mckenzie softball game.

Wed.  For Lunch we met Betty and Fred at Liz’s.  Linda and I had catfish and they had chicken.  The sides were wonderful.  We went shopping then to Jen’s.  Katie helped Linda with dinner.  We had celebrated Mackenzie 16th birthday.  We played cards with her. We finished the evening off with ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.