On the Road Again, Part II

So where was I?

Oh yeah. The Amana Colonies, Iowa. The place where you can still buy an Amana appliance that is actually made in the USA. Amana is one of those places that cities like Solvang in California only wish they were. Amana has the the generic "gift stores" to be sure, but it also has enough genuine "Amana-ness" (is that a word? I will ask my sister) to set it apart from other more pedestrian tourist traps. An example? There is a furniture store there that is actually the show room for the on-site woodworking factory. While at said factory, I acquired a most hansome inlaid wood cribbage board for Mom and Dad and a brass topped cane for myself. Alas, I could not afford any of the bizzillion dollar Grandfather clocks on display. Oh well.

We were able to meet my wife's sister and her husband for dinner that night at a rather nice restaurant in Amana. Food was served "family style" in that there were big bowls and platters literally overflowing with food. It is a good thing that weight gain isn't of monumental concern...

After leaving Amana, we then ventured into the wilds of Davenport, Ia. We had a most relaxing three day stay with Jody's sister; museums, food, music, food, buying computer stuff, food... Spoiled ourselves rotten. Had a great time.

Upon leaving Iowa, G-d decided we needed to wash the car because that's when the rain started. Ran into everything from slight drizzle to sea state 7. Yikes!

We had never seen the Great Lakes, so our destination became Sandusky, Ohio. Now, we had discussed staying that night in a Bed and Breakfast, only to discover that there were none available. So we found an internet hotspot and looked a little futher out from Sandusky. In Newport, Orange County, Ohio (I am not making this up) we found the most charming B&B, complete with Honeymoon suite, located right off the Ohio Turnpike. Again, we spoiled ourselves rotten, all for the price of a Comfort Inn.

The next morning, we headed out for Sandusky proper, under cloudy but, for the moment at least, dry skies. We found a nice country road which wandered along the waterfront and which, after several twists and turns, got us thoroughly lost. Hey, we weren't in a hurry or anything, but we did kinda want to know where we were... So, we decided to get out, take some pictures (which this blog is steadfastly refusing to load) and generally freeze our tootsies off wandering around an old ferry tie-up just East of Sandusky. We then ventured back out onto a county road we found, which led, inexplicably, two a Six Flags amusement park. We felt severely lost. Being the wonderfully brave guy I was, I decided to listen to my wife and, on the less vague of our two maps we noticed that the turnpike veered South just shy of Cleveland, and all the little county roads, like th one we were on, eventually crossed the turnpike at that point. So, like the intrepid travellers we were, we just kept going East. Guess what? Found the turnpike. A $2.00 toll and we were headed for Maryland.

Hagarstown, Maryland is something of a mystery, in that, on one hand it is a charming Southern town that is used by refugees from Washington, D.C. as an escape zone, and on the the other hand a cloistered Southern Confederate Outpost where they are still fighting the War Between The States. When we ventured to the town square to find breakfast that morning, we found a thoroughly modern and trendy cafe called Rubarbs. Good food, would recommend it to anyone. We then set out on foot to take in a couple of the local shops. Again, would encourage all travellers to take a look. But then...

We decided to kill two bird with one stone by stopping in the local Visitor's Center located on the Square to find out about the local history and use the "facilities". This was when we discovered that the South was winning the War. Confederate paraphanillia was everywhere. The Mason Dixon line still has meaning to the kind old confederate soldier running the Center and "to many", he assured us, "of those who have lived in these parts a spell." He was especially excited to hear we were from Texas, as he had several stories regarding Texan's help in the War. We accepted a couple of the more noteworthy pamphlets describing the local battlefields, thanked him for the info and the use of the "facilities", and decided we needed to leave before someone found out we were actually from California. Scary.

Tune in next time for the wilds of Virginia Beach!