August31/Sept 1

August 31st was our longest day of driving! We left our camp by about 9:30am and drove the rest of the way through Iowa. We have a picture upon entering every state BUT we missed the welcome sign when we entered Iowa! So I told Carl, “if we miss it on the way out, we have to turn around and go back!”. Sure

enough, the sign, on the opposite side of the road was impossible to get and it was impossible to pull over! So, we crossed the Mississippi river, and then we turned around, crossed it again, got a picture of the sign and crossed it one more time! It’s not like we were going to see anything else worth taking a picture of that day! We were then in Illinois! It looked just like Iowa and Minnesota and Eastern South Dakota and had about as much to offer – so, pretty much nothing! We debated on popping into Chicago but the traffic

on the main hwy in the suburbs of Chicago was enough to scare us away! It was hectic and stressful to drive in! We will go visit Chicago but will be taking a train! We passed through Illinois and then we passed through Indiana and then it was onto Ohio!

Carl’s roommate Tom, from college lives in Ohio so we had planned to stop by for a visit. Tom graciously offered his home to us for the night so we pushed through to Dalton, Ohio and would have arrived a little before 11pm if we hadn’t taken a slight detour.

As we were heading to Dalton, the name of a small city on the map close by caught my eye and we just had to go there, of course, to get a picture of the sign! So we drove down some dark, winding, rolling streets, made a few turns and then a few u-turns, watched out for any wildlife that might jump out in front us - but lost a possum on the journey. But it was all worth it (at least for us – RIP Possy), because, THERE, in all its glory, reflective letters glittering in the headlights was the sign that read, “Funk”!

We arrived at Tom’s around 11pm, after driving for about 12 hours, gaining an hour in the meantime! We are now the full 3 hours ahead of home. After visiting with Tom, it was off to a well-needed sleep! We awoke this morning at 8am and the three of us went out for breakfast to what seemed to be the only diner in town! Tom had biscuits and gravy – a meal that seems to be a traditional breakfast in the USA. It hasn’t appealed to us yet. Afterwards, he gave us the tour of the town – there was the diner, a hardware store, the church he worked at and then my two favorite stops, an Amish home and Tom’s Dad’s shop. The area is well inhabited by traditional Amish people and since Tom’s dad employs some Amish people, he knows some of them personally, one couple in particular who don’t mind visitors. We drove down the driveway to be greeted by Andy, the families second oldest son at 14 who was putting the horse and buggy into their red barn by the white house (traditional colors for Amish homes). We knocked on the door and were greeted by Maddy and three more of her eight children. She showed us their kitchen and living room, very basic rooms. Herself and her children were dressed in home sewn clothes, the girls with head coverings and the boys with their hair cut in sort of a bob just above their ears. Everything in the house was pretty much homemade and made of wood, some of it painted a light blue. It was like looking at an old house in a museum or something that maybe our great parents had lived in. Maddy explained that later on that day she was going to can peaches on her wood burning stove, maybe after she tackled the pile of sewing she had to do! Seeing how it was already hot and humid in the house, I couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like when she started the fire in the stove! Andy took us back outside and showed us the family business of handmade baskets and then explained how their well works, using the wind and a windmill! It was all very eye opening! From my short visit, I can see that Amish people are extremely hardworking! Tom explained that there are varying levels of Amish and for example, some will have a horse and buggy yet others will have a car but it has to be black. Tom also explained that the Amish community, although noticeable in Dalton is still quite small and therefore genes are getting mixed and more and more Amish children are born with down syndrome (we met one). After visiting the family, we went to Tom’s Dad’s shop, P. Graham Dunn. Go to any Christian bookstore and I bet they carry his stuff! He makes wood plaques, inspirational pictures, wood frames, etc. It’s the “in style” décor kinda stuff!

We got see the whole, factory where the wood gets carved with a laser, painted, finished, packed, etc. It was pretty cool and the stuff is beautiful! After our “tour of the town” it was time to say good bye and hit the road again! We drove through Pennsylvania

and then into New York! It was soooooo humid! We found a

campsite and set up camp for the last time! As I walked to the bathroom, I noticed the grass was really wet like it had rained – nope, that was just from the humidity! So so so so gross! Sorry there aren't more pictures of us, there wasn't much to take pictures of and we couldn't stop at these signs!