08-15-2020, Iowa Wineries!
It’s an easy going morning. We don’t even think about breakfast until after ten. I’m catching up on the blog and Ginger and Bonnie are having a continuation of the on-going political discussion. I manage to keep up and occasionally add a comment. Ginger slices up two of the peaches we bought, since it turns out Bonnie is not a peach fan and we’re going to have to take them with us when we leave.
I get good news from my dear friend, Jackie! She is going home from her surgery on Sunday! That’ s my second great message! I was able to finally get a message from Brandy on Thursday that Marilyn’s surgery was perfect and yesterday she told me that she was home and didn’t need any pain meds!! Hurray!!!
Here’s a bit of bizarreness! My phone has thought for several days that it is tomorrow!! Each day!! So today it tells me that it’s Sunday, the 16th, and that all my emails are from yesterday! Turning it off and on doesn’t help. I have finally found the place in settings where I can fix it; but how the heck did that happen in the first place??
Bonnie has a digital voice recorder and hasn’t played with it because the manual it intimidating and the unit is even more so! I think I can figure it out, so in the next few days I’m going to teach her how to use it, at least a little, and I’ll feel like I’ve earned my keep on this trip!!
We’re packing a picnic lunch to take with us today. Our major stop will be a winery that has a picnic area. We’ve got lots of goodies that need to be used up, so this will be perfect. We load everything in the car and head out. We’re on the lookout for Amish photos and Ginger spots a farmer working in his field with two horses pulling his wagon. Further down we spot two horses and buggies tied to a hitching post and Ginger looks for a place to turn around.
Turns out the turn-around spot is actually a little Amish fabric store! With two quilters in the car, how could we not go in? As it happens, this is more than just a fabric store. There are toys and do-dads and soaps and kids books and lots of essentials so that people don’t have to travel very far in their buggies. Ada waits on us and is happy to share information about her life style. Bonnie asks how they learned about Covid-19 and she says their bishop stays in touch with the local health authorities.
Amish quilts never use fabric with patterns.
Bonnie asks about travel and Ada says the community is about fifteen miles long and that it takes an hour to an hour and a quarter by buggy, depending on the horse. If they have to go further, they can go to a call shed and phone a taxi driver.
The coolest discovery, though, was the display of simple, lovely bras for very cheap prices! We all wind up buying one!
Back on the road we finally get to the two horses and then continue down the road. We’re heading for the American Gothic House! I never gave a thought to where the actual house might be! There are directions you can follow so that you can take a photo of yourself posing as the famous father and daughter! This is the town of Eldon’s only claim to fame! That, and the auction that is going on when we arrive!
Onward now to today’s highlight, the Cedar Valley Winery! They have seven wines available for tasting and Penny tells us that it is a family farm and they have only been in the wine business since 2002. They have some nice wines and I buy a couple of bottles for friends. We each have found something we like well enough to buy a glass of, to go with our picnic, and we head out to a picnic shelter.
It’s a delightful afternoon, sitting in the shade with the wind blowing and lots of goodies to munch on. A man comes over to our shelter and asks who came from Virginia. It’s Bonnie and he engages her in conversation gradually getting too close for Covid comfort. Bonnie reaches for her mask and he seems to get the hint, leaving soon after. There are people at another shelter who are playing guitar and singing!
Just a few catch the sun.
We’ve eaten so much food and drunk so much wine. And it’s warm. And we’re all a little sleepy. Next thing I know Bonnie is lying on the deck of the shelter and Ginger is lying on the picnic bench on one side of the table and I’m on the other. They both actually fall asleep and I wander around taking photos.
Soon enough we all become functional again, pack up our goodies and return our wine glasses. On the way to the car we pass a lady who was working in the vineyard and she tells us they were installing a “distressed bird” call to frighten away the birds that love to eat the grapes. We had wondered what all the racket was about!
One more stop before we go home, the grave and memorial park for Chief Wapello. He was the one who sold Iowa to the white man. He is buried with the man who was the indian agent and with whom he felt a close kinship. There is a pavilion with a hand-lettered series of displays telling the entire story.
We get home well before dark and agree that we are way to full for a real dinner. There is ample time to download photos and blog and for Ginger to play her Harry Potter game. It is so comfortable here in the RV. I haven’t really said much about it; but the design is quite ingenious. Everywhere you look there is storage and because it has two pop-outs you really feel like your are in someone’s living room! The bathroom even has two doors, so it is accessible both from the large bedroom and from what becomes our bedroom at night. Bonnie’s bedroom even has it’s own separate sink! It can easily sleep five and six in a pinch if they’re short and friendly. It has a microwave/convection oven a clothes washer that is also a dryer! The fridge is practically full size and all the wood is light colored, which adds to the spacious feeling. It is six steps from the ground into the living space and the rig is twelve feet tall. It is more than thirty-two feet in length. There are lights and electric outlets everywhere and all the switches are labeled. It has a four-burner stove and, basically, all the comforts of home! Just amazing! Bonnie says it isn’t difficult to drive and takes regular gas. But you can’t really back it up when you are towing a car. She has packing it up for a move down to a science and we’ll see that in action tomorrow as we move to a new state park.
In the mean time, it will be bedtime soon and tomorrow is another day!
Your home away from home sounds comfortable. I look forward to seeing your photos of more of the inside. I'm glad that Marilyn and Jackie are doing well. And you and Ginger and Bonnie seem to be doing even better - the winery and after sampling activities sound relaxing and fun. The internet must be too slow for photos, but I know they'll be coming. The bras sound fascinating!
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