What a luxury to have time for a leisurely road trip. This was a first for us as Paul commenced his first full year of retirement in July. We headed out of the area on a cold sunny Saturday morning with our first stop a historic B & B in Homestead, Iowa. The next day we toured the seven villages that make up the Amana Colonies in east-central Iowa. These historic villages were built and settled by German immigrants who followed a very self-sufficient communal way of life that embraced specialized crafting and farming occupations brought from Europe. They used hand, horse,wind and water power and made their own furniture, clothing and other goods. Today, the area serves as a historical tourist attraction portraying their way of life. The many well preserved brick houses in the villages were lovely. We ate at a great German restaurant, stocked up on smoked meats at a German meat store, tried numerous area made cheeses and wines,viewed the work of numerous area artists/crafters and visited the famous Amana Woolen Mill where I picked up some good ideas for my weaving endeavors. Then it was on to visit an old college roommate of Paul’s south of Iowa City. His wife shared her experience naturally dyeing hand spun wool yarn made from area sheep. We enjoyed a homemade Moroccan chicken and hummus meal finished off with a homemade black walnut pie. They have a large orchard on their farm and the walnuts came from their trees, with the black dye from shucking them still on their fingers. What a lovely homespun evening!
We sped through both Illinois and Indiana and arrived in Louisville, Kentucky, where Paul’s daughter’s family lives, around mid-day the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. They live in a 130 year old brick Victorian family home on a hill overlooking Cherokee Park which was modeled after Central Park in NYC. Settling into their period adorned guest room for a long holiday weekend is always a surreal experience. The week was filled with lots of food and fun with their family and friends. Paul’s grandson, Rudy, celebrated his 18th birthday on Thanksgiving which included opening the first of several bottles of port Paul bought when he was born. One late morning, I enjoyed a decadent solo breakfast of leftover smoky bacon and pecan pie…yum! A highlight of the weekend was visiting The Little Loomhouse where weaving education is alive and well in Kentucky.
The Monday after Thanksgiving we headed to Little Rock, Arkansas where we spent the night before arriving in Dallas to catch up with my nephew Bobby. Then it was on to Waco to visit the Silo’s, the HGTV/Fixer Upper, Gaines family venture. It is a lovely place and, although we didn’t get a sighting of Chip or Joanna, I met and chatted with Jimmy Don, their metal sign guy. How cool was that! Then it was on to Austin to visit my niece, Mary. I had never been to Austin and really enjoyed it. Paul got us a “smoking deal” at the brand new Fairmont Hotel overlooking the city. We enjoyed good southern food, a walking path along their city center river/lake and viewing their new contemporary city library. I loved it when niece Mary, a new working professional, pulled out her credit card and purchased a perfume I liked and exclaimed “Merry Christmas Auntie.”
The highlight of heading into west Texas was a visit to Fredericksburg, an old German town, where the largest number of German speakers in the U.S. resides. The Texas hill country aesthetic is white and worn and includes a lots of brick buildings/homes which are adorned with large rustic wood interiors. A stop at Magnolia Pearl, a clothing company that features a worn heirloom look, is an extension of this lifestyle and a look I love. The company will be on the March magazine cover of “Where Women Create.” After several hours of strolling through their newly constructed old wood looking farmhouse store, I broke down and purchased a large organic cotton natural hand dyed knit tee I am calling my “starter piece.” I also picked up lots of ideas for further repurposed/upcycled clothing I can make myself so be on the lookout for my frumpy patched pioneer look next season.
We arrived at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in southern New Mexico in time to view large flocks of Sandhill cranes and snow geese arrive at the watery preserve at sunset. What a sight and sound that was! Then it was on to getting our Mexican food fix featuring green chili as we made our way north to I40 in Albuquerque. From there it was a straight shot west to Flagstaff but it wouldn’t have been a proper winter road trip home if we hadn’t run into a snowstorm as we left New Mexico and entered Arizona. The weather cleared and the San Francisco Peaks,visible 50 miles out of Flagstaff, were heavily laden with new winter snow as we completed our ten state “other coming home journey.” 2018