Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Continuing on our adventure through the mid-west, trudging along in the rain.  Gary and I are officially tired of mud.  One thing you don't think about until you live in a RV is that a garage is awesome, even a little mud room is awesome when there is rain and mud.  When you have neither, all of that comes right on into the RV.  Yay.

We made it to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and we stayed at a place called The Amana Colonies.  I had never heard of this place and I'm sure many people haven't either.  The Amana religion was being practiced in Germany, when they started to be persecuted for their beliefs they moved to Buffalo, NY to enjoy our country's religious freedom.  After a bit, they felt that they needed to find more space for their farms and the lush soil of Iowa was perfect.  They are a religion that is often compared to the Amish but in 1932 they decided to become more secular and they embrace the world of today. One of their people invented the first electric refrigerator and air conditioner.  If you have ever heard of the appliance name, "Amana", this is where it came from!  Today they still practice, though not as strict, and they have opened their villages to everyone.  We spent an afternoon going through the various shops, wine tasting rooms, a deli and a restaurant.  Very cool little area!

We also took an afternoon to visit the Herbert Hoover Library and Museum.  An engineer first, he made his fortune as a mining engineer in Australia and Asia. He was very successful because he was a great problem problem solver. The poor man was blamed for the Great Depression just because he was in the White House, even though he saw it coming and advised the previous administration to put in some rules and regs to try to stop it.  He only served one term and he is known on a greater scale for being a humanitarian.  In WWI he ran organizations to feed the world and he was called upon again during WWII to do the same. The world owes a debt to Herbert Hoover.

The last thing we did was to visit the Czech and Slovak Museum.  Bonus points for us because the day we chose to visit the Czech and Slovak neighborhood was having their Houby Days festival.  It is an annual festival to honor the houby (mushroom).  The museum itself is a very cool place with the history of the Czech/Slovak region.  Going through that reinforced my thankfulness for the freedoms we enjoy in our great country.

On to Madison, WI!