The Amana Colonies

Pam and Roy offered to take us to the Amana Colonies, and since we hadn’t been there in years we loaded up and headed north and east for a day of antiquing, furniture shopping and exploring. The drive was pleasant and the time passed swiftly as we visited about our kids and family and general stuff.
Arriving there we parked and started our shopping tour by visiting one of the largest craft antique stores we have ever seen. As we wandered we both laughed as we saw a nut grinder that was twenty five dollars and nowhere as nice as the one we had at home, (ours cost .10 cents at a garage sale). The store seemed endless as we passed though room after room of high priced antiques and newly made to look antique products. Still there was enough old to justify the wanderings.
From there the next stop was lunch and we ate at a restaurant that served the food family style. Sauerkraut was one of the staples! The food was good but pricey, is there a pattern here? The furniture store was next! A walnut table and chairs greeted us upon entry and it was a fine example of the exquisite furniture the store contained. One room was filled with clocks, all set to different times so that the chimes rang almost continuously. Closing our eyes the Westminster chimes transported us back to my grandparents’ house. Luckily, none of the furniture fit into our fifth wheel as the prices were the highest we have ever seen, anywhere.
The Amana Woolen Mill was the next largest building we entered and there for the first time we got to see looms running full blast, making rugs and clothing. They were working at a much faster rate than the Navajo loom we had operated in Cortez, Colorado! The smell of machine oil filled the air, much like the battleship and observatory. Machine oil runs the world, (Of all the stores and shops this was my favorite)!
Tiring Roy and I sat on a bench outside, while Pam and Renita continued their exploring. Luckily the stores finally ran out and it was time to drive back home, to Keosauqua and Lake Sugema. A fun day, and a place worth visiting. Clear skies
(Two days later Pam showed us an Amish furniture store outside of Keosauqua where the furniture was one fourth of the price, and of equal quality), of what we had seen in Amana. We found and purchased an oak end table that was perfect for our traveling house.)