Amish trail & Jamestown...

Want to share a tidbit: Yesterday WB and I went geocaching in Lucille Ball's hometown of Jamestown, N.Y. Homeward bound we geocached along the NY Amish trail, aka, Route 62.I witnessed several Amish women dressed in long garb, heads covered with scarfs; they were hand-hoeing yards and gardens. 4 horse and buggy clans passed us on the highway; 2 buggies were filled with children of various ages; 1 buggy was carrying 2 ladies; 1 buggy was carrying 2 men. And we saw an Amish gent plowing a field using an old horse drawn plow. He was sitting on the century-old plow and 4 horses were pulling him through a large field. It amazes me how hard these people work in this age of technological progress. Do any of you live near Amish people? If so what's your take on this lifestyle?

Hi Jabber,

I don't live near any Amish communities at the moment, but for about 20 years I lived in Iowa, roughly 80 miles from the Amana Colonies. Amana is an exit on I 80, and there are several restaurants there which specialize in serving family style meals of an Amish flavor - also what we might think of as meals with a Germanic or Swiss flavor.

The food is always plentiful, plain and simple - but delicious - things like sauerbraten, fried chicken, noodles -- and fabulous pies.

Due to their faith, the Amish attempt to preserve the elements of late 17th century European rural culture. They try to avoid many of the features of modern society, by developing practices and behaviors which isolate themselves from American culture.

The Amish community has a tradition and religion which dictates life in its simplest form, from a general lack of electricity to self-sufficiently feeding, clothing and sheltering themselves.

While famous for shunning modern conveniences, and their plain and modest mode of dress (hence the nickname "the plain people"), the Amish are also known for their beautiful crafts and homegrown, homemade foods. And they also know that people who are not of their religion will buy the fruits of their labors.

That is why, once you get into Amana, Iowa -- and I am sure it is like this in Amish communities throughout the US -- there are shops that sell handmade furniture, blankets, table linens, and food to the tourists.

Of course, there are a number of novels about Amish life, too.

Anne,
I have two pillow cases, which my cousin patterned after an Amish quilt. Their quilts are lovely. We have an Amish store
in town which sells Amish made furniture. I know their culture is to live the simple life; but, my heart ached for a young mother I saw hoeing a large garden. She looked to be 8 months
pregnant and had two toddlers running around the yard. What a difficult lifestyle. All I could think is how we're all a product of our childhood environment. Our parents set the examples and we're the end result.

Okay enough of that. Today Groovy and I took a helicopter ride
in the sky above Niagara Falls. That was cool.

I bet the helicopter ride was cool! I've only been in a helicopter once - Steve and I took a helicopter ride in Juneau, Alaska. We flew out over the Mendenhall glacier and then landed on it. I recall it being one of the most memorable parts of our Alaska trip...

Anne,
I've always wanted to go to Alaska. I'll bet that was awesome!
I'd like to snowmobile in Alaska. Mendenhall glacier, WOW!

Jabber, the glacier WAS really cool. No pun intended.

The outfitter for the ride supplied all of us with special boots -- though they looked pretty much like Neoprene over the shoe boots to me -- before we got into the copter. They were supposedly needed to walk out on the ice.

I'm sure providing the boots protects them legally in some way. And, since I'd somehow managed to pack for the whole cruise without bringing along any socks (I'd ended up buying some in Vancouver) I certainly didn't have boots with me. It was, after all, late summer when we took the trip.

The day itself was cold, in the 40s, and now and then a few sprinkles alternated with a weak sun. But it was clear enough to fly and the pilot played this heavenly music over our headphones as we flew. It might have been Enya, I am not sure. All I can say is that the effect was ethereal and magical. Sort of made the whole flying of the glacier thing godlike.

I would love to go to Alaska again.

By the way, I don't swear that musical clip is EXACTLY what he played, but it sure is reminiscent of the experience.

Groovy and I wore something that looked like headphones but nothing was playing. She and I and the pilot were in the front seat. A young Muslim couple were in the back seat. Our ride was amazing, too. Looking at the mighty Falls at ground level and then from a sky high view is a concept changer. It appears so powerful when you're standing on the ground but from the air it looks minute, like a cup of water or something. Leastwise, our aircraft had doors. A friend of mine took a similar flight in a copter without doors. That would be a bit unhinging, for me. Pun intended!

Oh, I agree! About 25 years ago, before I was married to Steve, I had a friend who took me and the kids along in a small plane, while he practiced what he called "touch and gos," which is essentially landing practice. He would be in contact with the tower, gain permission to land, land and then immediately take off again to do it again.

I was in the front passenger seat and the kids were in the backseat. My son was no more than 4 at the time, and he was hooked. He wanted to learn to fly.

I on the other hand, kept looking at the door and its handle, both of which seemed a bit flimsy to me, and wondering whether my seatbelt would keep me safely in the plane if that door were to fly open -- or off!

We flew from the Quad Cities airport in Moline, IL to the Kewanee, IL airport and back like it was nothing more than skating around the block. We actually landed at the Kewanee airport once - probably for a bathroom break - but there was really nothing to do there. Maybe a vending machine, but not much else.

I can't say this led me to have the bug for flying, though I do think flying anywhere in a private plane would have to be better than going commercial. Guess I'd prefer to have a private jet. And not sit up in the pilot's area.

Well it crossed my mind we may not make it back alive. But if a person let fear rule life, they wouldn't do anything. Still I don't want to be foolish; and, flying above the Falls in a doorless helicopter seems a bit foolish, to me. Most of the time that friend was a sensible person. Don't know what got into her that day.

What sort of off-beat stuff do the rest of you do?

Dee has bees. Ma has flowers. Cross and Dee sew, not off-beat, but a great hobby. Some write. Since nobody jumped in here, thought I'd answer my own question. Going geocaching tomorrow.
And looking forward to that.

Sorry Jabber, I thought I had jumped into this discussion. I guess I thought about answering, but wasn't sure I do anything off-beat.

I used to sew all my clothes, and they were very distinctive, but these days I really need a new sewing machine, and I pretty much try not to use the one I have - even for mending.

I would love to learn how to quilt.

I bake in my spare time, and find it very enjoyable and therapeutic. Local friends love to be invited to my Wednesday night dinners, which quite often feature a "comfort food" main course, and an exotic dessert.

Ages ago I had time for art classes and pottery and painting were favorites. Again, that is something I would love to do again.

I didn't really know much about geocaching, but I looked it up online for more details, and found out there are apparently some opportunities to explore right here in Galena. Here's one.

As I don't have a GPS device, I'll ask the obvious: What sort of GPS device do you use? Is it one you can carry around with you, or is it permanently mounted in your car?

If we ever get in your territory, we'll have to explore those
caches. We have a portable GPS that's mounted on the dash of
the car and we have a GPS we carry by hand. Both are Garmin.
Then hubby has a palm pilot that tells him what previous geocachers have experienced if he encounters a difficult area.
Prayers and blessings! I don't enjoy cooking but it sounds like
you're a great cook! And sewing isn't my thing either. I either write or spend time outdoors.

My daughter also has a dash-mountable Garmin. It has been great. She's teaching herself Finnish (my husband is half Finnish), so has set hers to speak in Finnish. I'm now used to hearing directions in another language. Fun!

Ellemm,
I'll bet that's a trip to hear. Hubby's dashboard Garmin is always telling him, "You're over the speed limit." And it's funny to hear because WB is so very conservative, adhering to all rules and regulations. And sometimes it unnecessarily takes him around the block; that bums him out, too!

I've only been in one car that had a GPS, and this was when we were in Vegas for a conference. Some of us decided to take a trip to see the Hoover Dam.

I got a kick out of their Garmin, which was always "recalibrating."

One of the most s cary things tro go and see when in Nevada is the new highway built from here to the Arizona side of the dam. It is too scary for me, who hates heights, I have to find different routes now trhats for sure. Never rode a helicopoter, but did learn to drive an 18 wheeler while dating a trucker many, many years ago. Probably wouldn't remember how to anymore and from what my son tells me they have simplified it a lot. Somehow I missed this thread???

I recently found Amish stores on the internet and ordered my mother two white hats, one dressy and one plain. She has always had thick beautiful hair but lost most of her hair in back of her head. Her hair is now snow white from really black. I had a wig made for her but she hates wigs! She saw a picture somewhere of the hats worn by the Amish women and said, she thought they would cover her bald spot nicely. Sooooo I had to find some and luckily I did, ordered them and she loves them. I love their websites, so many unique and reasonably priced items.

The ladies I saw last week had Babushka type headcoverings on.
I like Amish hats, too. Glad your mom likes 'em. WB & I were
out in your area back in 1998, when I met my baby sister from
Tucson. After we left her, we went to Las Vegas and then on to
Colorado. We drove that RV up mountains that seemed a mile and
a half high and looking down from that vehicle was a scary, scary thing. I'm not much for heights, either. But it was Groovy's birthday. She's from England, so I took that helicopter ride for her, a "once-in-a-lifetime" event. Don't expect to be doing that again, anytime soon. But my SIL went bungee jumping a couple years back; she's 12 years my senior. And the neighbor lady, probably in her late 70s, jumped out of an airplane recently. So the helicopter thing seems tame in comparison to what these gals have been doing!

Oh my gosh, those two sound awfully brave to me. I would never do either thing. I went to the school to learn to pilot a helicopter quite awhile back with a gentleman I was seeing, but chickened out big time...He is history as well, too much drama what with his wanting to hike the mountain trails, go go-carting in the desert, and flying.

I hear what you're saying. Down in Old Town Kissimmee they have
various types of bungee jumping. All of them look much too scary to me. And as far as jumping out of an airplane, I almost had
a heart attack when my kid joined the 82nd Airborne. So I won't be doing that anytime soon.

Bungee jumping has never had any appeal for me. But sometime in my future life I might go rafting on the Colorado River, go hang-gliding or something equally challenging. Maybe as a 65th birthday experience. But I'd have to train for this, and the training might take more than a year...

(I know this is true because right now my son is in training for a triathlon, and I am in nowhere near the condition he's in...)

Back when I was in junior high school, I wanted to learn how to drive a race car and to skydive. But then I met a man who broke both legs skydiving... And realized it could be dangerous. I guess prior to that I'd thought it would just be risky fun.

Rafting look exciting, but I'm not that good of a swimmer. So that's out for me. Hang gliding appeals, thought I'm probably
too big of a chicken. Same for skydiving. I've done tons of
skidooing and would love to seadoo! But that's about it.

I've never tried skidooing, but I agree it looks like fun.

Anne,
I'm all for having fun. The more the better!

WB just updated his GPS device, today. He went from a Garmin 60CX with no built in memory to a Garmin 62S with built in memory. Now he doesn't need to carry a palm pilot, info is all in
1 unit. Whatever. I like hunting 4 hides, the woodsy trails and hilly hikes. I love the ride 2 various parts of the country. What's really nice is when we're on vacation. Geocaching takes a person to places not ordinarily seen, i.e.: many new housing developments have wildlife perservations, boardwalks and bird aviaries, etc. Geocaches are hidden in such areas.