Being in one of Verizon's black holes (perhaps because we were near a body of water as one young Verizon employee explained to me once), my blog had to wait until we returned home. Here's the final update. Tuesday was a quiet day for us. The rest of the gang went to the State Fair while we opted for less walking (and eating.) We did get in a couple of bike rides and ran some errands in town. Before we returned to the campground, we drove out to see the damage left by a tornado a few weeks ago on the important Pella company, Vermeer. The damage seemed confined to the easternmost buildings, but that included fallen roofs and twisted flagpoles.
Wednesday began with a threat of rain and a meal known in the group as ‘Heart Attack Breakfast.’ It centers around French toast made with Jaarsma’s Bakery cinnamon bread and topped with Tom’s maple-bacon-apple-butter syrup. Then most of us went to town for a private tour of the Windmill Museum. We had visited the village behind the windmill before but had not done the museum. Gary is a volunteer docent who is a friend of some of our camping group and gave us an excellent tour. The museum includes a miniature Dutch village, built by various craftsmen, with over 100 buildings. All are replicas of a building somewhere in Holland.
The tour of the mill itself--the largest working windmill in the US--began at the top in the milling room. The mill was not actually working at the time because they were doing some painting on the blades. But the structure, its design and construction, and its function is an amazing story.
After the mill, we walked a half-block to the old Opera house. This has been rebuilt to look as it did in the early part of the last century. It includes a Wurlitzer organ on which we received an impromtu mock concert.
Thursday our trip to town for coffee, muffins, and internet at the Smokey Row Cafe only netted us two out of three. Their wifi was down. By the time we polished off the snacks, it was too late to go anywhere else because we had plans for a trip to Tassel Ridge Winery in the afternoon. Priorities, you know. The view of the fast moving storms from their sunroom was pretty spectacular and we were gratified when we returned to camp that all campers, awnings, etc. appeared to be intact. The day finished with a steak fry and a lovely sunset--a fine finish before our return home today.
Besides the Pella sites, we enjoyed the eagle watching, biking, and hiking at the campground. A sad note: there are many ash trees in this shady spot that will need to come down soon, judging from the bare branches. The walnut trees are doing well, which we can attest to by the bombardment our trailer roof received. We pictured nasty squirrels high above using us for target practice but perhaps it was just gravity.
Besides the Pella sites, we enjoyed the eagle watching, biking, and hiking at the campground. A sad note: there are many ash trees in this shady spot that will need to come down soon, judging from the bare branches. The walnut trees are doing well, which we can attest to by the bombardment our trailer roof received. We pictured nasty squirrels high above using us for target practice but perhaps it was just gravity.
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