P-day

Last Monday we went off on a venture to see what we could see (sorry inside joke with my girls). We thought we were going to Amish country except it didn't end up being too Amish. We did see a little store on the side of the road and it had two buggies sitting by it so we stopped and sure enough it was owned by the Amish. It didn't have any electricity and it was just this weird collection of odds and ends. On one shelf there was a GIGANTIC roll of tin foil (about 6 inches in diameter), right next to it there was a little tiny roll of tin foil. There were bags of spices, homemade noodles, laundry soap and all kinds of things that it looked like they went to Costco and bought bulk then brought it home and bagged it up in small portions.

We ate lunch in Bonaparte at a restaurant that's in an old mill and we had the infamous old waitress, she is 86 years old and I don't know how long she has been waitressing there but when she brings your food she is shaking so bad you're hoping she gets to the table and doesn't drop it. She was a hoot, I guess they keep her around for entertainment. Here's a picture of the building.



We also went to Bentonsport. In 1846, many Mormons left the city of Nauvoo in Illinois and settled in Van Buren County, Iowa. Bentonsport was the home of several of these early pioneers. The men and women lived and worked here long enough to save enough money to get their wagon, oxen, horses, and supplies (called an "outfit") in order to travel west to Salt Lake City, Utah. Some stayed on here and did not leave until much later.

This is a picture of what is now a hotel but it had a sign in front of it that said Mason House Inn. The oldest steamboat hotel on the river. Built in 1846 by mormon craftsmen going to Utah.



Just some other fun stuff in Bentonsport