Adventures

Before I go into our latest adventures, I want to mention that I posted a blog on The Amish Descendant Scholarship website this morning with a video from the conference with the opening talk that I offered. Here is the link to the post.

In my last blog post, I stated that David and I had intentions of going to the Maritime Provinces for a vacation while we wait for our apartment in Ephrata, Pennsylvania to be available. We searched high and low for places to stay there, and we could not find places that were both available and affordable. One evening we were sitting in our recliners, each searching on our separate devices, and finally David looks over at me and says, “What about that cross-country train trip?” We had been thinking of doing just that for years. I laughed, and then I said the same thing back to him.

So we made a pivot. We bought a USA Rail Pass for $500 each, and planned out our trip. We get 10 segments within 30 days, and we are using eight of them to take a round trip cross-country trip.

1. From Albany, NY to Elkhart, IN on the Lakeshore Limited

2. From Elkhart to Chicago on the Lakeshore Limited

3. From Chicago to Albuquerque, NM on the Southwest Chief

4. From Albuquerque to Los Angeles on the Southwest Chief

5. From LA to Emeryville, CA on the Coast Starlight

6. From Emeryville to Glenwood Springs Colorado on the California Zephyr

7. From Glenwood Springs to Chicago on the California Zephyr

8. From Chicago to Albany on the Lakeshore Limited

Sunday night we stayed in Elkhart, Indiana, enjoying the warm hospitality of our good friends, Harley and Starla Yoder, and their daughter, Ana. After an overnight on the train, it was wonderful to take a shower, take an early afternoon nap, then tour the Wellfield Gardens with Starla, before enjoying time by their pool in the late afternoon. Then we went out to dinner before retiring for a good, long night of sleep, breakfast the next morning, and off to the train.

I know Harley because he is one of the board members of the Amish Descendant Scholarship Fund. I had already experienced his generosity when he paid for all meals for all the attenders of the Plain Roots Conference in June twice, and he has also been generous in his giving to the fund otherwise. His and his family’s generosity of spirit was just as boundless during our visit. He met us at the train, took us to breakfast, invited us into their home, and from there the hospitality blossomed. Starla took us for a tour of the Wellfield Gardens, which were so beautiful.

The train ride from Chicago to Albuquerque has reminded us once again of how much country there is to see and experience in the US. I can lose sense of that sometimes, living in the East.

David and I are in Albuquerque at the Bottgers Mansion of Old Town B&B. We had a nourishing and delicious breakfast in their East Garden among the birds and blooms.