We have enjoyed two days here getting brushed up on American history. Our first stop Sunday was at the Herbert Hoover presidential library. Hoover is an interesting part of the twentieth century. While the causes of the Depression came into being during Coolidge’s term, Hoover clearly could not find a solution to the fiscal disaster. You could make a case that FDR had no solution either (that the Depression was solved by WW2), but Hoover’s taken the blame. This overshadows all the good he did for the US as well as for starving Europeans between 1916 and 1950. This president clearly knew how to put service ahead of self. We visited his birth house and his burial place; it was a very moving morning.

Today we drove to Amana, Iowa and visited a community of Christians searching for a place to live in community and religious freedom. There were so many old buildings, and so many old businesses. A docent came onto our bus and gave us a tour of about four of the communities, giving a history that reached back into the mid-1800’s. It was a great visit…we learned a lot, Leila found a nice quilt shop, and Greg found a smoked meat shop.

In between those two trips our group made two stops. First we stopped at the the Largest Truck Stop in the US (so they say), and while there toured the adjacent Truck Museum. There were a bunch of really interesting trucks there, both big and small. That evening we went to a dinner theater in Rock Island. The dinner was really good and the play was a hoot; “The Outsider” was a comedy about a man who accidentally became the governor of Vermont. It did have something to say about how we elect people to office, and how frequently they aren’t really qualified. Very funny show!

We have a free day tomorrow, then a travel day on Wednesday. More then…