Amish

August 2nd

It is amazing how little you can have and still be very happy.

Today I was sitting by my bicycle, and our little tent. I looked at all the stuff we brought on the trip: three pairs of biking clothes, one other outfit, some sandals, toiletries, a camera, laptop, patch kit, waterbottles...and a few other items. Not a whole lot. It all fits on our bikes and we carry it around with us everywhere.

It is amazing how little you can have and still be very happy. I am so happy...we are having so much fun everyday! I love Bill!

August 3rd. Moravia IA to Nauvoo IL

it is amazing how much stuff I need to be happy. today we saw a whole bunch of Amish people. I think they are called a "solemn" of amish. they wear "Plain" clothes. they drive "Plain" little buggies. they kind of look plain. Steph and I did some research on the Amish by reading about them on our iphones. There is an ap for that. Here are some facts about the Amish.

1. "Beachy" amish drive black cars. they are like the wild Amish. they have telephones in thier places of work. the other Amish do not speak to them or allow thier children to marry them.

2. the average Amish has as many years of education as they have children in thier family (6.8)

3. Amish people grow beards when they get married. the men too.

4. Amish get hung up on stuff like how many straps thier suspenders have, how many pleats there are in thier caps and what color of dresses the women wear. if you wear suspenders that have too many straps you could get "shunned" until you confess your sin and repent publicly.

5. when we walked into an Amish shop there was a sign that said :

"This shop is the Lord's shop. stealing from here is like stealing from the Lord. Our price is much easier to pay than His."

Steph and I bought some of the Lord's chips and left.