School on a Bus (a.k.a. Radical Sabbatical)

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is home to one of the largest Amish communities in the U.S. Throughout the area we witnessed horse-drawn buggies, wagons, scooters, bicycles and even in-line skates as the primary mode of transport for many citizens. The Amish farms are intermixed with non-Amish farms. We learned that the population has grown significantly and is struggling to find enough room.

Primarily an agrarian lifestyle, all members of the family have a role in running the farm. A common sight was teenage boys riding a plow down the field, pulled by a number of strong work horses. The one room schoolhouses appeared to be a friendly alternative to home schooling. Adam in particular was drawn to the Amish lifestyle. He was hooked when he saw two children about the same age as himself driving their own buggy being led by a pony.

It helped our understanding to visit the Mennonite Information Center just outside of town. The center gives a sensitive overview of both Mennonites and Amish, their struggles and their differences. Both are against any type of violence. However, Mennonites have accepted modern technologies while the Amish continue to reject most of them. We learned the Amish differ in what technologies are acceptable and which are not. Most have come to accept the use of generators but only some accept the use of the telephone. Each community decides for themselves what their standards will be, with a desire to not be entrapped in an unfulfilled lifestyle of busy-ness and over reliance on material things.

The Amish lifestyle was alluring – especially the sense of community that seems to exist. There is a lot to be said for the stability of spending your life within a broader community where faith and personal relationships matter most.

Adam: The Amish do not join the war.  They are from Germany so some talk German. They learn English in school. They use a buggy. And they don’t use electricity. They are the fastest growing population. Each family has an average of seven children.

Some places that we have gone to have been rewarding beyond our expectations. I wanted to describe one of these trips. As the route planner for the trip, I do lots of research to decide where we will visit. This translates into many hours of reading our AAA books and maps. As we were traveling from Richmond, VA to Washington D.C., I wanted to head west and travel at least one small section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. After Appomattox Court House we skirted around Lynchburg, and headed NE to Charlottesville, near the gateway to the Skyline drive, the very last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I noticed in the AAA book a small town on that route, named Schulyer (pronounced SKY-lar) that had a museum dedicated to the 70’s TV show “the Walton’s”. Do any of you remember it?

I had enjoyed that show, for its humor and warmth, good clean fun, love of family, and promoting hospitality and hard work. The museum was in Schulyer because that is where the writer Earl Hamner Jr. and his family grew up during the Depression. His stories about his family were the basis for the TV show. I decided we would visit the museum, and checked it out further on its website the night before going there. To my amazement I found that Earl was going to be visiting Schulyer the next day to do a book signing of his latest stories. To be honest, I didn’t even know he was still alive, since it had been so long since the show aired.  He is now 84 and lives in Southern California , so the coincidence that he would be there in Virginia just on the day we were visiting was beyond belief!  But then, we don’t believe in coincidences; those are just times when God doesn’t get credit for what He’s doing.

We went through the museum, housed in an old school almost across the street from where Earl grew up. It was very fun, with re-creations of some of the rooms from the show, a short movie about the show and cast, and a gift shop. Then we went just down the street to have Earl Hamner sign a book I had bought about the show. He and one of his sisters, Audrey, were there and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with them both. What kind, interesting people they were! As I told him, the thing I loved most was hearing his voice, since he was the narrator on the TV show. His voice, as I thought about it later, just made me feel GOOD inside. It gave me warmth for hours, reminding me of times gone by when people were happy no matter how much they did or didn’t have; they were hardworking, and enjoyed family time. It was a side-trip I will never forget.

P.S. The kids told me, understandably, that it was strange going through a museum about a TV show they have never seen. I hear it may be on some cable channels, but we don’t get cable at home. We have already checked, and we can borrow the videos from our library back home. I really want my kids to experience The Waltons for themselves.

Our two week visit with my folks (Oma and Opa) was much anticipated. They retired to Sarasota, Florida more than 15 years ago and our visits to the area have been infrequent. We had hoped to arrive in time for Christmas but our extended stay at Buras, LA and our slow rate of travel caused us to delay our visit until after the New Year. Playing the role of a good Oma, my mother spoiled us for the duration (the adults as well as the kids). We graciously accepted these excesses and basked in the comforts of a welcoming home, great meals, and lots of activities that involved beaches, sail boats, circuses and museums. I should mention that we usually cook all our meals on the bus and never eat out more than once a month. It’s of no coincidence that food is noted more than once in Caleb and Sarah’s journals.

We were able to park the bus at Scherer Park, a neat state park tucked away within the Sarasota suburbs. The park is well forested and gives no hint of the bustling city nearby. Kathy and I typically spent nights in the bus while the kids took turns at the folks house.

Caleb:
God must have a love for the beach. Why else would he create a place like Sarasota, Florida? Our time at Sarasota was one of being typical tourists with our grandparents on Dad’s side. We were fed many delicious meals while at our grandparent’s place such as runzas, shrimp, and steak — all of which were compliments of Oma. We traveled to all the best spots around Sarasota which is where our grandparents live. The ones that stood out for me were Oscar Scherer State Park (where we hiked many of their first-rate trails) and a circus-like Big Cats Show with many talented animals and performers. Opa took me and Kevin sailing with a friend of his to a nearby shipyard, for lunch we sailed to a Tiki restaurant where we merely tied the boat to a dock and walked in! Oma hosted an open house (or maybe I should say open bus) at the Oscar Scherer State Park which is where we stayed for the duration of our trip in Sarasota. Another amazing place was G-Wiz, a family place with many exhibits that demonstrate scientific laws in fun ways. Another highlight was a guided tour of the historic Spanish point. The last thing we did before our departure was to have a great dinner at a restaurant named DARUMA where if you order the right seats you can have your meal cooked right in front of you (the talented chefs make it into quite a show!)

Sarah:
First I must explain that Opa and Oma are Grandpa and Grandma in German. We arrived at Oscar Scherer Park early in the afternoon on January 11^th and Opa and Oma came by. We went to their house the next day and Mom and Oma got out their calendars and made a schedule of the 2 weeks we would spend with them.

We enjoyed hanging around their house, lounging in the living room, resting in the hot tub in their screened-in porch, or ‘taking a dip’ in their community’s pool. Oma likes treating us whenever we visited so we enjoyed Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, PB&J sandwiches (instead of soy nut butter. Yuck!), ice cream, and many delicious dinners.

We went out to 2 restaurants, Daruma and Sweet Tomatoes. Daruma was very interesting. They fried the food in front of you and then served it hot onto your plate. There was shrimp, chicken, steak, fried rice, and vegetables mainly. The cooks were very talented at what they did and manage to keep everyone entertained with tricks until the food was done, from twirling a knife to lighting their hand on fire.

Sweet Tomatoes was a buffet with many different choices, the most famous being their salad buffet. There was a balloon maker that went table to table making balloon animals for tips. I suppose us kids’ favorite part would have been the sundae maker, with ice cream and toppings :-)

One Sunday after church our family went to G-Whiz, a hands-on science museum. We had visited it several times before in our previous visits to Opa and Oma and I remember it fondly as my favorite ‘museum’. They had a new exhibit that we enjoyed called Mindball. You and a friend sit across from each other at a table, a ball in the middle. Trying to calm your mind and basically shut out all thoughts, relax, and go to sleep; a band strapped around your head can sense waves caused by relaxation or sleep. The more of these waves, the more the ball moves towards your opponent. The object is to have the ball roll all the way to your opponent. I’m not sure how it senses the brainwaves—all I know is that it’s cool. There were many other fascinating exhibits including a laser harp, a smoke ring creator (like from Gandalf’s pipe), and small ‘mind-boggling’ puzzles. (for more info on mindball- http://www.gwiz.org/mindballexhibit.htm )

We saw a Big Cat Show with lions and tigers and, um.. monkeys, oh my! We saw a clown performance at a theatre, and Mom and I went to see the Lipizzan horses of Austria. Everything was very amazing, but mostly I enjoyed what I haven’t been able to enjoy for a long time—a house, a bed, home-cooking, and family. Well, besides my family family. You know what I mean :-)