The Annual Pilgrimage

Posted on June 23, 2014 by prairiemoonquilts in Travels

And by that I mean our annual family outing to The Allis Connection‘s Tractor Show in Amana, Iowa, every Father’s Day weekend.

It’s my sister, our brother, Darin, me, our father, and our cousin, Deno, piling into the truck and driving 4 hours one way to spend the day looking at antique tractors.

The outing is made a bit more appealing to my sister and I, knowing that there are quilt shops for us to sneak off to at some point during the day, and also by the knowledge that there’s a really good home-cooked meal at the end of the day to look forward to.

The guys just like looking at and talking about tractors all day. So much so, that Darin and Deno, neither of whom can really sit still for very long, will brave the road trip trapped in the truck without complaint.

Well, maybe not completely without complaint, but little enough that it doesn’t make Katy pull the truck over and deal out punishment!

I think the show was bigger than ever this year, and it was an absolutely gorgeous weather day for it. Not too hot, a good breeze, sunshine . . .

We got there just as they were starting the parade. So as they were rolling back in, I snapped this shot of this nice tractor.parade

And I liked this one, too. It’s a 1952 Model CA.1952CA

While the guys were busy, Katy and I snuck off to the quilt shops. First, we visited Heritage Designs Quilting and Needlework, in Main Amana.

Then we drove over to South Amana to see Fern Hill Gifts and Quilts. Love this place! It’s huge — we didn’t even get to see everything. We’ve sworn that next year, we’ll hit this one first to make sure we have enough time before the guys summon us back to the tractor show.

And here’s my haul for the day — not much, but it all has a purpose. You’ll just have to keep checking back in to see what that is!fabric

When we got back to the tractor show, we had a bit of time to kill before dinner, so we drove down to Homestead and walked through the “other” tractor show, the one the Minneapolis Moline folks have down there.MiniRow

Deno had me take a picture of this one, maybe the largest one there.BigMini

The dinner was fabulous, as usual, and after we got our bellies full, we piled back in the truck and made it home before midnight.

And as usual, the day was filled with quotable quotes spouting from the mouths of my family members (and some not quotable as well), so I’ll leave you with some choice nuggets of wisdom that will make you wish you were there (or glad you weren’t):

“Before the day is over, I’m not gonna know if I need a nap, more coffee, or an exorcism.”

“I’m gonna die owin’ you money. You shoulda killed me when we were even.”

“I smell a polecat.”

“I don’t think he goes by a mirror without throwin’ a kiss at it.”

“She controlled her temper pretty good through that. I’m proud of her.”

“Do you need to go off by yerself and de-bitch?”

“They wanted to give me a $100 Wal-Mart gift card.”
“What were they punishing you for?”

“He’s a chicken shit.”
“Yer dad really needs to learn to say what’s on his mind.”

“When I get stressed out, I get gas. It’s all yer fault, ’cause you been bein’ mean to me all day. I can’t help it, when I get nervous, I get flatulent.”
“Well, I hope you get it all outta yer system before we get back in the truck!”
“We’re gettin’ along OK now. I think I can relax a little.”

0 responses to “The Annual Pilgrimage”

  1. I just love your reports on these kinds of trips–and wish I could have been there to visit the quilt shops and admire the tractors!

  2. Ranch Wife says:

    LOL – I’m pretty sure I would have busted a gut if I had been on that trip with y’all. What a hoot. Seems like y’all just went to the tractor show. Dang years just keep flying by.

  3. Cindy says:

    Glad you had a good trip and good weather this year. Can’t wait to see what you make out of the fabric you bought!

  4. Doris says:

    One of these years I need to drive over and meet you for a shop visit or lunch or something!

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