Cabalas and Longaberger Basket

Cabalas and Longaberger Basket Company (still hot in Madison!!!)

We left Elk Neck State Park on June 14, and headed to Schellsburg, PA for our first Group Dinner at Bedford. It is a very pretty area with rolling hills and farms along with ponds and small lakes. We stayed at Shawnee State Park and moved on to Dillon, OH the next morning. As we drove toward OH on Route 30, we passed beautiful pastoral countryside, Bison grazing, and picturesque farms as well as some very poor areas, We climbed the Allegany Mountains passing “Ball Knob Summit” at a height of 2,906 feet. We traveled past windmills, Camp Allegany ( a Methodist Church Camp), Schanks-
ville (Flight 93 Memorial), a massive, though “well organized” junk yard, and the Hoffman Nursery.
At Wheeling, WVA, we stopped for lunch and shopping at Cabala’s-always a fun place. Then we were on the road to Delaware, OH and a visit to the Longaberger Basket Company the next morning.
It was really fun touring the famous Longaberger Company and watching the baskets actually being made-all by hand! The amazing thing about the company is that it was started by David Longaberger who continued the basket making legacy that his father began many years ago. David was one of 12 children, and he was learning disabled, epileptic, had social problems, and graduated high school at age 21 .He was very customer driven, and worked hard to treat his employees and customers very well. It was very impressive facility, and we enjoyed a good lunch and shopping in the surrounding businesses in the complex. The baskets command a very high price, and I couldn’t see spending that kind of money when I have all the supplies at home! I am glad I saw it though. The picture of the large basket with the flags in the foreground is their office building. It is a fun place to see!
In the “small world” department, we met folks at Longerberger who were from Allentown, PA (not far from DE), and he is from Madison, SD. My Aunt Lucille traveled to Madison to play for a “polka” service at a church there when we were visiting her. It is fun meeting folks along the way and finding out our commonalities.
Tomorrow we will visit the OH State Capitol in Columbus.

Take good care, and we will catch up with you later!
Mary Ann, Les, and Miss Polly

Leaving Milton

Hello Family and Friends (June 24)
We are here in Madison, and this is the first time we have actually had time to sit down and share our travels with you. We had a rough start as Les had hurt his shoulder, and splashed battery acid on his hand before we even left Milton. This has made the trip a little more stressful for us than otherwise, but here we are! As you can see, the Buzzards bid us ‘Happy Travels” as we left the camp ground! Is this their idea of a joke, or what!!!!
Our first stop was Elk Neck State Park in Maryland for a Unit Rally. What a great time we had visiting some of the towns around there. We missed the Port Deposit tour unfortunately. But you will note scenes from the charming town of Havre De Grace. Lafayette named the town “Harbor of Grace” from a town in France. The town is rich with history, quaint shops, and great restaurants. Elk Neck is a wonderful Park, and we camped there many years ago when Tripp and Chris were young.
Because of Lester’s ‘infirmities” I have had to learn some new skills to add to my “collection”.
1. Hook up and unhook the trailer.
2. Dump the tanks- I learned that the sewer hose MUST be
“securely” hooked in place before I open the valves!!!!!!
I also learned that one MUST keep the hose attached to the
drain until the dumping is “complete!!!!!
3. ALWAYS check the trailer after a rest stop to make sure
the door is SECURELY CLOSED!!!! It is such a good feeling to be driving around Chicago with Jersey Barricades on one side of you and looking in the mirror to see the trailer door wide open!!!!!!! Where does one stop to close it????????? But, amazingly, everything was still there, including Les’s ID bracelet that was perched upon the shelf right next to the open door!!!! Thank heaven, God takes care of us who are not too sharp sometimes!!!
As I said, we are here in Madison, waiting for the Rally to begin. It is 98* and we are on 3 amp power-NO AIR CONDITIONING!!!! It was pretty bad yesterday, and it about got the best of me. But today is only 96* so we are doing better! Polly is a tropical bird, but she has never been there!!! Wouldn’t it be terrible if something happened to Polly, Chris???????? But, we didn’t get the tornado that passed over the camp ground we had stayed in Janesville a few days ago. We will keep this blog coming as long as we can have a little “cool” in which to write. We have lots to share with you.
We miss ALL of you. Take good care, and we will catch you later.
Love,
Mary Ann, Les, and Miss Polly