Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017 – Costco, Burninghams, Amana Colonies, Iowa’s Largest Rocking Chair

For our P-day we headed two hours north to Iowa City to go shopping at Costco. We checked in at the Tire Department to price tires and we discovered our good friends Elder & Sis. Burningham buying tires too.  

Our next stop was in the “Must Visit” tourist town of the “Amana Colonies.” There are seven small communities that make up the colonies. They were founded in 1856 by German Pietists, escaping religious persecution. Today, the Seven Villages of Amana are a tourist attraction known for their restaurants, bakeries, handcrafted products, chocolate, antiques, furniture and craft shops. The colonies were listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

Have you ever heard of the “Amana Radar Range?” Well, it has its origins in these Amana Colonies. Amana produced the first practical commercial microwave oven in 1967. Who knew?

During our tour of the Amana Colonies we stopped to see Iowa’s “Largest Solid Walnut Rocking Chair.” We had our picture taken like all good tourist. But we really enjoyed all of the handcrafted furniture and other woodworking items. We had a very good day of site seeing.