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11/3/08, Middlefield, OH - The horses and I took a day off at the Maddox farm on Monday. In the morning Jessica took me over to the blacksmith to pick up the horseshoes for the wheel team. The blacksmith welded Drilltex to the bottom of the shoes. I now have at least to complete sets of replacement shoes for all the horses. This should be enough for the next 3 months of travel.
Most of the day was gorgeous, sunshine and in the 60’s. I spent the first half of the day shoeing Joyce and Doc. In the afternoon, a reporter for the Middlefield paper stopped by for pictures and an interview. She had a great time feeding the team some carrots and apples.
All in all it was a really relaxing day for both myself and the team. They looked really good when I harnessed up the next morning. The Maddox family was terrific and I really enjoyed my stay there.
11/4/08 - Nelson, OH - The horses started off at a good pace in the morning. We drove about 4 miles, before taking our first break at a welding supply store. I enjoyed a cup of coffee and some conversation with an Amish horse trader named John and his friend/driver.
Nearly every Amish home I passed, whole families would step outside and wave as the wagon went by. Every time we passed a buggy, pleasantries would be exchanged and they would ask me about my journey. All the Amish people I met were really interested in my trip and thought it was pretty neat.
In the picture to the right, you can see the team after they were passed by one of those “speedster” buggies being pulled by a Standardbred trotter.
I included a couple of pictures of typical Amish homes. Nearly all of these homes are very neat and well maintained.
I’m staying tonight with Terry and Donna. Donna has a Quarterhorse and Terry has a nice Percheron gelding. The team is bedded down in a large paddock with a couple bales of second cut alfalfa. They treated me to a great dinner at the local diner. I would say that right now, the crew of the Amish RV is sitting quite fat and happy.
After talking to Terry, I’ve decided to take Rte 44 south to route 619 west (between Akron and Canton), then pick up US Rte 30 west to pick up Rte 42 (going Southwest). This seems to be the best route and avoids some big hills south of Cleveland.
And it was another great Indian summer day!
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