Second year at Amazon.com

We’ve started our second year working for Amazon.com.  I know we said last year that we would never do this again (never say never) but, this year we decided we would try Campbellsville, Kentucky instead of Kansas to see if it would be different.  So far so good!
We do have a better park.  They will deliver propane to us, we are level,  FHU’s, great water pressure and 50 amp power.  We can also get our mail right here at the park. However, it is a new park so it is all gravel with no trees. With the storm that came through yesterday, there is still some standing water but nothing like the swamp we had in front of our door last year!
We have had our orientation yesterday and today we started our training.  Our training here is much better than it was last year.  Last year we were taken to the receiving department and had a few hours of training on the fly.  Here they are really taking the time to train in the reasons why we do things the way they do.  Much easier to understand.  We have 2 more days of training…working only 5 hrs a day.  We then will be working another 3 days at 5 hrs a day before we start working our 10 hr days.  They call this ‘conditioning’. Maybe it will help.  By the time we start working our 4 10 hr days, we almost expect the be working an extra 10 hr day for overtime.  Amazon’s peak will be mid Nov to the week of Christmas. 
So far, the weather has been great (except for the storm that went through here yesterday). The area around Campbellsville is much nicer than the area in Kansas.  I will try to get some pictures of the area in later blogs.  We have also been able to reconnect with some of the people we worked with last year.  That’s always a great perk!
So go to Amazon’s web page and take a look at some of the items available.  There’s not much you can’t get from Amazon.com!!
Till next time…..

Just another day in Kentucky

We are in Campbellsville, Kentucky waiting to start our winter job at Amazon.com. Today we had to drive to Bardstown for a drug test and since we were in the area, stopped at My Old Kentucky Home State Park. 

It’s claimed that Stephen Foster wrote the song after visiting this home.  I think the original lyrics were changed to the current version when it became the state song of Kentucky. 
A short film we saw seems to indicate that he wrote the song after reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin.


It was a song sung by slaves.. after having been sold ..had to leave the Kentucky Home they knew.  
Fredrick Douglas thought the song brought a new awareness in the northern states about slavery.
Stephen Foster also wrote Oh Susanna, Old Folks at Home (Swannee River), Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair (said to be written for his wife) and Beautiful Dreamer. 

Appomattox, Virginia

On our way out of Chesterfield, Virginia we stopped at Appomattox.  After retreating from Petersburg and Richmond, Lee found himself outside Appomattox Court House.  Grant had sent word to Lee asking for his surrender but Lee thought he could make it to the railroad to get supplies.  Grant cut off this route and Lee had no choice.  He sent his aide, Lt. Col. Charles Marshall to find an appropriate place to meet with Grant.  It was Palm Sunday and the Court House was closed.  He finally approached Wilmer McLean and was told that they could use his parlor. 

In the terms of surrender, Grant only asked that the confederates pledge not to take up arms against the United States.  Officers were allowed to keep their side arms and any confederate soldier who owned a horse was allowed to take it home with him.  These generous terms began the process of reunification.  Signs along the road before you get to Appomattox claim it as the ‘place where the country reunited’.

        

Printing presses where set up in the Clover Hill Tavern.  Printers worked in relays to print 30,000 blank parole forms.  These parole passes were given to all the soldiers, so they could return to their homes and not be stopped as a deserter.

This person was in period dress.  He was a local doctor who lived in Appomattox at the time. He spoke about the town before the war. It was a farming community. Most had slaves and grew mainly tobacco.   There were no battles ever fought in the area until the end.  At one time during the war the Union Army was getting close so the townspeople went out and burned the bridges across the river!  These people dressed in period dress are always fun to listen to. 

 

It was a good day and well worth the time.

Family Visit

We have been in Chesterfield, Virginia visiting with daughter Kim, SIL Mark and granddaughter Savannah.  It’s been a good 10 days.  We’ve been able to see Savannah cheer at 2 football games, go to the Pumpkin Patch and play a couple of games of Rumikube. 
While its always sad to leave, we know that we will be back through here again in April on our way back to New York.  Hopefully, we will be able to see her softball game at that time. 

Valley Forge, PA

We had wanted to see Valley Forge for sometime and I had been looking for campgrounds close.  I could never find anything and then realized it was only 70 miles from Hershey.  So on our last day, we packed a picnic lunch and took off.

Our first stop was the main Visitor Center.  They have a good short film, and extensive displays.  We picked up a map and took the driving tour.  Didn’t realize that it was so big.  They have different stops along the route with ample parking for cars. 

Washington choose to winter at Valley Forge because of its close proximity to Philadelphia.  Only 20 miles away, it was close enough to put pressure on the British but far enough way to prevent a surprise attack.  Valley Forge got its name from the iron forge built along Valley Creek.  Washington refers to it as ‘Valley of the Forge’.
Upon arrival, the men started to build huts.  There are several on them all around the park.  Each brigade had its own area.  


Each of these huts slept 12 men.  It wasn’t the cold or hunger that killed many of the men…it was disease.   Most common were influenza, typhoid and dysentery.  Most died in the spring months when supplies were more abundant. 










Washington rented this house from Issac Potts who was a local ironmaster.
Unlike the British, Washington paid 100 pounds for the use of the house for the winter. 
There were several rooms where his aides worked with him.  Upstairs there were 2 bedrooms.  The attic was used for the servants.  The small attached building was the kitchen.







In February, Baron von Steuben arrived and started a training program for the men that would help them become a more proficient army.  The men worked hard at this and Valley Forge became the place where the men gained a new sense of purpose that helped sustain them through the remainder of the war.






This monument commemorates the “patience and fidelity” of the soldiers who wintered at Valley Forge.















Small marker for the “Unknown Soldiers”

It was a good day.