Farewell to Amish Country

It’s time to say goodbye to Shipshewana and the Amish countryside. During our time here, we roamed just about all the back country roads of northern Indiana.




We went to towns with names like Middleberry, Nappanee, Wakarusa, and Goshen. We bought cheeses, summer sausage, jams, and popcorn. We admired the handmade quilts and the craftsmanship of the beautiful Amish furniture.



We watched Amish farmers at work in the fields using the strength and power of their teams of horses instead of gas fueled tractors. Instead of worrying about the price of fuel, the local Amish used real horsepower!





We relished in the peace and quiet and the slower and simpler pace of life here. Now, it’s time to move on and get back to the world as we know it…fast paced and high tech…away from the horse drawn carriages, fields of corn, simple cotton dresses, and the way of life of these peaceful people and their idyllic world.

Our travels now take us back into Michigan to spend the Labor Day weekend with our friends John and Rosie. We will be in Brighton, Michigan at their home and back into the fast lane!

RVs and The Irish

When we came here, we didn’t realize that the Elkhart, Indiana area is the RV Capital of the World. Many manufacturers like Newmar, Monaco, Jayco, Forest River, Travel Supreme, and several others make this area their home base. Too bad Winnebago isn’t here! Anyway, Frank found it all quite interesting. He even found RV salvage places to scavenge about in, looking in every nook and cranny! It was definitely his TJ Maxx!!

We also found the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart…of course, we had to take the tour. This tour/building is relatively new and still has lots of room for future additions. We enjoyed looking at some of the new RV’s, but it was the old ones that really caught our attention. From Tennessee Travelers to early pull-a-longs, we looked them all over.








Another day, we took a little side trip to South Bend, Indiana. We wanted to take a look at Notre Dame…truly an impressive campus. We immediately saw the Gold Dome as we drove up the tree-lined avenue of the main entrance into the campus. We also found the football stadium of the Fighting Irish, the library with its beautiful outside mural, and then the campus bookstore.






What a busy place! Students were just returning for the fall semester and the bookstore was a beehive of activity! The hottest selling item was the new ’09 football tee shirt…over 75,000 sold the first day they came out! We picked up a few souvenirs for our Irish friends back home and then went on our way…back to Amish country!

Shipshewana, Indiana

We came to Elkhart, Indiana to have the hydraulics serviced on Pearl. Frank found out that there was an HWH specialist here, and instead of going to the RV dealer in Grand Rapids, we came to Elkhart on August 20. Leaving Traverse Bay and arriving at the Elkhart campground was like leaving the Garden of Eden and arriving in the slums…we weren’t in OZ anymore, Toto!! Thank goodness it was for only one night! Our service appointment was the next morning and without too much ado, the hydraulics were promptly taken care of! We even got an oil change later that afternoon.


Upon our arrival, we had gone scouting around for another campground to move to after our service. Friends told us about Shipshewana, Indiana that was about 20 miles from Elkhart. Shipshewana was like being in another world…maybe we were going to be in OZ again…this was Amish country!



Beautiful pristine white farm houses and barns dot the countryside here…of course, most without electricity. Acres and acres of cornfields create a “maize” of back country roads with their stalks standing sentinel. Horse and buggies and pony carts are everywhere up and down the highways demanding their place right along side the heavy trucks and cars that go whizzing by. It’s truly an amazing place and neither of us had ever heard of it!


Buggies parked at the local ball field and restaurant


We found the campground; in fact, there are two here: Shipshewana North and Shipshewana South. South is closer into town and the North campground had its own ice cream Tastee Freeze. We opted for the South campground thinking it would be safer…no ice cream!! But that doesn’t mean we haven’t found other bakery goods to take the place of ice cream…like Rhubarb Custard pie!! The Amish know how to cook!!


Our first meal was at the Blue Gate. This is a well known Amish restaurant in the small town of Shipshewana. Everyone told us to be sure and eat there; people from all over flock to this eatery. You can choose one of the family-style meals where all the dishes are brought out to be shared…fried chicken, salad, mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread dressing, chicken and noodles, and of course desert!! The eating continues!

Since arriving here on Thursday, we have been roaming the country roads and making discoveries around every corner. Tell you more later; we will be here for a few more days…leaving Friday, August 29.

Goodbye to Traverse City

Time to say our goodbyes to new friends at Traverse Bay Resort in Traverse City, Michigan. We spent from July 1 through August 19 here and chose to participate in many of the activities offered. We also had ample time to meet many interesting and great people! So here's a last look at some of the people and a few of the fun things that went on at Traverse Bay.

Frank's morning schedule was riding his bike to get the paper; then he would go to the clubhouse to sit on the porch and have coffee with the "Boys". They solved all the problems of the RV industry, the world's economy, and also elected a new President...results to follow! *LOL*



There were morning water aerobics....but do you see me in the pool?? Why, NO!!! I was sitting back at Pearl enjoying my morning coffee and relishing in the cool mornings while working on my crossword puzzle! I should have been exercising in the pool, or the exercise room, because we ate way too much Cherry Cinnamon Bread from Hoxies located too conveniently down the road a half mile!! Notice in the picture that Hoxies also carried Moomers ice cream!!




There were two Millennium Coach shows while we were there. It's always fun to go through those beautiful coaches...but a little out of our price range! At least the hamburgers and hot dogs were within our reach...they were free!! *LOL* Large crowds attended both shows and the first coach that was brought in sold!





Pizza nights and movie nights were on alternating Thursdays. Bingo was on Sunday nights along with ice cream socials. There was a Margarita Party and a Pasta dinner. A Happy Hour crowd went to Red Mesa Grill and a group called Guys and Dolls went to lunch at various restaurants in the Traverse City area. We signed up and went to just about all of these...that's how you meet people and have fun!! Frank even played some golf with the Monday golf group.



Of course you don't have a good time unless you meet great people and make friends! Here are a few of those new friends we made...at least some who got caught by my camera!



First, there was Betty and her Australian Shepard, Shadow. Betty was one of the first we met; Shadow would show off his routine of tricks...of course for treats!! Betty and her husband Dave, who also found himself on the porch drinking coffee in the mornings, winter at Silver Lakes down our way.









Then there were Lynn and Ann who reside in Stuart, Florida in the winter. Lynn is the "original" coffee drinker who started the coffee club. Ann is the most likable lady and loves to talk...don't we all!!




Another Lyn, nicknamed Dude, joined the morning coffee drinkers, and he and Frank became fast friends. Solving the wi-fi problems and supervising Frank's first attempt at cleaning out the hot water heater, gave them something else to do besides drink coffee. Through their friendship, I met Lyn's wife, Betsy. A lovely soft spoken lady who also retired from the educational field. Benji, their Sheltie, accompanies them as they travel. They make Titusville their winter home. We hope to travel over to The Great Outdoors to visit with them this winter!


Jerry rounded out the main foursome in the group of regular "world solvers". He and wife Ellen full time and spend their winters in Florida, also. Jerry and Ellen entertained a lively group at their site the day before we left. Pictured is Betsy, Barbara from Texas, Jan from Ft. Myers, and Jerry! Other party goers are in the pictures below.


Ring the wedding bells! Roy and Peggy are tying the knot!! This handsome couple from Arkansas have set the date...February 14...unless they decide to slip on off to Vegas! We enjoyed visiting and dining with these two...even a trip to Moomers! We drove up to Charlevoix and had lunch at the Weathervane while once again watching the boats and Beaver Island ferry come in and out of the channel. We had been there before with John and Rosie, but Roy and Peggy had not. We were delighted to share the afternoon with them and wish them best wishes for their future life together!!

Well, that's it in a nutshell of pictures! We had a great stay in Traverse City and met lots of really nice people! Sorry I didn't get a picture of more! Gail and Dooder...with a name like Dodder he has to be from the South, right! Yep, from South Carolina...and Mike and Jodie evaded my camera lens! We will see Mike and Jodie later in Destin as they travel back to Ft. Myers for the winter.

We did lots of exploring in the lake area, saw beautiful sights, found great restaurants along the way, and most importantly, made new friends! Traverse City will definitely see us again, and we hope all our "new" friends will remain our "old" friends as we hope to meet up again someday! Happy Trails Everyone!!