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.