Disappointed in Elkhart In.

 

We are at Elkhart Campground in Indiana.  It is a very nice full service campground.   We normally stay at the fairground here.  We opted not to this time as I am fighting upper respiration infection and need some rest.

You may remember in our previous post that we have given our furniture to a worthy couple in Nobelsville.  It gave us a good feeling to support these youngsters, it was a moment of Serendipity for them.  So, we lived with lawn furniture for a couple of days.

Our new chairs meet 100% of our expectations.  They are pumice in color, it is unusual in that there are very few native pumice Naugas.  The tilt, recline, swivel, and are very comfortable.  Alas, they are lonely ;-(

The sofa is not ready yet.  So, we wait…

1000 Miles from Destination

OK, we refuse to call Connecticut ‘Home’, we usually refer to it as out ‘Birth State’. 

We stayed over night at River City Casino in St. Louis https://www.rivercity.com/.  Like many Casinos, they allow no cost RV parking for their customers.   Note  did not say ‘FREE’, nothing is free there.  We had a nice dinner and left no money!

We than drove to Cicero IN. for a final visit with our friends the Schaffer's.  We again stayed at White River campground which is very nice. 

Lots of folks tow a car behind their motorhomes. 

This fellow has a neat one.  For you gearheads, big block, duel quads with a 4 speed.  He drove it daily causing me to have youth memories!

We’ve donated our furniture (Sofa and 2 Chairs to a young couple that needed them.  Our next stop will be in Elkhart where we have the Amish fellows making replacements.

 

Unabashed ad here for Chick-Fill-A http://www.chick-fil-a.com/, home of the best chicken sandwich we can find.  The service is always outstanding also.  The north is really loosing out here!

Our Mexican Connection 2013 Kickoff

 

A special event last February was a caravan to Mexico sponsored by Chapter #8 ‘The Mexican Connection’.  The small group of dedicated volunteers leads a very well organized tour every year, last year we had 65 rigs.  We are motivated my warm weather, mild adventure, great value and finally we do charity that last year exceeded $5,000 to local caregivers.

At Escapade we have a kickoff to start our marketing blitz.  We convened at a local Mexican Restaurant where committee assignments were made.   Guess who was volunteered to be Social Chair Couple?   Her name rhymes with Anne-Marie. 

After the closing ceremonies of Escapade, We did Chips, salsa, cheeses, crackers, fresh veggies and dips for about 70 folks and there was plenty!  All this catered to a huge room with no kitchen facilities!

 

Did I mention Beer and Margaritas?

 

 

 

 

Our Wagon Master Charlie Boles gave an explanation of our scheduled tour to San Felipe next February.  Questions were asked and answered.

Had to put this somewhere, this puppy weighs 900,000 pounds!  Been sitting at the fairground about 50 years.

Escapade 2012 and we were there…

Escapade is the annual Convention of the Escap’s Club http://www.escapees.com/  that we belong to.  This year it was held in Sedalia Mo. at the Fairground.  There were almost 600 RV’s, a good time was had by all.  The picture depicts one of the evening entertainments.

About 40 vendor of RV merchandise were on hand to to fill out needs, both real and imagined.  We signed up with GMAC auto insurance as the have new Mexican Comp & Collision coverage for about $8 on our RV.  Last year we paid $450+ for 2 weeks!

For a little bit of fluff, we bought a new tank level sensor for our 4 holding tanks.  This uses external mounted electronic sensors which are very accurate, removing much of the concern that happens with the previous system which relied on the phase of the moon, at best it gave us a SWAG.

Yakof Smirnoff http://www.yakov.com/ was our entertainment on opening night.  He is very funny, giving a 2 hour impromptu performance. It was surprised to learn he has advanced degrees in psychology, the last 1/2 hour he was rather profound in expressing his love for his country and his fellow man.

 

Of the 1200 people at the event, I was the one reportable injury.  The First Aid folks were withering on the vine when I walked in with blood running down my arm.  I had a pile of blood soaked bandages covering the wound.  I explained that I had fallen down my stairs {truth} and that I had pushed the bone back in [later proven false}.  Note, this happened at 9:00am.  The empty glass in photo at at about 7:00pm and did not contribute to my flying lesson.  I was awarded 8.7 points by our neighbor’s for style after point deductions for inappropriate language.

Note, the wound was really a no account 10 inch abrasion on the forearm, my blood thinners made it appear to be a near amputation.

 

 

 

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Go West Young Man…

As I write this we are in Sedalia Missouri. Our 240 mile road trip took us over several sections of the somewhat fabled Route #66.  Memories come back of 2 young fellows out for misadventure.

 

The specialty of the  #66 Café in Litchfield, IL was a “Horseshoe”.  It consisted of 2 pieces of toast, 2 fresh burgers {chicken, ham, roast beef}, topped with a mound of fries, and an ocean of cheese sauce.  Anne-Marie is pictured with a ‘PonyShoe’ which is 1/2 order.  Caution, do not divulge consumption of this delight to your cardiologist! 

 I visited Gilespie Lodge and had a nice time at their 1st  stated communication of after summer refreshment period.  Small town, Brick building heavily endowed.  Air Conditioned on all levels with high quality upkeep.  The Brothers were very friendly, happy to have Anne-Marie sit out the meeting in the library.  Ham & Bean Soup for refreshment.

We went to the top of the arch in St Louis, Great museum at the base.  This is the best view I got when shooting straight down.

Living Large as we wander the country side.

 

 

Abe and the Arch Roaming and Relaxing in Illinois

We have about 10 days between The Gypsy Rally in Indiana and Escapade in Missouri.  We moved into Honey Bend, a very pleasant Coast to Coast campground between St. Louis and Springfield.  There are a few items in the area we want to visit  The Lincoln Presidential Library and Tomb are high on the list.  The presentation at the library is very well done!  There are a great many volunteers who are ready to explain exhibits and guide you on your way.

 

 

The Family Tomb is central to a huge cemetery.                                                                         It was kind of nice to get a group photo.   

The nose on Abe’s Bust is polished by countless folks who feel the need to touch it.

 

 

Ok, she just had to do it.

Next, we go on to St. Louis and the Arch.

Celina Ohio: The Gypsy Journal Rally at Mercer County Fairground

 

 

We have moved from Easter Ohio to Western Ohio.  This was about 250 miles of gentle rolling farmland, highlighted by small towns which are rife with churches and tractor dealers.

This Rally is our first experience with the group that is comprised of devotees of The Gypsy Journal.We are expecting the remnants of Hurricane Isaac which will consist of heavy rain and possible wind.  I’ve been accused of parking close to this huge motorhome so I can tie down to him.    The Gypsy Journal is a quarterly news paper Owned-written and distributed by Nick & Terry Russell.  He is and author and holds rallies with the purpose of training and helping the RV community self-improve.

Commonly folks will gather around a campfire, campfires are not allowed here due to the severe drought. I invite them to gather around my storm drain at night.

We did have some impressive thunder showers, nothing that could dampen our spirits.

 

 

Larry and Melissa Beahm, better know as One More Time, took to the stage and presented a wonderful concert full of foot tapping, hand clapping music, with everything from show tunes to golden oldies, to appearances from Elvis, Cher, and Nancy Sinatra. I’ll tell you what, if you haven’t heard this husband and wife couple perform at an RV rally or campground, you’re missing a good time!

I was not allowed to enter in the Beauty Contest, there were some Beauties here.  Cleavage stuffage resulted in $260 to charity. Nick Russell is the gentleman on the right, a true 4x guy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Boomers did manage to have a cocktail hour one evening.  I used this event to début my Mexican Connection badge.

We are now moving on the the Escapade, please comment if you read this as I need feedback.

Elkhart, Shipshewana and the new Bentley

Elkhart Indiana is pretty much the center of RV manufacturing in this country.  About 6 manufactures there build 80% of the campers on the road.  The area is dotted with specialty shops and surplus dealers.  You can buy most goods at 50% off.  We are looking to upgrade a few things, this is the place to do it!  We will return in September on our trip back East.

Meet the new Bentley.  We found her at the HUGE flea Market is Shipshewana Indiana.  This flea market is in the canter of Amish Country.  Hope she is as faithful a guard as her name sake,

Go to: http://www.shipshewana.com/featured.php?page_id=866

The local had great food but very little regard to common fire laws.

We also stopped at National RV Refrigeration to buy a part  http://www.fixyourfridge.com/  Very accommodating these fellows specialize in rebuilding RV refrigerators.  They have very high skill level as the Amish only use propane refrigerators, they also manufacture internal parts which exceed OEM stuff.