July 25-27, 2013 Shipshewana, Indiana

On Thursday, after our hugs and see you later with Bill and Shelly, we headed on our way south.  Our first stop was St. Joseph to drop off Andy’s amateur radios that were not working.  From there we made our way to the local Wal-Mart to drop off our cans and bottles. (Michigan has a $0.10 deposit on each can and bottle so we were able to get most of our deposit money back.)

We continued heading south into

and to the small village of Shipshewana.  We are staying at the Shipshewana Trading RV Park which is right next to their big flea market that takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday.

After setting up and having supper, we took a little drive around the area.  This area is mostly Amish so everywhere we look we see buggies, farms, horses - .  Beautiful!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 274 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Michigan: Sand Lake Road; Seaman’s Road; Brooks Road; 10 1/2 Mile Road; Merrillville Road; 10 Mile Road; SR-31; US-10; US-131; I-296; I-196; I-196/US-31; I-94; (Short side trip in St. Joseph to Wal-Mart to turn in recycles then to Nash Street to drop off Andy’s radios to be fixed) then M-139; US-31

Indiana: US-31; US-20; SR-5

Friday:

Elkhart and the surrounding area is known as the RV Capital of the US.  Not only are there many manufacturers and suppliers to the RV industry but there are RV surplus stores and other stores that do aftermarket work.  We have been thinking about doing some updating to the inside of our MH and we wanted to get some ideas of what to do and what kind of costs would be involved.

So off we went with our list from the internet.  About half of the places were shops that do the work (once you decide what you want), two were not there any longer, and the others we perused.  One shop especially, Factory RV Surplus, was wonderful.  They were friendly, helpful, and we were able to go thru their store and large warehouse full of “stuff”.  We did get some ideas and even found a couch we liked (although it would not fit through our MH door - - oh well).  We did pick up a few items we needed then headed back home.

We have been looking for a door part and have not been able to find it so we gave Fleetwood a call and they were able to help us.  So on Sunday, we are heading to Fleetwood in Decatur, Indiana.  We will stay at their campground and on Monday, take the tour through the factory and pick up our part.  Who knows, maybe I will hit the lottery by then and order a new home -  !

For supper we went to the Amish restaurant in town but the wait was very long.  They also give buggy rides:

We then headed to LaGrange to the local Moose Lodge. We had a wonderful time! On the way back, we went to Middlebury for an ice cream at their Dairy Queen -YUM!.

On Saturday, we just did a few chores and hung out - I think we are just touristed out!  A big store came through with a lot of rain and wind and the temperature has dropped.  .

Tomorrow we head to Fleetwood so stay tuned and enjoy today.

Lots of smileys today.

July 23-24, 2013 Road Trip and Time with Friends

Tuesday morning, 22nd, we all packed a lunch and headed to the coast of Lake Michigan.  The wind was strong which created some great waves:

Beautiful, isn’t it!

As you know, my bucket list is to put my feet in each of the Great Lakes.  Here I am in Lake Michigan:

And, yes, I got wet by a rouge wave - LOL!!

Here we are:

Found these cool flowers at one of the overlooks:

Michigan is known for their many lighthouses and each one is beautiful:

Great photo of Shelly and Bill:

The boys goofing off - check out Andy’s shirt:

Wave action on the breakers - the sound was loud!

From there we went to Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore.  Our first stop was the visitor center where we took in the exhibits and the movie and obtained maps and information on the park. 

“The Legend of Sleeping Bear
Long ago, along the Wisconsin shoreline, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam for many hours, but eventually the cubs tired and lagged behind. Mother bear reached the shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff to watch and wait for her cubs. Too tired to continue, the cubs drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear.”

There is a nice scenic road in the park and we had our picnic lunch there. .

The dunes and South Manitou Island in the background:

Lots of people climbing the dunes - looked like a lot of fun - :

What a beautiful park and we hope to return in the future.

Back home we started a campfire - the temperature has really dropped.

Here is our spot in the campground:

Campground road:

Enjoying the fire:

Bill and Shelly’s dog, Miles, enjoying himself:

On Wednesday, we all had a relaxing day hanging out, doing a few chores, and figuring out where we go next.  A big hug to Bill and Shelly and thank you for a great time.  It is always good to be with friends. 

Stay tuned for our next adventure and enjoy today.

July 21-22, 2013 Travel to Dublin and Friends

On Sunday, 21st, we woke to another BEAUTIFUL day, packed up and off we went south through the Upper Peninsula:

Across the Mackinac Bridge - Lake Huron on the left - Lake Michigan on the right:

Some interesting facts about the bridge:

“The Mackinac Bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world and  the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere.

All suspension bridges are designed to move to accommodate wind, change in temperature, and weight. It is possible that the deck at center span could move as much as 35 feet (east or west) due to high winds. This would only happen under severe wind conditions. The deck would not swing or "sway" but rather move slowly in one direction based on the force and direction of the wind. After the wind subsides, the weight of the vehicles crossing would slowly move it back into center position.

The steel superstructure will support one ton per lineal foot per roadway (northbound or southbound). The length of the steel superstructure is 19,243 feet. Each direction will, therefore, support 19,243 tons.  So this bridge will support a total of  is 38,486 tons (2 x 19,243 tons). “

WOW!

We continued our way south into the Manistee National Forest:

We are at Sand Beach Campground near Dublin, Michigan for a few days.  The weather cleared up so we had a nice campfire, cooked steaks over the fire - YUM - and enjoyed the fire into the evening.

On Monday, 22nd, our friends Bill and Shelly came into the campground and we spent the day getting caught up with each other and a great campfire into the evening.  We have not seen them since April and it is great to spend time with them again.

Stats for Sunday:

Miles Traveled: 218 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Michigan: Shunk Road; Three Mile Road; I-75 Business; I-75; US-31; US-131; 34 Mile Road; SR-115; SR-55; Snyder Road; Sand Lake Road