Moving Along

When we last left you, we were getting ready to go to dinner at an Amish home.  I had no idea what to expect, but we have read and heard that the Amish people do not like to have their pictures taken, so I didn’t take my camera.  Luckily, a few others in our group did take theirs, so I’ve “borrowed” a couple from them to share.  No one took pictures of the hosts, but there were pictures taken of the house and our group.

Molly and Bob, who are working hard on the Escapade, took time out of their busy schedule to set this dinner up with the Amish family and invite us, so we started by meeting them at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds where they are parked as staff.  They led the way to our destination, since they have been to this home once before.  There are several Amish families in the area who do these dinners for groups.  We went to the home of Levi and Esther, who serve the dinners in the basement of their beautiful home (Thanks, Dee, for the use of your picture!):

Another group had a dinner just before us, they were still clearing out when we came in.  This is a business venture for the Amish, each person pays about $20 for their dinner, which is served family-style at long tables (Thanks, Dee & Darrell, for these pictures):

 

Levi started the meal by offering a blessing, spoken in German.  He followed that by bringing baskets of homemade bread and drinks, either punch, coffee or water.  The next course was a delicious salad with chopped vegetables in a mayonnaise-type dressing.  After that out came stuffing, homemade noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy, roast beef, baked chicken, and then seconds of all of that.  Plus more bread with homemade jellies and jams.   Each time Levi came out of the kitchen, he had two bowls or platters of food which he handed to the first people on each side of the table.  This was some of the best tasting food I’ve ever had!  But we weren’t done yet – just when we all thought we were too full to move, Esther appeared with a cart of desserts – slices of homemade apple, coconut cream, raspberry cream or chocolate cream pies, and a huge bowl of scoops of ice cream!

Finally, after we were all groaning at the amount of food we’d consumed, we were given a short tour of the grounds around the property, and Levi’s garage, which is as spotless and neat as the rest of the property.  In fact, it is so nice that when they have very large groups, they use the insulated garage as a serving area.  Since they don’t have cars, only buggies, stored there, even the floor is spotless!  They do have a boat, however, and a travel trailer, which they hire someone to tow for them.  Even though they don’t drive cars, they will ride in them.  I noticed that there was power to the garage, so when I asked Levi about it, he said they do have a generator to provide power, but they are not hooked into public power sources.  If they need power for conducting business they can use it.

We asked Levi a few questions about how they prepare the meals, if he helps, and so forth.  Esther has been cooking these dinners for about 20 years.  Her first husband developed health issues that prevented him from working, so she started off baking, and eventually started serving dinners from her home.  She continued to do so after her husband passed away.  She and Levi, who was also widowed, have been married about 3 years now, and he does help with the food preparation as well as the serving.  They do about 3 or 4 dinners a week during the summer months.

If you visit this area and have the opportunity to attend one of these dinners, don’t pass it up, it is a very special occasion!

Yesterday, Jim and Mark took our Euro-recliner to Lambright’s Comfort Chairs factory near Shipshewana and left it with them to be sold and the money donated to charity.  They came back with Jim’s new, Amish made recliner, which he likes so much I haven’t had a chance to get a picture of it yet – but I will and promise to post it soon.  I like it too, because when he’s not reclined in it, there is no footstool sitting in the middle of our floor, and our home looks much roomier!

Last evening, a “few “of us gathered for one last happy hour at the Elkhart Campground, where we’ve been hanging out for the past few weeks.  The group just keeps growing:

This morning was moving time!  A big group of us, I never did figure out exactly how many rigs total, but I think there are 12 to 14 RV’s, all moved about 12 miles from the Elkhart Campground to Goshen and the Elkhart County 4H Fairgrounds, where the 50th Escapade will be held, starting this Sunday.  It was quite a parade of RV’s rolling through Elkhart and Goshen!  As we were getting parked and settled, Molly stopped by to welcome us, and to see if Jim and I would fill in for staff photographers who had to leave due to a family emergency.  Of course we said sure, so not even an hour into our first Escapade experience, we are now “official” photographers for the event! 

Our new yard at the Fairgrounds:

There was one upsetting event that took place today, however.  One of our group, Greg (Mac), began having difficulty breathing and experiencing chest pains just after he got here.  He was taken to the hospital where he was taken care of and given lots of tests.  He is ok, though and back at his rig tonight.  Our prayers are with you, Mac, take care of yourself, we hope to have lots more fun times with you and Netters!

This evening we attended the staff appreciation dinner, and guess what – I won the first door prize (just what I need – 4 free servings of ice cream here at the Escapade!):

The next few days are going to be even busier than we anticipated, and I will try to save some pictures to share with you!

Rally Over, Fun Continues

Our first Gypsy Journal Rally has become a fond memory!  We both learned some new things, met some new friends and enjoyed our experience.  Our group of friends is still here at the Elkhart Campground, and we’re still having a great time this week as we wait for the Escapees big 50th Escapade, which begins on Sunday.

Sunday morning we got up bright (well, maybe it wasn’t so bright that early), packed up the Castle and I drove it over to a big, empty parking lot just a few blocks away for my driving lesson.  Yes, I signed up with Dick Reed’s RV Driving School to take a 4-hour, personalized class to learn more about driving this coach.  My instructor was Denny Orr, who is a very brave and patient man!  We started out with some backing up practice.  Below, Denny is setting out cones.  He instructed me to stay about a foot away from them as I backed in a straight line:

And before long, I was backing around corners and between cones to replicate a back-in space at an RV park:

I drove around the vacant parking lot for quite awhile, practicing turns and backing until I was pretty comfortable.  Ok, time to get out on the road!  Denny had me drive around the streets of Elkhart, down a country road, and into a Wal-mart parking lot that was most definitely not vacant!  Yes, I even turned right down a row between parked cars!  I did highway driving, drove through construction zones and more city streets.

What an adventure!  Finally it was time to bring the Castle home, and Denny had me going through some very tight turns in the RV Park on the way back to our space.  He had Jim guide me as I backed into our space, even though we are in a pull through, he wanted me to have the real-world experience of a back-in site.  Once safely parked, I got my certificate:

Yay!  I passed!

On Labor Day, we rested from all our labors of the past year.  Good thing we have that one day each year to rest up!

Yesterday, a bunch of us went to breakfast.  Afterwards, we rode with Dortha and Mark over to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.  Dortha and I walked the dunes and beach:

While Jim and Mark stood guard over our shoes:

After our walk, we drove through a Michigan City park to get a good view of the lighthouse there:

To make it just about a perfect day, we stopped by the Blue Chip Casino, and played a few slot machines, just long enough to lose some and win it back.

When we got back to the Elkhart Campground, we found that Dee & Jim and Judy & Darrell have arrived.  They will be going to the Escapade too.  After a quick dinner at a local eatery, The Chubby Trout, several us got together for the regular evening game of Hand & Foot.

Tonight, a group of us are going to dinner at an Amish home.  This is a pretty special event, from all that I understand.  More details in the next entry!

Busy Days, Fun Evenings

The rally is underway and already into the third day.  Time is flying, and we are not still for long! 

Before I get into activities and pictures, I want to answer a question from a reader about the “lime cure” for Jasmine’s barking.  When she barks, I just squirt a few drops of lime juice from the plastic lime directly into her mouth.  Most of her barking, especially when we’re out walking, has stopped.  She still reacts when someone knocks on the door, but now she’s responding to “stop” when I pick up the lime.  Progress!

Monday was the opening day of the rally.  Most of the vendors were all set up and ready for business.  We picked up our name badges, got signed up with our door prize ticket, and went to the opening ceremony in the afternoon.

This is the big tent, where we all gather for the evening announcements, door prize give-aways, entertainment, etc.  Some of the seminars are held here during the day:

Visiting and getting acquainted:

 

We won the last door prize of the evening – a new patio mat!  WooHoo!

Nick, just about to read our name:

Yesterday was a busy day!  Jim and I both attended several seminars and picked up some great information.  Oh, yes, and also picked up some items we needed, but didn’t know we needed!  The most significant is an Electrical Management System.  We’ve been dragging one of those big, bulky surge protectors around with us since we bought the Castle.  It protects against electrical surges, but not much else.  Today we’ll have the new system installed that will protect us from low voltage, reverse polarity, open neutral, open ground, as well as surges.  If you are interested in more detail, it is the EMS-HW50C from Progressive Industries.

Last night was a special entertainment opportunity, with the “beauty contest” to select the best Hoosier Honey!  Many of you have probably seen either a Facebook video provided by Chris Guld (Geeks on Tour), or other blog pictures.  I have an inside look, since Jim was a participant! 

Check out some of these beauties:

 

One by one, these “gals” were escorted to the stage:

And finally, the 2010 Eastern Gypsy Jornal Rally’s Hoosier Honey (AKA Jim Guld of Geeks on Tour) was crowned.

It was all for a good cause, though, as $450 was raised for the Escapee’s CARE organization.  CARE stands for Continuing Assistance for Retired Escapees, which is basically a type of assisted living for full-time RVer’s and is located at the Livingston, TX Rainbow’s End park.

The Hoosier Honey, collecting some money:

But these weren’t the only honeys having a great time:

Dennis Hill , RV Driving School owner, and Stu (2 Taking a 5th) ham it up before the beauty contest:

Someone put on some dancin’ music after the show, and my our line dancing classmates and I just couldn’t resist!

What a great time we’re having!

Keeping Up The Pace

Early mornings, busy days, fun evenings, great weather, wonderful friends, how could it get better – we are enjoying and treasuring every day.  As I reported on Thursday, there was a definite chill in the air when we got up.  That didn’t last long, the sun soon warmed  us and we ended up with a beautiful day.

After line dancing class, a bunch of us (I think our count was around 14 or 16 people) visited the RV Hall of Fame and Museum located here in Elkhart.  This is a “must see” when in this area.  There are several components to it, including a display of the latest in designs for today’s RV’s, a hall displaying equipment and accessories – anything from tow bars to refrigerators; a large display of historical RV’s dating from the early 1900’s to the 1970’s; and a huge reference library.

Chuck, Kathy, Dortha and Mark on the RV Museum Tour:

This 1931 House Car was specially built for Mae West.  Although it was not for camping, she was transported to and from movie sets in it:

After our visit, we figured out we were all really hungry, so we split up and went in different directions, it seems everyone had different plans for the afternoon.  Dortha, Mark, Jim and I ended up over in Shipshewana at the Dutchmaid Diner.  This is a buffet-type restaurant recommended to us by John & Bridgett.  Great recommendation!  It was delicious, I would like to go over there again before we get out of this area.  Have you ever had German Chocolate Pie?  Yes, Pie!  Dortha & Mark split one piece and Jim & I split another.

Following our lunch, we decided to go back to one of the furniture places we’d tried to visit before, but was closing  early for that day just as we got there.  This is the Lambright RV Retail Outlet, not far outside Shipshewana.  We did find a chair Jim likes very much, but we’re not sure yet if we will get it.  We’ve sent an e-mail to the manufacturer of the Euro-recliner he has now, to see if the bottom ring can be replaced.  Stay tuned for the outcome on that.

We got back to the campground in time for happy hour and a Mexican-style potluck dinner with our group. 

Friday morning was the last line dancing class.  I went early for the advanced beginner session and found I was totally lost with the new steps, oh well, it was still great fun!  After class, Jim & I took off and had lunch, then I went for a pedicure at a local salon. while Jim waited in the car with a good book.  We needed to stop at the store on the way home to pick up hot dogs for the evening’s hot-dog grill.  We got back in time for a large happy hour, attended by a great group of people, probably close to 40 or so.  It was held under the big tent that’s been set up for the rally next week.

A little before noon today we finally got going towards Michigan to check out the Round Barn Winery.  Actually, we ended up at one of their tasting rooms, after which we tried a restaurant recommended by one of the winery staff members. I thought that was another good choice!  We made our way to a small beach along Lake Michigan for a quick look and short walk before coming back to the campground.

Dortha gets her feet wet every time she finds water!

This evening’s activities included the usual happy hour, but since the Dallas Cowboys had a pre-season football game on TV, we came on home from that a little early. 

Tomorrow is our last day to get things done before the rally, I have a feeling it will be busy!