RV Museum & Shipshewana

Monday through Wednesday

Went to the RV museum first thing in the morning. They had travel trailers built from the early 1900’s. They were very small & light, as you would suppose; designed to be towed by the very early Ford cars. The first series of Winnebago motorhomes was also displayed along with the classic GMC models from the early ‘70’s.
After that we headed to Shipshewana via Middlebury. Had a good lunch at the Das Dutchman Essenhaus restaurant. Carol was good; she had a fruit/yogurt plate. I had a meatloaf sandwich & mashed potatoes all smothered in gravy.
After lunch we continued to Shipshewana. Stayed in the Shipshewana RV Park. This is right on the grounds of the Flea Market. The market is on Tuesday & Wednesday of each week.
We thoroughly enjoyed these three days. We thought the Green Dragon market in Ephrata, PA was big. This place is huge. Over a hundred vendors, an antique auction, animal auction, on site restaurant, meat & cheese market, on & on. Carol bought a new fleece jacket & some Mary Kay stuff. We got a cedar engraved name sign for use in the campgrounds, (says Ed, Carol & Gopher). I enjoyed the booths with all the dollar stuff. I always found something I just had to have. On Tuesday night we went to dinner. In the morning we head towards Goshen for a few days.

Michigan City & Elkhart, IN

Saturday, June 06, 2009

In the morning we headed to the Washington Park & Beach in downtown Michigan City. The park entry had a big “No Dogs” sign so we parked by the City Marina instead. Continued on to the Creek Ridge County Park. “This 122 acre park offers accessible boardwalks, … and a no-leash dog area, and salmon fishing on Trail Creek”. We all enjoyed the paved paths and Gopher had a nice swim in the creek and a good run in the off-leash area. A very nice County park. In the afternoon we made a Wal-Mart run and stopped at Meijers store. It’s an upscale Wal-Mart. Nice fresh vegetables, a good bakery, etc. Our “campground” for the night is the parking lot of the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. When we pulled in, there were four other RV’s.


Sunday, June 07, 2009

Drove to Elkhart today. We went to the Downtown River Walk area that runs along the St. Joseph River. The three of us took a nice walk along the river and through two City parks. The City has really done a nice job with these parks. Took a picture of Carol & Gopher by the sculpture of a marching band.
We looked for a laundry but the one we found was very busy. Sunday morning must be a popular time to get caught up on the wash. People getting ready for work I suppose. In mid afternoon we went to Linton’s Outdoor & Garden Shop. It’s a very unique garden store. The shop has paths winding through the potted plants and through a petting zoo and a number of houses built on a small scale.
At the end of the day, we went to the RV/MH Hall of Fame/Museum. It was closed on Sunday but you can stay in the parking lot overnight. We’ll be the first ones in when it opens at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Elkhart is the RV manufacturing capital of America. The signs say half of all RV’s made in America are made here. The campground host , the other day, said Elkhart has the Nations highest rate of unemployment; right at 25%. The RV business is really hurting these days.