Shipshewana.......Still!

Well, it's been a week from our last blog entry and we're still in Shipshewana, In. We had originally  planned to be here for just a week, but have extended twice after our original week. We like this area a lot and have had a great time here, but unless something unforeseen happens, we're pulling out Saturday headed to Mackinaw City in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It will take us two days to get there  as it's about 350 miles from here. We'll be there for five days and then we head into northern Wisconsin to Eagle River for four days, which will get us through  Labor Day weekend.  The parks usually fill up on holiday weekends and finding accommodations can be tricky, so we were happy to nail down a site for that weekend. Not really sure where we're going from there yet, but looking at Minnesota. Anyway, we should have a lot more blog material to share once we get back on the road.
         We were happy to learn our good friends, John and Patsy McCutcheon, are in Elkhart, about 20 miles from here. They're in the area to attend a Grand Design RV rally and we were happy to get together with them for a couple of visits. John and Patsy were with us for part of our west coast trip last year. They have recently sold their home in Ocala, Fl. and have become full time RVer's. Their home is on wheels and they can take it with them wherever and whenever they may choose. Isn't that great!
        We went to the Bluegate  Theater Monday evening to see the wonderful musical play "Josiah for President", written by Martha Bolton.  The play is about an Amish farmer who is coerced into running for President by a disenchanted congressman. The timing seemed appropriate since we're getting into that time frame when we elect a president again.   I won't give away the plot in case any of you decide to see it, but will highly recommend it. We noticed the same play was on in theaters in Lancaster, Pa and Berlin, Ohio, which are all Amish communities. The Bluegate theater is part of a large complex including a nice restaurant, bakery and hotel with many amenities. We also did a day trip to Michigan City, In. to check out the area and found an interesting park on the banks of Lake Michigan.  Another day trip was to the RV Hall of Fame Museum located in nearby Elkhart. The museum has about 60 displays of vintage RV's with the earliest dating back to early 1900's. It's really a cool place to visit for anyone interested in the history of RV's.

Here's a shot of John and Patsy at Mt. Rushmore from last year's trip.

RV/Motor Home Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Indiana. I'm sure the reason this location was chosen is because the region is the home of the majority of  RV manufacturers in the country.  It's a very nice facility with impressive displays. I won't bore our non-RVing friends with a lot of pictures of old campers. If anyone wants to see the displays, drop me an email and I'll be happy to oblige.

I will include this one old camper as it has a colorful history. It was parked outside the museum.

Inside of the same camper. Notice it has a wood stove for heat.

Painted elk outside  museum.

The Blue Gate Theater, Restaurant and Bakery Complex. The theater is on the second floor and seats around 300 people. The hotel complex is down the road about half a mile.

Water tank in Michigan City, Indiana

The following four shots were taken at Washington Park in Michigan City on the banks of Lake Michigan. Notice this light pole where the lower part is a different color from the bottom and top and was caused by the constant wind blowing sand into the post and "sand blasting" the paint away. The beach was quite popular with kite surfers. 

Walkway and break to lighthouse at Washington Park. There's a large marina behind the walkway. 

View from lighthouse looking back towards beach.

Walkway from parking lot to beach area.

We caught this fellow today when we were in Sturgis, Mi. which is only 15 miles from Shipshewana. Haven't seen very many black squirrels in our travels.

I thought this was a cool photo opportunity. It's  not everyday you see horse and buggies parked in front of a Dollar General store. The Wal Mart near Goshen has covered shelters for them to park their horse and buggies under.

As most of you probably know, the Amish do not have telephones in their homes. The ones that do have them are in small shelters like this one and are usually in their yard or beside their driveway. I noticed quite a few we saw had doors and windows that are used in RV's.