A Trip to Amish/RV Country

We drove west and then south to northern Indiana.  Cross RV Repair in LaGrange IN was scheduled to do some repairs and changes on our rig.  There is an earthquake going on inside each time you go down the road and the potholes in the northern roads make it even worse.  Constant diligence is required. We pulled in and parked in their RV spots for the night.  The area is absolutely dead on Sunday because of the Amish not working so we drove back to Howe to the diner that is open.  Then we settled in for the night.

By 7 am we were up and had the slides in ready for the tractor to pull the trailer into the garage.  We then headed east to Middlebury where we bought Irene more coffee and ate breakfast at the menu side of the restaurant. The buffet side had a gazillion kids there eating, noisy as can be.  It must have been a field trip.  I had a Denver omelet that I only ate half of because it was so big, with apple cinnamon toast.  Ted had fried mush and sausage patties.  All of it was excellent.  In fact, we never ate another thing until about 7 pm that night.

We were wondering what to do with 8 hours and no place to call home but that really turned out not to be a problem.   First we drove to Elkhart to check on RV mattresses but they only custom make them, they had no stock.  Then we stopped at Lambright in Shipshewana to be sure they were expecting us Tuesday morning and were ready to deliver our furniture.  Next we went to Bontrager's RV surplus supplies in White Pigeon MI.  They had two Tempur Pedic mattresses in 72 X 80.  I never dreamed I could get a Tempur Pedic for the price we did.  Paul Cross told us we saved $1000!  We told them we would be back before 6 pm to get it.  By then it was 3 pm and we headed back to Cross RV.  They were still working on our slide seals so it was almost 4:30 when we finally hitched up and took off for Bontrager's.  I had to quickly strip the bed so the old mattress could be carried out and the new one brought in.  That was done in a jiffy!  

Back we went to Shipshewana to spend the night and be close to our furniture pick up in the morning.  Ted ate leftover sausages from Saturday for dinner and I had the second half of my Chicken Caesar wrap from the Howe Diner.  I fell asleep at 8 and slept until the next morning at 7!  

We thought we would be first at Lambright's but we were wrong.  A motorhome and fifth wheel were already there so we stopped along the road.  The motorhome guy was being a jerk.  He wanted a custom cabinet built to match his existing ones.  He made them measure three different times and kept asking if they were sure they could match the wood.  I wanted to tell him his dark green older converted bus was already ugly so it didn't matter!  They finally told him he had to move to let us in.  He went down the road, we pulled in, and he returned.  I put out our slides and swept where the recliners had been and many crumbs had fallen then returned to the truck to wait.  I couldn't help but take a picture of another set they were installing later in the day.  Yikes!  Makes our Oatwheat color seem boring!

By the time they were finished, both other vehicles were gone so Ted easily backed out and we were headed home.

We had a nice ride across Indiana to Terre Haute for the night.  The next morning we took off for the Memphis area.  We stopped in Sikeston to once again eat at Lambert's to celebrate my birthday before continuing on.  

Usually we stay in West Memphis, AR but at the welcome station Ted found a park we were unfamiliar with in Forrest City, AR so we continued on to there.  It isn't hard to get to but you need to know where to make two turns.  We went right to it and it is a nice, smaller park.  We set up and Gas Buddy let us down.  The Exxon right outside the park had what appeared to be the going rate on fuel at $2.59.  After filling up, Ted went to find windshield wipers and found fuel at Citgo for $2.49 and then Walmart for $2.39!  When you take on 91 gallons, that makes a big difference!  We watched Survivor and some of the new shows for this season before turning in.

We decided we would stop in Carthage TX Thursday afternoon.  It was about 2:30 when we arrived. We set up and headed to Walmart for fuel and a few groceries.  We are going to Rayford Resort, close to home, to spend some time with Tommy and Susan and I asked them to dinner.  From there we visited a park with a memorial to the poem Footprints?  

There were 11 sections of 15 plaques each dedicated to various individuals and families.  This young man just fit the Texas narrative to a T.

There were many benches, all with family names cut into the back.

The sun kept me from getting a detailed photo of the sculpture.  Here is a photo of some detail and I found the man's loose shoe interesting.

The park is not quite finished, the landscaping is missing.  I think it will be a very peaceful place when finished.

We came home, had dinner and settled in.  Bill and Kara called to say they made plane reservations for  Thanksgiving.  The kids are going to Disney World with their father so they will be with us!

After a restful night we took our time in the morning because we only had a 3 hour drive.  We got the last available sight at Rayford CG because of those still there from the floods and insurance adjusters.  We are not as close to Tommy and Susan as we would like but a little walk will do us good.  Tommy came over for a visit and at 5:00 they both came for dinner.  Susan brought us a birthday cake since she missed both our birthdays!

Saturday we started loading our clothes and things to take home.  I showered and dressed there for church. We met Tommy, Susan, Rita and Jim at Saltgrass for dinner afterwards.  We were both pretty tired when we got home.  

I talked about the Regent Care Nursing Home party that Gail carried out with other members of Forum in my absence.  It looks like they had a great time entertaining the residents and serving refreshments.