RV Hall of Fame Museum and Library, Elkhart, IN

Saturday, May 29, it is 60 degrees when I get up at 8:00 a.m. The high gets to 82 later. We had the windows open all night and it was cool with the Fantastic Fan going. I admit it was a bit smoky late last night.





After breakfast and a stretch we're off to Elkhart to tour the RV/Mobile Home Museum/Library/Hall of Fame. First we stop at the post office to mail some cards and an anniversary packet of Travis and Callie's wedding journal pages to my Mom and Dad for their 62nd wedding anniversary on June 5! The Bristol post office is open until 1:30/ We get there at 11:50-plenty of time.

1935 Kumfort Travel Trailer looks a lot like our 16-foot Casita we used to have.

We take 120 est to CR 17 north to the RV Hall of Fame's current 80,000 sq.ft. location since moving to new digs in 1999. Admission is $8.00 each and a volunteer guide points out the path to take and then we're on our own.

1954 Shasta 15-foot Travel Trailer-the year I was born! It has a gravity water system with a reservoir in the cabinet above the sink


The new RVs are first on our list. We see models ranging from pop-ups to motor home coaches. But we're anxious to see the older stuff so we head for RV Founder's Hall to view the historical exhibits. We follow the macadam roadway and enjoy a wide range of old-time campers.

1954 (Good year!) Holiday Rambler Travel Trailer has double-wide "army stretcher' type bed with canvas between steel pipe bars located above the standard bed.

Love the old refrigerator in this 1954 Yellowstone Travel Trailer. The kitchen range was also a residential apartment style unit.

1962 Mallard 13-foot travel trailer includes a kitchen, dining area and beds for up to five people! Toilets were yet to become available.

Bob inspects a 1957 Serro Scotty 10-foot Teardrop Trailer

This 1939 Schult 8 x 20-foot House Trailer is one of the models where we both banged our heads in the short doorways of these old travel trailers in spite of all the signs saying "low clearance."

One of my favorites is a 1915 Model T Ford pickup with a 'telescoping apartment' that features a rear bed, and a kitchen and shower that slides out on each side. Warm water for the shower is produced by radiant heat from the engine! None of this is covered so you are totally dependent upon good weather.

1915 Model T Ford 'slide-out' kitchen

You gotta love this "Auto Refrigerator"! I wonder how cold it kept things in Texas in the summertime?

This 1932 Zagelmeyer Tent Trailer looks a lot like the ones the Harley riders pull behind their motorcylces today.



Now that's a commode!


I've seen double-decker golf driving ranges but never a mobile home park!

1946 Studebaker one-ton truck set up with a 5th wheel style hitch to pull a long, long trailer; price new=$1,285.

Star Streak II, second of two custom built all aluminum motorhomes. Built in 1988 using a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado Chassis and a 1976 Olds Toronado 455 cu. in. engine. Designed to fit in a standard garage; length 270 inches, weight 5400 pounds, height 83 inches.

1969 Stites Chassis Mount Truck Camper. Example of the first Lance camper-like slide-ins that outgrew the ability to be slid in and out of pickup trucks and required the truckbed to be removed so the camper could be mounted to the cut-off truck cab. This actually morphed into Class C motorhomes of today.

A classic yellow 1974 GMC motorhome has the first airbag suspension system

Bob watches the Winnebago video in front of their classic 1967 Motor Homes. If you purchased 100 shares of Winnebago Industries stock in 1966 for $1,250, the stock split into 64,000 shares and grew to $1.98 million as of 9/5/2005. There was no discussion of what happened to the value in the past two years!

I have to put the Airstream Ranch in Florida on my bucket list since we've seen the Cadillac Ranch in Texas!

The museum is home to the Mae West Housecar, a 1931 Chevrolet. Paramount Studios used it as an enticement to get her to leave the Vaudeville circuit and make movies for them. It is designed as a chauffeur driven lounge and not at a 'camper' unit. She even had a porch on the back with a rocking chair.

And we saw the 1935 Covered Wagon, one of the first RVs, that we saw a few years ago at the Gilmore Auto Museum. In 1935 Covered Wagon was one of the largest trailer manufacturers in the country and produced one out of six "house trailers" built in the U.S. The exterior is "genuine leatherette"over a thin plywood shell and the roof is covered with coated canvas stretched over tarpaper.

1935 Covered Wagon Travel Trailer

One thing that struck us is how few changes have been make over the years. Many of these looked the same inside as both of our full-time RVs. Only the materials have been updated.

1913 "Earl" trailer and Model T Ford-the oldest RV known to exist.

The 'Earl' trailer has a dining table that seats four, then converts to a double bed.

After we view all of the models we head upstairs via The Grand Staircase to the library. Here they have years and years of "Motortrend", "Highways", "Trailer Life" and any publication related to the RV industry.

Follow the macadam road down memory lane at the RV Hall of Fame Museum in Elkhart, IN!

I buy postcards in the lobby and snap a picture of the building outside. As we stare at the Tollway, appropriately enough, a Casita travel trailer like our little one zooms by.

A Casita zooms by the RV Hall of Fame

In the lobby I found a brochure for Lucchese's Italian Restaurant at 655 Cty Rd. 17, just south of 120. It turns out to be a great place. I have Penne ala Vodka in creamy red sauce with basil. Bob enjoys Baked Beef-filled Tortellini with tomato sauce and mozerella. Their side salads are very fresh and the Poppy Seed dressing is a winner.





We're home by 3:30. The gal at the office stops up on the way in. She didn't see our tag in the windshield and asked if we were visiting for the day. Geez! We can't cut through the site next to Don and Reva like we usually do to park in front of our rig. There are so many campers in the Park we have to go all the way down the hill and back around. What a mob! It's like Phil's in Michigan on the 4th of July that we encountered our first year out on the road and were so shocked by.

It's 4:40 p.m. and 82 degrees with 31% humidity. I get on-line and work on one journal page from May 2. Wow! I'm behind again. A young couple in a motorhome pulls in next to us but can't get level or else realize they're in the wrong site. So they pull across the road.

I go for a walk around the campground with my camera to snap pictures of The Zoo. I'll post 'during' and 'after' the holiday pictures later. There is one half of a row of "RVers", not "campers", on the far side of the campground. They are just here overnight or for the weekend basically hiding out for the holiday. They have no awnings out, no lawn chairs out, no BBQ pits out, no corn hole games and the windows are closed and the A/C is on to keep the smoke out--Just like us!

In this sea of humanity no one waved at me as I walked around the Park except for Dianna who I saw on a golf cart. I took pictures of all the jam-packed rows. As I neared our section I see Jim building a fire for a BBQ by his deck. Betty's sister and son Don from Goshen near here are on the deck. I told him we saw him opening up their trailer a few days ago. He said he checked for leaks and everything was good. Good thing he turned off the water again before he left.

Bob is online when I get back. I read my book as late afternoon clouds move in. We watch a recorded Good Wife. Chris, the owner, comes and looks at Rick and Debbie's empty site next to us (the only one left in the Park I think.) Ten minutes later a Class C pulls in. It looks to be Grandma and Grandpa with two boys around 9 and 12 years old. The fire pit ends up inches from the front wheel of their motorhome. She lights the fire in it while he's gone to the pool with the boys. He does a lot of gesturing when he returns and makes her put it out-thankfully! She puts brats on the grill on top of the picnic table. He tries to get the awning out but has no idea how it works and gives up in disgust.

Housekeeping and New Motor

Cigarettes cost more than fuel!

Friday, May 28, I don't wake up until 9:20! Must be this 'fast time.' Of course I sleep like a rock with the windows open and a cool breeze after the cold front. The low is 59; not much difference in temp but the humidity is only 37% at 2:00 p.m.

After a late breakfast I go into a pine-pollen induced housecleaning frenzy. Bob puts the new jack motor on the rear stabilizers. Two crazed weekend warriors zoom by the back of the RV in travel trailers with only inches to spare from our bikes so they can back in going the wrong way three sites down the hill.

Don and Reva are sitting out at the picnic table on the site next to theirs with Ginger the poodle as I shake out our throw rugs. Reva says when I'm done I can come do site 193! I say no way. I get the pollen off all the screens and windowsills. I even find a piece of trim above the hall window that fell off.

We have showers and do leftovers for lunch. Then we go for a walk. We see Dona and Reva at the bus driver gal's travel trailer across the park. We come back and sit out front Reva joins us in her lawn chair. Don makes a corn hole game (I wish I would have had my camera when he came over with his face stuck through the hole!)

Reva brought 'apple' and 'fall' curtains for my salt 'n pepper and napkins holders and a cross bookmark. How nice of her. I have her the Pistachio Cake, Orange Coconut Cake and Microwave Green Bean Casserole recipes. She brings Don's Mandarin Orange Pineapple Cake recipe for me. We sat out and kept moving our chairs to stay out of the sun to we watched "The Show" as the RV Park fills up for the holiday weekend. Jim and Betty join us. They got their water leak they discovered this morning fixed. Betty brought square pretzels with vanilla, chocolate mint and peanut butter melted wafers topped by M&Ms. Very tasty! She also shows us her green and white towels with names embroidered for gifts. Very classy.

They see their grandson walking up behind our RV with a fishing pole. He going to the office for bait with his friend. Soon his sister, Nina, yells out "Grandpa!" from over by Jim and Betty's trailer. Their daughter and two dogs, Francis, a black standard poodle and a smaller black and white dog like a border collie show up on a golf cart. There are hugs for grandma and grandpa. Nina shows us her lime green cast from a baseball injury.

Dianna from two sites up the hill walked over around 9:00. Bruce is going to bed already. She's limping from sciatica. She quit smoking last week as $47.00 per week for a carton of cigarettes was too much for her. I got a kick out of the local gas station signs that list the price of gas at $2.69, diesel at $2.68 and Marlboros at $4.95!

We all went in around 9:15 when the bugs started biting. It's 9:45 p.m. and 76 degrees with 47% humidity. The high was 82 degrees. The entire campground smells like campfire smoke.

Hair Day, The Olympia Candy Kitchen and Lippert Motor

A Green River drink from The Olympia Candy Kitchen
Thursday, May 27, I'm up at 7:45. The day's temperature starts at 64 degrees and gets to a high of 80. Bob and I split a Pistachio Muffin from Martin's for breakfast and I hate to admit it but theirs might be better than the ones from HEB in Texas that we love. We head out for haircuts by 10:50 and wave to Don next door as we leave.

Long table of goodies at Eby's Pines Memorial Weekend Potluck

Bob goes to Scott's, parking on the street corner at Lincoln. I walk down the alley to Salon J downtown on Main and Ashley take me right away. She does a great job cutting my hair; actually twisting a clump before using the thinning shears. I've never seen that before. I also like the sculpting taffy she uses. This shop has been open since November. The downtown has recently been revitalized. I ask her about places to eat and she asks if we noticed the hot dog guy. We see him on the way to Olympia's for lunch and he has a big line around his cart with an umbrella.

Reva slices Don's Mandarin Orange Pineapple Cake

The Olympia Candy Kitchen has been in business since 1917. For a beverage I follow Ashley's advice and get a Green River (a dark green phosphate drink the color of green Jello shots.) I have a pork and olive sandwich (cold pork fixed like a chicken salad with huge green olives sliced over it on toasted wheat bread-never would have thought of it but it was great.) I follow the waitress's directions to a storm-cellar basement restroom located underneath the stairway. A lady in the backroom is making chocolate covered peanut clusters and giving directions to everyone on how to get to the mysterious restroom location.

Betty and Don use his nifty pop can lids that make a can of soda look like a bottle!

After lunch we go south on Hwy 33 to College, east to Lippert Components, Inc.'s corporate headquarters. We finally find the lobby door and the receptionist sends an email to a guy in back. he comes out and takes us back to his cube. He says he doesn't usually see people in person, just takes orders over the phone. He calls up our motor without asking us any questions-apparently they only have one model. He informs us it will be $482.36! (and he also lets us know right away that if we get the whole jack assembly mechanism it would only be $17.00 more.) We pass and just get the motor as we have no where to store an extra sets of stabilizer jacks. Yikes! We were both thinking between $100 to $200 for the motor.

Don demonstrates his 'bottle can' for Jim

We have to go around back by the railroad tracks and truck delivery entrance to pick it up. Bob goes inside the little shack there but it turns out to be the wrong shack. The guy inside makes him wait ten minutes to say he's not Casey. So we go to the next shack and find two young guys, one of them is Casey-the 'middle manager.' The other guy goes out and gets our motor right away. Casey can't get his printer to work. It spits out 20 pages but none are the our invoice. Finally he gets us a decent copy and we're outta there.



We stop at Pay & Packit in Bristol for diced tomatoes on the way home for my dish tonight. This afternoon we watch two recorded NCIS shows and a Good Wife from last week. Around 5:00 I make my microwave green bean casserole for the potluck. Don and Reva return. He got his haircut today too. And he made his famous Mandarin Pineapple Cake. More on that later.

Outside we meet Jim (and his wife, Betty, later at the pavilion) and Ginger, an aptly named poodle of that same color. At 6:30 we walk down to the pavilion. The potluck dinner is all set up. The park owners, Chris and Barry, provided fried chicken and a very long table is full of some great dishes. My favorites are a great-tasting taco salad and a macaroni salad with capers and bacon bits. And Don's cake is heaven! He has one prizes with it in baking contests and I see why! I snap a picture as Reva slices it. He promises to share his recipe. We all put our names in a hat and two of us at our table win door prizes; Sheila, a young gal and her boyfriend John, across the table from us wins a whirligig and I am a winner as well. They are locals who are camping here for this weekend for the first time. They drove in, parked their camper without setting up and came over to enjoy the potluck. He tells us about his house on 120 at Madison burning down recently and all the fighting with the insurance company.

We walk back to the RVs and see John and Sheila setting up their pop-up. I take out our trash and take a couple of pieces of Don's cake back to him. He gave me all of his leftover cake and I thought if he did all that work he should get a few pieces.

Bob and I watch a recorded Flash Forward and a repeat Mentalist. The campground is filling up with lots of campfire smoke and people. It's 10:30 p.m. and 70 degrees with j37% humidity. I hear a radio playing down the hill outside of our bedroom window at 11:30.

Our Haircuts Got Cut

Wednesday, May 26, I'm up at 6:40 a. m. and it is warm already. I have an email from my brother Mike. He liked Travis and Callie's wedding blog. Nice to get feedback once in a while so I know someone is reading, especially when I'm behind. It keeps me motivated. I surf for Lippert (our rear stabilizer manufacturer) and find them south of downtown Goshen! Maybe we can get our motor straight from the horse's mouth! Actually I saw an on-line RV chat room that mentioned a new Lippert hydraulic levelling system that works for 5th wheels (usually you just see them for motorhomes) and Bob said "Lippert is our rear stabilizer manufacturer." Otherwise I would never have looked them up and found out they were right here in Goshen.

Bob and I have Thomas thin bagels for breakfast (thanks, Debbie, for turning us on to these.) I stretch and get cleaned up. We watch weekend warriors arrive early this morning across the road and set up a pop-up, unload huge stacks of firewood, cut the grass, put up a cabana, and trim the weeds for three sites around theirs. Yikes! Don goes down to say hi as they were here last year. He has his daily fire going already this morning.

We head to Goshen. The barber downtown that we thought was closed on Mondays is actually closed on Wednesdays. Bummer! So we walk around trying to decide what to do. I find a salon and I walk in and make an appointment for tomorrow at 11:30. We'll be back and try it again tomorrow. I really wanted to go to the salon Reva recommended but I don't want to wait until after the holiday when she's back. And it seems easier to park in one place downtown and both of us get our hair cut. We can avoid trying to park near the construction on 33 where Reva's salon is located.

We cross the street to Goshen Antique Mall where we spend two hours (2-hour parking in the public lot we're in) going through 25-cent postcards. Bob goes through some other stashes throughout the store. I find 43 postcards for 25 cents and he find a dozen others or so for a total of $38.00. The guy asks us what we're doing here when he sees my Texas check. He asks if we knew about the RV Park at the County Fairgrounds.

We walk to the corner on Lincoln for lunch at Tony's Famous Italian Grill. This is a real 'joint'! Our waitress apparently has ADD but she knows everyone in here and what they plan to order. I have Eggplant Parmesan with a side of spaghetti-the red sauce is a bit on the sweet side for my taste. Bob has Tony's Giant Roast Beef sandwich. Another waitress describes Shoefly Pie (I've seen it several places in the area) as "like pecan pie but tastes like molasses cookies and is chewy." We are stuffed and skip pie altogether.

Next up on our agenda is Martin's grocery for fruit and Vege Beef Soup fixin's. Then back home to stow the groceries and make the soup recipe Bob got off the Internet. Then we have to go outside to cool off as it gets pretty warm in the RV with the big pot of soup boiling. Bob takes the burnt up motor off of the rear jacks after he finds his disposable gloves 'down under.' It's 5:02 p.m. and 83 degrees. Around 6:00 Don and Reva return and we pull our lawn chairs in the shade on the site next to theirs down the hill. It's 91 degrees inside the RV so it feels good out here. They have wood ants they're spraying for at their place. We enjoy a nice evening visiting with them.

After a bowl of Beef Vege Soup I send emails and post a link on my Facebook page to the wedding. It's 11:30 p.m. and 74 degrees with 55% humidity. The high is 84 and the low is 66 today.

Shipshewana Revisited

Tuesday, May 25, I'm up at 6:40. Am I getting used to this 'fast time' as Reva calls it? The A/C is on but not running. The low is 65 and it gets up to 84 today. Last night I suddenly remembered my prescription mouth rinse our dentist gave me for my mouth ulcers. I've had a serious case ever since we were sick. They sure feel better this morning. Must be a 'senior moment' to not be able to remember I had a solution the whole time. I stretch and check my email. I have a message from my sister, Carla. She got the wedding pictures I emailed to her.

We have breakfast and clean up. We go outside to leave for Shipshewana and end up chatting with Riva and Dona for a bit.l It is 11:30 by the time we leave. It is hot already but not as humid as yesterday. The flea market it more crowded this week. We park one more row down but of course we arrived later this week. We start at the beginning again. Bob finds brass valve stem covers for our bike tires. I find two golf visors for $5.00 for both! The same booth has a Snowflake Obsidian magnetic bracelet that I just have to have. And I find a small nosegay of spring flowers and a long summer greenery vine for $6.00.

We have a break for a Diet Pepsi and a bottle of water and watch an adorable white puppy eat ice cream out of his bowl. Then we wander for a few more stalls and buy a chair seatback for our Euro chairs (2 for $15.00) that we hope will give us some lumbar support. We take them to the truck as they are bulky to carry. Then we decide to walk to Blue Plate Restaurant where we dine in the 'menu' section rather than the buffet downstairs.

I have Grilled Meatloaf Sandwich and Sweet Potato Casserole. Bob has a chicken/ham wrap and fruit. The complimentary loaf of Amish bread is very plain so we pile on the apple butter and peanut butter honey. There is a sweet BBQ sauce on my dense meatloaf sandwich that is excellent. On the way out we check out the attached bakery but don't find any pretzel rolls. There was a mile-high Lemon Meringue pie and monster cookies but we passed.

We walk back to shop the Flea Market, starting on this end this time. We don't quite get though with the whole thing by 4:30. I find a black leather purse insert for my backpack purse that I have been looking for and three micro-fiber towels. And Bob find wooden screw covers for our handrail for the stairs up to the bedroom. I spy a little booth to get chocolate graham pretzels and salty trail mix crackers. One booth has custom license plate art that catches my eye. They also have some wooden plaques with old bicycle and golf advertisements on the. They are the perfect size for a spot we have in the RV so they go home with us. On the way out we buy a big soft pretzel for $3.00 with honey mustard dip.

The weather was way better than when we were here last week in a chilly, strong wind. We head home for welcome iced tea and we go outside to sit and chat with Don and Reva. Don made two more corn hole games today and gave them away already. We give them our last oak TV table that we have replaced with our new coffee table. Reva puts her drink and embroidery on it right away. We laugh at the antics of the ground squirrels that are so prevalent here. Doves and little wrens are also busy. Bob and I say goodnight at 8:00. We come in for leftovers and watch NCIS and NCIS LA, and "V" while we record Good Wife. It's 9:40 p.m. and 76 degrees with 56% humidity.

Bike Wash and Maintenance

Monday, May 24, at 7:15 it is sunny and warm with a low of 67. The high gets to 84 today and the humidity starts out at 50%. We do have a bit of a breeze today so we turn off the A/C this morning. After breakfast I work on wedding journal pages.

We get cleaned up and load the bikes on the truck to take them to Bristol Diamond Car Wash. We wave at Don and Reva across the road as we leave. We pay $1.75 times three rounds to get the two bikes and the truck washed and rinsed. Don and Reva pass us going into town as we head back to the RV Park.

Bob oils, greases, tightens and airs the bikes. He adjusts my seat that keeps sliding down, fixes his mirror, tightens his handle bars, and puts a new cap on his pedal. He puts the new valve stem caps we got at Shipshewana Flea Market on the truck and walks over and puts some on Don's golf cart too.

Bob puts new caps on Big Bertha's valve stems.

I clean the grime off the handlebars and get out leftovers for lunch. After we eat we put the bikes in the garage. I work on wedding journal pages and pictures. I can't get the videos of Nathaniel and Kara singing to load.

Seasonal neighbor behind us at Eby's Pines Campground

Bob shuts the windows and turns on the A/C after he goes out and moves the wires around to get the thermostat to display. Our new circuit board is shorting out somehow when we jostle down the road. What a bummer. And it's supposed to be hot all week.

I call Glenda. She says our neighbor Joyce is flying in from England tonight. I'm so glad to hear she's doing well enough to travel. It's 5:33 p.m. EDT and 84 degrees with 43% humidity.

Chicken Cacciatore and Chores

Bob checks out the trolling motor, battery and charger.

Sunday, May 23, I'm up at 7:15 to a sunny, humid day. I stretch first thing and then we enjoy Meijor's tasty Chicken Apple Sausage that we discovered last year in Ohio where we first encountered Meijer's grocery stores. After cleaning up I make an old Chicken Cacciatore recipe in order to use up the chicken we bought in Slidell. I'm going through cupboards as I cook this morning and finally axe my Pescho Bitters. I haven't used them in five years and now I'm afraid to. Justin Wilson had some great recipes using this aromatic liquid.

This morning I work on journal pages through April 25th. I can't believe I'm still one month behind. Bob fixes our wheel chock and gets out his trolling motor, battery and charger. All are in working order after being in our new 'down under' storage. I find a Retro Country radio station and get in a groove as I post journal pages.





My brother Mike sends a picture over his cell phone of the face of his Martin reel. His doesn't really have nuts on the face; more like rivets. So the search continues! It's 12:55 p.m. and 75 degrees with 60% humidity. Bob made me turn off the Fantastic Fan so the pine pollen doesn't come in. My dutch oven's making it hot in here. After we enjoy the Chicken Cacciatore we go for a walk. I snap a picture of one of the campground rules signs under the pavilion. Bob takes his fly rod but doesn't stay long as the pond is covered with cottonseed. It looks like snow!

Check out the fuzzies on the pond!

I call Mom and have a nice chat. She and Dad were re-making the bed after washing the bedding. They knew about our neighbor Mrs. Rothermich passing away. Dad got on the phone but couldn't hear me even after I called back. We'll try again next time.

I work on journal pages and get through the Travis and Callie's wedding rehearsal April 30. I call Bob's cousin Patti to wish them a Happy 40th Anniversary but they are not home so I leave a voice message. I watch Brooks and Dunn "The Last Rodeo." It's 8:31 p.m. and humid. The high was 82 degrees!

River Inn Restaurant, Bristol, IN

Here I am at the end of my rope after journaling for three hours!


Saturday, May 22, after weird nightmares I get up at 8:30 this morning. It is cloudy and wet. It rained all night. I go through 60 emails that I downloaded after last night's software fiasco. Then I stretch and have breakfast. Back to my emails.

Around 1:00 we go to lunch. Reva and Don are outside when we leave. She says they thought they might have to come check on us to see if we were sick again. Off to lunch in Bristol where we finally find the entrance (upper one to the lounge)for River Inn Restaurant. Our waitress is new but the food is good. We have heavenly Vegetable Beef Soup. Afterwards Bob goes home and surfs the Net to find a similar recipe. He chooses two grilled pork chops for lunch and I have Whitefish Sandwich on pretzel bread. It was great. Go boxes for both of us.

Back home Don and Reva are just leaving. I work on-line for about three hours doing email, Facebook, pictures and journal pages. I'm exhausted. Bob and I go for a walk. We can see pine pollen blowing like thick fog through the air. Back home I call my brother Mike to chat. He cancelled his Bennett Springs trip to Missouri this coming week. They have had 12 inches of rain in May near Lebanon, MO. That would make the trout stream no fun to fish. Bob talks to him about the missing nut on the Martin fly feel and it sounds like one to pass on maybe.

We have leftovers for dinner. I take out the trash and Don and Riva are outside. I go back inside and retrieve Don's birthday postcard and some lighthouses for Reva's daughter and granddaughter and an Escapees magazine to give them. Don is shelling pecans. Reva has a bag of kitten pillowcase embroidery.

I sit and chat. The sun is finally out and it is a nice day to be outdoors. Don put up a hummingbird feeder and one attacked him before he could get it hung. They had a raccoon visitor last night. It stole Reva's hard-to-find Zesta whole wheat crackers. Bob soon joins us and we chat until about 9:30 when real fog rolls in. Right after we go inside a guy comes in with a travel trailer across the road. His diesel makes a lot of noise as he jockeys around for about a half an hour. It seems kind of late to be arriving. Sure is hard to get in a site in the dark. It's 9;58 p.m. and 64 degrees with 69% humidity. The high was 71 and the low was 60.

RV Coffee Table, South Side Soda Shop, and Goshen Antique Mall

Menu from South Side Soda Shop, Goshen, IN

Guy Fieri of Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives visits South Side Soda Shop

Friday, May 21, it rained all night. I'm up at 8:15 and it's still sprinkling. First thing this morning I boil up a pot of potatoes (I have a 5-pound bag I need to use up since I never made the rest of my recipes after we all got sick.) We have fried potatoes, scrambled eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast.

My friend Cathy from my hometown calls to let me know one of our classmates and my neighbor, Lynn's mother passed away. It was nice of her to call and let me know. We had a nice chat. It's always good to catch up with her.

Old-time diner decor

We finally get a move on by 11:30 and head out under cloudy skies to Elkhart RV Salvage and Surplus where we pick out a folding coffee/end table. We found the floor sample with the fewest dings and just as we head to the checkout Bob finds some brand new ones, still in the shrink-wrap. So we find one really close to the wood in our RV, pay $95.00 and we're outta there. Many thanks to Tom and Nan-Marie who told us about this place where they got their coffee table we admired so much. They still had some like the one they got but this one folds up smaller so we can store it beside the couch. I do like the way there's adjusts to different heights but we can't have everything.

Dessert case and check-out

Next we head across the street to RV Factory Store where we got our sewer hose extension. This time we get a wooden handrail for our stairway to the bedroom for a grand total of $2.50! We saw it when we were here before but we needed to take measurements.

Interior view

We go south on Main where we are stopped by a train and then head on to Goshen. We spot the Wrapture Hair Salon that Reva told me about. Paula, who does her hair, is not back until after the holiday weekend I think. We go on to Meijer's for a few groceries in spite of our crowded fridge. We just don't have the right groceries. I put the eggs in the cooler and we head south on Main (15) in Goshen to South Side Soda Shop. This is a Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives find. Guy Fieri's picture is up front. He's ranting and raving about the Dinner Seafood Feast which is not available at 2:30 in the afternoon.

So Bob has the Philly Cheese and I have the Pork Tenderloin Sandwich on Swedish Limpa Bread (homemade Swedish Rye with orange peel and oatmeal.) That was heaven! And I have a bowl of their award-winning chili-"Best in Michiana." It is mild for our Texas palates. I can't resist trying their Coconut Creme Pie. Our waitress shows us a 4-foot diameter dessert tray of pies and cakes.

Downtown Goshen, IN

Goshen Courthouse

We take an umbrella back to the truck as it is pouring. We stop in downtown Goshen at the Antique Mall that has thousands of postcards. I look at a fraction of therm and buy $30.00 worth. Bob finds a Martin fly casting reel and uses my phone to call my brother Mike in Texas to see if he's interested for the price. Apparently Mike has been looking for one of these old reels. Mike says he's still looking for one. So Bob has the lady get it out of the case and notes that it is missing a nut. He'll research further and confer with Mike. This is a great mall and we'll be back since we didn't get here until 3:45 and it closes at 5:00 today.

Main and Washington

We walk south on Main to True Value Hardware for silicone. Bob tries on a light jacket but no dice. The Main street area has been revitalized here. I snap a few pictures. We spot several restaurants. On the way back we drive east on Hwy 4 (Lincoln) to Abshire Park to find Pumpkinvine Trail Head. We might get a ride in while we're here.



We're home by 6:00. On the way it is raining and then the sun peeks through and provides a beautiful double rainbow as we zoom through Bristol. It is still raining at the RV Park and we have to drag our stuff in between the raindrops.

Our new coffee table at home on The Titanic

It doubles as an end table

We're ready for a party!

We set up our new coffee table and it looks great in here! It's 7:46 p.m. and 61 degrees. The high was 75 and the low was 58. Bob downloads new AT&T software and it doesn't work. he loses his desktop icon and can't find the program on the hard drive. My heart sinks as it's been two weeks since I downloaded my email. Fortunately on our second attempt from my user ID it works.