Shipshewana Flea Market

Rick and Debbie shop Shipshewana-These prices are outrageous!

Wednesday, May 19, I get up at 6:35. I guess I've had enough sleep for a few days. But it takes me a while to get moving. I have tea and toast; no coffee yet. I read, stretch and try some oatmeal. Then I get myself cleaned up and ready to head out the door at 9:00. All four of us pile in Big Bertha and head past Amish fields in the morning sun with four to six draft horses pulling plows. There is already a big crowd in Shipshewana since the Flea Market opened at 8:00. They have a huge outdoor flea market here every Tuesday and Wednesday. We park by Gate #8 and start wandering around.

I break the ice and buy a $2.00 gray leather belt. Bob buys black zip strips. We wander until around 11:30 and make a bee-line for lunch at Shipshewana Amish Auction House Restaurant. We get there just in time as a line forms in the lobby after we're seated.



Our upbeat Amish waitress takes our orders. I have Chicken Noodle Plate with mashed potatoes and mixed veges. Now I'm going for the comfort food after being sick. Bob has Ham Loaf. We see a cheesy pile of salad come out of the kitchen and another Amish waitress says it's a Haystack (taco salad without the shell.) A teenaged Amish girl in full Amish garb is eating at a table across from us with the rest of her family. She has a Blackberry and is texting. Riva tells us later that they have a couple years in their teens when they can try out 'outside life.' But at a certain age they have to make a decision as to whether to join the Amish community. We pass on pies and head out past the crowd in the lobby.

Right after lunch we head to the Red Barn that Debbie wanted to see. At the pine furniture place an Amish girl at the checkout tells Rick that even the gas stations in the area used to be closed on Sundays until just recently. Bob and Rick sit down in the common area of the mall for a quick game of checkers.

Debbie in disguise with glasse!

We all head back to the outdoor flea market but I sure wanted to tromp upstairs for the fudge and a soft pretzel. Maybe later. Bob and I find two small collapsible clothes hampers for $1.00 each. Ours are starting to rip after six years of use. I find wrap-around sun glasses for $8.00. Rick and Bob score big at the Tool Shed tent. Debbie finds a metal star in a wooden window frame with a bittersweet wreath for $7.00. He took $3.00 off due to a loose nail. On the way out Rick gets grabbers and they both go back for clip-on sunglasses they saw in the first row.

On the way home I hop out for a newspaper at BP. Back at Eby's Pines we sit outside on this glorious day-the best weather since we arrived. It is 71 degrees and sunny with no wind or humidity. I make a big bowl of popcorn. Debbie, Bob and I go for a walk. Rick says he'll catch a nap. We return and Rick us up so we all sit out until the neighbors' (the dentist and her guy in the Terry 5th wheel behind us) dinner aromas make us hungry.



Debbie gets the grill out for burgers. Bob cuts up tomatoes, onions and lettuce. I make Broccoli Avocado Salad. We have one last mini-feast in the cabana before the guys take it down. We hate to see them leave tomorrow. I clean up my kitchen. Debbie brings her greasy spatula over for me to wash in my sudsy water. We put on our smoky clothes and take out the trash before sitting out by the prepared fire until dusk when we light it. Bob 'borrows' some wood from Don's neighbors. We solve the world's problems and learn the formula for waxing and waning. We all head in around 11:30. It is a clear night and not too chilly.

One last flame!

One last sunset!