Back to Ohio for Rick and Debbie; Laundry for Reet and Bob

All packed up to head back to Ohio
Thursday, May 20, I sleep in until 9:20. I must still be feeling the effects of being sick. Bob and I decide to have breakfast and settle our queasy stomachs while Rick and Debbie are packing up this morning next door. We see the guy with the four German Shepherds come by. Around 10:15 Rick and Debbie knock on our door as we are finishing breakfast. We tell them we'll be out in a bit. We though they were just getting ready and weren't leaving until between noon and 2:00. But they hit the road once they're all packed up. They said Don and Reva gave them shelled pecans. How nice!

Hate to see them go but tomorrow's forecast is for rain. Bob and I clean up the kitchen and pack up four loads of laundry. I strip the bed too after our sick days. We only pick up one of our new $1.00 laundry hampers twice and the strap breaks the second time. Oh well. One washing machine gets stuck at 15 minutes remaining so it is way behind the others. I walk to the office to tell them. She says that one has troubles and she'll send him (Brandis, I guess) down when he returns. I ask her to have our firepit moved further away before the holiday weekend as it is too close to our RV. More on that this weekend.

By the time I get back to the laundry room the washer has finished; after getting stuck at10 minutes for a while. Brandis never does show up. We're out of there at 4:30. Don is nice enough to move his truck so we can back into our site. He has his golf cart off the truck finally! Reva backed it off-how brave of her. We have leftovers for lunch.

We drag our lawn chairs over and visit with Don and Reva until 6:00. Barry, the owner, drives by on the Gator and chats about his '72 Vette, our diesel truck and the pool being full. It took 27 hours to fill it up. We chat about the missing clear coat on our RV too.

Riva's daughter Debbie and hubby Roy and grandson John and grandaughter come by. We chat for a bit and head home. We have leftovers for dinner too. We're starting to be able to see the inside of the refrigerator. We put the laundry away at last. Don was right; it's still there. Then we watch TV. It's 7:25 p.m. and 73 degrees with 25% humidity. The high was 75 and the low was 47.

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!

We're Back!

Tuesday,May 18, at 9:30 I hear Bob outside. He must be dumping our holding tanks. We have been here a week. He comes in and says Debbie and Rick were glad to know he's alive. I guess it's true they only saw me yesterday and I was not very forthcoming about what Bob's status was. They go off to breakfast.

I get up and we rally and have a piece of toast. Our first real food since Bob Evans Sunday evening. We both have hot tea. My headache finally subsides but my neck, back and shoulders feel bruised. I'm washing up dishes when Debbie calls. They're tooling around and wanted to see how we're doing. They have been so nice. I tell her we had toast and are feeling invincible. Have fun we say; we're staying in the rest of the afternoon.

I really rally after breakfast and Lysol out the bathroom. Then I had one of the best showers of my life. We have half of the chicken soup those guys brought us and some crackers. We read, rest, and watch a recorded Good Wife episode. It's 2:16 p.m. and 54 degrees with 81% humidity. It sprinkled rain all day.

At 2:45 we get a recorded message from Carnival Cruise Line saying our names were drawn in a contest "we entered." A cruise is departing Galveston on Carnival Ecstasy. I hang up. Debbie and Rick return at 3:00. We go out and sit in the cabana with them to get out of the chilly wind. They went to the RV Hall of Fame. Rick goes in for a nap and Debbie comes over to our RV to visit and stay warm. We snack on trail mix and pretzels and Rice Crispy Treats and have a nice chat on this cloudy day. I send her home at 7:00 with baked beans and Waldorf Jello as no one is eating anything over here.

Bob and I do have egg sandwiches for a total intake of 705 calories today. We go out and sit by Debbie's nice fire. Don comes down to chat and then Riva even comes by to give me a business card for her hair salon. She fusses when Don goes back inside their Hi-Lo that "He's supposed to be 'watching' me as I take a walk around the campground." She's still using her cane from her hip replacement surgery. We say farewell to her. Rick joins us around the fire until we all go in at 10:30.

What Goes Around; Comes Around

Monday, May 17, about an hour after we came in from the fire last night, Bob got sick as a dog. He was pretty much sick all night. I moved to the couch to try to get some sleep and I could hear someone outside being sick too. That turns out to be Rick. Then about 7:00 I came down with it. I got up around 9:30 for another bout in the bathroom and have no idea what happened next. Bob saw me in the closet door mirror laying on the bathroom floor. My head was wedged at an odd angle on the hall door to the bathroom. He says he kept calling my name but I never heard him. I was very dizzy and disoriented when I came to. I was able to get myself up and fall into bed.

I tried to rally later and get up. I looked out of the window but didn't see those guys next door. That was around 10:45 I think and then I fell asleep again. I think I heard a knock on the door but was too weak to figure it out. So after resting on the side of the bed for a few minutes, I put some shoes and a coat on. Rick is sitting out trying to eat a banana after being sick most of the night. I guess what woke me up was Brandon from the campground delivering our fire ring on the forklift-just a little late.

Debbie and Rick asked me for Pepto tablets so I crawl back inside the RV and dig them out of the medicine cabinet. Debbie follows me to the RV door so I don't have to go out again. I'm so tired and weak. I go back to bed and we both sleep until almost 3:00! It is sprinkling on the skylights. Rick and Debbie are gone in their van. I hope they went to the RV Hall of Fame without us if they are both feeling better. It's 3:00 p.m. and 59 degrees with 56% humidity. The high was 64 and the low was 52.

I manage to keep some ginger ale (leftover from the Rock Star Rootbeer vodka drinks) and soda crackers down along with a fourth of a cup of tea. Bob sticks with a glass of water. A half an hour later we both go back to bed.

At 5:00 p.m. Rick and Debbie knock. How sweet of them to bring us Chicken Soup from Das Dutchman Essenhaus Amish Country Kitchen on US 20 in Middlebury. We saw it, was that just yesterday? on our Sunday drive but it was closed. They went back to eat and brought us a care package. I have one quarter of the broth and it tastes heavenly along with two more crackers. Debbie felt so bad about getting us sick she had an Amish postcard, some notecards with "Rita" on them and a back of M&M's for Bob in our care package. She is so nice. It made me smile.

From 8:00 to 9:00 we watch House on the TV in the bedroom. We both passed out before Castle came on at 10:00. I didn't wake up until 5:00 a.m. with an extreme headache. I got up and had a cup of English Breakfast Tea and two more saltines. Then I went back to bed until 9:30. I don't think I've ever slept that much in my life.

Sunday Drive Throuigh Amish Country

Their pop-up is just one site down the hill from The Titanic. We are using one of the firepits across the road.

Sunday, May 16, I'm up at 7:00. I can see Rick outside. They both soon head to the shower house. Rick says the shower heads are too low and the water has a 'push-on' button. When they come back they make hot tea for Debbie after I hunt up some tea bags for them. She has Arnold bread toast, Rick has Pop-Tarts and Bob and I have Rice Crispy Treats-the breakfasts of champions. It is not as cold out this morning.

We all walk up a few sites to say hi to Don. He has a nice fire going and we gather round. Don digs out his cute wooden napkin and salt and pepper holders for each of us. Reva gets ready inside and joins us with her fabric 'curtain.' Debbie and I pick out our favorites; I like the small birdhouse print and Debbie chooses the fireworks. Rick has the excellent idea to get Don to sign his handiwork so now we have a one-of-a-kind memento of our visit here. We all chat until 1:30! Bob and I are still in our 'lounge wear.' What a fun morning.

Don and Riva's cute Salt and Pepper holder with 'mosquito house' looks great on our kitchen counter.

Found a spot for the matching Napkin Holder too!

We head home to get dressed and have a leftover snack as we're starving. Those Rice Crispy Treats didn't stay with us. I clean up the kitchen, stretch and clean myself up. Then I join Rick, Debbie and Bob outside. We all go for a ride in their van. We go west on 120 to Elkhart, then north on Main to 19 and follow it around south to 20. We go east to Middlebury and on through to Shipshewana. Every Amish Restaurant and all of the other restaurants in the area are closed on Sunday.

RVTV motorcoach has seven steps up to the interior!

In desperation we go north across the 80 Toll Road into Michigan to the town of White Pigeon. Rick still has standards and draws the line at Pigeon Inn Cafe, the only thing open in town. So we go back to Bristol where we find the River Inn closed at 3:00 (it is now 4:30.) So we go to Goshen and eat at good ole Bob Evans.

Turkey Spinach Omelet for me. Chicken Salad and Fruit Plate for Bob. Rick has a salad and Debbie gets her chicken dumplin' bowl of comfort food that she was craving after being sick. We roll out with go boxes and are home by 6:00. As we drive home Little Rick, their son, sends a cell phone picture of his dinner back in Ohio; chicken, butter, garlic, almonds, cheese and Captain Morgan's! Back home we take a short break as Bob Googles the RV Hall of Fame and checks the weather for tomorrow.

It's 6:26 p.m. and 63 degrees. with 32% humidity. We had more sunshine than they predicted but it is cool with a high of only 64 and a low of 47 degrees. Bob and I take a walk at sunset and chat with Don. Our neighbor Jim next to Don left. He took a new site on the far side of the campground. We tell Don we saw their truck at Fazoli's on 19 in Elkhart. It wasn't hard to spot with his new golf cart he bought on the way up here still in the back. He said they went to Yup's, the local popular ice cream shack that we saw in Middlebury with a crowd out front. He says they have great $3.00 cheeseburgers too but he likes the Black Cherry hand-dipped ice cream.

We continue on our walk. I take a picture of the RVTV motorhome on the other side of the campground. That thing is huge and has seven steps to get up inside of it. Back at our firepit across the road, Bob and I start a fire and that rousts Debbie and Rick. They are amazed that we're acting like campers! Bob has a nice 'flame' according to Debbie. Tonight Rick hits the sack early saying he doesn't feel too well and we wonder if he's sick too. Debbie stays up around the fire with us tonight until about 11:00. It seems we can't get both of them well. Little did we know....

Indoor BBQ Burgers and Beans

Early morning snapshot of our new neighbors' campsite; not a creature is stirring!

Saturday, May 15, I'm up at 7:00 a.m. The low was 47 last night. I feel for those guys in the pop-up but they assure us later that their little heater is keeping them toasty. I snap a picture early this morning of our new streetside neighbors campsite. I see Rick sitting out early but we're not dressed yet and he disappears back inside. No sign of Debbie.

We have a little breakfast, clean up, take out the trash and I meet Don across the road. He and his wife Reva, who is not out yet, live in Abilene, Texas! He retired from the military air force base there. He is also a postal retiree like my Dad. They come to this campground and this site for the summer (second year here) from May through September when they go back to their home in Abilene for the winter. He lost his first wife to cancer and she lost her husband. They both went to the same high school near Terre Haute, IN, but waited all of this time to actually meet each other and get married. He showed me his woodworking projects; corn hole games and cute napkin and salt and pepper holders. Riva makes the fabric 'curtains' for those. More on that later.

Waldorf Jello Salad

I see no sign of Rick and Debbie at 11:30 and hope they are okay. I start chopping veges for my BBQ Burgers and at last I see them outside in lawnchairs. So I go out to say hi. She had a rough night and got up sick to her stomach at 4:00 a.m. I go back to get our lawn chairs to join them and meet Diana (her and Bruce are two sites over curbside from us.) They just got here from Osceola for the season. They used to be in a site on the other side of the campground but moved over here. She was laid off in December from the Juvenile Justice Facility. Bruce is retired. Diana and Don walk down to meet Bob, Rick and Debbie. Don just hung up a two-tube birdfeeder he made. It's nice to meet both of them. I like how friendly everyone is here.

We sat out with Rick and Debbie for a bit. I share my pot of hazelnut coffee with Rick. Then I go in to finish my burger patties. I call out the window for Debbie to come over and chat. She ganders at the digital picture frame while I unmold my Waldorf Jell-O Salad. We join the guys outside in the lawn chair. The guys decide it is a good time for lunch so I come back in to do my burgers inside on the stovetop. The guys set up Rick and Debbie's canopy so we all four move it over the picnic table between the trees. Lunch is served. I did my burgers in two skillets so they would all be ready at once. The ones not done in the Teflon skillet are crumbly. These are supposed to turn out like mini-meatloaf burgers.

My RV BBQ Beans are a hit; baked beans with granny smith apples, white raisins, brown sugar and Kansas City Masterpiece BBQ sauce. To the menu I add Peppercorn Ranch Cheeseball with veges, Waldorf Jell-O Salad that makes a nice presentation, sliced tomatoes and onions, and lettuce. What a feast! We clean it all up and poor Debbie crashes. Food is not her thing right now but she's a trooper. Rick joins her for an afternoon nap after the guys get a paper and firewood.

Lunch in the cabana

Bob and I read the paper. It feels good to sit down after cooking all morning. It's 4:35 p.m. and clouding over with 63 degrees and 38% humidity. The high was 65 degrees. We go out for a fire until 11:00; even Debbie joins us for a while. The stars are not as bright tonight. We have a sliver of a moon. And we can see the glow of 3 or 4 other fires in the campground.

RV Surplus Store, Elhart, IN-Thanks Tom and Nan for the Tip!

Rick and Debbie arrive with their little pop-up

Friday, May 14, I slept like the dead through the rain storm. Bob had to close the window on my side of the bed. The low is 51 this morning. It is sunny and clear when I get up at 7:30. I make Rice Krispy Treats and Waldorf Jell-O Salad from Joanna Flukes "Sugar Cookie Mystery" (Thanks Elaine for turning me onto her books.)

Bob surfs the Net for RV and wheel places so we can repair all of our stuff from yesterday's debacle. Thankfully we don't have to pack up and move today-that sure feels good. After noon we take 120 west all the way through Elkhart enjoying this beautiful drive past the St. Joseph's River. It is dammed up and reminds us of Lake Austin. We get to Hwy 19 on the west side of Elkhart but the Camping World Bob found on the Internet is not there. Some other RV place is on the sign but it is out of business too. There's a lot of that going on in this economically depressed area.

Bob and Rick find a level spot

So we do a bat turn to the place just north where they are selling Landmark RVs. A guy directs us (in a very long-winded way) to RV Surplus located where loop 19 turns east on the north side of town. In spite of his directions we find it! Nan-Marie and Tom told us about this place. They found their coffee table that we admired so much here. We spot one that we're interested in while we browse. We take measurements of it to see if it will work where we want to store it. We find no sewer extensions or wheel hub-caps, or chocks or jack motor.

We backtrack west around the corner, across the street to another place-Factory RV Supply. Voila! They have Rhino extension kits. We get two 5-foot kits for $11.95 each. One was marked $18.95 as that package was never opened but they give them both to us for the lower price. They don't have any of the other items we're looking for but we're pleased to have our hose. Now we can have long showers tonight!

Success!

Next we go east on 19 where we find Bristol Cafe, established 1968, and a cheap, good lunch. Ham Salad on wheat and Ham 'n Bean Soup for me. Bob has a Philly Cheese. Then we take Main Street south of US 20 to Discount Tire. The guy can't tell from Bob's picture of the wheel hub which one he needs to order. So we give up and head home at 2:45.

We have a voice message from Debbie at 1:38 (I didn't hear the phone in my purse.) They are hitting the road today after all. I try her cell phone and then finally reach her on Rick's phone. She got a nap in after work so they are headed out toady and are around Sandusky as we speak. How fun-we'll be seeing our new friends from Ohio last year soon.

First of several pink sunsets at Eby's Pines

Bob goes out to install our new sewer hose extension. Just one of the 5-footers reaches! I get the bugs off the front of the RV from our last three moves and squeegee the windows. Bob fishes the pond, catching 2 bass and 2 blue gill. I cut up veges and make Peppercorn Ranch Cheeseballs. It's 5:45 p.m. and 65 degrees with 33% humidity.

Rick calls from the office just before 6:00. They have arrived! Of course the gal in the office sends them down the wrong way just like she did us. As he swings around behind us he says "Your crap (bikes) is in the way!" He jockeys his sister Lynne's pop-up sideways in the site next to us down the hill. We help them set up and get level. Debbie is feeling poorly. Says it came on her during the trip and she was blaming the swaying of the camper on the back end.

I make a Rock Star Rootbeer vodka concoction for all of us. That may have been too much for Debbie. The guys get firewood from the pavilion and we decamp across the road where the only firepit is located.

Debbie crashes a half an hour before the rest of us at 11:00. I hope she gets to feeling better in the morning. It sure is great to see those guys.