Mar 25, 2010 - Nappanee, IN

We arrived in Napannee at "Camp Newmar" on Saturday afternoon. We were surprised to see how many other coaches and 5th wheels were there. We picked a spot and got hooked up. Our appointment was for Tuesday. We spent Sunday driving around the area and checking the whole coach out to be sure we had everything that was wrong on our list. Most of the items were small but we came up with 18 things to be either checked or fixed. On Monday afternoon Alvin came out and went over the list with us and we were able to show him the issues. We had two...

Oct 8, 2009 - Nappanee Indiana

October 5 2009 Nappanee Indiana We came here to have our motor home serviced and tour the Amish countryside. Nappanee is the center of one of the largest Amish settlements in the United States. Nearly 2,500 Old Order Amish live, work and interact with residents and visitors. In the hustle and bustle of the new millennium, the Amish connect with one another heart to heart in a way that is often foreign to the modern mindset. Nappanee is a regional center for both the RV manufacturing industry and the Amish craft and tourism industry. A...

Sep 7, 2009 - Quiet Day on the Home Front

After deciding not to join the masses on the highway today, we didn't even leave the campground today. We sat outdoors most of the day under the awning....watched the Cardinals, visited with neighbors to the rear of the motorhome. They drove a truck from Oregon (yes, the state) to this area to pick up a pull-type trailer from the factory last Thursday. They have a few questions for the factory tomorrow and then they will be on the road to North Carolina before heading back to Oregon. They are probably in their mid-seventies; I say that...

Sep 6, 2009 - A Great Day

The day started with worship at First Baptist Church at Bremen Indiana. FBC is an Independent Baptist, but we still worship the same God. For lunch we were going to a Chinese restaurant that our friend Dave recommended but it was not open on Sunday. Then we went to Amish Acres which has an all-you-can-eat family style restaurant, but it was $18. each person. We weren't thathungry so....we ended up at the Mexican restaurant again. We had a couple of hours to rest.....and Dave and his son David picked us to go to a pig roast. When we arrived...

Sep 5, 2009 - Tractor Auction Photos

After studying the schedule for the day's activities for the Blueberry Festival we chose to spend some time at the Antique Tractor Auction. We spend a couple of hours there. I'll bet they are still selling tractors! Glen took pictures of a few that went through the auction line. The photos have the selling prices. I guess the auctioneer assumed if you were at the auction you would know what year the tractor was because he never gave the year of the tractor. It was almost as much fun 'people watching' as watching the tractors sell. I am...

Sep 5, 2009 - Getting Away from it All!

As you can see by the above photos the campground is nearly full! There are lots of families "getting away from it all." What you can see in the photos is only about one-third of the campground. All of that hard work.....watching other people spend all that money.....deserved a stop at the local Dairy Queen. Even the Amish like a blizzard once in a while!!:) Our friend Dave came to our motorhome this evening. We shared supper and then had a great visit. We hope you are having a great holiday week end!

Sep 4, 2009 - New Things!

It is so-o-o-o exciting! We now have a computer desk/cabinet! See above photos. There is so much storage. And, it looks so good! The wood is a perfect match. We also chose a magazine rack that was installed on the end of the computer cabinet. We were so excited when we got back to the campground that we invited the rv-ers next to us that we had chatted with to come and see the new things! They ooh-ed and ahh-ed and made us feel good! :) We are impressed with the skills of the cabinet maker/woodworker extraordinaire! He is Amish. His shop...

Sep 3, 2009 - Antique Tractor Auction

Glen went to the tractor auction this morning. He came home in a couple of hours and said "you have to see it. You will never believe it!" We both then went back for a short while. It is hard to imagine how many tractors there were lined up, tractors of all colors. We sat in one of the auction rings where the model tractors were being sold. Most of the models were in boxes. Some sold for $20, some sold for $60, and a few were sold for over $100. Glen said this morning old signs were sold, most in the $150-250 range. It would be a sight to...

Sep 2, 2009 - Enduring Friendship

We just returned from supper with old friends. We have mentioned in earlier posts about our friends, Dave and Kathy, that live here in northern Indiana. Glen and Dave were in basic and advanced training in the Army in 1968-69. Dave and Glen were in basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood MO. Kathy and I became friends at that time also. When our guys were sent to Ft. Ord, California for advanced training Kathy and I, and about three other wives, drove our vehicles to California to be able to visit with our husbands. We wives rented kitchenette...

Sep 1, 2009 - Newmar RV Factory Tour

In today's economy Newmar is one of the few rv companies that hasn't been "restructured", sold, or declared bankruptcy. That said, there wasn't any work being done today. The plant was closed this week, but will be open next week. However, tours were still being given. We actually were able to see more this tour than last year. There was only one other couple on the tour. We were able to get up close to the unfinished rigs; in fact, we were able to go inside the unfinished rigs. A few years ago 100 units a week were being manufactured;...

Aug 31, 2009 - Down the Road Apiece!

The 1983 "Avanti"--see photo above--was seen along side the road in Elkhart. "Avanti" was originally made by Studebaker in the early 1960's. Studebaker made them for about two years, and the company then went through several owners until the early 1990's. This Avanti was $18,900....need a car? It looked spiffy, and pretty much original, had kelly green leather interior. We moved down the road about 25-30 miles to Nappanee IN, 5 miles from where the motorhome was assembled. We had been at Elkhart Campground for a week....it's time to move...

Aug 18, 2009 - Ohio, Indiana

It's been a while since I've posted an update to this site, but I have several good excuses. The best is I broke my camera!! $500.00 and a couple of air freight bills have that problem solved, The other is we've been busy, and having a lot of fun, but not traveling very far. In the middle of July we attended the FMCA (Family Motor Coach Assoc.) Newmar International pre-rally in Bremen Indiana, along with 50 other coaches, for a fun filled week. From Bremen we all caravan ed to Bowling Green, Ohio where we joined up with 5600 of our closest...