Bye-Bye Elkhart, IN

Chef making a volcano at Hanayori

I'm really going to miss our stompin' grounds--home of Eldy's place of work for 42 years...Home to Sparky's favorite eating joints..the 523 Restaurant in Elkhart, Hanayori of Japan in Mishawaka, IN where they cook Japanese foods, steak, veggies, rice and a heart attack on a plate serving of shrimp with egg yolk sauce which is to die for, (yuck, yuck). The chef cooks at your table and tells corny jokes while he's cooking. I'm gonna miss Carmela's in South Bend (a new favorite) and Heinnie's Back Barn, home of the BEST steaks ever! (This girl is all about food I'm tellin' ya!) I'm gonna miss my favorite craft store, Erica's Craft & Sewing Center in South Bend, (they're going to miss you, too, I'll bet! says E. HOW many times did you stop in there while we were here?)  I plead the fifth! I used to work there years ago and spent every dime of my salary accumulating fabrics and craft notions (of which I lugged tubs and tubs into the storage shed, says a weary E.) I'm going to miss Shipshewanna--Jojo's Pretzels, Lolly's Fabrics, and all the Amish buggies and traditions and foods that go along with visiting an Amish community. And Eldy's going to miss Yoder's Popcorn. He used to buy 50 pound bags of the stuff back in the day. I think he was thinking of buying a couple of fifty pound bags the other day when we went to Shipshewanna, but there's no room in the cupboards! (Because they are full of YARN! sighs Eldy.)

I stocked up on Jojo's pretzels and froze some for later!

I'm going to miss our friends, Eldy's family and the grandkids. I'm going to miss my teaching friends from Angola and Mishawaka...Of course, Eldy is going to miss his friends and family....We've had a wonderful time here as evidenced by this is the longest we've ever stayed in one spot--five weeks...They say all good times must come to an end, but when you travel full time in an RV, I guess I'd say that good times don't end, they just change...

I'm gonna miss the TREES, the beautiful big oaks, the fiery red maples, and all the variety of trees and colors. It's been a very spectacular fall here, and I've really gotten to experience the cool temperatures that I like so much. I've ridden my bike a lot around the neighborhoods, taking in the smell of burning leaves, watching the leaves fall, and even hiking my favorite trails in my old hometown of Fremont, IN. We feel that we've both been very lucky to see everybody we wanted to see, although not as much as we would have liked, but we sure accomplished a LOT in the time we were here.  We got to see the grandkids quite a bit and their parents. It will be hard missing their growing up this coming year, but we'll stay in touch and talk often. We've both been given a clean bill of health, we got our teeth fixed, our eyes checked, we're good to go for another year!

Bye-bye, Elkhart! It's time to hit the road!