A Whimsical Tour

"Davis, the guitar"

 

The Peanuts Gang on Van Buren St. Shipshewanna

Every year at least for the past three years we have lived in Elkhart, there has been a hay bale tour in the fall in Shipshewanna and surrounding area, usually from September 1 to November 1. Actually, it has been going on for a decade! We were happy to go on the self-guided tour once again this year.

Shipshewanna is such a fun town all through the year. It is always beautifully decorated for the seasons. This year was no exception...Scarecrows everywhere doing all kinds of antics--hanging upside down, swinging, doing cartwheels and being chased by a mean steer. There are great restaurants and ice cream shops to visit while you are checking out all the decorations--we love the Blue Gate Restaurant and a bit farther away from Shipshewanna is Das Essenhaus, both great restaurants if you want a nice homecooked meal by Mennonite and Amish folks. Lots of home goods and home decor stores are in Shipshewanna and Middlebury as well, and of course, the Amish with their horse and buggies are out and about on the county roads. Saturday is a big shopping day for the Amish.

Sparky's favorite treat while window shopping at Lolly's Fabric Store in Shipshewanna or "Shipsee" as the locals call it, is JoJo's Pretzel shop in the Davis Mercantile building, downtown Shipshewanna, where they make homemade pretzels all day long. It's fun to watch them and they are so fresh! YUM! And of course, Sparky has to have a Coke with her pretzel, that's her drink of choice.....

So here is one of Sparky's favorite hay bales this year in downtown Shipsee.

We were lucky to run into Will-Hay Nelson and friend while we were out and about! We didn't find out who his lady friend was...We will leave that to your imagination.

We also ran into Louie, the Bluey...

Buttercup, the Cow....

Sammy, the Sloth....

And a couple of aliens at the Essenhaus.

The highland steer (?) was cool...

Buzz Lightyear and Woody were in Middlebury for a visit!

There are SO MANY wonderfully decorated hay bales...People vote on their favorites and post photos online. It takes a lot of patience and skill to decorate a scratchy hay bale and make it look good, we think!

Sparky's favorite this year was the little RV....

If you are ever in the area in the fall, between September 1 and November 1st, check out the hay bale tour...you can find the information online simply by googling Shipshewanna Hay Bale Tour. Online maps are available, and you can also get info and maps at the Shipshwanna Visitors' Center. It's a fun way to spend about a half day to see many of the hay bales. Eldo is such a great driver. He organizes the order in which we follow the maps to make it a great day. (Sparky would be just all over the place, driving around, and not be as good about gas/mileage. So, a big thank you to Eldo/(Eldy)!