The Process Begins.....

We arrived in Elkhart on Tuesday, ahead of a big midwest storm. We were supposed to get large hail and bad wind, but it went to the north of us. Whew!

We are all settled in at Camp Tompkins, (Eldy's son's house). We have a HUGE site (haha--Brian's side yard), access to a fitness room (an exercise bike), a fire pit outdoors with beautiful Amish made Adirondack rockers, and a gorgeous flowing pond.

Also a shower house comes with the site (bathroom basement shower) should we happen to fill our grey tanks too quickly, haha. We don't have a sewer connection, but we found a local company, Cripes Sewer, that will pump out our black tanks for 80.00 each time if we are here for longer than two weeks at a time. Wastewater management is a must when you are mootchdocking-(staying with relatives) and you only have water and electric hookup. We have onboard storage tanks for when we are not hooked up to sewer. We have two black tanks-one for the main bathroom in the RV and one for the half bath. We have two gray tanks--one for the shower and sinks, and one for the kitchen sink. Gray water (the soapy dishwater and running water from sinks) can be dumped into a drain or at the edge of the woods on the property, but the black tanks have to be pumped or cleared out by dumping into a portable potty type canister, which we don't have, or by a septic service.  The black tanks will fill in about two weeks, the gray tanks fill much sooner. So we watch and make sure to be ready when we need to dump. 

How do you know when you need to dump? Most RV's have gauges that are supposed to show you how full your tanks are. But many RV black and gray tank gauges quit working after awhile because "stuff" gets stuck on the sides of the tanks and gunks up the gauges, rendering them pretty useless. There are all kinds of methods out there to supposedly clear your gauges and get them working again. Dawn dish detergent, fabric softener, ice cubes--(dump them down the toilet and then while you drive they are supposed to knock the stuff off the sides of the tank as they melt.) But despite our best efforts to keep the tanks clean and using different methods to clean them, our gauges quit working accurately not long after we got our rig. So how do you know when to dump if the gauges are not accurate? When you can see the water in the tank in the toilet start to come up to the opening in the toilet bowl, it's time to dump the black. When the shower stall drains super slow, it's time to dump the gray. (Or else your drain might be clogged with hair and gooey soap.) We are very informal about keeping track. That's just what we do.  After you've been RVing for awhile, you learn when it's time. The size of your tanks also determine how long you can go before dumping. (SPARKY! That's more than anybody wanted to know!....exclaims Eldo.) Well sure, but some people have no idea what living in an RV is like and how essential things are handled, so Sparky just threw that in today....She didn't intend to get anal about it.....HAHAHAHAHA! (GROAN.......)

The Pumpkinvine Bike Trail as Abshire Park in Goshen, is about seven miles away, so Sparky is going to get back on that while we wait each day to hear about estimates for repairs. The truck goes in Tuesday for repairs and will be tied up for about three weeks.

Sparky is glad to have the Pumpkinvine bike trail to take her mind off things like insurance claims. That is such a great trail! Paved most of the way, solid level gravel in parts, it's always a great way to see the Amish lifestyle and Amish folks out and about. 

Today, Sparky rode on the trail for 14 miles. It was a beautiful Easter Sunday and the Amish were dressed in their finery, returning from church and walking home. The women had on starched white bibs over long black dresses and wore black bonnets. The men wore white shirts, black coats, black pants and black hats. The kids were dressed in black and white as well. Sparky saw a little boy go running down a county road towards his farmhouse, all dressed up for Sunday church but no shoes on, running barefoot and carefree down the lane. It seems like the Amish are ahead of the theory of "grounding", letting your bare feet connect with nature, the woods, the grass, the earth, which is becoming a trendy term these days, as they go barefoot a LOT, even in cold weather! They go barefoot, it is said, to feel closer to God and the earth. The connection with nature, as part of God's creation, is an important part of the Amish culture.

It's early April and the only wildflowers spotted today were hepatica, the first among the many wildflowers that will eventually bloom along the trail.....The flowers are most commonly blue or lavender and they are really starting to pop along the trail.

Sparky went riding a few days later, and more is blooming. How about the beautiful Star Magnolia? Incredible blossoms.....

Sometimes you can see a small bison herd right outside the Jayco factory plants along the trail...the calves are out and about with their mamas. It just seems a little weird to see bison grazing right outside of RV factories.

Sparky started subbing in the local schools. Whoooo-eeee! The kids are a handful! Doesn't matter whether you are in kindergarten (average class size of 20 little rascals, you can count on somebody always pitching a royal hissy fit over some perceived wrong, somebody kicking and hollering on the floor, and somebody who is already VERY ADD or somebody just not ready for kindergarten), or managing a tough 4th grade class--(the highest Sparky will go, since girl drama has now gone from middle school down to 4th grade). BUT--she still loves it. Kindergarten especially, even if they are a handful. Who doesn't love a young child who, within minutes of meeting you, comes up to you, gives you a great big hug and says, "I love you!" and that's multiple times a day! Sparky has brushed up on lots of useful classroom management tips gathered over the years and some fresh new ones. And here's how you know you are teaching kindergarten for the day...

Teachers of elementary kids like to use "call backs" to get kids to simmer down and focus, even if it's for short periods of time. It works pretty well. You say, "Macaroni and cheese!" And the kids respond with, "Everybody freeze!" And they stop what they are doing...Hopefully. Times have changed. Now we use...Teacher: "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" Kids: "SpongeBob Square Pants!" Or this from DoJa Cat on Tik Tok.....Teacher: "Why don't you......Kids: "Say so!" Sparky doesn't do Tik Tok, so that one probably is not going to be used. She likes to use, "Waterfall, waterfall...." and the kids make movements with their hands like a waterfall running down and say, "SH-H-H-H-H-H...."

After the first day Sparky was EXHAUSTED. Her feet hurt, her back hurt, and it was challenging. But--she is meeting some great young minds, teachers' and kids', and loving to see what teachers are now doing and using in the classroom. It's been three years since she last subbed. Stay tuned for a few school stories now and then. After all, this is still a travel blog but we aren't moving for awhile while we wait to get stuff fixed. But, we might take some day trips, you never know! So Sparky is going to mix it up a bit as far as topics.

This week Eldy (a.k.a. Eldo) celebrated his quarter century birthday! We had a great family dinner at Michael's Restaurant in Elkhart, which gets 4.5 out of 5 stars. It's a terrific Italian restaurant! Great Italian subs, mostaccioli, lasagna, pizza and more. Here is the birthday boy and his new toy from his family.... A remote control car....Vroom, vroom!

Eldy's 75th birthday

    

Happy birthday to my sweet guy!                         

                                             

                                                                        Bye for now.....

What's Thousand Trails Indian Lakes Like? And Eldo's Birthday

Lots of green spaces for picnics

Indian Lakes, Batesville, IN.  April 18, 2022.  Site 4552   High: 50's-60's, Low: 30's -50's.  ATT signals excellent. 5G one bar. Not needing to use our T-mobile hot spot at all.

We are at Thousand Trails, Indian Lakes, which is in Batesville, IN. It's a BIG, beautiful park with over 154 NEW, 50 amp sites, lots of ponds, a lake, a new pool area, a nice dog park, and a campground store/fuel station on the grounds. They sell propane there as well. This park is a jointly owned KOA and Thousand Trails park so there is a KOA section attached to the Thousand Trails park. 

The new sites are amazing! Unfortunately, they didn't plant very many trees in the new section at all, so as the grass starts to grow between the very wide sites, that's about all that's going to be green and there won't be any shade at all. Many of the sites on the outside edges have already been claimed by seasonal, especially the ones that back up to the woods, of course! 

new section at rear of the park

Currently, the total number of sites are well over 800, including the many, many seasonal and annuals. We aren't privy to how many of the sites are for transient (overnight, passing through or a two to three weeks stay,) so that number might mislead you, as the number of sites for Thousand Trails camping members is always limited.  Here we are, in the middle section of the park, phase 4B for a few days. It's a nice site but along the main road from the front gate to the other sections of the park, so lots of traffic. 

our site #4552 phase 4B

Sparky was told that when all the sites in the different phases are completed, the park will be BIGGER than Orlando Thousand Trails RV Park which currently has over 1,000 sites. 

another view of the new section

We like Batesville for the following reasons...There are extremely few park models in the park. There are seasonal/annual site clusters so if you are in an RV and only staying for a few days to a few weeks, you are assigned in the areas where others are doing the same thing. At some Thousand Trails parks, you get sandwiched in between park models and it's extremely difficult some times to back your rig into a site on narrow streets lined with park models. We like it that we are surrounded by other RVers and not residential park model owners. It's just better to be where you feel comfortable and have a similar life style--the nomadic lifestyle!

common area at Indian Lakes

Sometimes we imagine that park model owners are probably not too enthusiastic with RVers and their visible sewer hoses snaking all around the ground lot and occasional smells that go with that when you dump your sewer tanks into the system. But we could be totally wrong about that. Many a wonderful friendship starts up at an RV park because EVERYBODY, well, almost  everybody started out as an RVer, then settled down when they found a park they truly loved, and then maybe bought a park model to stay for long periods of time.

There is ample green space, huge green fields, ponds and lakes, AND the roads are very decent in most areas of the park but a couple. You can ride a bike easily all over the park and get a lot of miles in. You can fish. You can kayak if you have your own. They just completed a new pool construction project coupled with a wading/shower spray fun stuff pool for the young ones. (Sparky forgets what you call that!) Oh, yeah. A splash pad! There is a nice building for an activity center. There is a beautiful playground for the kids. 

There are three laundry rooms currently. Sparky loves it that families are here. It's a great mix of young and old, and of course, Sparky loves kids and interacting with them.

The sites whether they are back in or pull through, are spacious and wide. Plenty of room between you and your neighbor, and they are LEVEL--hallelujah! and are gravel. However, there are very few pull throughs in the park. There are some in the old section as you first come in, and seem to be readily available because they are older and not as level, then there are some pull thrus in the new section at the back of the park, but most of those are already taken by annuals or seasonal it seems. Here is a sample pull through in the older, first phase section.

Overall, the park is easy to navigate around in, no problem driving through the park when you come in to look for a good site. Lots of amenities, friendly helpful staff. You are 20 miles from the nearest Walmart and 5 miles from a nice Kroger store. 

A few nice restaurants around...We ate at the Brau House for Eldy's 74th birthday, a VERY German restaurant in Oldenburg, which is right next to Batesville. It's a town of German ancestry. Eldy had a pork tenderloin sandwich, probably THE most favorite thing he likes to eat, if he can find a good one. Indiana is known for that, but did you know there is a PORK TENDERLOIN TRAIL, just like there is a bourbon trail, or a wine trail or a whiskey distillery trail? YEP! Right here in Indiana. We are going to have to check that out. Nothing better than a humongous breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, in Eldo's opinion. Happy birthday, Eldy! (Sparky thinks he looks good for 74, don't you?)

Our last day in Batesville, we had SNOW! We had already delayed our leaving by one day as we had heard the weather was bad further north. So we stayed in Batesville one more day. Sparky loves, loves, loves snow. Not the kind that stays for a long time, or the icy streets and sleet kind, but just enough for a day to go out and enjoy it and walk in it. It just brings back wonderful childhood memories of walking to school on tree lined streets that made a big canopy overhead. So quiet and peaceful walking to school. So fun "skitching" rides on the back of cars when we were kids. That's where you wait for a car to go by, and then grab the bumper and slide on your feet, then letting go before the driver realizes you're at the back of the car!  The things we did when we were kids!

We are headed to Elkhart and Howe, IN tomorrow and for the next few weeks, so we will be headed to doctors, dentists, and family visits with Eldy's son and his gang. And--the Pumpkinvine Bike Trail. We'll see you later..... Bye for now.....

A Special Night

Sarasota, FL       High:  85     Low:  69

It's heating up around here....can't imagine what summer must be like! Thank goodness, there is a breeze often as the evening winds down, cooling things off.

Last night we went to Ocean Blues supper club, our favorite music venue in Sarasota to hear Ocean's 11. It's an 11 piece Big Band jazz band that has a couple of our favorite trumpet players, Shane Chalke and Steve Rolland, and our favorite drummer, Brian Post. The club opens up the doors on one side of the club totally open to the street so they can fit the whole band in.

We've gotten to know these guys in the band a lot better since we've been visiting Ocean Blues, they are so great about coming out between sets and talking to the customers. They know that Eldy made trumpets and horns for 43 years, so they appreciate his efforts and work. As a matter of fact, Eldy worked SEVEN DAYS A WEEK for 30 YEARS before being able to cut back his schedule to let others take more of the work load. He was the supervisor, so he had to put in the hours to keep the department going, it was a really small, family owned company.

Last night something really special happened, on the eve of his 65th birthday...The drummer, Brian Post, dedicated a song to Eldy....Eldy was so surprised! The name of the tune we don't remember, but it was a wonderful gesture and almost brought Eldy to tears. He turned to Sparky and said, "That just kind of makes it all worthwhile, all those years of work, to see these guys play these horns and hear this wonderful music." It was sort of like a thank you from the fellas, for all the sacrifices he made while working to raise his family.....

What capped it off and REALLY made it extra special, was Steve Rolland played a pocket trumpet during Eldy's dedicated song.

This is a little teeny trumpet that is sort of a novelty but still sounds cool. Steve said they made them during Prohibition so musicians could sneak them into joints where music wasn't supposed to be allowed. Eldy hadn't seen a pocket trumpet, what his department called a "piccolo" trumpet, in over 30 years. That just made the song even more special!

It wasn't super crowded this early in the evening, so there was room to get a nice table and see the band. You can bring your family into the club to eat and hear the music on one side of the club. Sparky spotted a dad with his son, acquainting him with how to use a cell phone for fun. Ah, times have changed, haven't they?

We had fun, the music was fabulous, and every Saturday night for a few more weeks, you can hear Ocean's 11 at the Ocean Blues Club on Hillview Street  if you are in Sarasota, from 7-9 PM. Don't miss them! Great bar food and great music just about every night of the week. Blues Jam is every Sunday, Monday nights are Jazz Jam nights and plenty of other great musicians and bands are playing the nights in between. Eldy won't forget this night for a long time!