While We Wait.....And Some Big News

We are keeping ourselves busy while we wait for our August 14th date to bring in our damaged RV for repairs.  We had a family graduation, Eldy got hired as assistant golf coach for the Concord High School girls' golf team and will be coaching during a short golf season under the direction of the head coach, his granddaughter (!). So we decided to get an apartment for the remainder of this year and into next summer. We will rent an apartment for a year, recover some of the financial costs of repairs, deductibles and other things and have decided we want to downsize our RV to a class C or small class A if we can sell the big fifth wheel. Campgrounds are getting much more expensive and even with our Thousand trails camping membership, we were starting to have to follow the same travel patterns repeatedly in order to afford to travel full time. We'd really like to branch out and see more of the country with less restrictions on where we can stay. We can do that if we come off the road for awhile, save some money get a smaller rig, and not travel full time. We don't know how long repairs will take and that could be months, so that's another reason we decided to stay put for awhile.

So with some sadness at coming off the road for awhile, but with much gladness at the benefits of having lots of Eldy's family close by and a chance for Sparky and Eldo to both work for a bit, we look forward to the next chapter in our lives of being stationary for awhile. Sparky will still post on the blog, but we certainly understand if readers stop following us since we are not going to be full timing for awhile, or possibly changing over to part timing as snowbirds when we downsize our RV. It seems to be the natural progression of aging with full time RVers to come to the point of traveling less and less due to lots of different reasons. 

So here we are, in Elkhart, IN, our home for the next year...We have an apartment lined up, and we are back to shopping for furniture! Trying to be frugal about furnishing an apartment as we don't have any furniture of our own, we have been visiting thrift shops and garage sales and here is what we have so far.....an almost new couch for 85.00....

An old HEAVY entertainment center for 6.00.....Sparky landed that one at a thrift shop on a 50% off day!

Sparky has removed the really heavy slide out trays and heavy fan motor and is going to outfit the interior with shelves for craft supplies. (Of course! says Eldo,) She might lighten up the finish a bit, too.

A floor lamp for 10.00....

A small roll top desk for 60.00...It has a hole in the roller part, but we think we can fix that enough so it won't be too visible....Why somebody would make holes at the top of the roller part of the cover is anybody's guess!

A craftsman style (?) end table. Sparky is going to refinish the top and paint the lower half of it a deep charcoal gray to go with the gray of the couch. Ten dollars....

And how could you not buy lemonade from the cutest kids and the cutest lemonade stand at this garage sale? (Sparky is a sucker for kids' lemonade stands. She bought lemonade the very next day from Amish kids selling it on Father's Day weekend! explains E.)

Sparky is on the Pumpkinvine Bike Trail at least two to three times a week...trying to keep her sugar and weight down. The spring wildflowers have died down but there are a few colorful summer ones now...The beautiful bluish purple spiderwort....

Sweet William perennials on the lane to Moody's Ice Cream Shop off the trail...

Sweet pea blossoming outside of the Winnebago plant near Middlebury...

The scenery is ever changing on the trail....

The Amish are plowing their fields....

A buggy peeking through the trail's vines and trees...

A bit of whimsy on the trail just outside of Abshire Park...

Seen the day after Father's Day on the trail...

You can see two of the Heritage Trail quilt gardens as you ride from Goshen to Middlebury. Kryder Gardens is a beautiful rest stop in Middlebury with picnic areas, gazebos, a little waterfall and even a windmill. There is a quilt garden there.

"Tree of Life" quilt garden at Kryder Gardens

Another quilt garden is right at Abshire Park in Goshen, at the beginning of the Pumpkinvine Trail. It's called the "Crosshatch" pattern. In another month, the flowers will have filled in and the pattern even more beautiful.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday is the Shipshewanna Flea Market. We have been going to it for years and years. It's really changed. There used to be a TON of individuals who crafted beautiful things...lots of handpainted woodwork, doll clothes, etc, but now, most of it is from China or other places. Lots of yard art and home decor can be found. It seems though, that handmade has gone by the wayside, except for a couple of booths. But you can find lots of home decor, faux leather goods, clothing....and bargains if you look hard.

There are multiple auctions going on in a building next to the flea market. That has changed as well. There doesn't seem to be as many furniture finds and vintage stuff as there used to be, at least that was our impression when we visited last week. But it's fun to watch the action and the bidding. Who knows what you might be looking for, it's possible it's here! 

Sparky liked this shot of people watching the bidding and the statue pose.

Some might say the flea market is for the birds, haha, but we don't think so!

Sparky liked this metal sign....

Lots of pet lover merch....

dog breed wooden spoons

We finally visited Biebs & Ash in downtown Goshen, IN for some terrific smash burgers and fries...WOW! Highly recommend...

beautiful fabrics at Lolly's

You know what else is in Shipshewanna? Besides lots of cool little vintage furniture, ice cream, and home decor shops? Handmade pretzels at Jojo's in the Mercantile building, and Lolly's fabric store, filled with LOTS of quilt ideas and the most extensive quality cotton fabric selection you could hope for a small town shop. Sparky hopes to make some home decor small quilts this year. (Uh-oh, worries E, there goes the budget!) Naw...Sparky plans to exercise restraint and not go there very often this summer....(HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's Eldo rolling on the floor laughing his butt off.) Hey, they do have rockers for you guys to wait on your woman shopping at Lolly's but you might be there awhile.....

With that we will say bye for now.....You may not hear from us for awhile, but if we do something special in the area, we will let you know! It's been a great ride, a total of SIX YEARS full timing, but it's not our last foray out into the great USA...Don't be surprised if we say, HEY, we are going out on the road again, we do love to travel! We will keep you posted as our plans evolve and our lifestyle keeps changing. Thank you for following along and hope you still will.

                                        Sparky and Eldo

Why We Do What We Do....

Sometimes people must wonder, "Why would you sell your house and everything in it and go traipsing across the country in the confines of a an RV?" We have a lot of reasons. Eldo loves traveling. He loves to research and plan our trips, although not as far out as we have to do now. Sparky also loves traveling and seeing new parts of the country. Our families are spread all over the US. We see them more now than we did before. We love seeing our country in new and different ways each time we cross it and we love having our home with us wherever we land vs. staying in hotels and sleeping in strange beds every night. Some people keep their homes as a home base, others like us, sell it and take off for new adventures. 

We love meeting wonderful people. It's not difficult to make new friends RVing, and believe it or not, you DO see them again. RVers are especially open to getting to know you if you want to reach out and chat.  They are also more than willing to help you if you are having any kind of problems while on the road. They come over and offer to help, they don't wait for you to ask. They loan you tools. They share resources. We compare notes about where to stay and where NOT to stay. We met two wonderful couples while at Twin Mills, and our paths are going to cross again in the near future.

ornamental pear

Sparky loves learning about the names of plants, animals and the unique parts of wherever we travel. When we get somewhere, and she starts hiking or biking and taking photos, she is always researching and learning new things about the animals, the names of the flowers, the kitschy roadside attractions and the local points of interest. She really loves exercising her mind that way. This lifestyle is great for someone with a short attention span, like Sparky! It keeps her mind engaged and out of trouble. (Well-l-l-l-l, I don't know about THAT, laughs Eldo. It depends on what craft stores are in the area!) Funny you should mention that Eldy!

By the way, in Shipshewanna, (9.6 miles) there is a Bernina sewing center, a GREAT one level department store called Yoders, all in the same building, Yoder's Meat Market down the street, the Pumpkinvine trailhead on Depot Street and a beautiful fabric store in the Davis Mercantile, the newest building in downtown Shipshewanna, called Lolly's. (And Sparky can tell you the entire inventory of that store! adds E.) Haha, not really. How about some homemade pretzels at JoJo's Pretzels, watch them make them while you eat! Don't forget Rise and Roll Bakery,  for THE best donuts in the area, Bontrager's Surplus in White Pigeon, MI, for RV odds and ends, and Hilltop Restaurant in Middlebury for great reasonably priced breakfasts, which is 18 miles from Twin Mills RV park and is a beautiful drive along county roads and worth the drive. For grocery shopping, there's a Walmart and a much better store, Meijers in Sturgis, MI, not far at all.

For instance, we are at Twin Mills RV Park in Howe, IN. We've been here many times before, but there is always something new to learn and to see, especially the Amish lifestyle as the whole area is Amish countryside and farming. We've seen a team of ten draft horses pulling a plow headed to the fields. We've seen a huge gathering of over 50 buggies for an Amish wedding reception. Seeing the Amish gather on Sundays at different locations for their worship in their black and white attire, the women in starched white bibs and black bonnets, the men in white shirts, black hats, vests and coats gets Sparky wanting to learn about what an Amish church service is like. When she first saw the buggies, she researched how they are built, how much they cost....little things like that. She loves seeing the barefoot Amish kids play baseball in the schoolyard while she's biking the Pumpkinvine Bike Trail, and that got her thinking what's a normal school day like for an Amish kid? So she might go do some research, or just do the wondering part, haha, Love the school bell on top in the photo below, but have never heard it ring.

Amish phone booth

Seeing the little phone booths in the front yard (Amish cannot have modern conveniences inside their houses), made Sparky wonder, how has the Amish lifestyle changed? Are they still living as a restrictive lifestyle as they used to, or are they changing with the rest of the world? The answer to that is complex, but the Amish are embracing solar panels for energy usage, their clothing has become a little more colorful, and there are other subtle changes occurring. There are different sects of the Amish and different requirements for them.

On the Pumpkinvine Trail

We love the countryside drives that we go on, to get from one small town like Howe, to other towns like Middlebury here in Indiana. Spring is a truly beautiful season in Indiana. It's so nice to see tulips, crocus, daffodils, and many many beautiful flowering trees in this area--pears, Eastern redbuds and serviceberry trees at the time we visited. It's peaceful and a refreshing reminder to the soul to take time, slow down, and enjoy life while you can.

Well, it's time to go...We are headed to Eldy's son's house to stay for a few days, see Eldy's granddaughter graduate from college, and then we will return for another week at Twin Mills, then it's off to head to the east coast stopping through Ohio and Pennsylvania to get to Maine. You probably won't hear from us for awhile. Sparky worries about repeating visits and info, so she will try to keep things fresh and new. If there's something to report, we certainly will....

Sunday Amish church gathering

Oh, yes...there is. The darn slide was being balky AGAIN when we pulled it in to head to Twin Mills. It came in part way, then stopped. Eldy had to keep one hand on the switch, and gave it a gentle pull and then it came in the rest of the way. But life is full of blessings, if you recognize them. There was one when we arrived at the park. One of the new couples we met while here were Shane and Denise Shelby. Shane just happens to be a fully trained RV tech! If you ever see him, his company is Coast To Coast RV Repair. We asked him to come and look at our slide, and darned if the slide didn't work perfectly. In and out five or six times, and it was fine. Oh, well. Watch. It will do again somewhere else, we are sure. The bonus was we became friends with them, promised to stay in touch, and had a wonderful night last night playing Euchre with them after YEARS of not having played. We laughed so hard, we had so much fun. See what we mean about making friends on the road? We feel like we've known them a long time, they were that wonderful! Also a shout out to Rosie and Mike Bottai, who were here for a shorter amount of time, we had a short, but wonderful visit with them, too!

So we will be busy with family next week, back to Twin Mills and the Pumpkinvine Trail for Sparky, then we will see you down the road. Thanks for reading, and bye for now.....Eldy (aka Eldo) and Jeannie (aka Sparky)