Sunday, September 30, 2007

Shannon & Brad - my niece and her hubby

Yesterday, my niece Shannon and her husband, Brad took us to see their new house being built. They are so excited about moving from an apartment into a brand new house! Because of the level of their excitement, it kinda flows over into anyone around and I find that I'm just as excited for them. The first new house - what a thrill it is for this young couple...

Here it is....still under construction....





Shannon and Brad in the garage....



Standing by the beautiful front door...



As the house progresses, I'll post new pictures. Still a long way to go. They are hoping to be in by Christmas - my fingers are crossed!

Red Bay, AL

On our way to Rainbow Plantation we detoured to Red Bay, AL. home of Tiffin Motorhome Co.

We toured the plant and saw the Tiffin Allegro's, Phaeton and Allegro Bus being built. I've posted pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/SchultzTravelPhotos

They are not labeled because truthfully, I couldn't remember what all they were of. If you take a look and have toured RV plants you can most likely identify the various stages of construction.

Enjoy.....

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Full Circle




I figured since our moving around days are over for awhile it was time to post a new updated map.

We are back in Montgomery, AL where 10 months ago we left headed out west. What a winter, spring and summer this has been - one of the best ones of my life. We have seen more and done more that I ever thought would be possible.

Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL will be home for the next couple of months. I'm needed there to look after my Dad and to try to convince him to move back into assisted living. It is not going to be an easy task, believe me.

Parking at Rainbow Plantation is like going home to us since our house we sold is only 12 miles from there. It will be great visiting with old friends and visiting places we haven't been in quite awhile. I'm also looking forward to getting my hair done by my "old" hairdresser, Renee. I already have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. That's the one thing I don't like about being on the road - no one can do your hair like "your" hairdresser

For me, it is going to be difficult to stay primarily in one place this winter. I'm hoping that a lot of our full timing friends that come this direction will stop by for a few days. We are planning on going to Florida for the month of January, so that will provide a break from sitting to long in one place. Anyway, if your in the neighborhood - stop by!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A Great Day In Tennessee

We are parked at the 1000 Trails Natchez Trace Preserve just off the Natchez Trace in TN. Not a bad park, lots of hills, trees and some nice size sites. The down side is the main road is in need of repair and very low water pressure. Another up side is plenty of sites that are good for dish use. Activities have all but stopped except for weekends and the park is probably one third to half full. We are in a site that backs up to woods with a peek of the lake through them. Our nearest neighbor is at least four sites away. This is nice since we've been kind of crowded in at the last couple of campgrounds. We are only stay two nights with tonight being the last, but I will come back - maybe when the leaves change.

Today we drove about 65 miles to Fairview, TN to see our good friends, Brent and Jackie. It had been about two years since we've seen each other and a lot has happened in that time. Brent was diagnosed with cancer, had treatments, went into remission then had it return even more viciously. But Brent is not a quitter - just the opposite, quite the fighter. It was so good to see them, if only for a few hours. I hope we get to come back again, much sooner. I really miss being around them more.

On our way to their house, we stopped at a little restaurant that they had introduced us to several years back. I have to share it with my readers, just in case you are ever in this area.

The name is The Country Kitchen and it is located at the junction of Hwy 100 & Hwy 46 - actually sits on Hwy 46 about 3 block west of the intersection. This is south of Fairview, TN. which is south/south west of Nashville. Their address is really in Lyles, TN. Driving there is half the fun as the countryside is beautiful with lots of small towns - really small towns.

Anyway, back to lunch. They offer lunch specials called meat and 3. Today's was meatloaf or chicken fried steak w/choice of three sides. For those who want less, they also offer meat and two. Dean and I both had the meatloaf - I added mac n cheese & coleslaw and Dean had mashed potato's & boiled cabbage. It was delicious. I don't get meatloaf out very often as it usually isn't to my liking, but this was almost better than my own! Then there was dessert - home made coconut cream pie -yummmmm. I hate to admit, but I ate every single bit of it. One more thing - the total cost of our meal was $16 and change.

After paying I asked the owner if I could take a picture of the pie, explaining that I do a travel blog and would like to post it here. She readily agreed and off I went to get the camera. The pie had been cut (we had two big pieces) so I got a picture of half a pie, which is really better cause you can see just how great it looked being served. See pictures below....

Doesn't look like much, but looks can be deceiving....




The rest of the pie......




Tomorrow we are off to Red Bay, AL. to the Tiffin motor home plant. Our rv'ing friends, Jake and Nancy are their with their Phaeton, getting some repairs done and we are looking forward to seeing them again. They will be heading west this winter, so I don't know when we will see them again - some where down the road I'm sure.

I'm going to take my camera on the tour and will post pictures if I'm allowed to take any. Till then - safe travels.....

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Goodbye Elkhart - It's Been Fun

Wow - I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. The saying "time flies when your having fun" must be true.

When our friends left one week ago today for the Escapade in Goshen, I thought that we would be bored after a day or so - not true! Truth is, I think I could spend a month in this area. I guess it's the draw the Amish have on me. I'm truly fascinated by their lifestyle and could just drive the country roads looking and watching them. I find it truly amazing how they blend in with our modern society.

When you look at the pictures I've posted, you'll see one of the new Farmers Market just south of Elkhart. It was build by the Amish and most nearly built with wooden pegs. In the pictures you will see some beams that are supported with steel and bolts - this was done because of the commercial use of the building and building regulations, but most of the structure was done using wooden pegs instead of nails. It is a beautiful place and the pictures just don't do it justice. Of course there are many stalls inside with great produce, meats, cheese and baked goods that make it heaven here on earth! The second floor has a lot of crafters with merchandise for sale. A must see if you are in this area.

We visited the Doubletree plant again - our third time there (our 3rd time in Elkhart). We like to go to see what they are doing different in the Mobile Suite 5th wheel since that is what we have. Well, this year there were some big changes. 8000 lb axles with 17.5 in. tires for starters which makes it better because of the overall weight of the Mobile Suite. They have come out with new floor plans that I really like - one with a totally separate living room. They are offering a new refrigerator/freezer that is awesome - even has water dispenser in the door. Of course the price for all their improvements is somewhat higher than it was in '04! Compared to other manufactures that we visited, I still feel that for the money, this company builds the best 5th wheel that we have seen.

Shipshewanna, IN is a really neat place to visit and always full of Amish and their buggy's. We have made several trips there including one for Dean to get a haircut. I never tire of watching them driving their buggy's or riding their bikes. I didn't get a picture of one but a lot of times you will see them pulling a little wagon behind the bike - for all the goodies that they are buying.

When you drive the county roads in this area you will encounter numerous buggy's and pass many Amish farms and schools. Every time we passed a school this time I was reminded of the tragedy in PA. where the innocent Amish children where killed by that sicko. Our public schools have guards, metal detectors etc., and here just a fence around the playground. The kids out playing baseball, dodge ball etc., or gathered in a corner talking - just being kids without fears.

On Wed. morning we drove over to Goshen to walk through the vendor area of the Escapade and to visit our friends that were attending it. Before leaving for lunch with Bill and Helen, I noticed that there was a pet parade. I walked over to the area and got a picture of a cute dog in a Santa suit and a beautiful parrot. You can see them in my picture albums. After lunch we strolled through the new RV's on display but I didn't see anything that I liked. After all the in and out of the 5th wheels and class A's we came home tired.

Saturday was Nappanee Apple Festival day. Helen called in the morning and we arranged to meet them at noon for lunch in Nappanee. We drove over and arrived in time for the parade. It was a typical small town parade except that they had a lot of commercial vehicles near the end - like a Waste Management Truck, vehicles from a paint company etc. After meeting up with Bill and Helen and checking out the 7 foot apple pie that was baked for the festival, we had lunch in a small cafe there in town. Well, what an experience it was. Our waitress had never waited tables before - she said she had washed dishes - and couldn't answer any questions, like what was the soup of the day. Funny thing is she didn't even attempt to find out - she just said "I don't know". Finally, after suggesting she find out she went to the kitchen to check. There were several "funny" incidents like Bill asked what came with his ham and cheese sandwich and she said, well, ham and cheese! A real airhead in bad need of training. After receiving our meal, one order at a time, we ate and got out of there! No tip for her. We bid farewell to Bill and Helen and took off to check out the vendors/crafters. Mostly typical stuff with a few nice crafts thrown in. The only thing left were the carnival rides and we opted out on that so decided to drive to Amish Acres which is just out of town. It is a neat place if you arrive at the "right" time. They have a apple cider mill, they make apple butter etc., but when we got there, the only thing "cookin" was the apples for the apple butter. They do offer tours of the original homestead if you want to see inside a "Amish" home. It's something to do when you've done everything else.

Well, I think that about catches you up on what we've been doing the last week+. Tomorrow we are heading south on I-65 - wow, it's been 10 months since we've been on that interstate and it takes us back to home ground. I'm not sure about our stops along the way - it will depend on how my father is doing. We do have friends in Nashville, Brent & Jackie, that we want to stop and see. Brent has been battling cancer for over two years. Then there is the Tiffin plant in Red Bay that we want to see. That is where they build the Phaeton class A motorhome. Then there is Montgomery where my son and daughter, and my sweet granddaughter lives. At the end of the road is Summerdale and Rainbow Plantation Escapee park. You know, it almost sounds good to think about being there for a few months, we have really been on the go this year. We've seen so much and I'm so thankful that we have been given the opportunity to do so but sometimes you need to stop and regroup. That time is just down the road.........

Pictures can be seen at - www.picasaweb.google.com/SchultzTravelPhotos

Saturday, September 08, 2007

RV Museum - Again!

It has been brought to my attention that I failed to mention our visit to the RV Museum in the previous post. Upon reading it again myself, I see that I did. I guess that I was so impressed - lol.

The museum has recently moved into a new building just off of I-80/90 in Elkhart. The building itself is beautiful and there is a lot of room for expansion.

Upon entering you are in a large lobby area. Off the lobby is the museum, a vendor exhibit area and a area where there are a few new RV's - a pop-up, a trailer, a fifth-wheel and a class A.

The museum was interesting as there were many old model rv's, some of which I remember from my earlier days, like the GMC motorhome.

The vendor exhibit area was certainly lacking - very few vendors.

There is a second floor where we were told there is a library, but it was closed, so we don't know what they had in there.

There is more being built and I'm not sure what they will use it for. I think there will be a small conference center and some exhibit area. The idea of a RV museum is a good one, but in my opinion, there is a long way to go here to make it worth the entrance fee.

Sorry that I failed to mention our visit there in the past post. I'll try to be more careful in the future - I think I was just tired when I wrote that one. At least I did remember to post the pictures.

Later.....

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

RV Museum & Hobo Stew

This morning Bill, Helen, Dean and I took off in search of the Cheese Factory where you "can watch cheese being made" which is in the Amish area just east of Elkhart. On the way there we passed the noodle factory where you can "watch noodles being hand made" by the Amish but decided to stop on our way back. Then we came to the bakery, well, we just couldn't pass it by. They make homemade donuts and had samples . Ohhh, but they were good! They also make homemade brittle and the girls where busy making cashew brittle this morning, mixing everything by hand - no Mix Master here! The only thing that they didn't have that I was very disappointed in was No Sticky Buns!!! Darn, my mouth was all set for one but since there were none, I settled for a cinnamon/maple donut instead :). Also the apple pie in my pictures came from the bakery and it is delicious.

We finally got to the cheese factory only to find out that they only make the cheese on Mondays and Fridays - bummer. Here again, it's Amish so everything is basically done by hand or machines powered by a generator.

From there we drove on over to Shipshewana for a short visit to Yoder's Cheese and Meat store. Helen was looking for some crumbled blue cheese, but there was none to be had.

As we were driving along the county road toward Shipshewana we passed a sign for AKC Pugs - well Helen just sighed so loud. She said that they love pugs. Well, on our way back to the noodle shop, I turned down the dirt/gravel road where the Pugs where, but then the story was we just can't get one so I turned around. I was just going to take them to take a look, not to buy!

We arrived at the noodle store only to be disappointed again. They were not making noodles - they were on lunch break. Before we left, two women did begin the process again, but looking through the windows to the work area was not good as there was to much light reflection and they also had drying racks sitting in front of the viewing windows - not very well planned out for tourists, which is what they are trying to attract!

We meandered on back to the campground as we were scheduled to leave shortly for the RV Museum. It was a lovely morning, driving the county roads among the Amish farms. If we hadn't had to get back - I think we would have spent the whole day roaming the country side - it's so pretty and fascinating.

At six o'clock we all gathered around Smokey & Pam's for the Hobo Stew get together. The stew was great - had everything but the kitchen sink in it. There was some good home made corn bread and cheese biscuits to go along with the stew and for dessert we had Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Peach Cobbler - of course home made. I didn't count but I think there were about 24 of us. Had a great time chatting until the bugs drove us inside - again!

Not sure what else we will be doing while in the area so check back often...

Pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/SchultzTravelPhotos

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Elkhart, IN. We're Here

We arrived at Elkhart Campground on Friday around 4:30pm after a very long days drive from Amana, IA. Dean says never again will we go that far in one day. Funny thing is the mileage was around 360 miles and I remember the day that we thought nothing of driving 600 miles a day. Of course we were a lot younger and not pulling a 5'er behind us!

Nice thing is we are here, parked and hopefully won't have to move for a week or so.

As we were driving to our site we spotted Nick Russell walking toward us - taking out the trash. We stopped and said a quick hi. Then we rounded the corner and there was Smokey and Pam's rig. It's nice when you pull into a campground and know that there are friends there.

After getting set up we went down to say hi to Smokey & Pam and the dogs. We chatted a short time and came back home as the bugs were coming out already. Friday night was a early to bed night as we both were tired.

Saturday morning I decided that I wanted to go to Shipshewana. We left our home at 9 am, or so I thought. Stopped by the office to get a local map and looked at their clock which said 10 am! I said it couldn't have taken us an hour to drive 500 feet, it that the correct time. Yep, it was and we are now on Eastern Time - sure lost that hour quick. Of course that through the whole day off time wise.

In the afternoon we were sitting outside and here comes a rig that looked like Bill & Helen's, but they were not due in until Sunday. I kept looking and sure enough it was them. We wandered over to say hi and exchange hugs. We were going to leave to give them time to set up but along comes Smokey and Pam. Well, Bill did get unhitched and hooked up, but not because we left. There was a lot of catching up to do. Later we sat around talking at Smokey & Pam's. Nice being with friends.

The campground is full and getting fuller every day as more and more Escapees are coming in to wait for the start of the Escapade at the Goshen Fairgrounds. Terry and Dale are expected in today with more friends coming later this week. It has all the makings of a good time.

When they all depart next Sunday for the Escapade, we are not sure what we will do, but no problem - we have plenty of time to make up our minds.

Later......