Saturday–Monday, September 24–26, 2011

Saturday, Beverly was an attendant in her friend Pamela’s wedding, and we were invited to attend also.  It was a nice wedding, and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing Pam again as well as spending time with our daughter.

Sunday, after saying goodbye to Bev, we left Boonville, IN and drove to the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celina, OH for the Gypsy Journal Rally.  We arrived at 5:30, but Nick still parked us.  It rained all night, so we were glad that we did not have to park on the wet grass on Monday morning.  Some did get stuck and had to be pulled out by tractor.

Monday, the rally started with registration until 3pm, followed by opening ceremonies and introduction of the vendors.  At 4:30 there was a panel discussion of rv tips with Nick Russell, Dennis Hill, and another vendor that is giving tire seminars.  Here is a picture of that motley crew:

Dennis and Carol invited us to go to the local Mongolian Grill and Asian Buffet for dinner.  It was a great buffet.  After dinner we returned to the fairgrounds for door prizes.  Everyone there received a door prize – Dennis and Carol received a coupon for a restaurant, and we received a cleaning cloth for computer, etc. screens. 

Thursday–Friday, September 22-23, 2011

Thursday we veged, and then went shopping at Sam’s and Wal-Mart, with a Sam’s roast chicken for desert.

Friday, I played on the computer all morning while Marilyn did wash.  In the afternoon, Marilyn and I went for a walk before cocktails, and in addition to geese, we saw a deer (no picture).  However, we do have pictures of this lawn mower that was let loose in the campground earlier today.

Sunday–Wednesday, September 18-21, 2011

Sunday morning, we went to breakfast with Dave and Maureen Lubke at the Grove Street Café in Delton, MI.  If you are ever in Delton on MI 43 looking for a good meal, this is the place.  We left on Monday, staying at Camp Wally World in Lafayette, IN.  Then on Monday, we arrived in Boonville, IN.  The total driving for the two days was about 400 miles.  In Boonville, we are staying at the Scales Lake County Park, nice campground for about $20 per night.

Wednesday, we did the tourist thing at the Lincoln Boyhood Home National Memorial.  Lincoln spent from age 7 to 21 in Indiana.

For lunch we went to the Buffalo Run Grill & Gifts, in Lincoln City.  They had good buffalo burgers, some old (early 1800s) cabins, and we got to see buffalo.

After lunch we went back to the Lincoln Boyhood Home Memorial to see the headstone of Nancy Hanks Lincoln in the Pioneer Cemetery, and the outline of the cabin where Abe lived while he was in Indiana.

Tuesday–Saturday, September 13-17, 2011

Tuesday, we drove to Howe, IN, where we stayed at Grandview Bend, a Passport America campground.  We spent the afternoon and evening visiting with Escapee friends Richard and Joan Micelli.

Wednesday morning we went out to breakfast with Joan and Richard, and thenwalked part of the Shipshwana Flea Market with then.  In the afternoon, they took their dog Lucy to the groomers, and we continued walking the flea market.  For dinner, Joan and Marilyn baked the last piece of halibut in the motorhome’s freezer, and it was delicious.  We will have to wait until we get to GA to get more out of our son’s freezer.  Here is a picture of Joan and Richard with Joan’s birthday cake and flowers.

Wednesday, we moved to Camp Michawana campground near Hastings, MI to visit our Escapees Chapter 6 parents, Dave and Maureen Lubke.  Manhattans, beer, good food, and good company.  What more can you ask?  Saturday, we went for a nice boat ride on Long Lake (their cottage is right on the shore, where their boat is parked), and Dave smoked bass, salmon and blue gills for dinner.  We played Farkel each night.  Other Escapee friends Jimmy & Penny Hamann joined us on Friday night.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, September 10, 11 & 12, 2011

Saturday, we drove to Beloit, WI where we stayed at Camp Wally World.  Sunday, we drove around Chicago via I-39 and I-80 to US 6.  We ended the day at Newmar’s S.O.B. campground in Nappanee, IN so we could meet back up with Dennis & Carol Hill, and also be able to take the Newmar RV factory tour on Monday.  After a nice social hour with Dennis & Carol, we went looking for a local restaurant, but ended up with good meals at KFC.  Dennis & Carol came back to the rig to shoot the breeze for a little while after dinner.

Monday, we took the 10am tour of the Newmar plant.  They give a nice tour.  After the tour, we drove to Elkhart, IN to have our washing machine fixed by Westland Sales.  The tech gave the machine its last rights, saying it was too old to continue to find parts for.  It needed a new board that would have cost about $500 to have shipped from Oregon, and a new machine only costs about $1000 that would come with a warranty. 

A little after 3pm, we met Dennis and Carol at the RV/MH Hall of Fame Museum for a tour with Al Hesselbart.  After the tour we all went to a Chinese Buffet where we also met up with Nick & Terri Russell and their friends Greg and Jan.

Thursday & Friday, September 8-9, 2011

We left Pierre, SD on the 8th, intending to stop in Welcome, MN for the night.  We stopped at the I-90 rest area overlooking the Missouri River where I-op crosses it.

We did not make it to Welcome, because, at about MN I-90 mile post 325 we came upon this fire on I-90.  It was a semi trailer full of cantaloupes.  The truck driver managed to get the trailer unhooked, but it stopped traffic for a half hour to 45 minutes.  We did manage to put in 260 miles, but stopped at a municipal rv park in Adrian, MN. 

Today, Friday, we only drove about 160 miles to exit 193 in MN, because we took a two hour tour of the Spam Museum in Austin, MN.  We toured it in 2003 for the first time, and thought it had been enlarged and improved for this tour.  We stopped at exit 193 for fuel.  The campground behind the gas station looked nice, and when Marilyn checked it was only 25 per night, so we pulled in.  The electric was not turned on at the sites, and the owner was not due back for two hours, so we opted to stay in the gas station parking lot for the night – cheaper. 

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

We toured the capitol of South Dakota today.  Its interior has many similarities to the capitol of Montana in Helena.  They do not have guided tours except by appointment, so we just walked around looking.  We did not find anything unusual in comparison to other capitol buildings.

Next we went to the South Dakota Heritage Center Museum.  It is very nicely done with a history of the state.