RV/MH HALL OF FAME MUSEUM

Wednesday, July 18 – We spent the day with Angie and Rick sightseeing in Indiana Amish Country. We stopped at the Amish Acres in Nappanee, IN, to see the displays and have a country style lunch. Amish Acres is a 138 year old Amish homestead

We visited several of the historic buildings.

It was a family style Amish home cooked meal and was delicious.

We played an old-time game called the Ring Game. The object was to toss the ring onto the hook. Here is a picture of the losers.

Rick, Paul, Angie

Now for the All-Time Winner…Marsha

Angie did finally succeed in putting the ring on the hook but only after a coaching lesson from Marsha…hehe.

After lunch we drove over to the RV/MH Hall of Fame.

The entry fee is $7 for seniors. We spent about two hours walking through the antique RVs and enjoyed climbing in many of the trailers and old motor homes. It's a pretty nice museum and we felt it was worth our time and entry fee.

The have an Exhibit Hall showing the newest items for the RV lifestyle.

The RV Founders Hall displays trailers, photos, and memorabilia reaching back to the very early 1900's.

Starting in the mid 1910s, Gilkie was probably the first successful manufacturer in Indiana and one of the first in the country.
1932 Gilkie Kamp King Tent Trailer

1913 "Earl" Travel Trailer…oldest travel trailer in the world. It has a dining table that seats four, then converts into a double bed.

1931 Model AA Ford Housecar

Great heating system

The unique low design, with a rear entry door and drop down area in the floor where standing was possible, provided the advantage of being able to store these trailers in a conventional residential garage.

Look how easy it is to get into…not!
1957 Serro Scotty 12' Travel Trailer

Rick can't stand up or he hits his head.

One of the first trailers of the "bunkhouse" design with a second story bed function. It also had a tiny bathroom with shower, sink and stool. Bathing and toilet facilities were rarely included in a camper trailer.
1966 Mustang Travel Trailer

Built for Paramount Studios to present to Miss West when she left vaudeville to make movies for the studio in 1931.
Mae West's 1931 Chevrolet Housecar

The Spartan Aircraft Company was recognized as the finest mobile homes available in the late 40s and early 50s.
1954 Spartan Imperial Mansion…8 x 42' Mobile Home

There are so many more great opportunities to explore RV/MH from the past. We highly recommend stopping at the Museum. The Hall of Fame honors the inaugural class of inductees into the RV/MH Hall of Fame. We just happened to know a few.

Bob Tiffin – founder of Tiffin Motor Homes

Joe and Kay Peterson founders of the Escapee Club that we belong to.

We then returned to our campsite on the hill overlooking the Lake of the Woods, where we enjoyed watching some deer graze in the field and talked with Angie and Rick. We sure had a great two days with our friends and will be sure to see them someday “down-the-road.”

Angie and Rick in front of their newly-painted Alfa See Ya.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

VISITING WITH MORE VERY GOOD FRIENDS

Wednesday, July 18 – We are camped at Rupert's Resort in Bremen, IN. Guess we have this “Resort” issue figured out. In the Midwest, if it says “resort”, it is because they have camping, boating, fishing and swimming. At least that's the similarity of the last two “resorts” we've camped at (LOL). Actually, this is a very nice stop. Nothing fancy. Grass sites, gravel roads, but we are in a nice secluded spot, 50 amp electric, water, and a shade tree.

Site A

Our site is HUGE. Marsha is standing at the back of our site. Never had anything this big before.

Looking right.

Looking left.

The Lake of the Woods is a really nice big lake. There are boaters, swimmers, and tubers all enjoying the beautiful weather.

We saw some wildlife on the water too.

We stopped here to hook-up with close friends Angie and Rick from Mission, TX. We are parked together on the secluded hill overlooking the lake. We'll do a little sightseeing in Indiana Amish country, but our main objective is visiting with Angie and Rick.

Even with Rick and Angie next to us, we have tons of space.

After we both got arranged in our neighboring campsites, we pulled up the lawn chairs and spent the evening catching up on each others lives since we last saw each other back in February. Angie and Rick have been full-timing for a long time and enjoyed hearing about our travels as we did theirs.

Rick, Angie and Paul.

While we were enjoying our visit, we saw two fawns with their mother in the field across from us.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

THE WINDY CITY…CHICAGO

Monday, July 16 -- We met Jane and Joe this morning and headed to downtown Chicago.

Joe started a tour with a drive around some of the outlying things to see like Hyde Park, President Obama's neighborhood, the glorious view of the skyline from the shores of Lake Michigan, the Planetarium, Soldier's Field, and McCormick Place.

These guys are nuts. There were about 10 stories up a 20 story building.

How would you like to drive this everyday?

Big City sticker shock welcomed us as soon as we parked.....$25 parking fee for the day....ouch! Well, at least Joe was the lucky one getting to drive in downtown Chicago.

We then headed out on our sightseeing walking tour of downtown. We just had to see “the Bean” and get our picture taken. Both our daughters were here two years ago with friends, and we wanted to duplicate their picture at the Bean. What a hoot!

We then enjoyed our walk through downtown and the wonderful temperatures heading toward the 100 degree mark. They would reach 100 degrees before the end of the day. We walked the “Miracle Mile”, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and enjoyed miles of fabulous city architecture.

Chicago skyline.

The Wrigley building. The Chicago Tribune is to the right.

The architecture of Chicago is magnificent. If we had another few days, we would have taken the architectural boat tour. Our daughters did it and said it was great! Yet another reason to return.

Chicago Tribune

The Chicago River runs through the heart of the city.

How would you like to climb those stairs?

The Chicago Water Tower is the city’s most familiar and treasured landmark. Constructed between 1867 and 1869, it was created for Chicago’s municipal water system, and originally housed a 135 foot iron standpipe used to regulate water pressure. It gained special significance as one of the few buildings to survive the destructive path of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Chicago's Cultural Center used to house the city's library. It is just gorgeous inside.

When the U.S. entered World War I, the Pier housed several regiments of soldiers, Red Cross and Home Defense units as well as a barracks for recruits. The Pier enters its "golden age" of recreational and cultural activity as Chicago Mayor William H. Thompson's "Pageants of Progress" draw nearly a million visitors during 15 days of events. In 1927, Municipal Pier is officially renamed Navy Pier as a tribute to Navy personnel who served during World War I.

The Chicago Lighthouse.

A different look at the skyline from the Navy Pier.

To re-energize our bodies, we stopped at Pizzeria Uno to sample some famous Chicago deep -dish pizza. We started off with a couple of ice-cold beers which sure quenched our thirst on a HOT day. The pizza was delicious, of course. Now, which is best? Deep-dish Chicago pizza or hand-tossed New York Style pizza. Hmmmmm!

Paul, Marsha, Jane, Joe

With our bellies full and rush-hour traffic looming, we decided to head toward home. We did get into some heavy traffic, but Joe maneuvered us through, and we arrived safely back at our car.

Observations…Chicago is sooooo clean and bright. Everyone was friendly and helpful. The prices were NOT out of line at all. We missed all the wind.

Thanks Jane and Joe for a delightful two days in the Chicago area. We had a wonderful time and sure enjoyed seeing you guys again. See ya down the road!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.