HELLO CANTON, OHIO

Friday, July 20 – We have returned to “the land of our roots” - Canton, Ohio. We are here to visit family and friends, take care of doctor appointments, and RELAX! Our only objective is to escape the area BEFORE cold weather and snow.

We are booked at the Bear Creek KOA for a month. This is the only KOA we stay at during our travels because of the lack of alternatives here in the Canton area. We are not very fond of KOA's. They have many family oriented programs that we do not use and would rather not pay a premium for, but this park is well situated near family so we're here for now!

We are in site # 19, a long term site (30 days +) with 50 amp electric, water, and sewer. The sites are gravel and the streets are newly paved. The campground is built on a hillside so all the sites are tiered. We have a much better site than last year. We have a larger side yard, perfect for sitting out and plenty of space for the picnic table. We haven't had any neighbors since we arrived. All-in-all, it's not a bad campground.

Site 19

Looking left.

Looking right.

We will do a tour of the campground in another post.

After we got set up, we went to visit dad. Marsha did not tell her dad she was coming. She wanted to surprise him, AND boy was he surprised.

Dad opening the door.

He recognizes it is us…PRICELESS!

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

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!