July 12 Lake Salamonie
The GPS is superb…needed to do some more shopping for the RV, so set it to the nearest Walmart, pressed GO and we found a store in Bluffton without a hassle. Bought a small gas barbecue, baby version of the one in our boat, along with other bits and pieces and the groceries..the trolley was chocker!
The State Park at Lake Salomonie was reckomended by a girl in Huntington, and what a find…we fell on our feet, with an available site on a point, that overlooked the lake on 2 sides, and a very cooling breeze. Sat outside (with a welcome beer) and enjoyed watching all the activity on the lake from a grandstand seat…..heaps of pontoon boats, one even had a slide on it…would be fun on Wakarua! Walked to the marina, got talking to the owners, and the showed us how they fed all the carp…with popcorn, just a setting mass leaping out of the water to fight for them.
The new Barbie worked a treat, superb steaks for tea.
July 13 - Pokagon State Park
A very late sleep in…finally catching up on the jet lag! We had a lazy morning, then headed back to Hoagland to catch up with Marge and all her family at her sister’s 50th wedding anniversary party….quite an occasion with several hundred members of the family there. We were introduced as the “Kiwis”…and everyone had heard all about us!
Headed north late in the afternoon to the Pokagon State Park, close to the border with Michigan, and the weather seems to have cooled a little.
July 14 - Indiana Dunes National Park, Michigan City
Up and away by 9, and took the back roads through some typical mid west country, with barns, silos and crops. We passed through small towns, typical US, very sleepy and a bit seedy. Came across the Amish again, in Shipshewana, USA’s third largest Amish community. There were buggies everywhere, I had the camera out the window all the time. I feel that the Amish have made a lot of money out of tourists in Shipshewana, with all sorts of shops built around them. Visited the biggest quilting store I have ever seen, would have loved to have spent hours in there! We went into a saddlers shop, the guy wasn’t Amish but was most helpful…..he sent us on a little trip around the town, seeing all the Amish farms…I am just fascintated by their culture, and see that they are struggling to retain their philosophy in the modern world. To see a normal house in the town, with a buggy parked in the garage seemed incongruous…and some even had a pontoon boat outside!
Reluctanly headed West, and managed to finally get to Michigan City, after a few battles with the GPS….I think I have it all worked out, then it all turns to custard, and we end up nowhere near where we should be! Many mutterings from the “lad”…but finally have another crack and get going again. Found an internet café, hooked up, then the next thing we hear Cody on Skype. It was great to have a brief chat with the littlies….there was another “Nana” in the café, and she was most intrigued by it all, after I explained what was going on! Planned to stay at a State Park on the shores of Lake Michigan, but all booked out. Ended up not far away in a National Park, in amongst the trees with the best ablution facilities so far. We have been using camp showers, they are excellent, and saves filling the RV with water, and emptying tanks so often. Another very balmy evening, with the generator running the Air con, to cool us down. Mosquitoes in abundance!
The GPS is superb…needed to do some more shopping for the RV, so set it to the nearest Walmart, pressed GO and we found a store in Bluffton without a hassle. Bought a small gas barbecue, baby version of the one in our boat, along with other bits and pieces and the groceries..the trolley was chocker!
The State Park at Lake Salomonie was reckomended by a girl in Huntington, and what a find…we fell on our feet, with an available site on a point, that overlooked the lake on 2 sides, and a very cooling breeze. Sat outside (with a welcome beer) and enjoyed watching all the activity on the lake from a grandstand seat…..heaps of pontoon boats, one even had a slide on it…would be fun on Wakarua! Walked to the marina, got talking to the owners, and the showed us how they fed all the carp…with popcorn, just a setting mass leaping out of the water to fight for them.
The new Barbie worked a treat, superb steaks for tea.
July 13 - Pokagon State Park
A very late sleep in…finally catching up on the jet lag! We had a lazy morning, then headed back to Hoagland to catch up with Marge and all her family at her sister’s 50th wedding anniversary party….quite an occasion with several hundred members of the family there. We were introduced as the “Kiwis”…and everyone had heard all about us!
Headed north late in the afternoon to the Pokagon State Park, close to the border with Michigan, and the weather seems to have cooled a little.
July 14 - Indiana Dunes National Park, Michigan City
Up and away by 9, and took the back roads through some typical mid west country, with barns, silos and crops. We passed through small towns, typical US, very sleepy and a bit seedy. Came across the Amish again, in Shipshewana, USA’s third largest Amish community. There were buggies everywhere, I had the camera out the window all the time. I feel that the Amish have made a lot of money out of tourists in Shipshewana, with all sorts of shops built around them. Visited the biggest quilting store I have ever seen, would have loved to have spent hours in there! We went into a saddlers shop, the guy wasn’t Amish but was most helpful…..he sent us on a little trip around the town, seeing all the Amish farms…I am just fascintated by their culture, and see that they are struggling to retain their philosophy in the modern world. To see a normal house in the town, with a buggy parked in the garage seemed incongruous…and some even had a pontoon boat outside!
Reluctanly headed West, and managed to finally get to Michigan City, after a few battles with the GPS….I think I have it all worked out, then it all turns to custard, and we end up nowhere near where we should be! Many mutterings from the “lad”…but finally have another crack and get going again. Found an internet café, hooked up, then the next thing we hear Cody on Skype. It was great to have a brief chat with the littlies….there was another “Nana” in the café, and she was most intrigued by it all, after I explained what was going on! Planned to stay at a State Park on the shores of Lake Michigan, but all booked out. Ended up not far away in a National Park, in amongst the trees with the best ablution facilities so far. We have been using camp showers, they are excellent, and saves filling the RV with water, and emptying tanks so often. Another very balmy evening, with the generator running the Air con, to cool us down. Mosquitoes in abundance!
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