We traveled from Mt Horeb, Wisconsin to Elkhart, Indiana (about 280 miles) on Tuesday, July 3rd. We’re parked at the Elkhart Campground in Elkhart for a week and are here for the Friends and Family rally.
Zack and Kelsea followed us down on the 4th and are parked next to us for the long weekend. Zack grilled some burgers and sausages and I made potato salad and fruit salad for our holiday dinner.
It was HOT but Zack set up a mister under their awning which helped somewhat.
When they arrived and were setting up they found out that they had, unknowingly, brought a nest of baby birds with them. It seems the mama had built a next in their pin box and the babies we chirping away…they must be very young as their ‘peeps’ we very quiet.
Three of the four baby birds
A little while later, Kelsea heard more chirping coming from the back of the trailer. Sure enough! There was another nest of birds in a ‘tube’ under the trailer. These were a bit older and a whole lot louder! Ended up there were four in this nest and they eventually semi flew/dropped onto the ground. They hung out under our trailer for quite a while and Cameron had a blast watching them. They eventually flittered away to the next camper and then we lost track of them. Hope they’re ok.
Thursday was Amish day! I was so excited to take Zack & Kelsea to all my favorite Amish places. We started out stopping at the Dutch Country Market.
Breakfast of champions!
Then it was on to Rise n Roll for some breakfast and tasty samples. The kids each had a donut, Michael had biscuits and gravy and the rest of us had the sausage roll with gravy. It’s kind of like a bread that has crumbled sausage, cheese and seasonings in it and it pretty good. We grabbed a couple of donuts to take home and were then on our way.
We stopped at the Heritage Ridge Creamery where Zack and Kelsea picked out of couple of different cheeses. Then it was on into Shipshewana where we parked the truck and then walked to several different shops in the downtown area.
We were told about the Davis Mercantile by one Amish woman and since we’d never been there before we walked over and checked it out. It’s in an old hotel and has four floors of shops to browse through…clothing, puzzle, candy, fabric, toys and several restaurants too.
Round and Round they go…
On the top floor there is a carousel that you can ride for $2.00. Paityn and Cameron took a spin while the rest of us sat on a bench and rested our weary feet. Win/Win!
We, of course, introduced Zack and Kelsea to E&S Bulk Foods. I think Kelsea wanted to hurt me (she actually made a comment similar to that) as Zack found more to purchase than we did! We also made a quick stop at Yoder Meat & Cheese to pick up some steaks for Friday night’s dinner.
Small group but LOTS of questions
Michael did a presentation for the rally…it’s small rally so we only had 6 people but that’s ok…the more we educate about the safety benefits of having disc brakes on your trailer, the better. Zack helped Michael get things set up beforehand and then he and Kelsea went to pick up some decals for their trailer and also made a stop at RV Factory Surplus….they were looking for an air conditioner and something else but they were too pricey.
Staying busy while Nana & Papaw work.
Paityn and Cameron stayed with Nana & Papaw and watched movies on their tablets and then when the presentation was over we walked back home.
Not long after we got back home, Zack and Kelsea got back home and we changed into our swimming suits and headed over to the pool for an hour or so. Michael stayed home and relaxed. We had lots of giggles at the pool….Kelsea taught the kids how to use a ‘noodle’ to spray water. She tried to teach me too but I ended up spray myself more than anyone else!
Saturday we hung out at home most of the day but Zack did take Paityn and Cameron to a nearby indoor miniature golf place. They weren’t gone long…but had fun and that’s what counts.
Great group of folks
The Friends and Family rally group invited us to attend their potluck that night and since we’d pretty much had to bow out of everything else they’d invited us to, we all went. Kelsea made a brownie pie and I put together a tossed salad with Italian dressing. It was a small group but there were plenty of dishes to choose from.
After dinner they did drawings for door prizes and insisted that we participate in that as well. We each (adults) were given tickets and all ended up getting door prizes (various items: black streak cleaner, toilet cleaners, 409, Kleenex, garbage bags, cloths, etc etc etc) …plus Zack and Kelsea won a set of safety triangles for emergency roadside stops.
Sleepyheads
Paityn and Cameron had a sleep over at Nana and Papaw’s that night. They snuggled up in our recliners, watched ‘The Muppets Take Manhattan’ and slept until I ended waking them up about 8:40 am.
Sunday was the last day of the rally and most everyone left sometime that morning. However, several of the rally-goers put together a breakfast (pancakes, sausage, & eggs) for anyone that wanted it. We, of course, were invited and took them up on the offer. This may be the smallest rally we’ve been to so far, but they were some of the nicest people we’ve met. I’m pretty sure that if we have nothing else going on next year, we’ll come back…but on more of a personal level. If people want brakes installed…that’s fine too.
There they go!
Zack, Kelsea, Paityn and Cameron were among those who left. 
They finished packing up after we got back from breakfast and ended up pulling out of their site somewhere around 11:00 and made it home safe and sound well before dinner time.
We really enjoyed having them here with us. We shared all of our meals together, enjoyed a couple of fires with s’mores and played a couple of games of Hand and Foot (Kelsea won one and I won the other! Girl Power!). We got lots of hugs and love from Pnut and Cam.
After doing a little work in the morning we were ready to visit the theater to watch the latest Jurassic Park movie, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It was your typical Jurassic Park movie…and we enjoyed it as much as any of the others.
We stopped for a few groceries and a quick dinner on the way home and were ready to chill for the rest of the night.
Tomorrow we leave Elkhart Campground and travel ALL (25.5 miles) the way to Shipshewana South Campground where we’ll be parked for a month…ahhhh…sounds good!