On to Indiana

Mysterious...

One of my favorite parts of this trip so far are the road trips between our destinations. I admit there is always a bit of anxiety as we leave one site and pull out on to the highway heading for parts unknown. But my fearless captain handles all difficulties with aplomb - as I should have expected - and I am becoming a more relaxed passenger. I so enjoy just watching the countryside pass by. We have made a number of cross country trips in the southern portion of the U.S., but this is new territory for us and so far we have seen it at its green, sunny best.

On August 8th we traveled from our Ohio campsite to  Howe, Indiana where we found a very different campground and had a very different experience. Up until now our member campgrounds have be spacious with many amenities. We came to a tiny town with no traffic lights and quickly passed through and out of it. We found ourselves  on a narrow country road, straight as an arrow between tall fields of corn. We dutifully follow GPS instruction which lead us to a gravel road. As we entered the park we saw a wooden sign in front of what might be the world's smallest library. The sign stated:" Enter and choose a site on your left. Someone will come around to check you in."  
There were two possible sites, one on a small hill and one that was flat but had a car parked in front of it. Sitting to the right of this site was a truly crabby old man who told me he was saving that spot as his spot was wet from recent rains and he just might want to move over. I wasn't quite sure of protocol. Is this like it was in elementary school when a third grader saves a seat in the lunchroom and won't let the new kid sit there? While Larry and I debated the issue the, ahem, gentleman, stomped over and moved his car. I wasn't eager to move in next to Mr. Crabby Pants, but it was our only choice and turned out just fine.

A few minutes later a white haired lady sped up in her golf cart and announced that #1, she was in charge of the check in process and  #2, we would not be allowed to drive our gas powered golf cart due to emissions. She was sorry but that was the rule and by the way, she announced, I'm 84!. After the episode with Mr C Pants,we decided to be very sweet to her and she must have decided we were o.k. as the next day she hunted us down to bequeath one of her crocheted dish scrubbers...which by the way worked so well we bought some more!

At home in Indiana

This campground had only 30 sites, all lined up in a row, but a large contingency of seasonal visitors in another area. They obviously spent the entire summer on site as they had teeny little golf cart garages and flourishing flower and vegetable gardens.While not as outgoing as some of our other temporary neighbors, we did meet some really nice people. Larry spent much of an evening chatting with a biker/camper and had a long, spirited conversation with him. I dispensed beer and nuts and went back in the RV to avoid mosquitoes which were biting me and ignoring the men.

Local mode of travel

Once again we enjoyed driving around the countryside, sharing the roads with horses and buggies, and spent one day in Shipshewana where we had an opportunity to view mile after mile of pristine Mennonite
farms and shop their huge market (cash only, no debit or credit cards.) On way back we saw a sign for a leather shop. Larry had been complaining for sometime about his wallet which always seemed to get stuck in his pocket, so we swung around and headed up a long gravel drive. Sure enough, set amongst the farm outbuildings was a small shop with an "Open" sign on the door. We walked in, Buddi on Larry's shoulder, and were immediately surrounded by the scent of leather and a small but beautiful array of products, all handmade by this young Mennonite farmer...in his spare time. Larry chose an elephant skin wallet (surprising as there were no elephants within view) perfect for his needs. The farmer was fascinated with Buddi and called his wife to bring in his three young daughters who were shy, but obviously in awe of our little bird. We chatted awhile then headed out, turning to see the little girls smiling and waving from the door 

Cutie pies...

as we drove off.