Days 32 & 33: Museums, Fab Food and More

Thursday, October 21 - RV/MH Museum & Das Dutchman Essenhaus

Recap of where we are camping.

Now that our trailer is fixed and we are settled in a really nice campground, we can go play. Don has been looking forward to seeing the RV/Motor Home Museum in Elkhart, so off we go. It was interesting seeing the progression and improvements to outdoor camping life over the past century. Old campers had tents in the back of vehicles with sleeping accommodations; some boxy, heavy RVs, wood paneled interiors, with a woodstove and kerosene lamp; a small Airstream; a Teardrop; Mae West's custom trailer, etc. By the end of our visit, we were thankful for the newer improvements to campers and RVs and even though many wood paneled campers were beautiful, the orange, turquoise, olive green interiors RVs of our youth, left much to be desired.

1928 Pierce Arrow Fleet Housecar

After leaving the museum, I wanted to drive into Michigan, as the border was only a few miles from Elkhart. Don was kind and humored me and now I can say I've been to Michigan.

It was around 4:00 and we had a big breakfast hours ago, so time for an early dinner. Locals told us we must try the Essenhaus in Middlebury - an Amish style restaurant and bakery. The special meats on the buffet for Thursday night were broasted (?) chicken and BBQ style spare ribs - $11.25. When planning our trip, Don and I decided that we were not going to make our travels about food. Retirement $$$$s were to be spent on admissions to see America and fast food chain restaurants were out - too unhealthy. When we do go out to eat, we search for the local hangouts - good food for reasonable prices and lots of local color. With that said, we went through the buffet line. Soup, cream of cauliflower, salad and rolls were the starter. Next we went back for the entrees. Don ended up eating TWO entire meals. After eating his ribs, mashed potatoes and veggie, he still had a lone chicken breast sitting on this plate. He returned to the buffet and added stuffing with gravy and a cabbage veg medley to keep the chicken company. Finally to round out the meal, we shared a piece of pumpkin cake (light as a feather) with piles of fresh whipped cream! We rolled out of the restaurant.

We had one quick stop before heading back to the campground (and an after dinner stroll) at the local Hardings grocery store for a laundry detergent. This area is definitely Amish Country, claiming the second largest Amish population in the US. Actually, Lancaster, PA is #3. Cars in the parking lot at the grocery share spaces with the horses and buggies at the hitching rails. Now that was new to us!

Pix taken through the windshield of the truck.

Friday, October 22nd - Cheese, Cars, Bread Box & Davis Mercantile

Up early and out, as the Guggisberg Cheese Factory workers quit at noon. The food issue continues and we're starting to get worried.  We don't want to become a couple of hefty hummers because of all this Amish food. The cheese at Guggisberg is longhorn and stirred curd cheeses, winning an award at the 2000 World Cheese Maker's competition for the world's Greatest Colby. The samples were beyond belief and we came out with a few pounds of our favorites.

Next on the day's agenda was the Hostetler's Hudson Auto Museum in Shipshewana, IN. Don fondly remembers his Grandfather Bishop's Hudson and riding in the "kid's seat" in the back (actually a big armrest), so we had to go to the museum. This is the same grandfather whose house we visited in Emporium, PA, a few weeks back.

The Hudson Auto Museum was fabulous and we both fully enjoyed seeing the beautifully restored old cars. Surprisingly, this was more fun than the RV Museum. Maybe seeing shiny old cars is more fun than old RVs? We also met an older couple from Michigan and heard the story of a drag race between rival gangs, where the guy we were chatting with totaled his beloved 55 Chevy. What is the favorite car you owned?

1929 Hudson - My Favorite Pick

Note the etched glass! Such attention to detail!

Similar to Grandpa Bishop's car, except his was burgundy.

Excellent museum and a fun trip back in time, but now we were hungry. How can that be? Since we were in Shipshewana/Amish Country, we could have a good meal anywhere. We headed over to the Bread Box restaurant for lunch. I had a half of a chicken salad sandwich on homemade sourdough bread and a cup of vegetable soup loaded with all fresh veggies! Don and I split a piece of peach pie for dessert. We bought a pecan sticky bun for breakfast. Now we know we are getting into serious trouble....

The Davis Mercantile was near the Bread Box, so we wandered over and went through a number of unique stores in this four storied converted country general store. The fourth floor had a restored carousel.  We looked for Gigi's relatives (Muffy's carousel horse).   Not sure if we saw one or not, but it was a terrific merry-go-round.