Indiana...

LJ and I just got back from visiting with my mom and our other family in Indiana.  It was a short trip over by plane while Marty and BJ stayed home and took our 5th wheel in for warranty work.  Soooo glad I got to miss trips to the repair shop!

I have to warn you right now,
before you go any further,
this is a post with absolutely no focus or direction.

I apologize as it is embarrassingly SCATTERED!

 ((blushing and thinking... "oh well."))

Anyway during a visit over to my grandpa's girlfriends house we took a tour of her yard and found this...

A place for hopscotch in the garden.  Isn't that such a cute idea??


While we were visiting my grandpa in Tell City my mom had to show me her favorite little house there.  She likes the stone.  It is pretty cute.  The owner happened to be out in her garden so we complimented the house and her green thumb, she told us this was the oldest house in Tell City.  Very neat.


The historic Tell City library, now a museum.

And now I have to apologize again.  I really try to keep my classic car and Chevy truck love off this blog, but this time I just can't help it.


We ran across this 71 Chevelle Malibu while out driving around in the back roads of Tell City.


I felt like a deer in the headlights when I saw it.  Isn't it pretty?

Then...


We also ran across this pretty little Chevy.


When I fell in love with my husband eons ago, he drove a big beefy Chevy like this one (see below for a pic of ours).  He built it from the ground up with his dad, and then did body and paint with his cousin.  I remember them spending months in the shop getting it put together.  Before the work, we took it out 4x'n - after the work we took it out on TL's (town laps).  We were young. 



We still have it back in Alaska.  It still looks beautiful until you get close and see the dents and rust. 

Anyway this style/year of Chevy always brings back good times.   

Nappanee, Indiana

I put this post off hoping to get a few more pictures on the way out of town, but the navigator took us a different way than we came - so I can't show you some of the old amazing houses we saw on the way into town.

But!

I can show you some pictures I got of all the Amish buggies running around town.

Nappanee must have a very large Amish community because we saw a buggy at all hours a day at least every 5 to 10 minutes, which was so weird because I have never seen them in person.

It's funny because when you go to the local grocery store there is a huge lane for all the horse and buggies to pull up and park.


And the horses seem very inquisitive and smart - they all were very aware of their surroundings. They picked up on me taking their picture from a long distance away (using zoom) with ears perked. They don't flinch when a big truck goes by and just seem generally happy. Having spent a lot of time around horses there always seems to be one or two in the herd that have their ears back and are annoyed with life, but not these horses. Everyone we saw had their ears perked and seemed to be happily taking in their surroundings as they hauled their buggies all over town.





And now I have this crazy thought. Don't you think it would be fun to spend a week with an Amish family? I would love to spend some time learning about their faith, how they live, how they do things in the kitchen, with a sewing machine, and even spending time with horses would be a blast in itself. Driving a buggy sounds super fun too, don't you think??

Mesker Park Zoo

We're currently on the road, so I have a lot of time to catch up on all the blogging I've been meaning to do. And as I was finished typing that last sentence we had someone flag us over to let us know we had our first flat tire. Lol. Poor Marty, that husband I love so very much is currently working at changing the tire over to our spare on the side of I-75.

Good times.


Anyway while we were in Indiana we went to "Mesker Park Zoo" twice. The first time my cousin and his little boy Jackson took us, the second time we went to Jackson's birthday party which was held at the zoo.

We had a great time, and I guess when you have your birthday party there the zoo staff allows the kids to feed the giraffes. It was amazing getting to fee them!


Their tongues are super, super long and very rough - worse than a cats tongue. And even funnier, we discovered when you have a carrot for them, they get a little drooly, lol. I never pictured a giraffe drooly. Other than that they are huge enormous and very graceful animals. They didn't mind the kids loud excited laughs and screams one bit and were very gentle with everyone.


They were just happy to eat.


This is "Carl" an Abyssinian Ground Hornbill. The first time my cousin took us to the zoo he kept telling us about this bird that was so neat. This is another one of these animals we've met along our journey that has so much character we were ready to take this one home too. Carl has several toys in his cage, which is unlike the other birds in the zoo. My cousin discovered long before we ever got into Indiana that the bird likes company and if you take a seed, or a nut and throw it straight up in the air, he likes to catch it. And he likes that game so much he will catch one, after another, after another - like a little puppy! Carl also loves it when you give him a little stick so he can twiddle it in his beak and show off. He has turned out to be the favorite animal at the zoo for both my family and my cousins. Which is strange when you see what he looks like, lol.

This is the zoo's little excerpt about him, which when you read, makes sense on why he's so social...

The Abyssinian Ground Hornbill is a bird that feeds on other small animals. They travel in family groups, trailing behind fires that sweep across the savanna of Africa that the hornbills call home. Interesting Fact: Hornbills hunt together in a group, which is rare among birds.

These are some other photo's of our zoo trip...







P.S. Marty was finished with his tire change long before I was finished writing this post! He is a husband like none other, and I am so blessed. We are off to a tire shop to have the flat repaired.

Gulfstream Factory Tour

Driver's Side...


Passenger side.

Today while picking up the 5th wheel from Gulfstream we decided to get the tour as well. I've been wanting to get a tour for months and today we finally had some time to get one in. It was really worth it and I would recommend anyone who owns an RV to go to the makers of your coach and get a tour there.

These 4 photo's are all of the same unit:









This is the same model as above (39') but a different color scheme on the exterior.

We were able to see how their RV's are made, what materials they use, what the guts of our home looks like and they were even able to tell us all the little places we can't see that have hidden dead space. I found out today I (errr, Marty) could turn our two steps into storage bins if we wanted, that the dead area between the cabinets in the garage actually has wires in it, other dead area's that have air ducts or water heaters or whatever in them. We learned how to move our central vac system currently located under our big couch if we ever wanted to replace the couch, and also how to wire in more speakers if we wanted. It was really nice! We've always been very leery of even putting a picture on the wall because we just don't have experience messing with an RV like we do with a house - I think we both feel a ton more comfortable making add-ons like things that will make this place function better for a full time RV family.

The Elkhart/Nappanee area of Indiana is considered the RV capitol of the U.S. If your ever in the area stop in and see your manufacter's plant and get a tour. They even have a really neat museum in Elkhart that has RV's all they way back to the 40's - another really neat tour.

Saying Goodbye...

We said goodbye to Scales Lake RV Park Sunday October 24th and the new friends we had made there.


We said goodbye to the petting zoo and sweet "Poncho" our favorite little Donkey. It makes me laugh looking at this picture. Poor thing never gets much attention because of the signs and yet he is so sweet. The day we left he was licking our hands and face and he even likes to put his head right down the middle of our front for a good snuggle. I will definitely miss that little donkey.


We also had to say goodbye to our 5th wheel. There was a bit of a mistake that was made with our 5th wheel before we ever picked it up. I won't go into details and bore you but Gulfstream has had planned ever since to put us into a hotel for the week and, take it back to the Gulfstream factory and do some service work.


After staying in a cozy little hotel we drove up yesterday and stayed in one more an amazing hotel in Elhkart, then this afternoon we drove over to the Gulfstream plant in Nappanee Indiana to pick up our 5th wheel. It was soooo good to see it sitting in the garage, I definitely missed our home. It's amazing that after only a month and a half this little RV already has our hearts.

Anyway the factory did some amazing work, we are so happy with everything they did and our home looks great. I got several interior shots this afternoon but wasn't able to get the garage. I'll be able to get a shot of the garage tomorrow before we hit the road and will do a post giving a tour of our home (before we load it up with all our junk) as I have been promising some of you.

I also have to tell you all about this charming little town after I get a few more pictures to show you, there are some little bits around here that we have just loved to see driving by. It would be nice to see this place in the summer when it's warmer and greener. We actually had frost on our truck windows when we came out of our hotel this morning! I tell you what, it is time to get outa here quick because I have seen enough of that, lol!

Scales Lake RV Park

Marty and I knew we would be spending some time down in Evansville but only found one RV park when googling. Thankfully my family knew of another park that doesn't advertise. Although it was in a smaller town called Boonville it was closer to their homes than the RV park in Evansville. And as it turns out Scales Lake is much funner!

They have places you can pitch a tent, park an RV, or even rent a cabin. The RV park has full hook-ups with both 30 and 50 amp power available. They have shower houses and a laundry room. The one thing they don't have is internet, but since Marty and I get that through our phones, it isn't a big deal. The place is gated and patrolled so it's really safe too.


That's our truck to the right, the 5th wheel is next to the truck just to the left. The picture below is to the right of this photo. And the photo after that is even further to the right.


This is on a week day where most of the park is empty. During the weekends, this place usually fills up by late Thursday.


The building on the right is the shower and laundry house, right behind it is one of the playgrounds. We also just had a semi pull in this last week pulling a 5th wheel. They are making semi's now where you don't need a CDL to drive them. Several people prefer to pull their 5th wheels with a semi as they are built to take a lot more weight than a truck.


This was our neighbor, who left this weekend. Do you know what that trailer is for behind it? It's his garage. It holds a classic T-Bird he likes to enter into old car shows. Doesn't that look like the life to live??


Pretty huh?

Anyway, that all covered the sleeping arrangements of the park.

Now for the recreation....

Pool house, swimming area, and water slide.

They have 3 play-grounds scattered throughout the park and the lake has a swimming area with a HUGE water slide (the swimming portion of the lake is closed in October). A pool house and a separate facility to rent out for weddings and other gatherings are both indoor. They also have a few roofed pavilions and gathering area's for large and small get-togethers.


This is a photo from behind the pool house and water slide. This is also where one of the playgrounds is.


You can launch a boat on the lake and go fishing, or as we prefer: let the dog go swimming and let loose some energy.



We've also been biking back here a lot, the kids love that.

BUT...

Our favorite part about this place?


The 24 hour/free petting zoo!


They have lots of goats...




..and sheep...


...and rams. This guy is just so gentle and sweet.


They also have ducks with weird heads...


And normal ducks...


And these are the white ducks, and the one in the center is a goose I think or is it a gander? Yes, a gander. He think he's pretty tough, but can be bought for a cheep price - chick weed and grass clippings.


This is the pony. He/she is not that great though. He wants nothing to do with you unless you have food, and IF you have food, he'll reach really far with his neck to snatch your food, so you can't touch any other part of him. The female donkey is the same way...

She just doesn't want anything to do with you either.


But, the male donkey we have come to LOVE! We're thinking we could turn the garage portion of our 5th wheel into a stable and take him with us. The kids can sleep in there with him, they think he's pretty great too.


The caretaker said his name is Poncho, but the gate keeper said his name is Jack. So who knows. His pen has a huge sign on it that says "HE BITES" so most people stay away from him, but we found he just wants to be loved! He sticks his head out and wants to be scratched and rubbed, and low and behold I discovered he gives kisses. He is our favorite.


The other neat thing about this place is, everyday the caretaker lets one or a few animals loose. They are allowed to wander all over the park. The other day we came out and discovered Poncho having lunch in front of our RV, the boys got to go right up to him and pet him. He's such a tolerate little thing.

They also have peacocks, turkeys, guineas, rabbits, and chickens.

And the funny thing is that they don't mind dogs coming with you to visit the petting zoo. Pete really trips out on all these animals. He doesn't know what to think of them, lol.

We'll definitely be remembering this place next time we're in town.