Shipshewanna, Indiana

 We are mourning the loss of the daughter of very dear friends. No parent should have to endure such pain. It has been made more personal as she was the same age as and was a classmate of our children. Words cannot express our sorrow.

Indiana, the RV capital of the world. We are in Shipshewanna, site 79 in the Shipshewanna Campground South. This is a basic, no frills park, but it is clean and neat, as you would expect in Amish country.

We are hoping to have two major problems diagnosed and hopefully repaired before our return trip west. One of the trailer tires is wearing abnormally, so we are taking the trailer to a shop that specializes in axle repair. Two days later we’re taking the trailer to a shop that specializes in rv slide-out repairs. The very necessary living room slide mechanism is not working properly and we’re concerned that it may leave us stranded with a “box” extended and with no way to continue our journey. We’re hoping that these two shops will take pity on us and expedite repairs. We shall see. 

It’s been both busy and boring the last few days. As I write this, the axle issue has been diagnosed and the axle manufacturer has offered to provide a new parts. The boring part? We had to kill an entire day with our trusty canine companion in 90 degree temperatures in an unfamiliar city. It was challenging.

The main street through Shipshewanna is under construction. It’s a huge infrastructure project, with heavy equipment slinging concrete pipe around and traffic control attempting to separate Amish carriages and 18 wheel big rigs as the traffic lanes swerve from right to left and weekend rv’ers scamper off into a flea market towing a trailer that’s way to long for their toyota car. You get the picture.

The confusion is amply offset by beautiful sunsets and clouds.

We were advised to contact Allegiant RV Services in Middlebury, IN, to assess the condition of our slide out, you know, the one that has a mind of its own. We dropped the trailer (called a “camper” around here) off at 7 am, and prepared to fill the day with…..

A visit to Krider Worlds Fair Garden in Middlebury. Stashed away in a quiet neighborhood, away from the industrial hubbub of the RV industry, this beautiful and relaxing park has its roots in an exhibition held almost ninety years ago.

In 1893 Vernon Krider planted raspberries on land given to him by his father. In 1896 he sold 5,000 plants for $250. It was the beginning of the Krider Nurseries empire. After buying the companys first truck in 1920 and expanding into the wholesale market in 1923.  Krider invested $10,000 to create a display garden at the 1934 Chicago Worlds Fair: A Century of Progress. At the closing of the fair, part of the exhibit was moved to a site across the street from Krider Nuseries headquarters, where it remains today. From the 1940’s to the close of the business in 1990, Krider Nurseries focused on roses, with the original and arguably the most beautiful rose being the thornless Festival Rose.

Today the Worlds Fair Garden is a beautiful place to pass some time on a cool, misty day.

Following a winding path, we strolled through well kept flower displays.

It’s a beautiful place to rest and enjoy nature’s beauty, and as we sat on a bench with Sasha snoozing in the sun, we got a call saying our slideout repair was complete, so a quick trip back to Allegiant, a conversation about sloppy manufacturing and shoddy parts, a hot credit card, and we were on our way! 

We kept in touch with the company that committed to repairing the axle issue, and found out that they didn’t know that they were supposed to order the parts. Duhhhh.

So, we took a daytrip north to the hamlet of Gobles, Michigan. 

As you may remember from past blog posts, whenever we’re in this area we try to visit the Robinson Cemetery just south of Gobles to pay our respects to the parents of a good friend back in California. George and Helen were special people, and often George was called “unique”, as his headstone would indicate.

George was heavily involved with automobile and motorcycle racing, and developed a reputation for liking his beer, so we brought a bottle of beer for George and some flowers for Helen. Strangely, someone else had the same idea, so we allowed as how George had some drinking to do.

The cemetery was beautiful on this clear, warm day.

A few miles south of Gobles, the town of Paw Paw, Michigan is home to one of our favorite restaurants, the 120 Taphouse, home of the Doobies. A Doobie is a take on an eggroll, with corned beef, pulled pork, sauerkraut, or other lucious ingredients, onions and cheeses. We had to stop!

Unfortunately, Paw Paw was celebrating its annual Harvest Festival, and while we enjoyed a bit of the parade, we found that the restaurant was both full of people from the street, but also inaccessible by car. 

Well, so much for that plan. 

Two days later, when we checked on the progress of our repair, we found that the repair shop had again dropped the ball and had not ordered the parts that we needed. A conversation clarified procedures and we were comfortable with the situation.

It’s now four days later, and we find out that the shop had once again neglected to order the parts. Strike three. By now we have wasted a week, so we began the search for a different repair shop. An “Ah Ha” moment led us back to Allegiant RV, where Melissa and Tony had parts on order and an installation appointment made within two hours! Unfortunately, the appointment is another ten days out, so we’re once again waiting, and stressing because we need to be home with our grieving friends. 

The hours drag by slowly, ever so slowly.