We found our gym, one called Fitness USA near the Concord Mall. Michael did the recumbent bike and I did the recumbent bike, the elliptical, and weights. Great fun and the gym was a nice change.
After that, we were heading back up SR 19 to our campground when we passed by the Roadmaster factory. This is the company that makes the chassis for our particular RV. It was nearly 2:00 and we knew that they give tours at 10 and 2. So... there we were!
Well.. I know that this sounds VERY boring, and I thought that I was going to be collecting some points toward a future chick flick. Well.. was I wrong about "boring?" Yes!
This tour was fascinating. Ron was our tour guide, and he showed us the whole thing. We saw how they get in all these bits of steel in various rough shapes and make it into pieces that, welded together, make up the chassis of the RV.
There was a machine that is computer operated that drills holes and cuts the metal just like a jigsaw would cut wood. Engines! Huge and powerful, diesel-loving engines by the dozen. We saw the station where there is a guy who fills the RV chassis with various fluids. It was just cool.
We learned lots about how the RV chassis needs to be maintained and how it works overall. We left there very impressed.
By then it was almost dinnertime. We heated up our burgers and beans from the day before. Then we did a Dairy Queen! :)
This morning, we got up earlier. Michael did the laundry and I cleaned the inside of the RV. Then we went swimming. Good fun. There were kids doing dives.
After that, we cleaned up and went to Nappanee, south of here about 20 miles. We bought a few things in their fine store. Then we had the "Threshers' Dinner." Mmmm!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Disappearing CF Card!
Last night I was trying to upload my photos that we'd taken on the trip. I poked my CF card into the CF slot, as I've done many many times. And POOF! It disappeared! I looked with a flashlight and I could see it in there... above the slot where the prongs were supposed to catch it. Who knows how this happened? I tried and tried to retrieve it, but there was no wiggle room and I ended up pushing it back beyond the prongs. Ultimately, I heard it clunk into Never Never Land.
We tried taking the computer apart to see if we could find it, but it clunked into an enclosed black box. I'll have our computer guys at PCMax take it apart when we get home.
Other than that, yesterday was a pretty much dumb day. We did our exercise in the pool (We like that!) and then I did some work on the computer, getting some lessons out to some of my Independent Study students.
We went grocery shopping, finding the Martin's Supermarket in Elkhart to be a most accommodating stop! They had everything we needed, and all fresh and delicious. We bought hamburger for the grill, and Michael also enjoyed their Deviled Egg Potato Salad.
We'd also bought a bottle of wine for our neighbors, Nick and Terri, from the Gypsy Journal. They have a satellite internet connection, and we'd been hooking onto their wireless network. We brought them the wine and they most graciously invited us to continue to use their hookup.
We stayed up late, just horsing around with movies on TV and our computer games. I was playing Boggle at my new favorite Boggle site. This was after I was successful in the USA Today Sudoku.
We awoke this morning to a rainy gray day. They're predicting thunderstorms and so it's not going to be a good day for swimming, unfortunately. So we're searching for a gym. Hey.. it's not good for us to do the same thing every day anyway.
We tried taking the computer apart to see if we could find it, but it clunked into an enclosed black box. I'll have our computer guys at PCMax take it apart when we get home.
Other than that, yesterday was a pretty much dumb day. We did our exercise in the pool (We like that!) and then I did some work on the computer, getting some lessons out to some of my Independent Study students.
We went grocery shopping, finding the Martin's Supermarket in Elkhart to be a most accommodating stop! They had everything we needed, and all fresh and delicious. We bought hamburger for the grill, and Michael also enjoyed their Deviled Egg Potato Salad.
We'd also bought a bottle of wine for our neighbors, Nick and Terri, from the Gypsy Journal. They have a satellite internet connection, and we'd been hooking onto their wireless network. We brought them the wine and they most graciously invited us to continue to use their hookup.
We stayed up late, just horsing around with movies on TV and our computer games. I was playing Boggle at my new favorite Boggle site. This was after I was successful in the USA Today Sudoku.
We awoke this morning to a rainy gray day. They're predicting thunderstorms and so it's not going to be a good day for swimming, unfortunately. So we're searching for a gym. Hey.. it's not good for us to do the same thing every day anyway.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Touring the Monaco Factory
Monday night we had a storm. We were awakened in the wee hours by the window awning flapping and vibrating. We tossed on clothes and ran out to secure things. The air was strangely hot and very windy. And the sky was bright with lightning everywhere! The clouds were roiling like something out of a movie. We got things put up and made it indoors before the rain hit, and it hit hard! This area had 3" of rain in under an hour. There was plenty of lightning and loud claps of thunder, but it wasn't windy enough to rock the rig.
The pets slept right through all of this. Maddy, of course, was oblivious to it all, and Eddie mewed at us only once.
For those of you just joining me, Eddie's our little orange tabby cat. He wasn't amused by our moving out to this RV for our vacation. Nor is he amused by the moving of the walls or the rumbling and changing of scenery as we move down the road. To punish us, he kept us awake by mewing constantly for the first two nights out. But he's been fine since then.
So we awoke and then went to the pool to do our exercise. Michael "jogged" back and forth in water up to his chest, and I swam in the deep end for 40 minutes. It was a splendid workout and we'll do this whenever we get the chance. This is far superior to the scroungy gyms that we found in Richmond. Urgh.
After a shower, we headed south to Wakarusa. Here we toured the Monaco factory, seeing more different components of our RV. (This is the company that made ours.) We also got to tour several of the 2007 models. They always come up with ways to make us greedy. Our tour guide, Julie, was very knowledgeable and competent, making our tour a real joy.
Wakarusa Indiana has a place called "The Dime Store," which is actually... a huge candy store! We had been there before and we knew we wanted to go again for their huge jelly beans. We spent just over $25.
From there, we drove up to Middlebury, to a restaurant Julie had recommended -- the Essenhaus. This is an Amish-style family restaurant, where they pile the food onto the table in bowls, allowing you to eat all you want. Everything was delicious. We thought it was even better than Amish Acres in Nappanee, but we may have to revisit Nappanee to be sure. ;) We did take our pie home from Essenhaus and ate it here last evening. We also bought a few things from their gift shop.
It cooled down a bit last night, so much so that we had the windows open and do still, at 10:30 am!
Hey.. the pool's open and we're going swimming!
The pets slept right through all of this. Maddy, of course, was oblivious to it all, and Eddie mewed at us only once.
For those of you just joining me, Eddie's our little orange tabby cat. He wasn't amused by our moving out to this RV for our vacation. Nor is he amused by the moving of the walls or the rumbling and changing of scenery as we move down the road. To punish us, he kept us awake by mewing constantly for the first two nights out. But he's been fine since then.
So we awoke and then went to the pool to do our exercise. Michael "jogged" back and forth in water up to his chest, and I swam in the deep end for 40 minutes. It was a splendid workout and we'll do this whenever we get the chance. This is far superior to the scroungy gyms that we found in Richmond. Urgh.
After a shower, we headed south to Wakarusa. Here we toured the Monaco factory, seeing more different components of our RV. (This is the company that made ours.) We also got to tour several of the 2007 models. They always come up with ways to make us greedy. Our tour guide, Julie, was very knowledgeable and competent, making our tour a real joy.
Wakarusa Indiana has a place called "The Dime Store," which is actually... a huge candy store! We had been there before and we knew we wanted to go again for their huge jelly beans. We spent just over $25.
From there, we drove up to Middlebury, to a restaurant Julie had recommended -- the Essenhaus. This is an Amish-style family restaurant, where they pile the food onto the table in bowls, allowing you to eat all you want. Everything was delicious. We thought it was even better than Amish Acres in Nappanee, but we may have to revisit Nappanee to be sure. ;) We did take our pie home from Essenhaus and ate it here last evening. We also bought a few things from their gift shop.
It cooled down a bit last night, so much so that we had the windows open and do still, at 10:30 am!
Hey.. the pool's open and we're going swimming!
Monday, July 17, 2006
Travel day
Yesterday was a "dumb day" where we had no goals.. and accomplished all of them! As always, we enjoyed our stay in Richmond, Indiana. The guys decided that our radio was not as Sirius ready as they thought, and so they are ordering a new one. We will be getting our radio put in when we return to Richmond AFTER our vacation. Oh well, we don't know what we're missing, so that's ok.
Today we awoke early, after a good long restful sleep. Eddie got us up only once, mewing at 3 am. This was a huge improvement over Friday and Saturday nights! We headed to the Cardinal Greenway, where we've done many walks before. And we walked! Maddy and I walked fast, doing "laps." I started with 15 minutes out and then back. Then I went 5 minutes out and then back.. And finally I went out 2.5 minutes and back, totalling 45 minutes. Michael walked more slowly, but still did 30 minutes, without killing himself.
Then we packed up the rig, hooked up the car, and headed up the road. After about 200 miles of 2-lane stop-start winding roads, we made it to Elkhart. We're staying at a pleasant place called, creatively, Elkhart Campground. ;) Wireless internet... good power for our air conditioners (93° heat!)... what else can we ask for? I will add some photos ... soon! :P
Today we awoke early, after a good long restful sleep. Eddie got us up only once, mewing at 3 am. This was a huge improvement over Friday and Saturday nights! We headed to the Cardinal Greenway, where we've done many walks before. And we walked! Maddy and I walked fast, doing "laps." I started with 15 minutes out and then back. Then I went 5 minutes out and then back.. And finally I went out 2.5 minutes and back, totalling 45 minutes. Michael walked more slowly, but still did 30 minutes, without killing himself.
Then we packed up the rig, hooked up the car, and headed up the road. After about 200 miles of 2-lane stop-start winding roads, we made it to Elkhart. We're staying at a pleasant place called, creatively, Elkhart Campground. ;) Wireless internet... good power for our air conditioners (93° heat!)... what else can we ask for? I will add some photos ... soon! :P
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