Pre July 2022 Posts

All of the posts we made before July 2022.

Took the ferry to Galveston, Texas

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On the ferry

On the ferry

We enjoyed a combination of good timing and good luck when we took the free ferry from Bolivar Penninsula to Galveston a couple of days ago.

The fellow at the Texas Welcome Center on I-10 told us about this ferry and suggested that we plan to follow the coast down to Galveston. We waited in line for about 30 minutes and then were directed to board the ferry. What a treat it was when we ended up at the front of the ferry boat. The best view on the vessel.

The good timing kicked in because just as the ferry left we were blessed with the beautiful sunset over the water.

 

 

Sunset on the water

Sunset on the water

The ferry

The ferry

 

Beef & Boards Christmas show once again shines

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Deb, Kenny and SantaBeef & Boards Dinner Theatre on the far northwest side of Indianapolis continues to prove why it is one of the most popular and beloved venues in the area. This year’s version of the Christmas variety show is just marvelous.

Deb Wims and Kenny Shepard continue their tradition of hosts and performers of the show. This team has been leads in this show for years. Wims and Shepard sing and dance as one. Audiences are always enthralled by their performance and stage presence.

The supporting cast is truly one of the best in the musical genre. The choreography, costuming and sets bring the Spirit of the Season to the stage. Special recognition is due to the perfromance of Kendra Lynn Lucas. This talented lady can really belt out a song. Her rendition of “O Holy Night” in Act 2 brought the house to its feet.

The Beef & Boards orchestra is amazing. The quality and depth of the music that a handfull of musicians produce is one of the keys to the excitement of the performance.

Don’t miss the Beef & Boards Christmas 2015. The show runs through December 23rd. Visit the B&B website for all pertainent details.

Indiana’s huge covered bridge festival

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Large crowds looking for that elusive bargain!

Large crowds looking for that elusive bargain!

Each October Parke County, Indiana is the scene of the annual Covered Bridge Festival. This event sees close to two million people converging on the area for a ten day festival. While there are several beautiful vintage covered bridges scattered throughout the county, most folks come for the shopping.

And shopping there is! There are several small communities that become filled with vendor tents, food concession trailers and outdoor ‘yard sale’ type setups. It is true to state that if you can think of it it can be found for sale somewhere amongst the thousands of different vendors set up.

That's our RV on the right in the background, set up at the old school campground at Bridgeton Indiana

That’s our RV on the right in the background, set up at the old school campground at Bridgeton Indiana

We have set up camp in the little town of Bridgeton at an old (1920’s) school building grounds. There are several vendors set up on the grounds along with some food concession trailers. A few blocks north of our location there are hundreds of inside and outside vendors set up selling their wares. There are hand made crafts, new merchandise, antiques large and small and tons of “re-purposed” items. It is amazing how many ways an old wood pallet can be reused!

One of the hundreds of vendor displays at Bridgeton

One of the hundreds of vendor displays at Bridgeton

The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival should be on your bucket list. It is one of the largest festivals of its kind in the country. People from all over the country come to shop, as well as come to set up their booths and tents to sell. There are plenty of RV campgrounds nearby and many private land owners open their yards and fields for RVs to camp during the festival.

We had a generator problem

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Cummings Crosspoint technician checking our Onan generator

Cummings Crosspoint technician checking our Onan generator

Recently Sher and I set up at a large two day festival in Atlanta, Indiana. During our first night our generator coughed a couple of times and then stopped runnning. There was plenty of gasoline, and repeated tries resulted in the strong odor of gas. Sure sounded like the engine was flooded.

Since the generator is still under warranty the Indianapolis (Greenwood) Camping World refered me to the Cummins Crosspoint Service Center in downtown Indy. The CW techs are not certified to do Onan warranty work.

The Cummins Crosspoint service center was very helpful. Once I explained that we are full time RV the staff really went out their way to help and arranged for us to take our RV in for a look see and diagnosis that day..

It turned out that there was a problem with one small part the helps hold a valve spring in place. New parts are ordered. We will just have to do without the genny until they come in.

 

You never know what you’ll see

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This “modified” Class C was set up across from us at a show this summer. Wow. The fellow who drives this did all the artwork/painting himself. He is from Canada and sets up at shows all across the country. You might see him at a festival some time. His rig is hard to miss!

The whole rig is covered in paintings. The more you look, the more you see!

The whole rig is covered in paintings. The more you look, the more you see!

Shipshewana, Indiana in the heart of Amish country

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This display in front of an antique store aptly describes the Shipshewana area

This display in front of an antique store aptly describes the Shipshewana area

Shipshewana, Indiana is a tiny community in LaGrange County in the northeast corner of the state. The rural area is one of the largest communities of Amish families in the Midwest. The main roads all have extra wide shoulders to allow for safe travel for the horse drawn buggies and wagons.

The area is known for its many tourist attractions, including a huge flea market that is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In addition, there are many small shops in the town featuring hand made crafts, country decor items and antiques. As you might expect, you can take a horse drawn carriage ride or even enjoy a home made meal at one of the Amish homes who open there doors to visitors.

There are several nice RV parks in the area. All are reasonably priced. There is an RV park that is part of the flea market grounds. Enjoy a level, full hook up site that is just steps away from the market.

Restaurant, bakery and theater all in one!

Restaurant, bakery and theater all in one!

Shipshewana is truly a must see stop for anyone traveling in northern Indiana. Note that several RV companies have their assembly plants in this area. Couple a trip to see RV’s being built with an enjoyable and interesting trip to Shipshewana Amish country and you will have a trip to remember.

Lots of interesting shops to peruse.

Lots of interesting shops to visit.

Manistee, Michigan on the lake

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A weather worn lighthouse. Note the large waves crashing on the wall.

A weather worn lighthouse. Note the large waves crashing on the wall.

This past summer we spent some time in Michigan. What a beautiful area we found as we set up at some festivals in the north central part of the state. We took a side trip to the town of Manistee which is right on Lake Michigan. The day we visited Manistee was a cloudy, cool and very windy day.

The town has a large park right on the water. A carnival was setting up in preparation for a weekend festival. We drove around the town and then we went to the Little River Casino. This is a nice casino, very clean with a friendly staff. There is a very nice full service RV park on the casino grounds. If we ever get back to Manistee we will stop at the RV park.

 

Beautiful inlet at Manistee.

Beautiful inlet at Manistee.

Luther Logging Days in Michigan

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20150703_115256_resizedSher and I had an absolute ball at the Luther Logging Days festival in Luther, Michigan. The festival ran the week of July 4th. We heard about this festival from a fellow vendor who was kind enough to give us the information for registration so we could set up and sell our wares.

Luther is a very small town (population 310) and is in the heart of logging and outdoor recreation country. The festival took place on the one main street in town, and we set up our selling space right next to the curb.

This festival was really fun. Sometimes when we are set up and selling we don’t get to share in the festivities. Not so at Luther: most of the activities took place near or in front of our booth space! There were bands, games for young and old alike and a wonderful parade on July 4th.

This was our set up

This was our set up

AM VET bikers in the parade

AM VET bikers in the parade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The people of Luther were very friendly and enjoy life to the fullest. Young and old alike really know how to have a good time.

Our second mattress from MattressInsider.com

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We went back to MattressInsider.com when we wanted to replace the mattress that came with our Thor Four Winds 22E motorhome. This Class C motorhome was the replacement for the travel trailer that we had when we hit the road last summer. The mattress we bought from MattressInsider for the travel trailer did not fit in our new Thor. As is normally the case, the mattress that came with the RV was, ah, not the best. Even though it was called an RV Premium mattress it did not take too long for it to break down and become nothing more than a source of bad night’s sleep and backaches.

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Our new mattress in place and ready!

So back to MattressInsider. Once again the folks there were great to work with. This time I needed a custom made mattress to fit the shape of our bed: the corner of it was “cut off” to make room for the bathroom door to open. Simple to draw a sketch with the dimensions and email it to the MattressInsider staff.

Once agan we ordered an 8″ thick coil spring mattress. (See our original review of our first mattress here.) The additional cost for the custom design was only $20 for the one we ordered. This was a nice surprise as I expected a higher cost for a custom made mattress.

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This is the style mattress that we purchased

 

The sales staff once again did a great job with our order. I sent in the sketch with the dimensions of the mattress I needed, firmed up the order and our mattress arrived in about ten days. Great service! The mattress was rolled up into a box about the size of a thirty gallon barrel that weighed in at 68 lbs. (Shipping was free by the way.) We simply unpacked the mattress, let it unroll and let it do its expanding thing for about three hours. Then it was ready for use.

Let me tell you, these coil spring mattresses are great to sleep on! Back aches are gone and Sher and I both are getting a great night’s sleep. Need a new mattress for your RV? Browse the Mattress Insider website and/or call them at 1-888-488-1468 and talk with them. You will not be disappointed with what you hear.