Shipshewana Shopping

Day 4 of the BBA (Big Beastly Adventure) saw RRR and Nui heading off (by car) to the flea market which, contrary to the brochure, is not even remotely within walking distance.  The flea market is huge - over 110 acres, with a lot of variety (especially in sparkly t-shirts, as RRR soon found).    Thank heavens we brought our little scooters because walking up and down those aisles for 4 hours would have been next to impossible.  You could tell we're new at this snowbirding thing because we took off under a blazing hot sun with no hats, sunglasses or water.  It was 82F in the shade and that was at 4 p.m.   Even Nui was hot!  We'd better take a crash course in hot weather survival because we're going to be living in the desert in about 3 weeks.

RRR had originally said that she wasn't all that interested in going to a flea market because - and I quote - "we're not going to buy anything".  Boy was she wrong!!!  A lot of vendors had big smiles on their faces when we left.

Today, we left under drizzly skies and went to visit the RV Museum and Hall of Fame.  It was fantastic!  Well worth seeing if you've ever camped.  The oldest RV was made in 1913 and it was amazing.  There were some oddities too - for instance, one guy used a kitchen chair to sit on while he was driving.  Another one used a living room chair - I guess he wanted to be more comfortable.  Presumably they didn't make any sudden stops.  We even saw the motorhome that Mae West used to go from her home to the movie sets.  That one had a porch where she would sit in a rocking chair to relax. 

Detours and Dimwits

Day 2 started out pretty well.  We breezed through the US border in about 20 minutes, without being pulled over.  Then we started to drive, and drive and drive and drive.  At first, the trees were lovely, sparkling red, orange and yellow in the autumn sun.  After about 2 hours of all this sparkling, we realized that we hadn't seen a gas station or a rest area since leaving Canada.  One tank was getting very dry.....our personal tanks were starting to get pretty full and it was time to stop.  We finally found what is apparently Michigan's only gas station near Saginaw and promptly filled up the Beast.  We were pretty tired and were looking forward to taking the exit to our campground near Frankenmuth but, sure enough, we got detoured and had to drive the Beast through even more sparkling scenery before we finally got to the campground which was, of course, closed.  By this time, we were ready to hire ourselves out as farmhands to pick corn, since that would have been a welcome relief from all those sparkling trees.

We set up camp and set out for Frankenmuth where we had a lovely, if unpronounceable, Bavarian dinner.  The atmosphere was great.  We loved looking at the knees of all those cute guys in leiderhosen.  From there, we went to Bonner's, the world's largest Christmas store which is jaw-droppingly amazing.  Unfortunately we had less than half an hour to visit but it is definitely on the bucket list for next year.  We are planning a three-day mini-tour next spring.

Day 3 began with a propane refill.  Apparently the term "fill it up" is rather a foreign concept in Michigan since we have not been able to get a full tank of gas nor a full tank of propane.  But off we headed for Shipshewana, IN.  Upon crossing into Indiana, we found dozens of gas stations.... perhaps they should lend some to Michigan.

Shipshewana is a smallish town which boasts the largest flea market in the Midwest.  The campground we had booked was, according to their brochure, "within walking distance" of the flea market.  We're not sure how much walking the Amish do, since they seem to be pretty tied to their horse-drawn buggies.  That might explain why no one seemed to know where the campground was or, for that matter, what was or was not within walking distance of the flea market.  Nui asked a dozen people for help with directions and was told to go north, west, or east and was also told that there was no campground.  We drove up and down the main street for an hour and a half, looking for a blue flashing sign showing the campground entrance.  Even the campground people weren't sure where they were located, since they told us they were north of the flea market when, in fact, they are a half mile south.  And the blue flashing sign they boasted about as the "only flashing sign on that street" is not blue, but is blue, yellow and red. They also told us that we could not see the campground from the road but would find a sign saying "RV Wash".  In fact, the campground is visible, it is the RV Wash sign that is impossible to see.

We think it must be the fumes from all the horse manure that is killing off their brain cells.

However, the town is really cute and we're looking forward to hitting the flea market tomorrow.

Holy Cow...the world is coming to an end!

There are two words that no living person on this planet has ever heard uttered by Road Rage Rita.  NO…not THOSE words.  Get your mind out of the gutter.  I'm talking about:  "I'm Cold!"  RRR has been known to hang her clothes out to dry in -30 weather, while wearing nothing but shorts and a tank top.  To hear her state that she is cold made Nui very nervous since everyone knows that the only time this would ever happen is when hell freezes over.

But we bundled her up in several layers of wool and cotton and she slept like a baby until the early morning hours of Day 2. 

And We're Off.... Day One of the Southern Expedition

And we're off!  We set off under cloudy skies and managed to hit rain about one hour out of town.  This downpour had the added benefit of camouflaging a sink hole which appeared near the Tim's at Nairn Centre.  The hole almost swallowed the Beast - we managed to hit it with all 10 tires, not to mention hitting rock bottom on the hitch.  Nui was not impressed.  However, the stop at Tim's was not a total loss.  As we were playing cards after lunch, a man came by, unzipped and proceeded to relieve himself not 10 feet from our window.  Dining and entertainment in one place!

The gas station next door had huge bays, perfect for RV's.  However, this did not pose enough of a challenge so we opted to keep going until we found one that was narrow and very hard to get into and out of.  The owner ran out to remove his flag when he saw us coming.  We filled up and asked to have the windows washed.  This was quite a confusing proposal to the man running the place.  He couldn't quite figure out what liquid to use (and wound up using plain water) and he couldn't quite grasp that you use the spongy side first, then the squeegee side.  Obviously, he's never washed a window in his life - perhaps he's more management than staff. 

We made it to Sault Ste Marie without further delays, under bright sunny skies.  That's when Nui found out that she could  not connect to WiFi, which is disastrous since there is no way to navigate in the US without MapQuest, unless you use old-fashioned technology like looking at a map.  R3's daughter came to the rescue and walked us through the hook up process.

All in all, it was a good day and we're looking forward to Frankenmuth and shopping tomorrow.

Road Rage Rita, Communications Engineer

All successful expeditions must rely on highly trained crews to take care of day to day needs as well as the occasional breakdown or emergency.  The same is true of the Big Beastly Adventure.  Nui will be doing the driving but it is a known fact that to keep the Beast on the road requires nerves of steel, eyes of a hawk and both hands white-knuckled on the wheel.  This, of course, leads to a problem with what to do about idiot drivers who tail-gate, cut you off or, in some cases, have no clue how to merge onto a highway in front of a rapidly moving RV and Toad. 

What the voyage needed was a Communications Engineer.  A veteran traveller, Road Rage Rita (aka Trailer Trash, aka Recreational Rita), volunteered her services to, when appropriate, provide the proverbial one-finger salute which is the universal signal to other drivers that something is amiss and they need to fix it.  She demonstrated her manual dexterity at a recent wedding, when she awed family members with her ability to not only salute with her right hand but with her left - and sometimes simultaneously.  Skills like that are rare indeed - so it is an honor that Road Rage Rita has agreed to take on this important function.

The voyage to southern climes begins next week.  None too soon, either..... it snowed in Sudbury this morning!

What was that name again?

For those of you following the blog, it will seem that we'll be leaving for Arizona with the Beast crammed to the tailpipe with numerous co-pilots, all of them 84 years old.  Truth is that we've been having a hard time coming up with a name for my aunt.  We started out with Trailer Trash, but that implied that her wardrobe consisted entirely of spandex pants and high-heeled shoes, along with belly button rings.  Oh sure, maybe some days but not every day.  We scrapped that name in favour of "Recreational Rita", but there was some concern that the name made her sound like a woman of easy virtue or, more profitably, an exotic dancer.  It is also hard to type.  Next suggestion was "TraileRita" but this isn't a trailer, so that's out.  The latest incarnation is "Hoppin' Nana".  So far, that's what we're going with but there are still 2 weeks to go before the launch, so you never know.  We'll keep you posted.

Welcome to Recreational Rita

In about a month's time, the Big Beastly Adventure will continue, exploring never before seen vistas as the Beast heads for winter quarters in Yuma.  Every good voyage needs a co-pilot and Nui was thrilled to learn that her aunt, Recreational Rita, has decided to come aboard for the inaugural trip to the South.  This is great news!  RR and Nui have been known to stay up until dawn, looking for lunar eclipses or playing "that f***ing game".  The f***ing game is actually double solitaire but was renamed by RR's husband when he awoke and found them still playing cards, long after most people were in bed.  Recreational Rita likes to "look at stuff" and we have been surfing websites to find a whole lot of interesting stuff to do on the month-long trip to Arizona.

I should perhaps mention here that Recreational Rita is 84 years old and could still give a lot of 20 year olds a run for their money.  This is going to be a fun trip!