Amish Country

Ever since arriving in Texas in the spring, weather has been much different than what I am used to. There have been thunder and lightning storms, tornados, hurricane warnings, and what seemed like torrential downpours. Summer in the South and Midwest is definitely the rainy season. 

Another surprise was the windshield wiper arm that almost flew off during the downpour on our drive to Illinois. 

As always, Tom to the rescue. 

We do make it to Illinois. Our stay at the Prairie Pines Campground in Rantoul, IL is brief. The weather was not cooperative while we were there, so we weren't able to see anything other than the campground.

We do finally make it to the cooler regions of the U.S. for the summer. We even catch a glimpse of Lake Michigan on our way to Elkhart Campground in Elkhart, Indiana. 

While here Tom gets a water pump controller to repair our water pump, which has been on the fritz. The water pump and controller were tucked back into a compartment which was a literal pain in the neck to try to get to, but after considerable bending, reaching, crouching and more than a few choice words, the part was installed and the system was working again. Whew!

This is Amish country in Indiana. There's a CD that we picked-up at the campground office that took us on a drive through the Amish country. We ended up going backwards and started in Wakarusa. 

The Wakarusa Dime Store is known for its Jumbo jellybeans.

Then down to Nappanee where we stopped at the Nappanee Bakery & Treat Shoppe for some Amish wares. My haul was limited to Dandelion, Gooseberry, and Cherry jellies.  

We also wanted to see what the Newmar Service Center, which is located in Nappanee, looked like. The center and its campground was very impressive. One thing I was expecting was to see the horse and buggies. We only saw a couple. The bicycle seemed to be the main mode of transportation for the Amish here. 

We started out late on our drive, so we only made it as far as Goshen before heading home. The stop in Goshen was not for Amish goods, but to check out the Dutch Maid Bakery.