Three clues on why I know I'm in Michigan.
1. I've stopped seeing squashed armadillos on the freeway.
2. The trees don't have those interesting green things hanging all over them.
3. I now reach for the heater controls instead of the air conditioning.
It had to end sometime ... those 80 degrees days with bright blue skies and short sleeved shirts.
The last leg of our trip north began in Anderson Indiana. A return stopover at the Timberline Valley RV Resort and we just got settled and the heavens opened dropping 3.9 inches of rain on us in about 6 hours. The only salvation was a pleasant dinner with Sharon's sister Linda and Brother-in-law John (birthday boy at that) who took time out of their busy schedule to drive down from Carmel to see us. As usual it was great seeing them and hearing about the new house they are having built.
The weather was threatening all the next day (today) so we weren't sure we could even travel, but as it turned out, we decided to give it a try anyway. But not without a little mechanical drama ... This usually means something was not right with the coach. I fired up the engine and noticed my volt meter was indicating less then 12 volts from the generator. I revved up the motor a bit and saw little movement in the needle. I let it run a little longer and it started to move up just a little. Suspecting a slipping belt, I shut off the engine and stepped out into the rainy, foggy morning to check it out. Nope ... it looked okay and the belt was tight enough so I closed up the engine compartment, went back inside, dried myself off and once again started the engine. While admiring the now properly function volt meter (but I have no idea why), a red light and accompanying blaring buzzer went off on the instrument display indicating the engine coolant was low. Oh crap!, I'm thinking ... I know how to fix this problem (add a little 50/50 antifreeze) but I have to go outside again and do the work. This seems to be an on-going issue with the coach so someday I will try to figure out why the sensor keeps failing and giving false alarms. BTW I knew it was a false alarm because it didn't need any additional fluid.
We finally got on the road and decided that we'd stopped at the factory in Topeka Indiana where we had two recliners for the coach made last fall. The recliners are beautifully made furniture by an Amish craftsman named Vernon Lambright. He has a small manufacturing facility not far from Shipshewana and he stands by the products he makes like a true craftsman should. I called him and he said he'd have a look at the adjustments we wanted made, so we decided to drive over to his facility. It was almost on the way anyway ... and even though we were driving in rain and a pea soup fog, when retired who cares about time ... right? I asked his if he thought I could turn my coach around in his parking lot and he said 'no problem' ... plenty of room. The last quarter mile to his factory required us to navigate a now very muddy, pocked marked, lane and a half farm road that I had to share with several Amish driven horse and buggy rigs. I arrived at his place and soon discovered that, since Vernon had never driven a motor vehicle, let alone a 40ft coach and tow car, his notion that I could turn around in his driveway was a little off the mark. We pulled in anyway, knowing that I'd needed to unhook the car then reconnect it after I jockeyed the coach around ... all this in a driving rain.
I shut down the coach, went inside and was met by one of Vernon's young workers. Nate was a lad of about 24 and though he hardly looked 16, was married with a son and another child on the way. He said Vernon was off to a wedding and that he could help me. We explained the chair issues and fully expected to leave them there and pick them up later in the month but Nate said 'do you have about an hour or so?, I think I can get the job done'. And besides, he had to leave at precisely 3:30pm to attend the wedding himself. He noted that he wasn't a family member but it was a pretty special deal to be invited by his boss Vernon. So the young man had about and hour to work on my chair, close up the shop, get the proper cloths on and get to that wedding. He needed wrenches and a screw driver to dismantle the chair so off he went inside to get his equipment. Quickly returning, he took out about a dozen screws and bolts and vanished back into the shop with part of my chair. In his absence, Sharon prepared a short lunch and I rehooked up the tow car. Before long he came rushing out with the issue resolved and with 10 minutes to spare!.
In talking with Nate it was so interesting to get a little insight on how a traditional Amish man thinks. His work ethic and the survival of the family unit and his beliefs are what drives him. His wife raises all there own vegetable for the year, he and his family share a beef cattle with another family, he's not seen television but laughed at the silliness of a program somebody told him about called the 'Amish Mafia' (he surmised probably consisted of previously shunned members), he'd only eaten shrimp once or twice in his life, he's never driven a car, they'll be no dancing at tonight's wedding, and he wouldn't accept any money for the work he had just performed. Actually apologized that we had problems with the chairs. I'm thinking out loud now and I'm wondering if maybe, just maybe Nate could teach us all a thing or two.
So the chair is fixed and off we went. Windshield wipers slapping to the beat of a Ramsey Lewis tune playing on my Ipod, we're headed north again. Only about 90 minutes from our overnight stay near our hometown of Battle Creek.
We're staying at the Turkeyville RV Resort only because Sharon pleaded with them to allow us to stay ... even though the park had not opened for the season. what a woman! Located off exit 42 on I69, north of the I94 interchange, the genesis of the park really dates back probably 60-70 years to a man called Wayne Cornwell. If memory serves me, he started raising turkeys and selling them to local grocery stores maybe back in the 1950's. I remember it was always a big deal at Thanksgiving time to get a Cornwell turkey as they were fresh, not frozen and always had lots of white meat; more than the average bird anyway. So Wayne sold a boatload of turkeys and somewhere along the line he opened up a small restaurant that featured his turkey heaped on a bun with some mayo. Now these sandwiches were and still are fantastic so from these humble beginnings he then opened up an antique barn across the street then over the past few years, has developed the RV resort. Now Wayne has passed some years ago and I really don't know if his family is still involved or not, but his philosophy about running a quality business seems to be alive and well to this day. The facilities are new and it looks like there are lots of things for kids to do.
Anyway we pulled into the park a little late and the manager had already left for home. She left us some instructions as to where to park and she said would see us in the morning. The rain had not let up and, though most of the gravel roads and pads were well groomed and leveled, it was still a driving rain and the ground could only hold so much water. We arrived at our site and it was an erie sight being here by ourselves. Not a soul. No body until the park officially opens on the 15th of April. I guess we can't complain about noisy neighbors! I stepped out the coach into water and very soggy grass. Yuck. But it got worse. I had to unhook the tow car again, but now I had to stand in thick mud and gravel. Not so fun but got it done. I only had to hook up to power as the water had not been turned on in the park, so getting back into the warmth of the coach, and a hot cup of coffee was still very welcomed on this cold, blustery, and not at all like a southern Alabama day.
Not so sure about another day in paradise but still livin' the dream back home in Michigan.
Phil
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