On the road again

Leaving the RV Museum we headed for the Elkhart Campground located about 4 miles away. A camp recommended by ‘Big Rigs Best Bet Campground Directory'; a book we use regularly when traveling. We called ahead to make sure they were even open this time of year. As luck would have it they were so they had great WiFi, FHU and lots of sites available so it was our best bet. The sprawling 26 acre park was operated by a charming Indian family who were hard at work laying electrical service to two very large A/C units for their new banquet hall. The park was about to close for the season but they still had plenty to do.

Good to see park owners who believed that rv’ing still had a future and was willing to invest their money and time to make their park better. My friend Bill with his rig and Sharon and I in ours were shown our sites. Since we were only looking for a quick overnight stay, we were located in the newer part of the park. It’s still as little spartan, lacking a paved pad but it was level and dry and easy to get in and out. I could certainly recommend this park for anyone visiting the Elkhart area.

Moving on a few more miles south the next day to a nice medium size town of Columbus Indiana.

What’s a trip with us without a restaurant review? Not to disappoint, join us for our trip to a little Chinese place Sharon located on the net in the town of Columbus Indiana, our next stop. We located a park (which will go unnamed) south of town near the highway. Not the easiest place to maneuver my rig around in but adequate. My guess it’s used a lot by temporary workers to the area as there certainly a fair amount of new construction underway.

But back to the restaurant…..

After a somewhat circuitous trip to this out of the way mall we found the storefront and went inside. We discovered a very well decorated and equally clean and inviting eatery that sat maybe 100 diners. It was after 8:00pm but there were still maybe 25 customers present. One of my habits (probably not a polite one at that) is to sort of wander around those already eating as our hostess led us to our table. My clever thinking is that seeing and smelling what others are eating will help me figure out what I may want. It rarely works but I keep sniffing and wandering anyway. It’s always interesting to see the looks people give if I linger too long at their table.

The name of the place is Mark Pi‘s China Gate at the Fair Oaks Mall. And this is as good a Chinese restaurant as I have been to in many years of dining out. And to think that it’s in a mall in Columbus Indiana. The appetizer Bill got for us was a potpourri of egg rolls, barbecued pork ribs, crab Rangoon, scallop rumaki,skewered beef and shrimp toast. With a small cast iron caldron placed table center to sear our various appetizers the presentation was both elegant and functional. We each ordered something different and made additional requests to either add or subtract something from the dish (spices or meat) to make it special for our taste. The orders were filled quickly and exactly as we had ordered and … prepared to perfection. As if we hadn’t had enough to eat … we got two, count em’ two … fortune cookies each. So if you’re within 50 miles of this place you must stop and pay them a visit and after dining, you will be livin’ the dream too.

Phil