Chicago by train

We are still in Elkhart IN but should be heading South sometime this week. They finished the paint repairs last week, they have a few more things to work on. They will do a rain test, a density check and propane test, if all these are ok, then we will be on the road soon. It's very cold and snowy here, temperatures range from 11 degrees to about 26 each day.

We took a train over to Chicago the other day, it is only about 70 miles there and it took 2 1/2 hours on a train (about 20 stops) It is a commuter train and runs all day, every day. We left about 7am and spent about 5 or 6 hours there, walked around a lot and went to Millennium Park. We had a great time, and got back about 8:30 pm. We watched ice skaters at the park, that was a lot of fun. We saw a lot of policemen on horseback and on bicycles all through the park and on the sidewalks.

We went to the Chicago Cultural Center and saw art displays and learned about the display at the Millennium Park too. The buildings there are very old and beautiful. he first pictures are of Cloud Gate (the people of Chicago call this "the bean") and it is in Millennium Park.

We are getting to spend some time with Kristy and her six kids since they live in this area. We enjoy seeing them and getting to know them, they are all so different, and have their own personalities, it has been a lot of fun to spend time with them all.

That's not a white sand beach !!

Well....now we have SNOW…….and I thought the weather didn’t get bad until January or February !!
We woke up this morning to this….. I took this picture of our steps from inside the motorhome.
In case you are wondering, that is snow on our steps, very white, very cold snow !!

They laughed at us when we complained about the snow. They said that is “Lake Effect” snow not "System" snow. (we are about 25 miles southeast of Lake Michigan) Maybe we're crazy... but that snow looks and feels the same, even if it is called “Lake Effect” snow.

We went to breakfast this morning and took these pictures on our way to Shipshewana, Indiana. So beautiful and cold too, it was coming down pretty good most of the day but only about 3 inches or so actually stuck to the ground. The streets were pretty clear all day the temperature was about 31 or 32 degrees. The weather reports say that we are going to get another 3 to 5 inches of this “Lake Effect” snow by tomorrow. Temp tonight will be about 20 degrees.

Last week we stayed in our coach at the Service Department of the Mandalay factory (they have it from 7am until 3:30 pm). This week we are in a hotel because they have to rebuild the floor under the slide on the driver’s side. Next week we will be back in the coach again (giving it up at 7am and receiving it back at 3:30pm each day). That will be a short week because they are closed on Thursday and Friday. Then the following week we will be back in a hotel while our motorhome is in the paint facility.

Looks like it will not be until about the 8th of December. Came in for a 1 1/2 week stay and it ended up being 4 weeks. But, we are just thankful to get all of this work done here at the factory, they really do a good job and they treat us well also. Our plan is to leave as soon as they finish with our motorhome and head south to nicer weather. We will keep you posted on this blog.

At Mandalay Factory

We are at the factory now in Elkhart. They started working on our motorhome today, and it looks like we will be here for two weeks. We just hope everything in taken care of when by the time we leave. If not we will have to get some of the work done in California, but, we will soon know.

It is cold here now about 30's and 40's during the day and 20's and 30's at night. It has been snowing a little for the last couple of days, but it does not stick to anything, so I don't think it counts, right?? We have had fun visiting with Kristy (Carol's daughter) and her 6 kids while we have been waiting to get in here, they live in Goshen about 10 miles from Elkhart. The grandkids are all very cute and very nice kids too.

Pictures below:

Randy 16 and David 12,

Kristopher 8 and Julie 6,

Emily 4 and Johnathan 3 months.

We will keep you all posted on our progress, we plan to be back in warmer weather as soon as possible. Our plan is to be in Henderson, Nevada for Christmas this year, with Kevin and his family (Carol's Son). Of course we are anxious to see Charles (Joe's son), Lisa and Jacob in Southern California, as well as many of our friends.

Goshen Indiana

We are still waiting our turn at the factory for repair of quite a few write-ups. Our appointment is for November 10th and they have scheduled 1 1/2 weeks for our repairs. We are hoping that they get all of the write-ups taken care of. It is nice here, we are at the Elkhart County Fairground, in Goshen, this is a great campground. Nice people here, but the weather is getting a little cold for us.

This is the heart of Amish country. Very interesting, and fun to see horse and buggies going down the street with all of the traffic. At all of the parking lots they have a place to hitch up the horse and buggy and some are even covered. The first two pictures are taken in the Walmart parking lot in Goshen. They have headlights, taillights and even turn signals on the buggy, and they have to obey all of the same traffic laws a car.

The RV industry employees most of the people in Northern Indiana, most of the RVs are built here in this area. They are having a tough time right now and there have been layoffs and cutbacks in the industry. They have an RV Museum and Hall of Fame in Elkhart and we plan to visit there in the next couple of weeks. While the coach is in the factory, we will have it in the evening and for the night from 3:30 pm until 7:30 am, then we will have to be out of it during the day. We figure we will do a lot of sightseeing every day, just for something to do.

Our plan is to be leaving this area by the end of November and head toward warmer climate. The fall is beautiful here, with the leaves turning colors and all. These are some pictures we took in the area.

Wisconsin Dells

We left Sioux Falls, SD and headed for Indiana for the Mandalay Rally on Oct 6th. We went through Wisconsin, and stopped and spend a couple of days at the Wisconsin Dells. Wow that is quite an experience. A beautiful place and very interesting to learn about how this was formed. We took a two hour boat trip up and down the river.

We got off the boat and walked on a trail through the rocks about a quarter mile, this was amazing. There were water falls and running water under the walkway.

They have trained a dog to jump from one rock to another, and back again. I was not fast enough to catch the dog jumping, but we did see it. Originally a photographer back in the 40's had his teenage son jumping over this, but decided to train a dog to jump, because it was too dangerous for the boy. He jumps from the rock on the right to the mushroom shaped rock on the left (center picture). This is the dog on the right.

We saw some beautiful countryside in Wisconsin and Northern Illinois too.

We are in Indiana now, had a great Rally, met a lot of friendly people, and learned a lot about Mandalay. We did get some repair work done on our coach and of course we still have our appointment at the factory on November 10th. We are staying here in Goshen Indiana at the Elkhart County Fairground for the next month.

Our daughter Kristy lives here in Goshen with her 6 children (ages 3 months to 16 years). We spent the day with them on Saturday. It is good seeing them again, it has been about 3 years. There is lots to see and do here in this area, so the month will so by quickly, sightseeing and visiting with family.