Was another very cool, overcast start to the day. Temperatures reached a grand total of 23 degrees today.
We left Billings after having a REALLY big breakfast at a small restaurant called "Stella's". Got on the road as soon as possible, and then drove as much as possible without any stops.
Our first rest-stop was in Bozeman. We parked the car, got out stretched, went into the rest stop building. When walking back to the car Kim noticed something that made both of us a little upset. Earlier that morning when leaving Billings, Kim was driving. We saw a yellow blur fly across the road. Thought, it's a butterfly. It smacked the front of the car, as most other bugs do. We thought nothing of it. When at the rest stop we took a look at the front of the car to discover it was not another butterfly, but a small yellow bird that had gotten caught in the front grill of the car. Kim felt terrible, but at those speeds, there is not much that can be done. We took the bird out, and moved it to a nice piece of grass. Got back on the road.
We made it into Butte, Montana to grab some lunch and decided to see the local mall. We went inside and were absolutely shocked to see how much damage the fallen economy has done to this town. more than half the stores in the mall were shut down and empty. We saw a grand total of 10 people walking the halls of the Mall. One sight that made us both feel very sad, was a small travel agency. Inside was an elderly lady, who reminded Kim of her late Grandma Walker. She was all by herself at the desk, fast asleep, no one coming in to say hello or book a trip.
We left Butte feeling pretty greatful that we both have jobs, and that the economy in the Lower Mainland isn't half that bad.
We continued on from Butte, and hit nothing but Roadwork along the way. The sun finally came out though, which made the scenery quite beautiful, making the drive much nicer. We did run into a storm part way along the I-90. The rain pounded down, washing all the bugs off of the window!
We stopped in Mullen, Idaho to grab some gas. Had a nice chat with a local, who helped us figure out how to use the gas pump system. He told us all about how much he love's Vancouver and wishes he could visit in the summer, as he has only been to the city in the winter.
We continued on, and are now in Spokane. We checked into our hotel and walked across the street to a little Mexican place called Casa De Oro, to eat. Very VERY good food, recommended to anyone who comes out to Spokane.
After dinner, we brought our doggy bags back, put them in the fridge and are now winding down and relaxing. Been a long day and it still feels like we are moving. Sleep will be very welcome tonight.
Tomorrow morning we will be heading back to Burnaby. It's been a fabulous trip!!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
From Jamestown, ND to Billings, Montana
Just to step back to Hixton, Wisconsin KOA for a minute. We forgot to mention that there was an archeological dig on the property with a US State Parks Board notice that states that it is a protected area and apparently you can still find fossils in the sand pit. There is a large tarp covering the site to prevent anyone from falling in.
We rose very early today to find that Jamestown was socked in with fog and extremely gray skies. It started misting just after we left the gas station across from the hotel.
We travelled the straight and narrow and as we passed by the town/village? of Gackle we spotted bare trees black with birds and cormorants perched throughout the branches. It made for a unique effect reflecting in the lake the trees stood in and it looked like silhouettes in the water.
As you may know Kim and Mauvereen have decided to rename the United States of America to Road Work. We came across two massive machines that stretched to both sides of a double lane pouring and smoothing concrete over raised green bars that looked like miniature picnic tables for 3000.
The fee for excessive speed in a road work area here in North Dakota is $80.00. This is a far cry from Illinois and Indiana.
Just outside of Mackenzie, North Dakota we came across a field of sunflowers. Because of the fog and rain the flowers had their heads bowed down. The effect looked like a massive flowing green mattress.
We stopped at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park rest stop at the Painted Canyon. Absolutely stunning from every vista. As we went down the hill and met with the highway again, Mauvereen pulled over so Kim could get pictures of a herd of bison grassing on the side of a hill. The Parks Board cares for this rest stop and has a great gift shop as well. We resisted the temptation.
More highway, and more highway. We stopped in Glendive, Montana to see the dinosaur museum there. The building has the head and front legs of a T-Rex bursting through the brickwork. This museum had a unique view point as they are expressing the view that maybe evolution did not occur as the scientist say, but that there is a strong religious reason for things that have happened in this era. We still enjoyed the many casts of dinosaurs and explanations the museum held. It had a gift shop. We resisted.
Billings loomed in our sights with about 40 miles to go, and so did an enormous sheet and fork lightening and thunder storm. We went from 34C to 17C in 45 minutes. The winds and rain were brutal. The sky was black and the cars and trucks spewed water and steam behind them from the hot pavement.
We made it into Billings and rolled into the Best Western Clock Tower in downtown Billings. We went in search of food and found Jake's Steak House. We sat in the bar area and had fabulous pot stickers, and burgers. We watched as part of the storm collided with wind and dropped buckets of water. We made it up the street during a break in the storm and headed back to the hotel for a night of trying to recover from car lag, too much food, and feeling like we are continually moving.
Next stop: Spokane, Washington
We rose very early today to find that Jamestown was socked in with fog and extremely gray skies. It started misting just after we left the gas station across from the hotel.
We travelled the straight and narrow and as we passed by the town/village? of Gackle we spotted bare trees black with birds and cormorants perched throughout the branches. It made for a unique effect reflecting in the lake the trees stood in and it looked like silhouettes in the water.
As you may know Kim and Mauvereen have decided to rename the United States of America to Road Work. We came across two massive machines that stretched to both sides of a double lane pouring and smoothing concrete over raised green bars that looked like miniature picnic tables for 3000.
The fee for excessive speed in a road work area here in North Dakota is $80.00. This is a far cry from Illinois and Indiana.
Just outside of Mackenzie, North Dakota we came across a field of sunflowers. Because of the fog and rain the flowers had their heads bowed down. The effect looked like a massive flowing green mattress.
We stopped at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park rest stop at the Painted Canyon. Absolutely stunning from every vista. As we went down the hill and met with the highway again, Mauvereen pulled over so Kim could get pictures of a herd of bison grassing on the side of a hill. The Parks Board cares for this rest stop and has a great gift shop as well. We resisted the temptation.
More highway, and more highway. We stopped in Glendive, Montana to see the dinosaur museum there. The building has the head and front legs of a T-Rex bursting through the brickwork. This museum had a unique view point as they are expressing the view that maybe evolution did not occur as the scientist say, but that there is a strong religious reason for things that have happened in this era. We still enjoyed the many casts of dinosaurs and explanations the museum held. It had a gift shop. We resisted.
Billings loomed in our sights with about 40 miles to go, and so did an enormous sheet and fork lightening and thunder storm. We went from 34C to 17C in 45 minutes. The winds and rain were brutal. The sky was black and the cars and trucks spewed water and steam behind them from the hot pavement.
We made it into Billings and rolled into the Best Western Clock Tower in downtown Billings. We went in search of food and found Jake's Steak House. We sat in the bar area and had fabulous pot stickers, and burgers. We watched as part of the storm collided with wind and dropped buckets of water. We made it up the street during a break in the storm and headed back to the hotel for a night of trying to recover from car lag, too much food, and feeling like we are continually moving.
Next stop: Spokane, Washington
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
From Hixton to Jamestown, North Dakota
Woke up after a rough sleep last night, and hit the road as soon as we could.
The skies were extremely over cast, threatening our first real sign of rain. Once on the road, the skies opened up. It poured rain for most of our trip into Jamestown. Temperature stayed a constant 17 - 20 degrees.
When we closed in on Annadale, Minnesota we saw some Aerial power-line work. A worker was suspended in a harness from a helicopter, hovering over the power-lines. We saw him slowly being lowered to the ground. Takes a lot of guts to be able to do this.
Saw lots of birds along the way, at one point near the border of North Dakota, we spotted a large group of hawks circling a group of trees. there had to be at least 10 birds flying there. Not a common sight, or common behaviour for hawks.
Seeing as we had a very wet day, we didn't get to see too much, or get out to do anything overly interesting, but we did stop at a few rest stops that gave us history lessons. There were large bronze plaques that told us a bit of US history. One talked about Wisconsin's participation and dilemmas in World War 1. We also found out that Charles Lindenberg was a native from Minnesota. Pretty fascinating stuff.
When we reached Pelican Rapids, Mauvereen couldn't drive any more, so she and Kim did a "Chinese Fire Drill", except their joints were so seized they actually did a Geriatric Shuffle to switch places for the next leg of the journey.
At one of the rest stops there was a long path down to what looked like a lake. The sign told us that we were looking at the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
Now that we are back in North Dakota, we have officially crossed the Continental divide more than once. Pretty neat.
We made it to our hotel around 5:30, and went for a quick bite to eat at the restaurant next door. The Pizza Ranch. Interesting concept, you choose what you want to eat from their menu and order it, or pay for the buffet before you take your seat. We both chose the buffet, had LOTS of salad, plus had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and beans. Not too bad for $8. We got lucky and the rain took a break right after we finished eating, so it was a dry jog back to the hotel.
We're now comfortably in our hotel room, watching America's Got Talent, and getting ready for some shut-eye. We'll be off to Billings Montana tomorrow.
The skies were extremely over cast, threatening our first real sign of rain. Once on the road, the skies opened up. It poured rain for most of our trip into Jamestown. Temperature stayed a constant 17 - 20 degrees.
When we closed in on Annadale, Minnesota we saw some Aerial power-line work. A worker was suspended in a harness from a helicopter, hovering over the power-lines. We saw him slowly being lowered to the ground. Takes a lot of guts to be able to do this.
Saw lots of birds along the way, at one point near the border of North Dakota, we spotted a large group of hawks circling a group of trees. there had to be at least 10 birds flying there. Not a common sight, or common behaviour for hawks.
Seeing as we had a very wet day, we didn't get to see too much, or get out to do anything overly interesting, but we did stop at a few rest stops that gave us history lessons. There were large bronze plaques that told us a bit of US history. One talked about Wisconsin's participation and dilemmas in World War 1. We also found out that Charles Lindenberg was a native from Minnesota. Pretty fascinating stuff.
When we reached Pelican Rapids, Mauvereen couldn't drive any more, so she and Kim did a "Chinese Fire Drill", except their joints were so seized they actually did a Geriatric Shuffle to switch places for the next leg of the journey.
At one of the rest stops there was a long path down to what looked like a lake. The sign told us that we were looking at the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
Now that we are back in North Dakota, we have officially crossed the Continental divide more than once. Pretty neat.
We made it to our hotel around 5:30, and went for a quick bite to eat at the restaurant next door. The Pizza Ranch. Interesting concept, you choose what you want to eat from their menu and order it, or pay for the buffet before you take your seat. We both chose the buffet, had LOTS of salad, plus had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and beans. Not too bad for $8. We got lucky and the rain took a break right after we finished eating, so it was a dry jog back to the hotel.
We're now comfortably in our hotel room, watching America's Got Talent, and getting ready for some shut-eye. We'll be off to Billings Montana tomorrow.
Monday, August 29, 2011
From Goshen to Hixton, Wisconsin
Got up bright and early, had a nice breakfast with Ruth before packing up the car. We said our farewells, shared lots of hugs and waved as we drove down the street. We will miss her dearly, as we may not get back this way for a very long time.
We decided to take a short detour before officially leaving the Goshen area. We drove to South Bend, which is the large city in the vicinity. This is where Notre Dame University resides, home of the Fighting Irish. Kim had seen a glance of the campus the first time she came to Indiana, but this was a first for Mauvereen.
It's just beautiful there. Old architecture dating back to at least the 1800's. Trees surrounding the area, and a large cemetery with headstones at least a century old. From a distance you can see a golden dome of one of the buildings. Similar to that of our parliament with the Golden Boy standing atop the roof. We drove towards this, leading to the end of the road on campus. Here we were at a roundabout, blocked by hundred's of students continuously crossing back and forth to their classes. We had to inch our way through the crowd, few acknowledged us. You can tell for a big city it still has that small town persona, as few people look left and right when crossing the street. They just mind their own business and keep going.
Leaving here, we headed for the border of Indiana to Illinois, finding our first toll booth along the way. We found this one interesting as we didn't have to pay. There was a ticket machine, which gave you your pass to get to the next toll booth. There they would figure out how far you had travelled through the state, and charge you accordingly.
Just a few miles past here, we found our first rest stop. Quite Brilliant if I do say so..MMM YES. This was a gas station, McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Washroom, Convenience store and Chocolate shop combined into one! who ever thought of this, was really a genius. The other amenity they had was a massive parking lot for the big rigs, at the side of the building. They also had showers available for the long haulers.
We continued on into Illionis, this is where the trip got tricky. The GPS wanted to go to Chicago, we didn't. We had to trick it to go down the highway we wanted but even at that, we had some human error. We followed the I-80 to where it turns into HWY 294, The signs said go north for Wisconsin, and go East for Iowa. We went North, the GPS wanted East. Hence we managed to go through the same toll booth, twice at $0.60 a pop. At the ticket toll in Indiana, it cost us over $3.
Finally headed in the right direction, we stopped for lunch in Rockford, Illinois at the local Cracker Barrel. The food was good, as usual, but wasn't up to par with the first one we visited.
We did our last bit of souvenir shopping, then went next door to get gas.
We drove our last four hours of the day, and made it to Alma, Wisconsin...or so we thought.
The KOA campground has a different address, than the one in the GPS, so it took us the long route on I-94 Alternate, leading us through Alma Centre, population 500. and finally, "Destination, on Right". we peer to our right, and it's a massive dairy farm, filled with cows and big rigs for shipping...not exactly a campground. Pop in address number 2..."continue 3 miles to destination, on right!"
Drove the last 3 miles to discover the KOA sign...no campground. "Drive another 1700feet", found the drive way, got in, confirmed our reservation, upgraded to a cabin. Really nice accommodation. Mauvereen scored herself a twin bed, while Kim got her choice of bunk bed. Just like the summer camp days!
Along the way, saw some beautiful farmland, forests and Kim was particularly intrigued by a mail box designed to be a Turkey. Painted with full tail, wings and neck.
Now to explain, the KOA is located 3 miles outside of Hixton in one direction, and 3 miles outside of Alma Centre in the other direction. But the GPS took us about 15 miles out into the bush to find this place, when directly at the entrance to Hixton is the freeway ramp. Go figure...the difference engine must have been tired too...OR it's gotten diabolical again...THE CAKE IS A LIE! (reference to Portal...for those non-gamers)
On the way to food saw "Blue Moo", the water-skiing stop. (no water for MILES)
We went for dinner at the local truck stop, Clark's Gas Bar. We both ordered ourselves a pepsi and quesadillas. While eating we noticed the most entertaining sign "Eat and Get Gas!" (photo to follow eventually) on that note...
Now we are cozied up in our cabin, teeth brushed, getting ready for lights out. We've secured our hotel room for tomorrow in Jamestown, North Dakota. Forecast: Thunder Showers! our first rain on the trip (Mauvereen claims there was 5 minutes of rain at Ruth's...but no one else saw it). We'll see if it holds up.
Goodnight! and update soon!
We decided to take a short detour before officially leaving the Goshen area. We drove to South Bend, which is the large city in the vicinity. This is where Notre Dame University resides, home of the Fighting Irish. Kim had seen a glance of the campus the first time she came to Indiana, but this was a first for Mauvereen.
It's just beautiful there. Old architecture dating back to at least the 1800's. Trees surrounding the area, and a large cemetery with headstones at least a century old. From a distance you can see a golden dome of one of the buildings. Similar to that of our parliament with the Golden Boy standing atop the roof. We drove towards this, leading to the end of the road on campus. Here we were at a roundabout, blocked by hundred's of students continuously crossing back and forth to their classes. We had to inch our way through the crowd, few acknowledged us. You can tell for a big city it still has that small town persona, as few people look left and right when crossing the street. They just mind their own business and keep going.
Leaving here, we headed for the border of Indiana to Illinois, finding our first toll booth along the way. We found this one interesting as we didn't have to pay. There was a ticket machine, which gave you your pass to get to the next toll booth. There they would figure out how far you had travelled through the state, and charge you accordingly.
Just a few miles past here, we found our first rest stop. Quite Brilliant if I do say so..MMM YES. This was a gas station, McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Washroom, Convenience store and Chocolate shop combined into one! who ever thought of this, was really a genius. The other amenity they had was a massive parking lot for the big rigs, at the side of the building. They also had showers available for the long haulers.
We continued on into Illionis, this is where the trip got tricky. The GPS wanted to go to Chicago, we didn't. We had to trick it to go down the highway we wanted but even at that, we had some human error. We followed the I-80 to where it turns into HWY 294, The signs said go north for Wisconsin, and go East for Iowa. We went North, the GPS wanted East. Hence we managed to go through the same toll booth, twice at $0.60 a pop. At the ticket toll in Indiana, it cost us over $3.
Finally headed in the right direction, we stopped for lunch in Rockford, Illinois at the local Cracker Barrel. The food was good, as usual, but wasn't up to par with the first one we visited.
We did our last bit of souvenir shopping, then went next door to get gas.
We drove our last four hours of the day, and made it to Alma, Wisconsin...or so we thought.
The KOA campground has a different address, than the one in the GPS, so it took us the long route on I-94 Alternate, leading us through Alma Centre, population 500. and finally, "Destination, on Right". we peer to our right, and it's a massive dairy farm, filled with cows and big rigs for shipping...not exactly a campground. Pop in address number 2..."continue 3 miles to destination, on right!"
Drove the last 3 miles to discover the KOA sign...no campground. "Drive another 1700feet", found the drive way, got in, confirmed our reservation, upgraded to a cabin. Really nice accommodation. Mauvereen scored herself a twin bed, while Kim got her choice of bunk bed. Just like the summer camp days!
Along the way, saw some beautiful farmland, forests and Kim was particularly intrigued by a mail box designed to be a Turkey. Painted with full tail, wings and neck.
Now to explain, the KOA is located 3 miles outside of Hixton in one direction, and 3 miles outside of Alma Centre in the other direction. But the GPS took us about 15 miles out into the bush to find this place, when directly at the entrance to Hixton is the freeway ramp. Go figure...the difference engine must have been tired too...OR it's gotten diabolical again...THE CAKE IS A LIE! (reference to Portal...for those non-gamers)
On the way to food saw "Blue Moo", the water-skiing stop. (no water for MILES)
We went for dinner at the local truck stop, Clark's Gas Bar. We both ordered ourselves a pepsi and quesadillas. While eating we noticed the most entertaining sign "Eat and Get Gas!" (photo to follow eventually) on that note...
Now we are cozied up in our cabin, teeth brushed, getting ready for lights out. We've secured our hotel room for tomorrow in Jamestown, North Dakota. Forecast: Thunder Showers! our first rain on the trip (Mauvereen claims there was 5 minutes of rain at Ruth's...but no one else saw it). We'll see if it holds up.
Goodnight! and update soon!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Day 3 in Goshen
Last night we got to go on a very delightful walk around the neighbourhood with Ruth. We saw lots of fireflies, spotted a cardinal flying into a nearby tree, as well as a bat darting back and forth across the street catching flies.
This morning, we got up at a decent hour, before getting ourselves ready and eating breakfast. Ruth had been up pretty early, chopping up vegetables for the "Chow Mein Casserole" she was making for lunch.
We spent the morning sitting and reading, as well as taking a short stroll down the street to the Save-A-Lot, similar to that of Save on Foods, to pick up a few things, before heading back for lunch.
The weather was just perfect today. It was supposed to reach about 32 degrees out, but with a nice breeze, it felt more like 26 degrees, very nice.
Ruth's son Greg, joined us for lunch. He's a really nice man. He and his family run a business for driving Amish to and from the places they need to go to. They call it doing an Amish run to help out when it is too hot or too far for the horses to go. His son Robert, is a little younger than Kim and is also doing computer science with an interest in video games and animation. We sat and had a good conversation with Greg, then we all sat down to eat. While having our visit, a small raccoon also went running through Ruth's backyard. We hadn't seen any raccoon's like this at home. He was more of a brown colour, and slimmer than the ones we have back in B.C.
Another thing about this trip is Kim has been collecting quarters, as they have a special series that each quarter represents one of the 50 states. Every time this is mentioned, one of her step uncles pulls out his change for Kim to go through. Very generous guys :)
After Greg had left, we helped Ruth clean up then we all had a bit of a nap. With the weather being so warm, and with keeping ourselves busy, we've all gotten tired very easily these past few days.
while doing our clean up, we noticed a beautiful large dog sitting on the lawn across the street. Ruth was telling us, that it is an Akita, but he has no home. He wanders around the complex, and goes to sleep in the cornfield across the street every night. He seems to be very afraid of people, as when cars or people go by, he starts to bolt in the opposite direction. The other day when we had gone to Daus Essenhaus, we had brought back left overs which Ruth decided to share with the pooch.
We walked across the street, leaving the container of roast beef and stuffing as well as a bucket full of water. He watched us warily from a distance. When we started to walk away he started to edge a little closer. By the time we had gotten back in the house, he happily came and chowed down. He finished all the food, ate the styrofoam container it was in, drank all the water and attempted to devour the bucket as well. By the time we had recovered the containers, half the styrofoam was gone, the bucket was all holey, and the handle was missing. He obviously had been hungry, but enjoyed himself.
Later on in the afternoon, around 4, Ruth's daughter Lane came over for a visit. She lives in Fort Wayne about 50 miles outside of Goshen. She comes to visit Ruth every sunday, and so it was really nice to be here to get to meet her. Lane has two little dogs that she absolutely adores and talks about them a lot. She has a Schnoodle named Douglas, and a little tiny black Chihuahua named Izzy. She was telling us about taking the two to puppy training school, where in one lesson there was a Jack Russell Terrior who was determined to catch Izzy, and when he had the chance managed to nip her in the bum. Next lesson they went, there was a German Shepard who is afraid of everything, Douglas had gone over to make a new friend out of the dog and it's owner, which led to him getting nipped in the bum too. Lane chuckled about it, but said they won't be going to back for more lessons at the moment.
By the evening all of us headed over to Laurel and Paul's house to visit one last time. They have a fabulous house on a good size bit of land a few miles away from where Ruth lives. We all got inside, grabbed a cool glass of ice water and sat in their front room having a chat about what we had all been up to, and admiring their beautiful backyard. Their house is fantastic, both of them have exquisite taste, and have fully decorated their home. Looks like a professional could have done it.
Lane had to leave a little early as she had a long drive home, so we took some family pictures before all heading out. Laurel and Paul were more than kind to the two of us, they gave us some pictures that they had taken the day before when we all went out, as well as giving the both of us a beautiful gift. Mauvereen was given a beautiful turquoise necklace, as she had been telling Laurel how much she wanted a Turquoise necklace but was never able to find one. And they gave Kim a gorgeous scarf of all different colours, and a silver and turquoise bracelet. So kind of them, this was totally unexpected.
On the way back, we took a final stop at the local walmart to stock up on water, and Kim got lucky finding a few boxes of "Trix" cereal to bring home. Her favourite, and it's no longer sold in Canada.
Now we are back at Ruth's and after having a lovely dinner, we're just sitting enjoying the night sounds and cool air before heading to an early bed time.
Will be an early morning tomorrow, and heading out the door, back on the road to home. Will stop at the KOA in Hixton/Alma Wisconsin tomorrow night. Update again then :)
Thank you to all our family in Goshen for making our visit so wonderful. Thanks to everyone who has been following our trip and all our stories thus far :)
This morning, we got up at a decent hour, before getting ourselves ready and eating breakfast. Ruth had been up pretty early, chopping up vegetables for the "Chow Mein Casserole" she was making for lunch.
We spent the morning sitting and reading, as well as taking a short stroll down the street to the Save-A-Lot, similar to that of Save on Foods, to pick up a few things, before heading back for lunch.
The weather was just perfect today. It was supposed to reach about 32 degrees out, but with a nice breeze, it felt more like 26 degrees, very nice.
Ruth's son Greg, joined us for lunch. He's a really nice man. He and his family run a business for driving Amish to and from the places they need to go to. They call it doing an Amish run to help out when it is too hot or too far for the horses to go. His son Robert, is a little younger than Kim and is also doing computer science with an interest in video games and animation. We sat and had a good conversation with Greg, then we all sat down to eat. While having our visit, a small raccoon also went running through Ruth's backyard. We hadn't seen any raccoon's like this at home. He was more of a brown colour, and slimmer than the ones we have back in B.C.
Another thing about this trip is Kim has been collecting quarters, as they have a special series that each quarter represents one of the 50 states. Every time this is mentioned, one of her step uncles pulls out his change for Kim to go through. Very generous guys :)
After Greg had left, we helped Ruth clean up then we all had a bit of a nap. With the weather being so warm, and with keeping ourselves busy, we've all gotten tired very easily these past few days.
while doing our clean up, we noticed a beautiful large dog sitting on the lawn across the street. Ruth was telling us, that it is an Akita, but he has no home. He wanders around the complex, and goes to sleep in the cornfield across the street every night. He seems to be very afraid of people, as when cars or people go by, he starts to bolt in the opposite direction. The other day when we had gone to Daus Essenhaus, we had brought back left overs which Ruth decided to share with the pooch.
We walked across the street, leaving the container of roast beef and stuffing as well as a bucket full of water. He watched us warily from a distance. When we started to walk away he started to edge a little closer. By the time we had gotten back in the house, he happily came and chowed down. He finished all the food, ate the styrofoam container it was in, drank all the water and attempted to devour the bucket as well. By the time we had recovered the containers, half the styrofoam was gone, the bucket was all holey, and the handle was missing. He obviously had been hungry, but enjoyed himself.
Later on in the afternoon, around 4, Ruth's daughter Lane came over for a visit. She lives in Fort Wayne about 50 miles outside of Goshen. She comes to visit Ruth every sunday, and so it was really nice to be here to get to meet her. Lane has two little dogs that she absolutely adores and talks about them a lot. She has a Schnoodle named Douglas, and a little tiny black Chihuahua named Izzy. She was telling us about taking the two to puppy training school, where in one lesson there was a Jack Russell Terrior who was determined to catch Izzy, and when he had the chance managed to nip her in the bum. Next lesson they went, there was a German Shepard who is afraid of everything, Douglas had gone over to make a new friend out of the dog and it's owner, which led to him getting nipped in the bum too. Lane chuckled about it, but said they won't be going to back for more lessons at the moment.
By the evening all of us headed over to Laurel and Paul's house to visit one last time. They have a fabulous house on a good size bit of land a few miles away from where Ruth lives. We all got inside, grabbed a cool glass of ice water and sat in their front room having a chat about what we had all been up to, and admiring their beautiful backyard. Their house is fantastic, both of them have exquisite taste, and have fully decorated their home. Looks like a professional could have done it.
Lane had to leave a little early as she had a long drive home, so we took some family pictures before all heading out. Laurel and Paul were more than kind to the two of us, they gave us some pictures that they had taken the day before when we all went out, as well as giving the both of us a beautiful gift. Mauvereen was given a beautiful turquoise necklace, as she had been telling Laurel how much she wanted a Turquoise necklace but was never able to find one. And they gave Kim a gorgeous scarf of all different colours, and a silver and turquoise bracelet. So kind of them, this was totally unexpected.
On the way back, we took a final stop at the local walmart to stock up on water, and Kim got lucky finding a few boxes of "Trix" cereal to bring home. Her favourite, and it's no longer sold in Canada.
Now we are back at Ruth's and after having a lovely dinner, we're just sitting enjoying the night sounds and cool air before heading to an early bed time.
Will be an early morning tomorrow, and heading out the door, back on the road to home. Will stop at the KOA in Hixton/Alma Wisconsin tomorrow night. Update again then :)
Thank you to all our family in Goshen for making our visit so wonderful. Thanks to everyone who has been following our trip and all our stories thus far :)
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Day 2 in Goshen
August 27th, 2011
Today we managed to sleep in a bit, but were still pretty tired after having a restless sleep. Goshen has a lot of trains going through town, and they feel it necessary to blow their whistle at every single road crossing, keeps you up a lot.
After waking up, having a shower, and eating some breakfast, we met up with Laurel and her husband Paul who took us to Lake Winona. This is a beautiful little community on the edge of a large lake, where fishing and boating are prevalent.
Each of the shops we visited are situated in separate houses, where people still live in the upstairs portion. All the architecture is very old style with the large porches and intricate wood detailing along their eaves.
We started by visiting a wood carver who makes kitchen utensils all out of soft maple wood (from CANADA! YAY!) the same Maples that make maple syrup, next stop was another wood carver who made jewelry and bowls and such, beautiful stuff but a little pricey. Our final stop was a small shop that makes home made soaps and hand creams. Very unique fragrances, very delightful. Grabbed a few bottles of hand cream that smell like grapefruit for Dad and a small bar of Vanilla Bean soap for ourselves.
We walked along the sidewalk, admiring the waterway canal that runs through the town.
We stopped for lunch in a nice restaurant called Cerulean. Here they specialize in coffees, but their food is a Japanese/Western influence. We all ordered Bento Boxes (lunch boxes) with different entree's and you get to choose 3 different sides. Kim had Beef Sukiyaki (sauteed beef) on rice, with broccolini salad, cold asian noodles and edamame beans, along with a traditional order of Ebi Nigiri (prawn sushi). Mauvereen had Salmon with Basil Soy sauce on rice, with broccolini salad, Mandarin oranges with almonds and Sticky Rice. Very good food. The broccolini salad has a white sauce, with almonds and dried cranberries, Asian noodles had a soy sauce reduction with peanuts and green onion.
We then took a few pictures, and hopped back in the car to go back to town.
Paul took us on a short detour to a small place called "The Chief". This place only opens in the summer, making home made ice cream and cool treats. It was named after the local highschool mascots "the Redskins". Very VERY good ice cream.
Now back at Ruth's, had a lovely dinner of tortilla soup, with fresh veggies and fruit, and about to head out for a nice evening walking around the neighourhood.
Will post again tomorrow :)
Today we managed to sleep in a bit, but were still pretty tired after having a restless sleep. Goshen has a lot of trains going through town, and they feel it necessary to blow their whistle at every single road crossing, keeps you up a lot.
After waking up, having a shower, and eating some breakfast, we met up with Laurel and her husband Paul who took us to Lake Winona. This is a beautiful little community on the edge of a large lake, where fishing and boating are prevalent.
Each of the shops we visited are situated in separate houses, where people still live in the upstairs portion. All the architecture is very old style with the large porches and intricate wood detailing along their eaves.
We started by visiting a wood carver who makes kitchen utensils all out of soft maple wood (from CANADA! YAY!) the same Maples that make maple syrup, next stop was another wood carver who made jewelry and bowls and such, beautiful stuff but a little pricey. Our final stop was a small shop that makes home made soaps and hand creams. Very unique fragrances, very delightful. Grabbed a few bottles of hand cream that smell like grapefruit for Dad and a small bar of Vanilla Bean soap for ourselves.
We walked along the sidewalk, admiring the waterway canal that runs through the town.
We stopped for lunch in a nice restaurant called Cerulean. Here they specialize in coffees, but their food is a Japanese/Western influence. We all ordered Bento Boxes (lunch boxes) with different entree's and you get to choose 3 different sides. Kim had Beef Sukiyaki (sauteed beef) on rice, with broccolini salad, cold asian noodles and edamame beans, along with a traditional order of Ebi Nigiri (prawn sushi). Mauvereen had Salmon with Basil Soy sauce on rice, with broccolini salad, Mandarin oranges with almonds and Sticky Rice. Very good food. The broccolini salad has a white sauce, with almonds and dried cranberries, Asian noodles had a soy sauce reduction with peanuts and green onion.
We then took a few pictures, and hopped back in the car to go back to town.
Paul took us on a short detour to a small place called "The Chief". This place only opens in the summer, making home made ice cream and cool treats. It was named after the local highschool mascots "the Redskins". Very VERY good ice cream.
Now back at Ruth's, had a lovely dinner of tortilla soup, with fresh veggies and fruit, and about to head out for a nice evening walking around the neighourhood.
Will post again tomorrow :)
Welcome to Goshen!
August 26th, 2011 (Friday)
We safely arrived in Goshen around 5pm, on Thursday. Drove up to Kim's Step-Grandma's (Ruth) house, and she was more than happy to greet us.
That evening we experienced for the first time ever (for both of us) FIREFLIES!!!!
we also saw bunnies, all out on the front lawn of the house.
The rest of the evening was spent repairing our gelatinous bodies to normal.
The next morning we woke up pretty early, had a very pleasant breakfast with Ruth, then had the pleasure of meeting her youngest daughter Laurel (Mauvereen's first time meeting her). She's a wonderful person.
We hopped into Laurel's little mazda, and drove off for our tour of the surrounding area.
We started off at the Old Bag Factory, located just outside of downtown Goshen. It is exactly as it is named, a Bag Factory. The building is no longer in commission for this business but is now setup as an artisan shop, with small shops inside and a museum explaining the history of the building. The company who used to be in the building, manufactured old cloth bags for flour, oats and grain. This is also where Laurel's youngest daughter Ashley is going to be married in September.
We visited a small quilting shop adjacent to the Bag Factory, where a pleasant fellow told us all about the quilts his wife Shirley creates and designs herself. The quilts were just beautiful, and very unique. Not many of them are the traditional quilts from patterns, as Shirley designs them all herself. The cheapest one we saw was $675 where as the most expensive was $5200. They do accept monthly payments if you choose to buy one. And they SHIP! All for the low low cost of....... and now a word from our sponsor.
We weren't able to take any photos, as Shirley's work is very unique and un documented, none of her patterns are written down or for re-sale. We heard A LOT about Shirley.
While at the Old Bag Factory, we also went into a small antique shop, a consignment store, potter and a woodcarving shop. We also met an adorable puppy who was outside waiting for his owner. He was more than happy to share some hugs and kisses with us.
We left the Old Bag Factory, and headed towards the amish town of Shipshewana (Ship-She-Wana).
Along the country roads we got to see a lot of Amish driving their horse and buggies. Driving through the countryside we stopped at one home, as a Horse had gotten their leg and hoof caught in the surrounding wire fence. Just as we arrived we saw the owner come out of their shed with wire cutters, walking slowly to go save the horse.
We saw a lot of Amish homes, and if you don't know the difference between Western World homes and Amish, it's hard to tell. They have magnificent houses, but no electricity, and the dead give away is the clothes line hanging outside. Amish homes don't have any blinds or pull down blinds, so all the windows are bare and open, plus they have large fields for their crops and animals, and one or two buggies in the yard.
We ended up having lunch at an Amish business complex called Essenhaus. The food here is very traditional country meal, lots of gravy and potatoes. Kim got roast beef on noodles and mash potatoes, Mauvereen had roast beef with stuffing and white gravy. Artery clogging goodness...or sorta good. Plus Kim got a massive piece de resistance. Lemon Meringue Pie. om nom nom.
It feels very strange to have modern vehicles and stores then to step back in time with bearded men, bonnetted women who drive by at a quick trot in their horse and buggy, BUT they are equipped with left and right lighted turn signals (battery operated as they shun electricity...we did find out they are allowed cellphones though...but not land lines. This gets confusing)
We actually saw one of the horses look both ways, before turning a corner on a busy street. Smart animals.
We ended up parked and out walking in Shipshewana, where we visited Davis Mercantile which is a large old grain building, which now houses multiple small shops, as well as a merchant who sells seasonal nick nacks. You could get yourself a buggy ride in an authentic amish horse drawn carriage for just $4.
It's a beautiful and quaint little town, very peaceful.
We then headed back to Goshen, hitting up the local Wal-Mart for a few necessities, then back to Ruth's for a nap and supper.
Was a wonderful, busy, long day and looking forward to another one tomorrow,
We safely arrived in Goshen around 5pm, on Thursday. Drove up to Kim's Step-Grandma's (Ruth) house, and she was more than happy to greet us.
That evening we experienced for the first time ever (for both of us) FIREFLIES!!!!
we also saw bunnies, all out on the front lawn of the house.
The rest of the evening was spent repairing our gelatinous bodies to normal.
The next morning we woke up pretty early, had a very pleasant breakfast with Ruth, then had the pleasure of meeting her youngest daughter Laurel (Mauvereen's first time meeting her). She's a wonderful person.
We hopped into Laurel's little mazda, and drove off for our tour of the surrounding area.
We started off at the Old Bag Factory, located just outside of downtown Goshen. It is exactly as it is named, a Bag Factory. The building is no longer in commission for this business but is now setup as an artisan shop, with small shops inside and a museum explaining the history of the building. The company who used to be in the building, manufactured old cloth bags for flour, oats and grain. This is also where Laurel's youngest daughter Ashley is going to be married in September.
We visited a small quilting shop adjacent to the Bag Factory, where a pleasant fellow told us all about the quilts his wife Shirley creates and designs herself. The quilts were just beautiful, and very unique. Not many of them are the traditional quilts from patterns, as Shirley designs them all herself. The cheapest one we saw was $675 where as the most expensive was $5200. They do accept monthly payments if you choose to buy one. And they SHIP! All for the low low cost of....... and now a word from our sponsor.
We weren't able to take any photos, as Shirley's work is very unique and un documented, none of her patterns are written down or for re-sale. We heard A LOT about Shirley.
While at the Old Bag Factory, we also went into a small antique shop, a consignment store, potter and a woodcarving shop. We also met an adorable puppy who was outside waiting for his owner. He was more than happy to share some hugs and kisses with us.
We left the Old Bag Factory, and headed towards the amish town of Shipshewana (Ship-She-Wana).
Along the country roads we got to see a lot of Amish driving their horse and buggies. Driving through the countryside we stopped at one home, as a Horse had gotten their leg and hoof caught in the surrounding wire fence. Just as we arrived we saw the owner come out of their shed with wire cutters, walking slowly to go save the horse.
We saw a lot of Amish homes, and if you don't know the difference between Western World homes and Amish, it's hard to tell. They have magnificent houses, but no electricity, and the dead give away is the clothes line hanging outside. Amish homes don't have any blinds or pull down blinds, so all the windows are bare and open, plus they have large fields for their crops and animals, and one or two buggies in the yard.
We ended up having lunch at an Amish business complex called Essenhaus. The food here is very traditional country meal, lots of gravy and potatoes. Kim got roast beef on noodles and mash potatoes, Mauvereen had roast beef with stuffing and white gravy. Artery clogging goodness...or sorta good. Plus Kim got a massive piece de resistance. Lemon Meringue Pie. om nom nom.
It feels very strange to have modern vehicles and stores then to step back in time with bearded men, bonnetted women who drive by at a quick trot in their horse and buggy, BUT they are equipped with left and right lighted turn signals (battery operated as they shun electricity...we did find out they are allowed cellphones though...but not land lines. This gets confusing)
We actually saw one of the horses look both ways, before turning a corner on a busy street. Smart animals.
We ended up parked and out walking in Shipshewana, where we visited Davis Mercantile which is a large old grain building, which now houses multiple small shops, as well as a merchant who sells seasonal nick nacks. You could get yourself a buggy ride in an authentic amish horse drawn carriage for just $4.
It's a beautiful and quaint little town, very peaceful.
We then headed back to Goshen, hitting up the local Wal-Mart for a few necessities, then back to Ruth's for a nap and supper.
Was a wonderful, busy, long day and looking forward to another one tomorrow,
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