RVs, cars, history, and family

July 31, 2015—Visiting attractions in a new area is fun, but when you can do it with family (especially family you have not seen for a long time), the occasion becomes special.

We spent three days in northeastern Indiana (Elkhart area), and then drove up to Marshall, Mich., to visit with Rob, Corky and the grandkids.

I spent the first half of my life as a Hoosier, but I had never really visited the Elkhart area. I had just driven by on the interstate highway.

Jim had done some research, which indicated there were actually a lot of attractions (mostly museums) in the area. Among them, which we visited, were the RV Hall of Fame, the National Military History Center and Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum (a two-for-one one with admission), the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automotive Museum in Auburn, Ind., a windmill museum, and Shipshewana Flea Market (open Tuesdays and Wednesdays). (We got “museumed out” and also ran out of time. The area has several other museums.)

Elkhart Museums

The National Military History Center was interesting, but I do not have an optimistic outlook for it to survive. We were the only visitors. The attendance (who, I believe, was a volunteer) said that the museum had been forced to sell off a number of its exhibits a few years ago, but was not acquiring more.

Linda stands with General Eisenhower and his secretary (also his mistress) in front of the car Ike used in WWII.

The exhibits the museum had were interesting, especially the original vehicles used in several wars.

Included with the price of admission was the Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum, housed in the same building. It, too, was worth seeing, especially if you like old cars. This museum was not dedicated solely to cars; it exhibited some very old carriages and some very new cars.

The Kruse museum displayed many types of vehicles, including this Indy racer. Getting into the racer was not too difficult, but getting out was hard, as Jim discovered.

The RV/MH Hall of Fame displayed an assortment of antique recreational vehicles. We could go into many of them, although the oldest were off-limits. The evolution of the RV, from its earliest days, was intriguing. As technology improved, so did the RVs

One of the first motorhomes

The seats on this antique motorhome don't look too comfortable. 

.

With the history of RVs firmly in mind, we asked the museum docent about tours of RV plants. About 80% of all recreational vehicles in the United States are manufactured in the Elkhart area, and a number of the manufacturers gives tours.

RV Manufacturing Tour

We went to the Thor Company, which manufactures all classes of motorized RVs: A’s, B’s, and C’s. We would have preferred witnessing the assembly of a Class A; however, on the day we visited, the only tour available was for a Class C.

In our journeys, we have toured both the BMW manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, S.C., as well as the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Ky. Both were highly automated, with probably 80% to 90% of the assembly done by robots. The plants were so clean and tidy that you could almost eat off the floor!

The Thor assembly plant was quite a contrast to the auto plants. About 90% of the RVs are assembled by human labor. And the manufacturing floor showed it. The plant was not as neat as the car manufacturers.

Antique Cars

One of the attractions we visited was the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Ind., about an hour east of Elkhart. This is a world-class museum, one that I have wanted to visit ever since I heard about it more than 25 years ago when I lived in Muncie, Ind. It was worth the time.

The Auburn Auto Manufacturing Company operated in Auburn, Ind., from 1900 to 1937. It manufactured high-end automobiles. Some cost more than $8,000 in the late 1920s! Needless to say, that was a lot of money for that time period. These autos were hand-assembled, unlike Model T Fords. Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in order to make cars affordable to the masses. Auburn Cords and Duesenbergs were meant for the elite—and the workmanship shows, even today in the 126 autos on display.

Some of the cars on display at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum

This photo captures some of the elegance of the art deco building, which was the original showroom for the Auborn Auto Company.

Most of us think antique cars were all painted black. That was Henry Ford's autos. These Cords and Duesenbergs were quite colorful.

The museum is housed in the art deco building that once served as the showroom for these cars. It was an impressive building.

Windmills

On the way back from Auburn, we saw a sign advertising the Mid-American Windmill Museum. It was an awesome visit.

A fellow who was about 85 years old took our admission, and then proceeded to educate us about windmills. A more knowledgeable docent we would not have been able to find. After learning about why windmills were invented (to mill grain) and the types of windmills, he turned us loose to look at the 55 windmills on the museum’s property.

Alas. This museum will probably cease to exist. Again, we were the only visitors. The docent said that the museum relies on volunteers, and few young people are interested in windmills. That is sad, because today, windmills are a great alternative source of energy. When we trekked out west a couple of years ago, we saw miles of huge windmills. We were pleased to see acres of these same types of windmills on our drive through Indiana.

Shipshawana Flea Market

On our final day in Northeastern Indiana, we made a quick trip to Shipshewana Flea Market, advertised as the Midwest’s Largest Flea Market. It is open only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from May through October.

We only had time to browse a couple of aisles, but we were able to purchase some excellent sausage at the Amish meat market. (Incidentally, the Elkhart-Goshen area has a large number of Amish and Mennonite families, who farm, butcher, and handcraft furniture and other items. Drivers must watch out for horse-drawn carriages.)

Family and Greenfield Village

The highlight of our trip, for me, was going to Marshall, Mich., to visit my son, his wife, and my grandchildren. I hadn’t seen the kids for almost two years—way too long. We cooked out twice and visited several hours. Corky (my daughter-in-law) and Maddie (my 16-year-old granddaughter), Jim and I made the drive to Greenfield Village, in Dearborn, Mich., on Thursday. (Jack, my grandson opted out of the trip.)

Greenfield Village is another attraction I have wanted to see, ever since I lived in Marshall, more than 20 years ago. Henry Ford built the village—he actually brought in original buildings of significant inventors, scientists, and writers—as a school to preserve the history of America’s technological and cultural progress. It originally served as a private school.

A street in Greenfield Village

Corky, Maddie and I try on stylish hats at the millinery shop in Greenfield Village.

An outdoor museum, the 255 acres of exhibits (and a working farm) are divided into five districts.

I learned that Henry Ford had been a protégé of Thomas Edison. As a tribute to Edison, he brought Edison’s laboratory to the Village. He dedicated Greenfield Village on the 50th anniversary of the invention of the light bulb. Edison attended the dedication. Ford realized that Edison’s days were numbered, so as an additional tribute, he declared that the chair Edison had sat in during the dedication at Edison’s relocated laboratory should be nailed down and never moved.

When the floors of the laboratory needed to be redone, the chair was cut out and replaced exactly, in order to keep Ford’s declaration true.

Thomas Edison's laboratory 

Our visit with Rob and his family was too short, as it always is. But the trip to Greenfield Village was made more memorable because we shared it with family.

Maddie, Jim, Rob, Linda, Jack, and Corky. Family.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

An Indiana high!

Reuniting with college classmates whose friendship has endured over 50 years is a natural high. And that is what I felt when we all met Friday and Saturday nights in Bloomington, Ind. “We” are George’s Kids, the IU Junior Year Abroad Group of 1965. Not one of us could believe it has been 50 years since we all met, underwent orientation in Washington, D.C., and then spent 10 months studying and playing together.

George and his "kids" July 2015

The most remarkable thing about this reunion is that of the 20 students, 17 of us made the trip. (One has never wanted to participate; one cannot be found; and one, unfortunately, died in a plane crash.) In addition to the 17 of us, George, our director, as well as his son Craig, was also at the reunion. Craig, now 52, was only 2 years old when he and his brother Eric (who was about 3 months old) accompanied their parents. Craig became bilingual, a skill he continues to use today. Several spouses also attended.

George and little Craig (second in front row) with Peru Group 1965 spouses

What did we do doing the weekend? We talked. And talked. And talked. And still there was not enough time to talk with everyone.

Jim said on several occasions that he didn’t understand why there were no planned activities, aside from dinner on Friday night and Saturday night. What he doesn’t understand is that family doesn’t need planned activities. Family just wants to get together and catch up.

So, that is what we did.

It was wonderful.

We are all getting older--all of us are in our 70s. So, like last time, we are planning our next reunion in two and one-half years. We hope we will all be together again.

This reunion, thanks to the work of Nancy Villalobos and Cheri Biddle Engber, we all paid tribute to George by reflecting on what that year abroad meant to us and how it has affected us personally and professionally. Those tributes were moving.

I am a writer, but I do not have words that adequately describe how I felt. You will just have to believe me that it was an Indiana High.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

July 23, 2015--We drove to Bowling Green, Ky., yesterday. We had thought about touring Mammoth Cave, but when we entered Bowling Green, we were greeted by a billboard advertising the Corvette Assembly Plant and the Corvette Museum. Those would be our tourist destinations, we decided.

A couple years ago when we were in South Carolina, we toured the BMW plant; it was fantastic to watch the robots assemble the cars with very little help from human hands. Corvettes are built in a similar manner, although I think BMW has more automation than Chevrolet. It was a good tour.

Hand in glove with the tour is the National Corvette Museum.

I have to admit that I am not enamored with Corvettes. They are a nice vehicle, obviously. But I wouldn’t buy one even if I had the money. However, we thought it would be fun to look at the evolution of this sports car.

Getting into the Corvette was not too hard. Getting out was another story!

And then we remembered: It was here at the National Corvette Museum that a giant sink hole opened up and literally ate about a dozen irreplaceable cars. That happened in February 2014. It took engineers two months to retrieve the cars.

Engineers peer into the 60-foot deep sinkhole that destroyed a significant number of antique Corvettes. The public can look through the plexiglass to see into the cavity. Officials are trying to figure out how to make a marketing opportunity out of the tragedy. They are already succeeding. The sinkhole is the best part of the museum! 

We actually thought that was the best part of the museum!

When you enter the large room where the cars were/are on display, the first thing that catches your eye is the tape on the floor. It shows the outline of the sink hole, as well as the outline of the cave that not resides beneath the showroom.

The retrieved cars are on display. They want to restore all of them; however, I believe some are beyond repair. The first car they pulled out of the pit was the last one to drop into the hole, and it was relatively unscathed. The deeper they went, the more damaged the cars (naturally).

Some of the retrived Corvettes. Above are some of the last cars to go into the hole. Below, some of the first. Doubtful that they can restore these--or will want to, since it is a museum draw.

While we were in the show room, some engineers were looking at the 60-foot deep hole into the cave. The section of flooring they were peering into had a glass window, so that visitors could see the depth of the sink hole. Museum officials have not yet decided what they will do ultimately with the sink hole/cave.

In the meantime, they are not forfeiting the opportunity to market the tragedy. In the gift shop (there is always a gift shop at the end of a tour, isn’t there?), visitors can buy a bottle of the sink-hole debris. We passed on this opportunity.

The museum is marketing the tragedy. Visitors can buy a small bottle of sinkhole dirt. We passed on the opportunity.

It was a good day, which ended with night’s stay in Elizabethtown, Ky.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

Back home again in Indiana!

July 23, 2015--We spent last night in Elizabethtown, Ky., about two hours from Bloomington. So, we had plenty of time to see at least one sight. We decided to visit Squire Boone Caverns in Southern Indiana, not too far from Corydon, the state’s first capital.

I had taken my kids to Squire Boone Caverns in the late 1970s. Back then, it was a new commercial cave and when we took the tour, I remember that our tour group consisted of the three of us and perhaps one or two others. The only building, back then, was the cabin where tickets and t-shirts were sold.

Today, Squire Boone Caverns is part of a group of four different commercial caverns in Southern Indiana. And the original building where we bought tickets is now part of a “village” of cabins that house a soap shop, a candle-making shop, a sweets shop, a rock shop and a grist mill.

Before we turned off the highway to drive to the caverns, I called to make sure it could accommodate our motorhome and towed car. The woman said yes, although we might want to park in the lower area and walk up the hill.

Decending 75 steps into Squire Boone Caverns

A cave formation

Columns and pipe straws

Cave formations

Your Reluctant RoVer viewing the underground waterfall

Another view of the underground waterfall

Well, we drove the several miles of country lanes and finally reached the attraction. We had to stop short: To get to the parking lot, we had to cross a very narrow bridge over a running stream. It was extremely doubtful we could traverse that bridge with toad.

So we unhitched so that Jim could turn Junior around. We thought once we unhitched, we could leave Junior parked on the side of the road. Then we saw the sign: no parking.

About that time, two employees came out to help us. They assured us that bigger buses than our could cross the bridge. Jim decided to trust their judgment. He made it and parked in a field. We drove up the hill in the car.

I still like Squire Boone Caverns better than the other caves we’ve seen, perhaps because of the underground river and waterfalls. The only think I don’t like is the 75 steps down (and up) that you have to climb. Jim liked the cave, but thought that the Sonora Caves in Texas were prettier.

With the cave tour finished, we headed to Bloomington. We are camping at Lake Monroe. It is so much cooler here than in Florida! And real grass grows on the ground!

It’s nice to be home again.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

My promised update

July 22, 2015--Late last night, as we were getting into bed, Jim looked like he was pondering a problem. It was, of course, the recalcitrant car.

In my last post, I said that even if he could not fix the starting problem, we would just tow the car and "tourist" with it behind us. Well, the pondering Jim was doing concerned the towing. You see, when the car did not start for me--no power at all to the ignition--Jim got in and put it into park. Just as he was doing that, I yelled, "No! Don't do that!"

"Why not?" he asked. I answered, "Because when there is no power, you cannot take it out of park. The shifter becomes locked in place." (When the car is towed, the shifter is in neutral.)

A car cannot be towed in park; the wheels are locked. So, what were we going to do?

It was about midnight, but I got out of bed and started googling "how to take car out of park with dead battery." I found some videos and some blogs on how disengage the shifter. None was specific to our Ford Edge. Then I suggested Jim look in the owner's manual, which did reference what to do, but not in specific detail.

It was too late to do much about the problem at past the midnight hour, but in the morning that was Jim's first task.

Within a short time, he had the shifter console taken apart and unlocked the shifter. He was then able to put the car in neutral.

The story doesn't end there, however. He continued to test connections and fuses, and he now believes he knows the culprit: a bad connection to the battery. With the connection tightened, the car started up. (He had already recharged the battery.)

The end result: We had a great day. But I'll write about that tomorrow.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

Just when we thought everything was going well...

July 21, 2015--We left Georgia this morning and started heading up north. We traveled all day, and finally decided to spend the night in Bowling Green, Ky. Tomorrow we will see how Corvettes are made, and we may take a cave tour on Kentucky's only underground river boat tour. Should be interesting.

But...

When we pulled into the RV park, we intended to unhitch the car and take a drive around Bowling Green... to get the lay of the land, so to speak...and maybe have a nice sit-down dinner.

We were not able to do that.

The car won't start. I wish the problem were as simple as a dead battery, but it is not.

A little background information: When we decided last year to buy a bigger "toad," we decided on the Ford Edge. According to Motorhome Magazine, which lists all of the towable vehicles, the Edge was towable. The car was the right size; it was comfortable; and we liked its ride as well as the car's amenities.

What we neglected to research was to find out if any RVers had experienced problems with the Edge. When Jim was getting ready to buy the tow package, we discovered that many RVers complained that the car would run down its battery after a couple hours of towing.

We did not know if our car would experience the dead-battery syndrome, since some people said they had had no problems. To be on the safe side, however, we bought a portable battery charger that jump starts the battery. We also have a battery charger that plugs into an outlet. And there is a work-around solution that Jim will eventually put into place. (It's a trickle charge from the motorhome to the SUV's batteries.)

When we took our first trip with the Edge, we learned that ours was one of the cars that indeed had a run-down battery problem. We had to use the battery charger. No big deal.

But a dead battery is not our problem this time.

Jim suspects we may have blown a fuse this morning when he was attempting to hook up the car lights to the motorhome. Now it is a matter of finding the culprit fuse.

He has checked some of the fuses, and he will check the others tomorrow when we stop for the day. In the meantime, we will "tourist" with the car in tow.

Until next time (with, I hope, better news),

Your Reluctant RoVer,
Linda

Gold in them thar hills!

July 20, 2015--When I think of the gold rush, I think of THE gold rush to San Fransisco in 1849. But America actually experienced two other significant gold rushes--one in North Carolina in 1804 and a second in Dahlonega, Ga., in 1828.

We are staying in a resort outside of Dahlonega, so we had to investigate its "golden" history.

We drove into Dahlonega, about 15 miles from the resort (which is gorgeous, incidentally, and not just for RVers) yesterday. Our intention was to visit the Gold Museum--IF it was open. (We haven't had much luck with museums being open when we wanted to visit them.) Since it was Sunday, I doubted we would be getting in.

We were in for a surprise. The town of Dahlonega (population about 8,000) was teeming! And it wasn't even 1 p.m. It seems that this town reinvented itself into a tourist destination, based primarily on its history with gold. Unique shops lined the town square, whose center was an old court house converted to the Gold Museum.

This town (and our resort) sits on the edge of the Chattahoochee National Forest, which rises up on a mountain (more than 3,000 feet) and is next door to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Obviously, this area attracts many tourists, especially from the large Georgia cities of Atlanta and Athens, who want to escape the heat during the summer.

We did our tourist thing and visited the general stores and gawked at the local arts and crafts and expensive T-shirts. Then, just as an afternoon cloudburst started, we ran into the Gold Museum. Interesting fact: the buildings' two-foot red-brick walls are made from local clay and contain flecks of gold.

Serious gold mining occurred here until the Civil War. And the U.S. Mint actually had a branch in Dahlenaga. When mining for gold became too expensive (and also environmentally bad, since miners started using water cannons that devastated the landscape), the Mint closed down. The building was turned into what is now part of the University of Georgia, with approximately 7,000 students.

This sign describes how the diving bell operated for mining purposes.

This is part of the air chamber that led down into the diving bell.

The diving bell in which miners dug up ore from the bottom of the river bed.

Another view of the diving bell.

Mining started when someone found a big chunk of gold. It went through its various iterations, including panning, and deep tunnel mining. An interesting form of gold mining, however, was done in a diving bell. The bell was sunk into the local river. Two men would work in a small chamber, digging up the bottom of the river for ore. The diving bell was discovered and restored and is a centerpiece of a park near the town center. Very interesting.

Dahlonega has two mine tours. One has a stamping mill where gold jewelry is made from ore mined on site. The other is an underground mine that is no longer operating. We chose not to go on the tours, but I think if I were here with kids, it would be a great adventure.

We also went to another nearby town, Dawsonville, and went on a tour of a mini-distillery. Jim sampled the apple brandy and said it was very good. I believe the place was called Moonshiners.

Finally, we decided to fish in one of the lakes here at the resort. Didn't catch anything, but we will try again today.

Tomorrow we stop being tourists and will head toward Indiana.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda