Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Home (July 27 - August 6, 2021)
“One of the greatest discoveries that a person makes, one of their great surprises, is to find they can do what they were afraid they couldn’t do.” - Henry Ford
As Charley and I traveled east from the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois, we couldn’t believe that we were officially in the home stretch. One hundred fifty days down with only ten left to go, we were looking forward to spending our last ten days with family. Charley’s parents had traveled west for about a week and a half from NY to meet up with us in Indiana. Since we had seen the rest of our immediate family at other stops along the way, we had been apart from Charley’s parents the longest so of course, this family reunion was a happy one. We were excited to “caravan” with them, visiting three states and three different campgrounds, as we made our way home.
Our first stop, and reunion location, was Elkhart Indiana. With approximately 80 percent of all RVs in the US built in Northern Indiana, Elkhart is known as the RV capital of the world. We would have loved to tour an RV manufacturing plant, but due to Covid, no tours were available during our visit. We did however enjoy a visit to the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum. We’d heard lots of great things about this museum but weren’t able to stop during our previous trip west, so we made this a “must-do” on this trip. We’ve seen plenty of vintage RVs at other museums but this one is unique in that the museum actually lets visitors tour the inside of most of the RVs. The collection isn’t huge but seemed to be rather comprehensive as it covered all types of RVs over many decades. Charley’s parents are RVers too so we all enjoyed our time touring the old RVs, a few new RVs, and the museum’s RV library.
Also during our stop in Elkhart, we visited the nearby community of Shipshewana. Shipshewana’s population is predominately Amish and Mennonite and is the third-largest Amish community in the United States. As a result, Shipshewana has become a tourist destination as people enjoy their crafts, restaurants, and meat and cheese stores. We visited Shipshewana specifically to visit the Shipshewana Auction and Flea Market which is held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the summer months. We decided to wander in separate directions from Charley’s parents and after lapping the flea market area once (lots of things we didn’t need or want), Charley and I decided to check out the auction buildings. The auction buildings were jammed-packed with stuff (more things we didn’t need or want) and several live auctions were going on at one time. What seemed very chaotic to us, seemed old hat and I’m sure very organized to many folks. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. After wandering a little more, Charley and I decided to check out the livestock auction building (I decided I did need and want a cute little calf!). This turned out to be our very favorite part of the day! No cameras were allowed inside this building so you’ll have to take my word for how interesting and well organized that operation was. From a catwalk above the livestock pens, we watched cows, sheep, pigs, and goats (both adult and baby animals) being unloaded from livestock trailers, being tagged with an auction number (a young man applying some sort of adhesive to a plastic sheet with a number on it and slapping it on the animals one by one as they arrived) then being herded into their proper pens awaiting auction. We also got a chance to see some pigs and piglets being auctioned then herded back into pens specifically assigned to their buyers. Just before we were set to leave the auction house, we were approached by an Amish man about our age who said “You’re not from around here are you?” We’re pretty sure Charley’s pinkish shorts gave us away but we spent the next several minutes in a wonderful conversation with him. He was very interested in our lifestyle, our former professions, and our trip. He told us a lot about himself, his family, and his community. I found myself wishing we had more time to talk to him or a way to keep in touch because it was definitely one of the most pleasant and eye-opening conversations we had had with a stranger on this trip.
After leaving Elkhart, our RV caravan headed in the direction of Detroit, Michigan. We stayed at a campground not too far from the city near Ann Arbor. This stop was definitely a bucket list for my Ford enthusiast husband. A tour of the Ford Rouge Factory was stop number one and it didn’t disappoint, even for non-gearheads like me. This tour was quite a bit different than the BMW plant tour that we took early on in South Carolina. The BMW tour was guided and that plant produced several models whereas the Ford tour included only Ford f150 builds because that is the only model assembled in that particular plant. This was a self-guided walking tour above the assembly line where we could see most aspects of the build process. We learned that it takes less than an hour to build a Ford f-150 from start to finish and a new one rolls off the line every 53 seconds. It came as no surprise that cameras were not allowed in the factory’s assembly plant so again, you’ll have to take my word for it – it was cool!
After the factory tour, we had about three hours left to visit The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation but decided to pass that day and return the following day to maximize our time there. Thank goodness we made that decision because the Henry Ford was incredible and it took us several hours to explore all its treasures. While it does house many impressive historic automobiles, there are so many other items on display related to innovation, technology, and American history. Some items of note are the one and only Dymaxion House still in existence, the chair Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated, the Rosa Parks bus, Henry Ford’s violin collection, a replica of the Wright Flyer, and a special Jim Henson exhibit. If you’re ever in the area, please do yourself a favor and visit The Henry Ford. Don’t let the $25 pp admission scare you because it’s worth every penny.
From Michigan, we traveled southeast to Streetsboro, Ohio. As we arrived at the Streetsboro KOA, it seemed so surreal that we were pulling into a campground for the very last time but the neighbor’s dog enthusiastically greeting us was a pleasant reminder that we’d be seeing our pooch in just a few days. Our stay in Streetsboro was relatively quiet compared to many of our other stops. Most of our time was spent visiting our 17th and final National Park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which lies along the Cuyahoga River Valley between Cleveland and Akron. We took a small hike along the towpath to visit Brandywine Falls and enjoyed a picnic lunch on a very warm afternoon. This is an area that would warrant another visit. There were many more walking paths, hiking trails, and bike paths that we would love to explore. We spent our last day enjoying a relaxing day three-hour round trip ride aboard the Cuyahoga Valley Railway. This train ride was described as “scenic” which might be a bit of a stretch as it was mostly through woods and past swamps but we enjoyed it nonetheless. It was a wonderful way to spend our final day.
As we were packing up that evening and then pulling into our driveway the next day, I got a little emotional. This trip had, at some point along the way, changed from a vacation to a way of life. We had a routine and had gotten used to our small, easy to care for space. So much was about to change. We’d no longer have to remind ourselves where we were when we woke up in the morning, plan groceries around our tiny fridge, or figure out where we’d do laundry next. I knew we’d miss the little things like seeing and doing something new every single day, saying hello to our neighbors at the campground, and petting every dog I came across. Not to mention the big things – spotting new to us animals in the wild, the amazing scenery of America’s National Parks, the warm greetings we’d get in small towns, and the hustle and bustle of big cities. Someone asked if I was anxious to get home. I’d be lying if I said I was. I was excited to see family, friends, and my dog but given the chance, I’d do it all over again without hesitation as long as I had my best friend (and Mr. Fix – it) with me. What started out as a silly idea turned into what will most likely be the most incredible experience of our lives. My hope is that everyone we know will at some point take advantage of or create their own midlife opportunity.
