September 25, 2010

We are back in Shipshewana, Indiana for a few days. When we were here earlier, we heard about a Mexican Restaurant in the area called BJ’s. Friends described a menu item called a “Chicken Haystack” for us that sounded very good. The restaurant is only open on Friday and Saturday nights from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. We went to BJ’s for dinner tonight with our friends. Everyone ordered the “Chicken Haystack”. Like most Mexican Restaurants the meal starts with chips, salsa and drink of your choice. The haystack is layers of the following: a base of tortilla chips, then lettuce, rice, beans, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, shredded chicken and topped with nacho cheese, sour cream and jalapeño peppers. Char and I didn’t eat the jalapeño peppers. A haystack can be best described as a wonderful Mexican Salad. It can be ordered with chicken or beef and it comes in two sizes, medium or large. We had the medium size and it was more than we wanted to eat. After dinner we can now say the “Chicken Haystack” is terrific.

Thank you Sonny and Freda for taking us to BJ's.  We had a great evening.

September 23, 2010

Today we did lots of things with Ron and Anna. We started at Young’s Jersey Dairy Farm for lunch that included a terrific milkshake made with their own farm produced ice cream and then a trip through the petting area. This was fun but the goats sure make your hands messy. The owners understand and provide lots of hand sanitizer after the feeding area.

For some reason the theme song from “Green Acres” was going through my head.

After seeing some fighter jets flying overhead, Ron took us to the Air Force Base to see them up close.

It was great watching them take off and land. I love that wonderful sound of power.

After the Air Base we went to the River Walk in downtown Dayton.

They have a spectacular water show every hour.

While we were walking along the river, Ron pointed out the Mendelson’s Liquidation Outlet. Of course we had to go and see if they had any treasures for us. We didn’t find anything but Ron and Anna did. Ron found some small magnets, a magnifying glass and some tote bags. Anna found a great deal on an exercise bike.

This is a very large five story building. Only the 1st and 3rd floors are open to the public. I can’t believe all the things they have. Tools, clothing, kitchen items, storage cabinets, exercise equipment, computer parts of all kinds, Christmas decorations and much more. We looked around for about an hour and I saw lots of things; most of which I didn’t have the slightest idea what it was. It would take days to see everything in this place.

We had another great day. Thanks Ron and Anna for a fantastic two days.

September 22, 2010

We are in the Dayton, Ohio area to visit our friends Ron and Anna Hall. This afternoon they took us to Carillon Historical Park in downtown Dayton. What a wonderful place. We spent a couple of hours and disappointedly had to leave at closing. There is so much to see we needed at least a half day more and then I’m not sure we would have seen it all.

This is the Carillon Tower.

This is the Newcom Tavern originally built in 1796. It is the oldest building in Dayton.

Char and I are entirely too happy in this picture.

As you can see, Ron and Anna are serious shooters.

This is an original bicycle built by the Wright Brothers.

This is the camera that took the photograph of Orville’s first flight.

This is the original 1905 Wright Flyer III. It has a wingspan of 40 feet 6 inches. It was made from two types of wood; spruce (ribs, spars and propellers), ash (various minor parts) and the wing fabrics are cotton muslin. The engine was also built in the Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop and developed around 21 horsepower. The total weight for this airplane was 710 pounds.

One of the buildings in the Park had a display of vintage bicycles. There were many to see. Next are pictures of our two favorites.

This is a Dayton Triplet built by the Davis Sewing Machine Company in 1896.

This is called the “Cygnet” because of its unusual swanlike frame. Notice the netting guard on the rear wheel to prevent ladies long skirts from getting entangled in the spokes and chain.

This is absolutely a place that you must see. I would recommend traveling from anywhere in Ohio or nearby States to visit the Carillon Historical Park. Arrive early so you have enough time to see and enjoy everything.

September 20, 2010

We have been in Holmes County, Ohio for the last few days. Holmes County is home of the largest Amish Community in Ohio. We have visited many shops and enjoyed the farm countryside. We went to see the largest horse in Holmes County

This is “Big Ben” who is 19.3 hands tall. That is 6’7” at the withers. The withers is generally regarded as the last hair in the mane of most horses. It is the highest part of the horse’s shoulder when it head is lowered to the ground.

Wow, Charlotte says this is a very large horse.

We drove to Kidron to visit Lehman’s Hardware Store. Now this is a fascinating place. Jay Lehman started a small store in 1955 to support the lifestyle of his neighbors the Amish. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lehman and learning about his store. He was worried that perhaps one day his friends and neighbors wouldn’t be able to find non-electric tools, appliances and other historic items. His goal was to find and offer these things then, now and into the future. He has become a successful merchant selling oil lamps and parts, wood burning kitchen cooking stoves, wood burning heating stoves, gas refrigerators and freezers, hand-cranked items and many more authentic and historic things. If it is not available in his store, one of his associates will turn to the many catalogs available to see if they can get it for you. This is truly a great service organization where they really put the customer first.

This place was so busy and I was so fascinated that I forgot to take any pictures inside.

While driving to the Post Office at Orrville, Ohio we came to the J.M. Smucker’s Store and Café. We stopped for a sandwich stayed to learn some Smucker history. This is a fun place and of course they sell their products and we just happened to need some blackberry jam.

We had our picture taken with the lovable Pillsbury Doughboy. I’m the one on the right.

We found this cute little owl in a shop in Berlin.

Our owl is a perfect travelling companion for us. He is cuddly and doesn’t require to be taken out in bad weather. I think this could be Char’s second favorite pet (Richard and Vera's dog Brandie is still her favorite).

September 13, 2010

We have been camping in Shipshewana, Indiana for a week now. My brother Bob and his wife Janet are here also. They have their 5th wheel parked next to us. We have been enjoying the sights and sounds in the area.

We went to the Keystone factory for a plant tour. We saw them building the Montana 5th wheel trailer. It was very interesting and we learned a lot.

Rollers are placed under the wheels and the trailers are manually pushed sideways through the plant.

We drove the 90-mile Heritage Trail through the Amish Country. It was a beautiful drive along rural roads with stops along the way at many local landmarks and farms.

We saw farmers filling silos.

We stopped to check out the Jumbo Jelly Bean store in Wakarusa.

We stopped at the Bonneyville Mill. The mill started in 1832 and was operational until the 1960s. It still grinds grain for the tourists.

Water turbines like this power the mill.

We watched as these two grinding wheels ground wheat into flour.

This is the holding pond that provides the water power for the mill.

We loved this windmill.

One of the beautiful flowers in the Dahlia Garden at the mill.

The local farms and merchants have another fascinating tour - The Quilt Garden tour. Bob had fun driving around trying to locate them. Our lovely wives exhibited extreme patience while Bob took many left, right and U-turns on our tour. I’m sure my navigation skills are excellent; perhaps Bob was having difficulty hearing because of the many rural sounds.

Char and Jan

We visited the farm of Bob and Jan’s Amish friends, Sonny and Frieda Bontrager. Sonny’s son and daughter-in-law milk thirty six cows. They milk at 4:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. each day. Even with modern milking equipment and a large bulk tank, it stills take the two of them more than an hour to complete the milking. Then they start the cleanup. It sure looked like a lot of work to me. The work didn’t bother them and they really enjoy milking time together.

The milking parlor holds eight cows.

I think they are saying, I want to be next.

This wonderful barn was built in 1915.

Here are two of the fourteen working horses on the farm.

A week really goes quickly when you are having fun. We had a great time and enjoyed the time with Bob and Jan.

September 4, 2010

We started 8:00 this morning and I stopped at 8:00 tonight. Although I am tired, I had a fantastic day. We went to my brother Roger’s and helped him enclose the patio at the back of his house. I didn’t do that much but it was fun being around the workers for a day. Roger had the roof and concrete blocks for the walls added a couple of weeks ago. Today we built the walls and added the windows and sliding glass doors.

Even Grandson Wesley helped.

There still is a lot to be done. The siding needs to be put on and the inside needs finishing. Roger, Judy and their son Eddie will finish everything themselves. I know Roger and Judy will enjoy this addition and I am very happy I got to be a part of the framing operation.