From Wisconson to New York state

A: DeForest, WI;  B: Shipshewana, IN;  C: Loudonville, OH; D: Loudonville, OH

Saw this along the road - fun

July 27 we again hit the road on the way to Shipshewana, IN. This was kind of a stressful day as we tried to skirt Chicago and also stay off the toll roads. Well!!!! We found that the ‘burbs’ of Chicago go south for a loooong way. So we spent lots of our day in stop-n-go traffic. UGH. And of course, there were many, many corn fields all along the way.

Amish horse and buggy

We finally cleared the area and made it to Shipshewana, IN where we spent two nights. This is a lovely Amish community where you see the horse-drawn carriages on the roads. We learned that the Amish houses can be located by their lack of electricity and lack of cars in the driveways. We missed the large market that is held every Tuesday and Wednesday – I guess that is really the time to visit.

The next morning we headed to Nappanee, IN where we toured the Newmar RV factory. Newmar sells pre-ordered RVs only. 
Their production has decreased considerably with the downturn in the economy. In the sewing shop there used to be 20 folks doing the upholstery. The day we were there only 3 were working. And the company only runs one shift 5 days per week. They are currently putting out 17 RVs per week.

We spent the next couple of hours in Amish Acres – a small Amish village that had a restaurant, gift shop, etc.

In the afternoon in Shipshewana Diann and I visited the shops and enjoying the pleasant atmosphere of the area while the fellas spent some time at the Hudson car museum.

On July 31 we took off in a drizzle and headed to Loudonville, Ohio, another area of Amish population. We had made reservations at Wally World RV Park (since it was Saturday) and found ourselves along a slow flowing river with hundreds of folks floating along in tubes, kayaks, canoes, rafts, etc – they were practically shore to shore!!! I’ve never seen so many folks in a river at one time – and the funny thing was that the water was so shallow, even the young kids could stand in the middle of the river and have water barely above their knees. The campground was really hopping until late into the evening – lots of family groups.

We had planned to stay only one day, but Sunday the Amish do not open stores or have sales stands open. We drove around the area – Millersville/Berlin/Charm – did find a lovely Bavarian looking cheese factory (Guggisberg Cheese CO.) where we purchased Baby Swiss cheese. We changed our plans and stayed a second day – spent it back in the Amish/Mennonite areas east of Loudonville. We went to the Behalt Center where we had an excellent explanation of the history of the Amish/Mennonite/Heuterite people. We were taken into a large round room that contained a huge mural going the entire way around depicting the history of the beginnings of these cultures in Germany, Switzerland, and other countries; then their eventual settling in this country.

The Amish have church services in barns.

The Amish fellow who gave us the history lesson and answered lots of questions directed us to another little town, Kidron, where he told us there was a store where the Amish shop – Lehman’s Hardware. It is huge and sooooo interesting. They sell many varieties of wood burning stoves, many gas lanterns and more, more, more – really a fun store in which to spend a couple of hours.

From there we visited an Amish furniture store where quality is first class – beautiful things. And we ended our day with a trip to an Amish restaurant – the dinner was wonderful, but the dessert – oh my – perfection.

Rainbow bridge connects Canada and USA

Then it was off to our next adventure – Niagara Falls State Park. This time we didn’t worry about avoiding toll roads – took I-90 all the way to the city of Niagara Falls. The first day we ‘did’ the American side. We bought the USA tour package – trolley, Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Wind, Discovery Center, IMAX show, and aquarium. It was very hot and very humid. I have to admit that I am a bit weary of the humidity – it’s so draining. But at least our weather has been clear for our sightseeing adventures. I never realized that ‘Niagara Falls’ is actually three different falls – American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls close to each other; they are separated from Horsetail Falls by Goat Island. 

The Maid of the Mist was an exciting 15 minute trip on a boat into the mist at the bottom of Horseshoe Falls (throw-away raincoat included). The Cave of the Wind trip involved wearing another rain slicker and sandals to walk in and be sprayed by the water of American Falls. We spent most of the day at the park; then came back at night to see the Niagara River lighted by floodlights and a large fireworks display put on by the Canadian side.

Ellen & Gordon with Niagara Falls in background

The next day we drove to the Canadian side which is completely different. The landscaping is beautiful with sculptured flowerbeds and lawns. There is a large shopping area, a tall space needle type structure with a restaurant at the top, and many large hotels. It is much easier to see the falls from the Canadian side. And on the Canadian side of Horseshoe Falls we were able to take a walk behind the falls. We went down an elevator and walked along a concrete tunnel, then looked out a portal that was actually behind the falls looking out – the thundering of the water was amazing. We feel that we really enjoyed the full Niagara Falls experience. It was again hot and humid, but we did enjoy the day.