Gate Guarding

Gate Guarding

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Elkhart & Goshen, IN, Defeated COE, and trip to Branson

The last time I wrote we were sitting in Elkhart, IN waiting for repairs to be done on our RV. Chuck& Kathy were also in the area having some work done on theirs also.

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a School Buggy delivering school children home after classes.

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We met them for a few meals and lots of visiting. Looks like they will be getting their work done before us and be able to start their trip to Defeated COE a day or so ahead of us.

Mac & I made a trip to Guggisburg Cheese Factory.Ohh, the cheese is wonderful. We bought about 5 or 6 different kinds…yummy.

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Afterwards we headed on to Shipshewana to the Flea Market again. We walked around and I bought some Dip mixes and Mac bought him a cup of Homemade Ice Cream.

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We were getting hungry and decided to make a stop at the Blue Gate Restaurant for an early dinner. We love this place.

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We got in for our appointment to Lippert to have our axles replaced….finally!! We had gotten everything all done and were packed up to leave the area as soon as they were finished. Mac also had worked on the DLT(Damn Little Trailer) and had it ready for travel.  We arrived at Lippert at 8:15am and they were finished by 10:30….WooHoo!! We went back to the campground and hooked up the DLT and off we went.

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We were already a day behind our schedule. We left Goshen on Wednesday, Oct 5th for our first leg of the trip. The weather was great but the traffic was horrible around Indianapolis, IN and Louisville, KY. After a very long travel day we stopped in Cave City, KY at Singing Trees RV Park. It was a very tight fit but we were just ready to kick back and get some rest.

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On Thursday we got started pretty early and had a pretty nice travel day. The scenery in TN is beautiful. The trees are changing and they colors are awesome.

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Tobacco Hanging in Barn

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Fields of Tobacco

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We arrived at Defeated Creek COE about 11:30am, parked next to Chuck & Kathy, and got all set up for our 13 day stay! It is such a nice place to stay. Great views and very relaxing. We walked down to let Lisa know that we were there and all set up. Let the Campout begin!!

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We had several meals together. No huge Buffets like last year. We were all actually not making large meals….lol.

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Our friends that live in TN…

Tez

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Lisa

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Tony

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and Rick

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We only see them about once a year…Sure have missed them.

Dave arrived on Friday to join the Campout. We met Dave online in the RV-Dreams Chat Room and had not met him in person until now. Mac helped him get pulled in to his RV site and we had our hello hugs!

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Later we all had dinner and Played some Chase the Ace. I think Lisa won one game and Chuck the other.

Sunday, Tony, Lisa, Rick, Chuck, Kathy, Mac & I went to Harpers for some great Catfish. No fish for me….I had some Shrimp, Kathy had a Seafood Platter & Lisa had Pork Chops. The food was really good. Forgot to take the camera…oops.

Monday Jenny & Don arrived and got all set up. We had made dinner so that they didn’t have to cook on their travel day. Mac had smoked Ribs, and we made several side dishes to go with them. Yummy…the food was wonderful!

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Tuesday was a girls day out…Lisa, Kathy, & I took off to Nashville for a little shopping and lunch. Jenny didn’t feel like joining us.We stopped first at Bed, Bath, & Beyond…We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and it was very good! Their sandwiches are huge. After lunch we went to Trader Joe’s for some Granola Bars and a few other things. Next stop was for me to run in to JoAnn’s Fabric & Crafts and Bath & Body Works. We then started back toward Defeated. More Chase the Ace….can’t remember who won…LOL

Jenny knocked on our door about 1:30am to let us know that they were taking her husband, Don to the hospital by ambulance. We got dressed quickly and took off for the hospital to sit with her until they finally admitted Don. We got back to the RV about 4:15am and headed right back to bed. Wednesday we got up and checked in with Jenny to see how Don was doing. They were going to transfer him to Nashville for a Heart Cath. and possible Stints. We went to the hospital and sat with them until it was time for him to be transferred.

We sat outside after we got home and visited. Had dinner and played more cards…

Friday night Mac, Dave, & I went to Timber loft Restaurant for dinner. The guys had a BBQ Sampler platter and I had a Steak Sandwich. The food was good!!

Saturday, Mac & I ran to Nashville to pick up Don & Jenny at the hospital. He had had 2 stints put in and was feeling really good.

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Sunday Rich & Mary arrived and we had planned a brunch of Eggs in a Bag.

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oops…I don’t have a photo of Rich & Mary. I must have lost it somewhere…uh oh. We were sure glad that they came to stay for a few days. We don’t get to see them very often.

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Don & Jenny

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Kathy…

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We all visited and then got back together later in the day for Chili. Walking Tacos…and then a couple of games of Chase the Ace. I finally won a game! Tony made another campfire and some of us sat outside until about midnight.

Monday, we started packing things up to prepare for us to leave TN on Wednesday. We got a lot of things done. Later we had dinner and sat outside by the campfire until late again….

Tuesday, we had made plans to go to Cookeville to the Mandarin Palace for Chinese food. Rich, Mary, Chuck, Kathy, Lisa, Toy, Rick, Dave, Mac, and I all enjoyed one of the best Chinese Buffets that we have had in a long time. After we got back to the campground we went over to Tony & Lisa’s RV to visit a little while and to tell them goodbye. Lisa had school on Wednesday morning so we wouldn’t see her.

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We got a message Tuesday evening  that our granddaughter, Ashley was taken to the hospital and then flown to Wichita, KS. She started having contractions. She is only 29 weeks along and they were going to try to slow things down. They don’t want to bring that little boy into the world any sooner than they have to. 

Wednesday we were up and out of the park by 9:00. We were traveling with Chuck & Kathy on our way to Branson. We stopped in Walnut Ridge, AR for the night about 5:00 after about 330 miles. We didn’t even un-hook the truck. We had a light dinner and just relaxed.

Thursday we were off about 8:45am on the final leg to Branson. Pretty easy travel day and arrived in Branson at the Ozark Country Campground about 2:00. Chuck & Kathy were staying at the same park as our friends John, Bridget, Mike & Leslie. We got all set-up and headed over to John & Bridget’s RV. They had made dinner for us. We had Chili, Chili dogs, Corn Casserole, and a Pumpkin dessert. Very good. Thanks so much for the meal!! We sat and visited for a while and then Don & Susie and Lynn & Mickey came over to see all of us for awhile.

Today we had our good friends Nolan & Donna Sue come to visit with us. Donna’s daughter Carla and grandson Quentin came along. We were so happy to see them. We visited for a while and then headed over to John & Bridget’s park. John, Bridget, Mike, Leslie, Chuck, Kathy, Nolan, Donna, Carla, Quentin, Mac & I were all going to have an early dinner together.

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Donna & Quentin

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We had a great time and got a lot of visiting done! When we were all finished we told Nolan, Donna, Carla and little Quentin goodbye as they needed to head back to Springfield.

We headed over to Treasure Lake RV Resort where the rest of the gang were staying. We visited for a while and when it started getting cold we decided to head back to the RV. Chuck & Kathy are leaving in the morning so we told them goodbye and had several hugs. We have been traveling off and on with these 2 friends since July and are really going to miss them terribly! We have made tentative plans to see them this winter in AZ or CA.

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Update on Ashley…they have taken her out of the Maternity & Delivery Floor to a regular room. Her contractions have slowed down so they are hoping that she can hold out for a while before having to have a C-Section. We want little Treyson to stay in his mommy’s tummy as long as possible.

That finally brings me up to date again….maybe I won’t wait so long to write again!!

Stay tuned….

(((HUGS)))

1 Life is Good for Blog

4 comments:

A couple of newer paintings 2019 said...

Whew! I was tired just reading your blog! You are having way too much fun!

Glad the baby is still where it's supposed to be at this point in his life. Hope he is able to stay there.

Oh, and the campground in Cave City is Singing Hills LOL!

Carol Kerr said...

Are you headed to Kansas anytime soon?

Sue and Doug said...

welcome back..you made me tired just reading all about your adventures!!..looks like a great time was had by all!!!

KarenInTheWoods said...

Whewie what a week!!!! Soooo glad the wee one is staying inside for some more growth and inner nurturing!

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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/