Sunday, July 19, 2015

Eastward Ho


After leaving Chicago, we headed East again with a destination of Indiana before us.  On my bucket list is a small museum in the RV capital of the nation, Elkhart Indiana.  It isn't far from Chicago and my heart has been ablaze for vintage trailers for a long, long time.  The RV Hall of Fame Museum created a whole new appreciation for the history of motorhomes for me.

 
 
 
 
Rick was a facebook friend who loved vintage trailers and was always ready to give some advise to other trailer owners with a big dose of humor and fun.  This memorial tree was planted in his honor.
 
 
 
 
 
 
RV Hall of Fame Museum and Rick Millet Memorial Tree

According to Tin Can Tourists forum, a motor home is considered vintage at 20 years old.  My RoadTrek officially becomes vintage in 2016.  I shall embrace it's vintageness.

There were some marvelous specimens of early motorhomes.  Since I had never seen any of these guys on the road or at a road rally it was great to actually see some of the early versions that have been preserved. 








A 1916 Automotive Telescoping Apartment which was made in San Fransisco. With it's slide in bed in the back and side panels utilized for kitchen items, it became the predecessor to the pick up and camper.









   





1937 Hunt Housecar

May West's Town Car




This 1931 Chevrolet based custom town car was built and given to May West as an enticement to come to Paramount studios and make movies.  She never camped in it but rather, she was chauffeured from home to studio lot in luxury.





This Eldorado (one of only two)was built in 1988 by Paul Jones in Florida to fit into a standard height garage using a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado chassis.


There were lots of travel trailers of different styles and makes...but I was thoroughly enthralled with the motor homes and their history.  There is a library upstairs in the museum dedicated to many types of RV's and trailers. 

Overnight parking is available in the parking lot for a night when you attend the museum.
Although near the interstate the building blocked much of the noise and it was a peaceful place to spend the night.

There was a scenic drive through the Amish farm lands south of Elkhart which should have taken a couple of hours....but for us it was much longer.  We stopped many times for pictures....snacks and shopping.  We ended up enjoying another day along a beautiful country drive. 

Mill that still grinds flours and corn for visitors.



There is one standout in every crowd

There are lots of quilts in for sale in Amish Country

They are also found on barns and other buildings

 









 


We are used to sharing the road with runners and bikes out west.  Here we shared the road with horses and buggies along with Amish Families going about there daily lives.

While many families will ride in cars they prefer to keep their lives simple and at a slower pace.
 


There large white homes and farms were easy to identify as a buggy was often parked in the driveway instead of a car. 


 Court house in Goshen, Indiana where my Great Grandparents received their wedding license.
 They were married in Elkhart, Indiana.


This was my favorite quilt. It was found at the  Wakarusa Dime Store (a old time candy store)

We of course indulged in sweet treats!! 

~ Sweet and Happy Trails ~

 

 


     

4 comments:

  1. The RV Museum has been on my must-do list for a long time. I heard some time ago that the museum was experiencing budget problems and was in danger of closing. Glad to know it hasn't.

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  2. What a fun place to visit, would love to go there and wander around all those vintage rv's. Quilts are beautiful and the Amish wouldn't sew them on a machine, would they?

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  3. I'm originally from Indiana, a bit further south than this. Not sure I'll ever get back there again, but I do love Chicago and I'll try to get to the RV Museum if I get that close.

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  4. Hi Karen! I haven't commented for awhile, but I have been reading every one of your posts! I think that RoadTrek suits your purposes well. When I saw this post, I just had to speak up. Your in our home territory now! I spent '76 through '92 in the South Bend/Mishawaka area, and even worked around Elkhart for awhile. My wife is from Nappanee, and has a lot of family around Goshen, Middlebury, and Elkhart. We were just up there (RV Hall of Fame, Heritage Trail and quilt gardens, etc.) a year ago last September, and will be headed that way again in August. My wife's sister lives at Valparaiso, so we use it for home base when we're up there. You can see some photos on our other blog at http://blog.caravancamperrv.com including some things you missed in Valpo. If you have any questions about that area, we'd be glad to help. Don't miss the huge flea market at Shipshewanna on Tuesdays, and Amish Acres in Nappanee. There's a lot to see around that area. I wish we were up there to show you around! We're trying to get everything sold off here by mid-August and then we'll be on the road full-time, so maybe we'll cross paths somewhere down the road. Meanwhile, I'm still reading your blog!

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