Nappanee Notes 2

We are still here at the Newmar Service Center having work done on our coach. The service center here is immaculate. A man who worked on aircraft engines said that this place was as clean as his work environment. As I watched our service tech clean up, I thought that they needed to be housekeepers along  with all the other skills required for employment.

This is Kirk, our very - knowledgeable service tech. He has been very helpful, not only in what he can do, but in his ability to communicate what he is doing. He sees that our coach is picked up at the lot in the morning--Ed doesn't drive in the dark--and gets it back in great shape in the afternoon. He has worked for Newmar for 9 1/2 years. I am very grateful  that he has been assigned to us. I have seen him advising other service techs, and that adds to my confidence in his work. Thank you, Kirk.

Nappanee notes

Here we are, finally, at the Newmar complex in Nappanee, Indiana, ready to begin the process of having work done on our coach. Some of it will be repair, some maintenance and most repair work still under warranty.  We are scheduled for seven work days. They will pick our coach up at 6:15 a.m. Each day and return it at closing, a time I am not yet familiar with. Meanwhile, we will find ways to occupy ourselves. Since we are not towing this year, we will have to make arrangements for transportation, once we decide what we want to do.
Nappanee is a bit of a dead zone for wifi, so I am behind in posting. Two stops on the way here are worthy of note.

This winery was in Cologna, Illinois, off I 80 on U.S. Hwy 6. We stopped for what turned out to be a scrumptious lunch. I had a wonderful chicken mandarin salad.

This is what was left as I was beginning to think I was full. But the coup De grace of the day was the desert.

Ed and I shared what may have been the most delicious rum cake I have ever had. Of course we couldn't leave the winery without doing some shopping. I bought some wonderful wine items and a bottle of a chocolate wine. I haven't opened it yet, so will report on it later.
As we passed through Chicago Heights on U.S. 30, we had lunch at a restaurant called Carlos'. Even if I hadn't known where I was, I would have guessed I was in the Chicago area. That old, well-maintained Italian restaurant just said "Chicago" to me. There were some classy touches, like salad dressing served in mini gravy boats.

The food was good. Ed had an enormous Italian sausage sandwich and I had broccoli shrimp fettucine. As we left the restaurant, Ed said "that is my kind of restaurant."

Bluegrass and quilts

Bluegrass came to my attention in the Adirondacks of New York in 2004, when the Upper Hudson Bluegrass Festival was initiated. We attended most of those concerts until we left the Adirondacks in 2009. We have attended 2 Bluegrass Festivals on this trip, both in Iowa. We took our coach to the first, the Backbone Bluegrass
Festival in Strawberry Point. The jacks went so deep in the mud that I thought we would have to dig them out.

Backbone Bluegrass Festival, Strawberry Pt., Iowa

We drove our rental car to the Festival at Central City. The most unique  thing about this festival is that it was indoors.

Concert site at Linn County Fairgrounds, Central City, Iowa

I didn't know much about any of the groups playing at either venue. There was one duplication. Annie Savage was at both. She was with her group The Savage Hearts at Backbone, but at Central City, she sang with Bob Black and Banjoy. That was my favorite group at Central City.

Hanging from the rafters in Central City were a collection of quilts. I am not sure of their purpose. I heard someone say something about "accoustics" in regard to the quilts, but they seemed too far spread out to be helpful for that purpose.

A Bluegrass Quilt

Displays many symbols of Bluegrass and various venues.

Nostalgic Foods

As we returned from Jefferson City, MO to our campsite in Urbana, IA, I just had to stop at a roadside store advertising A & W products. Turns out they had a full A&W stand. I ordered a pork tenderloin sandwich, which was good, but not the highlight of my meal. The best thing was my root beer float. I have never imbibed carbonated drinks, but have always loved the flavor of rootbeer. I was delighted in my youth to find that ice cream reduces the carbonation in floats, so root beer floats became a standard, with A&W as my favorite. I just haven't been able to find draft A&W for quite a while, and canned or bottled root beer just isn't the same. I was delighted by this find yesterday, and really enjoyed that float!

There was also a Godfather's Pizza in the same building.  Ed and I have been trying to remember where we lived that had a Godfather's pizza. I remember that it was pretty good pizza, but I was more interested in a root beer float yesterday.

DODS and the survivors

Our travels this year brought us to this special place at this special time. This day is marked on my mental calendar as DODS: Day of Deepest Sorrow. 6 years ago today my oldest grandson Kyle left this world by his own hand. He was a beautiful young man, full of potential and the father of 3 little girls, including a set of twins. His death seemed to be the result of a disagreement with his girlfriend,  the mother of his children, but she is the only person on earth who really knows.

These are some of the survivors of that fateful day. My husband and I, grandparents. Then there is Ryan, his sole surviving brother, and Sandra, his mother. It is very special that we were able to be together at this special time to remember in this place. Kyle ' s uncle Scott, who was very close to Kyle, has shared in this time of memories also, but was not able to meet with us last night.

The Soul of the matter.

This is the vehicle we have rented for our stay in Jefferson City, Mo.,a KIA Soul. There are three reasons why we should not be driving this vehicle: (1) We were expecting a larger vehicle; (2) When KIA first introduced this vehicle, it was depicted as being driven by rats, which turned me off; and (3) our oldest son Darrel, with strong military ties, is offended by the manufacturers' name, KIA,  because of that significance to the military community. This all got me thinking about the various reasons we accept and reject things. Some of those reasons have little validity in the big picture. Actually, the car is quite roomy on the inside. I don't feel cramped at all. I hardly ever think of the rats in the ads, and, as far as Darrel ' s objections go, we aren't buying the car. Just using it for this period, however, will help me consider other rejections and acceptances I will make in the future.

On Hotels and RVs

We are in Jefferson City, MO, on what I call my vacation. I do that not only because when we are here we see family, but because I don't have to cook and clean and do all the other things I have to do when we travel in our RV.

These are pictures of the breakfast room at the hotel. There is much more of a variety than I would offer at home. We could have the ubiquitous make - your - own waffles, omelets, cereal, pastries, fruit and beverages. This morning I had a biscuit with not - too - bad sausage gravy. 

It has occurred to me that staying in a hotel room is really little different from RV life, except for the immobility and lack of cooking facilities. I like having maid service and going out to eat. I like the occasional retreat from normal living responsibilities, and I love the opportunities to see family. I will, however, be glad to get back to our home waiting for us in Urbana, Iow