Roadkraut

The other city we did not get to see on our way up was Louisville, KY. Even though we enjoyed the stay at Charleston State Park on our way up, we were too busy the first 2 weeks in July to do any sightseeing.

Towards the end of the week, the Temperatur dropped and we had the first freeze when we got up this morning

Even though we should not have been too surprised as it is the end of October, it did come a little sudden as the weather so far had been good to us. Well, at least we had the Campground almost to ourselves

So we donned the warmest clothes we could find and headed downtown Louisville, KY which lies just across the Ohio River.

What would a visit to Louisville, KY be without its famous sites:

The Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum

The numerous Bourbon shops like Evan Williams, Bulleits, and numerous others with instructions on how to distil Bourbon

The Muhammad Ali Museum

The KFC YUM Center, Home of the University of Louisville’s Cardinals

And numerous other sites reflecting an active history and vivid past

German History in Louisville, KY dates back to 1787 when the first settlers arrived. By the 1850s almost 35% of Louisville’s population were Germans and public schools were taught in German.

German Churches were started, meat packing companies formed Butchertown and over 30% of the population still has German ancestors.

Schnitzelburg, a Louisville suburb, was formed by German Immmigrants in 1891 when the first street cars connected the area to the city of Louisville

But just like in Indianapolis, IN Germans fell out of favor during World War I and last names were changed and pasts hidden.

Old factory remnants still carry the history until today

Another interesting and historic city in the Midwest that we enjoyed visiting. The only thing we skipped was lunch on the Queen of Louisville, docked on the Ohio River

Whilst we tried to focus on the downtown area yesterday, we planned to visit some sites outside the metropolis area.

First on the list – Crown Hill Cemetery, established in 1863 and overlooking the city from the north.

The gravesite of Hoosier Poet James Whitcomb Riley lies on the highest point, “The Crown”

The 23rd US President Benjamin Harrison also rests here

Many old and grant mausoleums are part of the vast cemetery

the military portion

The Chapel

And apparently some of our unknown ancestors

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, the 555 acres of privately owned grounds are a definite must see in our minds. Thanks to its 25 miles of paved roads, the sites are easily visited as there is even a map, showing who rests where.

Next on the list were brief stops at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home to the famous Indianapolis 500 automobile race.

Lucas Oil Field, home of the Indianapolis Colts

and of course the obligatory visits to the German Sites,

Claus’ German Sausage where the butcher is not only from Germany, but a master in the meats he sells. Good that we brought the cooler

Our last stop was the Rathskeller for some late lunch of Rouladen

The Restaurant (the oldest in Indianapolis) and meeting facilities are in the basement of the Athenaeum. Build in 1894 as the “German Haus”, it housed the major German organizations of immigrants that came to the area after the 1848 Revolutions in parts of Europe.

Anti-German sentiments during World War I made the society rename the building the Athenaeum, the name it carries today. It still houses a lot of German Groups, but is also the Home of the local YMCA.

OK, so we cheated a bit, as this is just outside the downtown area. But in conclusion we enjoyed the 2 days in Indianapolis, IN and were glad we had decided to stop on the way back.

After our business trip to the West Coast and the stop at REV to pick up the RV, we were heading back to Indianapolis, IN as we did not have enough time to see the sights on the way up.

Summer months are just too busy to sightsee and there is not enough time to do so properly. Worked the week, cleaned up the RV, found that they did not do as well a job as the first time around. Is that because we were not there to look over their shoulders?

So, headed into Indy on a nice morning. Nights have become slightly cooler and are in the mid 40’s, but the days are still all the way up to low 70’s. Exceptional weather to explore.

Not knowing what to expect, we started with the city. Found a parking garage and walked into the downtown area with the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial at it’s central axis.

Down Washington Street to the Indiana Statehouse

and the Eiteljorg Museum

the NCAA Hall of Champions on the White River Trail

and back past the Convention Center

Up Meridian Street to the Indiana World War Memorial

past Obelisk Square

and the Scottish Rite Cathedral

at the American Legion Mall we turned around and headed back

The car was parked at the City Market and we were hoping to get some food before heading home. Unfortunately they only serve breakfast and lunch and were closed.

So we headed back to the Campground but had to stop at the Heidelberg Haus for some Leberkaese

Tired but happy we went home. We did not think that Indianapolis has so much to see, positively surprised that there is and everything is within walking distance.

A week out of the RV and into the Hilton in Long Beach. Short nights and long, busy days. This is our 16th Convention as AW Transportation and we knew it was going to be busy, but fun.

The flight from Ft. Wayne, IN via Chicago, IL to Long Beach, CA was fairly uneventful and smooth

and we landed in LAX on time

It would take some time to report on the week and every meeting we had, so we will keep it short

Pat from Shanghai, our most important Australian in a developing country

Thomas our fearless EUROMOVERS leader from Luxemburg

In deep discussion with Mattias our Finnish EUROMOVER

Talking about recent shipments to Mexico with Roeland

Dan from Japan

And with Thomas again, waiting for the opening reception to start

Eddy, our insurance agent and the rest of the gang after the reception, closing the bar at the Convention Hotel

Scottish movers in national garb for the closing ceremonies

We did take some time off to see the local sights and Long Beach is a community changing from a port city to a convention and tourist type of place with interesting food trucks

the original Queen Mary as a hotel, museum and local attraction

an interesting Harbour with restaurants and trinket stores

and of course, a light house

All in all, a week to see almost everybody we have worked with all year, see new people, chat about business and after all a more or less welcome break from RVing as the people we met in Long Beach, CA could not be more different from the folks we have met on the road thus far.

After 5 weeks in the State of Michigan, it was time to head back to Decatur and REV to get the items fixed that did not get done back in July. This worked for us, as we have the IAM Conference coming up in Long Beach, California.

So, after a few days of R&R in Elkhart, Indiana

we are back in Decatur

and off to Long Beach, California tomorrow.

Towards the weekend David and Cheryl came to visit from nearby Grand Rapids, MI. We had met David back in July at the Fleetwood/REV factory tour and decided to meet again before we headed south, especially since David believed Kirsten and Cheryl would get along well due to their German heritage.

It was a fun filled few days with lots of talks trying to figure out the RV industry, visits to the Framer’s Market

the city of Holland, MI

And of course sunsets (this one is yours David)

Our last stop in Michigan was Holland State Park, which has their FHU sites close to the beach. And the beach is what everybody had told us we just had to see, as according to everybody we met – the Eastern side of the peninsula had rocky beaches and the Western side was sand.

When we arrived at the end of September, and we had had a spectacular month with higher than normal temperatures in the month of September so far, we got to enjoy the last days of warm weather and so did everybody in and around Holland, MI.

The full hook up part of Holland State Park is right behind the dunes and a basic no frills parking lot without shade, but all services

but, as they say in Real Estate – location, location, location – cannot camp closer to the lighthouse or beach.

Everybody in the area comes out for the spectacular sunsets

and they are spectacular

On our way back south we had long planned to stay in Mio, MI where Barb and Brian own a campground. We met last year over Christmas in Cedar Key, Florida and promised to visit.

Well, a promise is a promise…..

Nice countryside and beautiful campground

with lots of lakes around for kayaking

It was a short visit, but filled with beer and football watching and Brian makes an awesome pizza, and we mean awesome pizza.

When we had communicated our travel itinerary to Steve and Lauren, they had immediately said that they would visit us in Cheboygan, MI.

We had met in San Antonio, TX in March and celebrated St. Patrick’s Day along the San Antonio Riverwalk together. With Green Bay being a “mere” 5 hours away they came over and we spend 4 fun filled days together.

From kayaking the Cheboygan River

to crossing the Mackinac Bridge into St. Ignace, so we can at least rightfully say we were on the Upper Peninsula

Visiting smoked fish stores

and having our pyromaniac friend Steve show Kirsten how to properly start a campfire (even with smuggled in firewood)

4 fun filled days of food (Lauren makes an awesome white Chili) and lots of beer.

Thank you for the visit Lauren and Steve, and we look forward to meeting you in 2018.

When we decided to visit Michigan, lighthouses went far up the list of things to see. When we went to Shepler’s to get some information on the Mackinac Island Ferry we found out that they also offer lighthouse cruises.

We thought this would be fun, to see the lighthouses from the water and not from land where the view was not always unobstructed.

Shepler’s Ferry offers 2 different lighthouses cruises – westbound and eastbound – with extended versions of these 2 as well.

It being the end of the season, we were lucky and garnered 2 tickets for the last eastbound cruise of the 2017 season.

With the cruises starting at 2pm we were not too worried about the weather as long as the sun was out. Taking a jacket was still a good idea.

Just after passing under the Mackinac Bridge the ferry heads across the straits and Mackinac Island between the Round Island Light and the Inland Passage Light

Turning East into Lake Huron towards Bois Blanc Island and passed the Bois Blanc Light, which is actually privately owned.

Bois Blanc Island is inhabited by 40-50 residents year round and almost 1,000 during the summer, according to our guide. It was nearly cleared of all timber at the turn of the century and new growth has slowly established the island back to it’s namesake of “white wood”.

Turning around the northern end and heading towards Cheboygan we passed Poe Reef and Fourteen Shoal Lighthouses

Up the Cheboygan River passed the Cheboygan Front Range

and after a quick turn around out of the river passed the Cheboygan Crib Light

when the ferry heads back towards Mackinaw City and the pier, with the last 1/2 of the total 3 hours running through the clear blue waters of Lake Huron.

It was a very enjoyable trip, very well narrated by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association tour guide, and can only be recommended for a different outlook on light houses.