Driving from Memphis to Indiana, we made a one night stop in Effingham, Il. We stayed at one of our favorite campgrounds, Camp Lakewood. We were sad to learn that it had changed owners, but, it was still a nice, small, campground.
It is always bittersweet to return to Indiana. We were both born in Indiana and refer to it as “where we are from”. We have lots of history in Indiana: high school graduation, college graduation, marriage, and the birth of our first daughter. We moved from Indiana in 1979 when we were both 26 years old. It is unbelievable that we have been gone 39 years!
We stopped in Terre Haute, Indiana to visit with Ken’s cousin Martha and husband Chuck. We had a fun 2 day visit with some serious catching up and lots of laughs!
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On the somber side, we made a trip to the cemetery to see Ken’s dad’s grave. Several of his family members are buried there, too.
A trip to Terre Haute would not be complete without driving through the campus of Indiana State University. We had lots of memories of our college years. We even stopped to take our picture next to the giant statue of Larry Bird that stands in front of Hulman Center. Bird went on to play for the Boston Celtics and became one of the greatest players in NBA history.
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After leaving Terre Haute, we drove to Columbus, Indiana. This is the place that i call home. There was not an abundance of places to park our RV so we selected the KOA ,18 miles away, in Nashville, IN.
Nashville is a quant little town with many antique shops. We walked around town, stopping at a few shops. An old high school friend of ours, owns the Common Grounds Coffee Shop. We made a surprise visit to see her!
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Our high school graduating class was having it’s 47 year reunion. On Friday night, we met lots of old friends at a local bar in downtown Columbus. We enjoyed a great evening with old high school friends.
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Saturday night was the official reunion dinner held at Mike’s Dance Barn in Nashville. A few classmates had planned to bring campers and camp at the venue. We ended up being the only campers! Too bad for them! We had the best deal…we didn’t have to drive home after the party!
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After saying good-bye to our friends, we drove to Andersen IN and parked at the Hoosier Park Casino. It was just an overnight stop and we didn’t even enter the casino! From Andersen we made a day trip to Shelbyville, IN. I was born in Shelbyville and both of my parents are buried there. We made a trip to the cemetery to see their graves.
Driving through the Indiana countryside, we saw lots of farms, old barns, and CORN!
On to Noblesville, IN to visit the McMichael clan…my family. My brother’s family all lives nearby and we had a chance to see everyone!
We stayed at the White River Campground in Cicero, IN. It is the closest RV Park to my brother’s house. They have made some improvements to the park since our last visit. I especially liked the bridge over the river!
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Larry and JoAnn took us on very fun outing!. We stopped to see the Wolrd’s Largest Ball of Paint. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the ball with the most layers of paint. I chose the color lavender and we painted the 26,228th coat of paint on the ball. We all received certificates to prove it!
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We had a great visit with family and friends in Indiana. Hopefully, they can all come out to AZ for a visit soon,
Now it is time to start traveling west towards our AZ home.