bobanddenisewanderlust

Saturday-  We fed Tom and Juanita breakfast then took off for the Farmers Market. We wandered through buying Rainier Cherries, corn, cantaloupe, broccoli, lettuce and pork chops.

We returned to the apartment and put the items away, then we left for Shipshewana. We stopped at the Amish-Mennonite Story building to see the Dutchman Puzzle Quilt Garden. Each year, the area does Quilt Gardens and we thought we would take a peek at a few.

This one has 4,512 flowers and is planted to resemble the blades of a windmill. That is Tom and Juanita in the background.

They had an actual, working, well windmill, which was pumping water from the ground using the spinning blades.

We saw lots of Amish buggies, and this horse was waiting patiently for his owners. Of course, when he saw me taking his picture, he looked the other way. The Amish request that you do not take their picture, but I did not know that applied to their horses also! LOL.

We went to Weavers Furniture and saw this next quilt garden, made of different Dahlia’s. .

It was time for lunch so we went into town to the Blue Gate restaurant. We didn’t have to wait in line, but walked right in. Bob had the Rubin, Tom the French Dip, Juanita liver and onions, and I had the BLT. Lunch was excellent!

We wandered around town, looking at the shops. Juanita and I cruised the quilts and Bob and Tom wandered up to the Carousel. Tom took a ride.

We wandered back to the car, then on to the E&S bulk store. We wandered through but did not buy anything, but while Tom and Juanita were in line, we ran into Nick Russell, sitting in the front of the store,  while he was waiting for wife Terri to shop. We stopped and chatted for awhile. Nick writes the Gypsy Journal newspaper and does a daily blog which I read most days.

We returned home, ate dinner, and sat around solving the problems of the world. We were all falling asleep, so we went to bed early.

Sunday- We had a nice breakfast with Tom and Juanita in the apartment. We also made it into Nick Russell’s blog! He wrote about talking to us in Shipshewana.  We hung around the apartment until lunch, when the guys went to pick up subs at Jimmy John’s. We left around 12:15 to go to the Studebaker Museum.  We bought our tickets and toured the WWI exhibit until 1 PM when we went to see the video of the Oliver Mansion. We toured the mansion from 1 –3 PM. Below is the back of the Mansion.

A different docent  this time, so a different tour. Very interesting for all of us, and we learned facts we had not learned on the first tour. They had a few trees down from the storm last Monday, but fortunately, no damage to the house.

We were all tired, so we stopped and sat down for about 15 minutes, watching a video on Studebaker commercials, starring Alan Hale and Mr. Ed from the early 60’s.  Neat!

We toured the first and second floors, and found that some of the exhibits had changed. Here is Tom in a Studebaker.

Above, Bob, Juanita and Tom.

Above, Tom and Juanita. Below, some exhibits.

Below is a really pretty Packard. Studebaker owned Packard.

They also owned Pierce Arrow, this is one below.

We also realized there was a basement floor, which we missed the last time we were here, so we went down there to see those exhibits. One side was of cars in storage, on two levels. The rest was military vehicles that Studebaker made. This area is much smaller because the other side of the basement is a children’s area.

Above and below. Someone had a sense of humor. My first impression was that this vehicle was something out of a Star Wars movie, but it was not.

It was a Studebaker-Packard Astral.  Note that it is adopted by George Jetson! The majority of the vehicles in this museum are owned by the museum, but some are not. The ones owned by the museum are ‘adopted’ by benefactor’s.  In this case, good old George Jetson!

Our tour docent had told us a little about the neighborhood, so we went out and passed this Frank Lloyd Wright home, which was 4 doors from the museum. There are two Frank Lloyd Wright homes in South Bend. Known as the DeRhodes house, it was one of six Wright designed houses in Indiana.

We returned home and walked over for dinner at O’Rourkes. We had a nice dinner outside on their patio, with Tom, Juanita and I sharing a bottle of Barefoot Moscoto. They had never had the Moscoto and liked the wine. Bob had a pint of  the Bell’s wheat beer which was the special for the night.

We walked back  home. We were all falling asleep again, so we went to bed early after saying our good-byes to Tom and Juanita.

Monday-  We were up early as we had to leave at 7AM for my Orthopedic Surgeon appt. in Goshen. We left Tom and Juanita still asleep. They were staying to do some quick laundry, then leaving for St. Louis.

We arrived and  completed the paperwork. We had to pay the $20 co-pay in cash as their computer would not accept our out of state credit cards. Weird!

I had called last Thursday to make sure that they had received my MRI results. They had not but the gal in Medical Records assured me that she would get them. She didn’t. The office was pretty upset, as it messed up their schedule.

We both really liked the MD, Dr. Smucker. He was thorough and very educating. They finally received the report, but not the actual MRI. I am going to go and pick up the CD tomorrow.

He stated that he did not want to rush into surgery, but that I do have a tear of the brachial tendon, in the rotator cuff. So I do have a rotator cuff tear.  He did a steroid injection, through my back. If the pain is not gone by Friday, I am to call and one of his partners will do an injection from the front under fluoroscopy, next week. If it does not improve, then he recommends surgery in few months.

I was impressed with their computer system. Everything was computerized and they were able to give me a  CD copy of the X-rays that they had done and of his report with  my PT order, right on the spot.  He typed and he was also able to dictate, with immediate typing, which was surprisingly accurate.

On the way back, we tried to stop at the Americana Farmers Market, but it was closed and there was a for sale sign out. Too bad, we had like the place while we were there in 2010. We returned to South Bend and went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to return one of the items we purchased last week.

We stopped at the Crazy Czech Brewery for lunch. Bob had a nice Stout and the waiter, Harrison, gave him a sample of the Vanilla Porter. He liked both. Harrison was the best waiter we have had in a long time. He seemed to actually care. He and Bob had a long discussion about beers and when I ordered the shrimp tacos, without the jalapenos,  he took the time to discuss the sauce being very hot and would I like the sauce on the side instead of on the tacos. Yeah! Bob had the pork belly taco. Both were very good.

We went to the video store to return the last DVD, then returned to the apartment to take short naps. Since I do not have to have surgery right now, we started working on our schedule for the rest of the summer, planning out our trip. We still have to find RV parks, but we basically know our route. We are planning to tour Michigan for the two weeks that we need to make sure that everything is okay with the motor home renovation, before we move on. Then we have set a week back in Nappanee for any repairs. From there we are traveling to Vermont to visit Nancy and Dave Shambaugh.

Once we leave Hyde Park VT, we will travel to Sturbridge MA to visit Boston and to stay over Labor Day. We like to be sitting somewhere for holidays, and this will be Labor Day weekend. While there we will visit with some of my cousins and tour Boston.

We will continue south to PA, VA, NC, and SC . While in SC we are planning to stop in Gaffney at the Freightliner Facility for some updates and repairs. We will continue on to GA, FL, AL, LA, TX, NM, and end in Colorado in October for MD appointments. From there we plan to return to Sun City for me to start work for this one last time!

Tuesday- We had a busy day. We were out the door early to go to Menards to use our rebate. We picked up a water filter with our rebate money. We headed over to Walmart and Aldi’s to grocery shop. Wow, Aldi’s had Rainier Cherries for $1.89  for a. box.  A whole lot cheaper than the $4.99  we paid at the Farmers Market or on sale at Martins for $5.99/ lb. We will have to keep going back until they are gone!

We returned home and  I ran over to pick up the DVD of my MRI, that they did not send to the Orthopedic Surgeon. We ate lunch then went to do some more Genealogy research. We are both having a great time looking for information. Doing Genealogy research is like being a detective. Is this person really my ancestor? Are the sources legitimate? Where did they live? Where are the buried? Why were they living there? What was their life like? How and why did they arrive at where they were?  It’s fascinating!

We returned home, ate dinner and worked some more on our trip, trying to find RV parks. We made some adjustments and will possibly make more, but the route is basically the same. We are just trying to find the least expensive places to stay to minimize our costs. We watched some shows on the DVR.

Wednesday-  After breakfast we started putting together some crock pot meals for our travels. We managed to put together about six, before I had to leave for my physical therapy appointment.

I returned home and we ate lunch. We completed putting together two more crock pot meals which now gives us eight. We have two more to complete but were short of a few items which we thought we had in the pantry.

We called MCP to check on the motor home. They said that they were just completing the prep. The gal said to call back next Monday to check to see when it would be good to visit, as there is not a lot to see this week. Tthey start the masking and put on the base coat.  We asked if it would be ready by the 23rd, and they said they thought so. That does not give McMillers a lot of time to get it cleaned! We need to move the 24th and  clean the 25th. Fingers are crossed!

No Mahjongg today, although I received a voice mail that they apologized. Last week there was no electricity at the Jewish Center, after the big storm, and this week they did not have a spot for me. We read and worked on more genealogy, when it suddenly became very noisy outside,with fire engines and police arriving.

There was no fire alarm going off, but we opened the door and stood out on our 15” balcony to check out the action. It seemed that something had happened in one of the empty stores below us. One fire engine and one police car belonged to Notre Dame and the others to South Bend.  No smoke and after about 20 minutes everyone left.  We took a very short nap, ate dinner and watched some shows on the DVR. The weather was beautiful, with low humidity ( 47%) and in the low 70’s. We have really lucked out on the weather! Folks keep telling us this is not the usual Indiana weather.

Thursday- Today was the day we were to originally pick up the motor home. Bummer! Two more weeks….

We have been so busy doing the Genealogy that we decided to buy a month of Ancestry.com, to use during this next two weeks that we will be sitting. Both of us updated our trees on the Ancestry site from our Legacy program. Unfortunately, the cheapo that we bought does not recognize Canada, like the one at the Family History Center, so I cannot get some of the info that I need without purchasing the international version. I don’t want to do that until I have more time; after full retirement.

We went to lunch at Tippecanoe Restaurant.  The restaurant is in the Studebaker Mansion, home of Clement Studebaker, co-founder of the company.

" Tippecanoe Place , with four main levels totaling 40 rooms and 20 fireplaces, is the embodiment of everything great wealth in the late 1800’s could suggest. The 26,000 square-foot mansion was designed by Henry Cobb and built by local craftsmen. Work on Tippecanoe Place was completed in 1889 at a total cost of $250,000.

The massive walls are made of local granite fieldstone, and the many broad porches are paved with tile and supported by stone pillars. A flight of stone steps at the main entrance leads into the mahogany paneled vestibule. The decorative carvings on the oval doorknobs exemplify the great attention to detail throughout the entire house.

Two theories exist regarding the origination of the name "Tippecanoe Place." The first theory relates to Clement Studebaker’s friendship with Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States. Harrison was the grandson of William Henry Harrison, victor of the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, and of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" fame. This may have inspired the name.

The other theory comes from the fact that the grounds on which the building sits was once a favorite camping site of Tippecanoe, the chief of the Miami Indians. " Courtesy Tippecanoe Place History.  http://www.monon.monon.org/sobend/homes.html

“Tippecanoe Place

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clement Studebaker House Area
2.6 acres (1.1 ha)

Built
1868

U.S. National Register of Historic Places  ; U.S. National Historic Landmark

Architect
Henry Ives Cobb; Christopher Fassnacht & Robert Braunsdorf

Architectural style
Romanesque, Richardsonian Romanesque

Added to NRHP
July 2, 1973

Designated NHL
December 22, 1997^[2]

Tippecanoe Place is a house in South Bend, Indiana, United States. Built in 1889, it was the residence of Clement Studebaker, a co-founder of the Studebaker vehicle manufacturing firm. Studebaker lived in the house from 1889 until his 1901 death.^[2] The house remained in his family for many years. His son George lived there until 1933 when he lost the structure due to bankruptcy. For several years, the building stood vacant but, in 1941, E. M. Morris purchased it and gave it to the city as a school for handicapped children. During World War II, however, it served as Red Cross headquarters. In 1970, possession passed to Southhold Restorations, Inc., a local historic preservation group.^[3]

In 1973, the Richardsonian Romanesque mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1] It was further recognized by being designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977.^”

 

Below is the front of the mansion.

We ate a very nice, and reasonably priced, lunch on the outside patio. Dinner is also reasonably priced.  We were at the table to the far left where the arrow is pointing.

Bob had a flat sandwich, which was more like a flatbread pizza, with BBQ sauce, flatbread, bacon, chicken and  melted cheese on top, with beef vegetable soup. I had French onion soup and the Turkey Ruben, which had coleslaw instead of sauerkraut. Both meals were very good.

After lunch, on a beautiful day outside, we did the self tour of the mansion. They give you booklet which describes the rooms; you return it to the main desk when you complete the tour. The mansion is no where near as pretty as the Oliver Mansion. The floor plan is definitely not as nice and the inside was extremely dark. I had to touch up every one of the photos.

We took the elevator to the third floor.

It is the third oldest elevator in the country, small but moved very well. On the third floor was the, or course, required, ballroom.

We looked around. Note that the areas around the window appears to have shutters. They do not, this is just woodwork designed to make it appear like shutters.

There were a lot of ‘employee only’ rooms on this floor.

In another area on the top floor, they had these miniatures of some of the Studebaker wagons.

We walked down the stairs to the second floor  to the bedrooms. They had us using the main stairs,not the servants stairs, as they were closed for being too dangerous. Possibly because they are much narrower.

The bedrooms were nice, but not as elaborate as the Oliver Mansion. The Studebaker Mansion was built prior to the Oliver Mansion. They had taken down some rooms and put this bar on the second floor.]

Of course, all of the rooms have tables and chairs for the restaurant. The fireplaces all had terracotta round them, which looked okay, but was not as elaborate as the Oliver Mansion.

The main staircase was very interesting. It was wider at the bottom, both on the main floor and the lower floor. No one seemed to know why. The gal at the reception desk thought it was because of the women’s wide dresses. That would explain the wide stairs, not the wide bottom. We have not seen a staircase like this before. Bob tried researching the staircase, but could not find any information about this oddity.

The sunroom did not originally have an entrance from the family room. When the restaurant was built, they just removed a long window from the room to make an entrance to the sun porch. 

The main fireplace was the only really elaborate one in the house.

We could not go into a lot of the rooms as they were in use for various functions. Below is Mr. Studebakers den. It was really dark!

Note the safe above in the den. All of these old mansions have safes for the money and silver. Below, the entrance.

Below the covered entrance.

These mansions are interesting as they are built right in downtown, on good size parcels, and with a low brick wall. The workers lived right in the same neighborhoods. So these folks did not live like the rich of today,  in gated communities. 

We stopped at the grocery store and picked up the few items we were missing for the final two crockpot meals, which we made up and placed in the freezer. We continued to work on the genealogy.  Outside, the street was closed for “The Battle of the Bands”. Lovely! The bands started at 4 PM and went to 10 PM. They were loud but not bad. Seemed weird to me to have this on a Thursday evening, instead of a Friday or Saturday….

We finished watching Fargo this evening. What a great mini-series! As I have said, I am not a Billy Bob Thornton fan, but I think he deserves the Emmy for his performance. He was really very good in this show! The main character is a psychopath, and Billy Bob nailed it. He would change personalities as the character required. Fargo is a true story, and extremely interesting! We watched it free ‘On Demand’. I am going to miss the Comcast On Demand, as that is not available on Direct TV.

Friday- Decision day. Today is the day that I need to call the Orthopedic Surgeon if I need the next shot in my shoulder, this one being under ultrasound. My shoulder felt a lot better yesterday, and I purposefully did not take my Celebrex  last evening, to see if it gets worse. Bob and I discussed it and decided I would go for the shot. I will not have another chance until Denver in October, so I need to make sure that I can get through until then.

After lunch, we went to Home Depot to purchase a Bona floor cleaner for the MH. They did not have the one we wanted, so we ended up at Bed, Bath and Beyond. We did not have a 20% off coupon, but the gal at the store said that we can bring one in, with the receipt, and apply the coupon to that item. Anytime! Did not know that, so we went ahead and made the purchase and will go back once we receive a coupon. We just have to get in while the electronic coupon is still good.

We stopped at a different Family Video, joined there, and picked up Disc 1, Season 1 of “Orange is the New Black.” We stopped at Ritters Custard Stand and had some chocolate frozen custard ( Groupon $6 for $3). We returned home, picked up the dogs, and went to one of the parks on the river. The weather is beautiful.

We watched the DVD. It took us awhile to get into it, but by the second episode we were hooked.

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