Elkhart, Indiana is known as the RV Capital of the US, since it is where a large majority of the recreational vehicles are built. Our motor home was built in Elkhart in 2006-2007 but since the manufacturer went bankrupt the new company has moved production to another state. We stayed at the Elkhart Campground which had wireless internet on the site and decent online reviews.

We had the pleasure of touring the Heartland manufacturing plant and even though this company builds travel trailers the inside production concept is very similar. The tour was very informative but we are still glad that we purchased a motor home instead of a fifth wheel that we originally thought about purchasing. If we ever decide to stop traveling full time and want to down size we will definitely consider purchasing a Heartland fifth wheel, most likely a toy hauler model.

Another outing in Elkhart was the RV Hall of Fame Museum; it is 50,000 square feet building built in 2007, housing vintage units from 1913 up to the 1970s as well as current models. Our favorite part of the museum was going into the older units and looking at the advancements that have been made over the years. The museum is operated by retired volunteers (most were rv owners) who give their time to show people around the exhibits and answer any questions.

After leaving the museum we rode to the American Countryside Farmers Market built by the Amish community. The log building was three stories, showcasing many of the local arts, crafts and foods including whoopie pies, organic vegetables, handmade rugs and candles. The only purchase that day was by Carson and Zachary who bought new Webkinz pets in one of the stores. They were not interested in most of the inside area but they really liked the petting zoo outside where they wanted to buy a baby goat to keep Bella company in the motor home. We had to break the news to them that we could not travel with a goat, even a miniature one.

We have been traveling since June but in Elkhart, we discovered what happens when your campground has really bad water. The shower, the toilets, and sinks all turned pink from the water. We did not wash any white clothes fearing they would all turn pink and we had to throw out our water filter once we left Elkhart.

While in Elkhart, we were able to pickup some parts that Brian needed to fix our inside control panel and a new water filter so we could replace the one that was now contaminated from the water in the campground. Next stop will be Indianapolis, Indiana to visit the Children’s Museum.

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Wisconsin started with a dead car battery, a bad haircut and another night in a Walmart parking lot in Sheboygan. We arrived at Walmart around 8:00 pm EST time but now we were in Central time zone we gained an extra hour. Due to the fact it had been close to eight weeks since haircuts, Brian decided that everyone needed to go inside Walmart for haircuts. I decided that since I had not had my haircut since May, I would watch the boys get their hair cut and see if I trusted the stylist to cut my hair too. I did not trust my inside voice that told me to wait another two months for a haircut when we got back to Asheville. I am not really sure what happened but my cut that was supposed to be up to my chin went much shorter- way too short. I have not had my hair this short since college and then I had a few less pounds. Needless to say, I cried off and on for over two weeks, every time I looked in the mirror or saw my reflection. I decided that we would not return to NC until my hair grew out or I could find a really pretty hat to hide my bad hair cut.

We realized just before Wisconsin that the car battery was dead, which meant no auxiliary brake in the TOAD. Since the plug in for the auxiliary brake in the car was still not working we had to plug directly into the car which drains the car battery. After an unsuccessful attempt to use a plug in battery charger we called Coach Net for road side assistance. The guy that came had a portable battery charger much larger than the one that we had attempted to use and he had the car battery “jumped” in less than five minutes. We spent another 30 plus minutes sitting in the Walmart parking lot waiting for the battery to charge, so we could connect the brake in the TOAD.

The high light of Wisconsin was a trip to the Jelly Belly plant in Pleasant Prairie. We toured the plant, tasted some really interested candies and purchased Belly Flops (Belly Jelly rejects) and Cupid Corn (candy corn colored red and pink for Valentine’s Day). We bought and bagged 25 lbs of candy corn and I am sure that most of it will be gone before we return to NC in November. The kids enjoyed the tour of the candy shop more than the plant tour since they were able to sample different types of candy. They decided that we needed a Jelly Belly car which was a Volkswagen bug decorated with the Jelly Belly logo and colors since it was much more colorful than the TOAD.

We only planned on staying in Wisconsin a couple of days so we stayed in a city park in Racine, WI. On the way to the Mexican restaurant we found by a Google search, it started raining and the lack of street lights made the drive to the restaurant difficult. The Mexican restaurant called Jose’s Blue Sombrero, Brian tried a chicken chimichanga and I had cheese and chicken enchiladas, Zachary ate a chicken taco, and Carson ate chips. The food was good but did not compare to Don Papas in Asheville.

Wisconsin will be remembered by a bad haircut which will still be evident when 2010 begins. Next stop is Elkhart, Indiana, the RV Capital of the US, for more adventures for the Godwin family.

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