A Quick Stay In Amish Country, Indiana
Leaving Nebraska at 5 am
In typical Liam and Bailey fashion, we vastly underestimated how long it would take to load up the RV (move back in) and hit the road. We were supposed to leave the afternoon of May 5th, but that came and went in a blink of an eye. After a full day of packing and loading the RV, working through the night, we finally left in the early morning hours of May 6th. We were supposed to have just over a five hour drive to the World’s Largest Truck Stop, followed by some shuteye for a few hours. However, since we didn’t leave Lincoln until the time that we had planned to leave the truck stop, we now had a nine and a half hour drive to make on little to no sleep.
It was only about 45 minutes into the drive that we realized our lack of sleep was going to hit us sooner than planned, creating a safety hazard. Luckily, we were able to make it to Des Moines, about two hours into our drive, before we decided that we had to take a nap for safety’s sake. We slept for about two hours and then hit the road once again. Apparently, those two hours were enough to make it through, but now it was a race against the setting sun to make it to Howe, Indiana. We really put ourselves into a tricky situation by leaving so late, especially considering that we would be entering Eastern time from Central time, losing an hour.
Twin Mills Campground
We finally pulled into the campground right at sunset. Luckily, this wasn’t our first stay at this campground, and we were assigned a pull through site. The last time we visited, the campground was insanely busy and completely packed. But this time, we arrived at the beginning of the season, and majority of the sites were empty.
The campground itself wasn’t too bad. The sites were a decent size, and they had full hook-ups. There was plenty of tree coverage, which really helped to keep the temperature down inside the RV. This came in handy for us (more to come on that), and truly gave us the feeling of being in the outdoors. On the other hand, the bathhouses were not so great. They were not the worst we’ve experienced, but they definitely were not the best by any means.
Fried 30A Power Inlet
As mentioned prior, the tree coverage benefited us immensely. Why? Because as we attempted to connect our RV to shore power, we realized that one of our prongs on our power inlet was fried. Our theory is that our power cord was the issue, and that’s what fried the prong. In a bout of luck, our RV was built properly, and actually saved us from a much bigger issue! We’ve loved our experience with Coachmen Freedom Express since the very beginning, and they’ve continued to provide us more and more reasons to love them. We reached out to our contact within the Freedom Express Division, and they connected us with a mobile tech who came out same day to replace the inlet for us. I’ll say it again, we love Coachmen Freedom Express. If you’re in the market for an RV, I highly recommend Coachmen.
Our fried power inlet prong for our RV.
Tornado Warning At Camping World in Coldwater, MI
Before we contacted Coachmen, we were going to attempt to change the inlet ourselves. We slept a lot longer than intended, driving nine and a half hours on only two hours of sleep within a 48 hour period, so by the time we got the energy and motivation to get out of the RV and head out to shop for a replacement inlet and a few other items, most shops nearby were closing or were already closed. So we made the trip to Camping World in Coldwater, Michigan.
I’m not exaggerating when I say, as soon as we pulled into a parking spot, the alert for a tornado warning sounded on our phones. We quickly made our way into Camping World as we knew that would be safer than our truck in an almost empty parking lot. This area of the country is not as accustom to tornados as we are—being from Nebraska and all—so as soon as we entered the store, we could see everyone was in a bit of a panic. We headed back toward the bathrooms and break room area, as this was the designated tornado shelter for that store.
After about 15 minutes, the warning was lifted, and Bailey and I were able to purchase the items we needed. It wasn’t until purchasing the replacement inlet and new power cord that we were informed that it could potentially be a more serious issue. A Camping World tech looked at our photo of the damage, and recommended that we get someone out to look at it. This is when we contacted Coachmen. We had a 45 minute drive home, and the mobile tech beat us there.
Das Dutchman Essenhaus
When we were first in the area, we were told to visit Das Dutchman Essenhaus, and we did our best to make it happen. However, it was the day that we were leaving, so we had the RV hitched and the dogs in the truck. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a favorable temperature that day, so our time there was short lived. This time around, we decided to make it a priority, and give this place the time it deserved. The main attraction was the bakery and restaurant, but that’s not all. The area also has carriage rides, a clothing shop, a quilt shop, and a shop called the “Corn Crib at the Cabin”. We spent some time in the Corn Crib shop, and even purchased a couple Mother’s Day gifts for both of our moms.
After our time in the shops, we headed to their restaurant, where we had some excellent food. Bailey got the Broasted Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries and Mac n’ Cheese, and I got the Meatloaf with Rice and Homemade Noodles. I’m not over exaggerating when I say that these were some of the best noodles I’ve had, and the Mac n’ Cheese somewhat resembled my grandma’s (which is the best Mac ever, and you can’t argue with me on that).
Yup’s Dairyland
One place that quickly became a favorite of ours while in this part of the country is a little ice cream shop on the corner of W 600 N & Main Street in Middlebury, IN. We were close enough this visit to make a trip there before leaving. It is a cash only establishment with excellent food and treats. The ice cream is out of this world, and the remaining items are certainly memorable as well. During this visit, we enjoyed a Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Flurry and a Blue Raspberry Slush.
Bonus Picture of Maxwell
While staying in Indiana, I was able to capture this picture of Maxwell passed out in the RV with Bailey and I. So I decided that I should include it here.
