finishing up at Camp Newmar

Yes, we've been home for a while now, but I never finished up posting about our trip to Camp Newmar. We were waiting on a valve for the furnace, and it didn't arrive until Thursday. In the meantime, the weather had turned cold and rainy, but luckily the heat pump was able to keep up during the night! They got our furnace back in on Thursday morning, and we met with the appliance man (Norbert) -- he answered all our questions (and then some!!) about the frig, ice-maker, A/C and furnace! It was great! I learned that the ice-maker will take over a day to start making ice after it's been off for the winter, and that if your frig doesn't stay cold enough when you're in a cold climate, you can solve that problem by leaving the door cracked open for an hour or so each day (forcing the frig to keep cooling). I also learned that you can keep the thermostat set on "heat pump" and if the temperature drops down below 30 degrees (Brrrrrr....), it will automatically switch over to "furnace", and back again when it warms up outside. We tried that out that very same night -- and it worked!!

Armed with all this new knowledge, and all set on our current warranty issues, we headed out of town -- but not far! Our next stop was to meet with Carlyle at Focal Woods. He's a local Amish guy who specializes in RV furniture, and can match all of the Newmar stains. We towed the RV over to his shop, and spent an hour or so discussing how to build a loft bed for Nicolas in the garage area. Between the three of us, we came up with a good plan. We'll be heading back there in June for the installation. In the meantime, we may try to find a different door that we can have him install between the living room and garage, and maybe even a tv for the garage.

From there, we headed to Shipshewana for the rest of the day. We ended up staying at the Shipshewana North Campground, because the South Campground wasn't open for the season yet. I wasn't sure they'd have a site big enough, but they have one row of pull-thrus where we could fit. Not the most level sites, though, but OK for one night. After setting up the basics, we went back into town to do a little shopping.

Tom got sidetracked when he saw a triple axle toy hauler sitting out in front of the Open Range RV factory, so we had to stop and see if we could take a look. They were just getting ready to take another couple on a tour of the factory, so we tagged along, and then toured the toy hauler, too. Open Range makes a really nice-looking RV. I love their cabinets, and the "western" style of decorating. They don't match up structurally to a unit like Newmar or Carriage, but they are nice-looking. Tom asked me if I wished we had one of those instead, but I don't think we would have chosen it even if it had been available at the time -- their toy hauler only comes with the U-shaped dinette and the enclosed bath, two features that were on my "NO" list. They also have a unique exterior door -- it has a full length window that cranks open and has a built-in screen and mini-blind. Kindof neat, but then I realized that they don't have a screen door, so you always have to close the door . . . and I don't like that . . . doesn't seem welcoming to me!

From there we FINALLY (according to the boys!) made it over to the bulk food store and the meat store . . . their two favorite destinations! We didn't have a lot of time for shopping, but we did OK. We even had a little bit of time left to go into the Yoder Store -- Tom and the boys headed into the hardware area, and I made a beeline for the fabric! Not that I needed any, but I had to look . . . and I walked out with a small purchase . . . can't describe it here, because it just might be for my sisters!!

By then we had worked up an appetite, so we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Blue Gate Restaurant. Of course they tried to get us to order pie for dessert, but we explained that we had been eating pie all week! Back at the RV, we settled in to watch Survivor, and then a DVD -- I think it was National Treasure . . . or maybe The Blindside . . .

It was COLD Thursday night, and we were glad to have a functioning furnace. Sure enough, around 3 am, I heard the heat pump go off and the furnace come on! The morning brought a shock to our eyes -- a dusting of SNOW everywhere! It didn't last long, though, as the sun was out on Friday and it warmed up nicely. We went for breakfast at Wana Cup (yummy, by the way!), and then did a little more shopping at the Davis Mercantile. We were supposed to be checked out of the campground by noon, so at 11:30 we got a quick pretzel and headed back to the RV. Packing up and hitching up was quick and easy, and we were on the road by 12:30.

It wasn't your typical "Spring Break" vacation, and we didn't come back with a tan, but we had fun anyway!