Monday, we traveled north toward Topeka, IN to the Crossroads factory for some repairs to the 5th wheel on Tuesday. The drive up the back roads was relaxing, through farmlands for a large portion of the morning.
Son, Tom, and wife, Liesel, were to meet us for lunch. After two detours and a mix-up on restaurants, we finally reached each other in Middlebury for lunch at the Amish Essenhaus restaurant.
The food was served family style, Fried Chicken with all the trimmings. By the time dessert came, we weren't sure if we could hold it or not, but we each managed to eat a piece of their delicious homemade pies.
The complex also offers shops, walking areas, carriage rides and even a garden planted in the pattern of a quilt.
This whole area of Indiana is Amish country. At times, we felt we were seeing more horse drawn vehicles than cars and trucks on the roads.
Tuesday morning, the Crossroads repair manager was at our door at 6 a.m. as promised. The repair needed was more extensive than we had thought it might be, and took all day Tuesday. We were so impressed by the Crossroads staff's service, expertise, and hospitality towards us. The whole experience from beginning to end could not have been better.
The manager offered us a tour through one of the five production plants, and took us from the conception of a fifth wheel through to a look inside a finished ready for sale model. We came away with even more of an appreciation for the Crossroads RV construction than before.
While the repairs were being made, we visited with family in nearby Milford.
We left Topeka this morning, and are camped in the rain at Utica, IL. The remnants of Hurricane Gustaf are headed this way, and the forecast is for 2-4" of rain, lasting through Friday morning. We'll decide in the morning whether to try to move on, or to wait till the rain ends.
