Settling in at Lake She-Nepp-A-Ho

Playground juts out into the lake

July 1 – We were asked to come up to the office at 9 this morning.  We weren’t sure if we were working or just getting our schedule and t-shirts.  Ends up she asked if we’d help set up for “Bloody Mary Sunday” at 10.  No problem, we cleaned the small hall for set up and I swept the office.  We did finally discuss schedule and it looks like we’ll be working Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  I’m unclear on how much I’ll be in the office versus outside, but I did say I didn’t mind doing a split shift.  I would open the office at 9 after starting at 8 on bathroom/shower duty and work til 1 and then work 5-9 and close.  I’m not sure if that’s all days or what.  Since they are new to ownership and now have 2 more sets of hands, it’s a work in progress!

Yard Art???

We wanted to scope out the area bit and offered to go to Sam’s if they needed anything as they don’t have a membership there.  So this afternoon after we got moved to our official spot and had lunch we finally left.  It’s about 10-15 minutes to a complex that has Sam’s, Wal-mart, Staples, Big Lots, Ollies and a lot of other eateries and small shops.  We only hit Sam’s and Wal-mart as I forgot Molly food before.  Corn was .15 an ear so I did buy more.  Bill will get his fill this summer!

After lunch I noticed it was getting warm in the RV and checked and there was no power.  Bill checked the post and there was no power there.  We called the office and she was on the phone with the power company and said the entire park was out.  Luckily we have a generator, so I turned it on and the power was still out when we got back.

The power came back on around 7:30.  It’s a lot quieter when the generator isn’t running.  The weather calmed down and it was pretty nice out.  Just before the power came back on I started up the wonderful convection oven and put in rhubarb crisp.  Should have bought more and I could have put a bag in the freezer.  I warmed the leftover schnitzel for me and meatloaf for Bill and some veggies and corn on the cob. 

I finally managed to post 2 days of the blog.  Having some connection issues with my laptop so taking it to see if a local can fix a connection that has gotten messed up.  I finally gave up and it was time for dessert anyway.  I read for a while after we watched the season finale of The Good Witch.

Arrival in Muskegon

June 30 – It was kinda mixed feelings this morning, knowing we’d now be in one spot for 2 months and could settle versus, travelling and seeing so many new things and places.  Working was also going to be a downer.  The weather has gotten considerably warmer and I’m not sure how well Bill is going to do out in all that heat.  Maybe it’s a wave that will pass! 

We left about 10 and it took about the 3 hours we expected.  We ran into one lane back up that slowed us down a while and the first roads we were on were a little dicey.  The GPS and the Google Maps did not agree on the route so we’d do one‘s preference and then the other’s preference.  The tiny roads were not on the map and once we hit roads that were, Bill felt more comfortable as did I. 

View right outside our door

Lake She-Nepp-A- Ho is  little north of Muskegon off a 4 lane highway.  The lake was originally a spring but when the road was being built they kept digging up the area to use the sand/dirt for the road and it became a spring fed lake 29’ deep.  It is really nice with 3 aerators, a peninsular for beach use, trees dotted around, and distinct swimming and fishing areas.  There are sites that back up to the lake most of the way around and others 1 or 2 rows back.  The lakeside ones are on the

Two of the aerators

short side so not for us, plus the seasonal guests have first choice.  We’re about as far as you can get from the office but we wanted a site where we could get a clear satellite signal.  We can clearly see the lake from our yard.  We have 50 amp and water as they have no full hook up sites.  They pump you out twice a week.   The campground was bought by this couple, Jean and Shawn, in December and they sold their home in California and moved in here and spent the winter working on upgrading and changing things.  They’ve done a great job and have plans for gradually putting in some full hook ups.

We arrived a day early and had let them know so we had to go a site 2 spaces down from our assigned site for the night.  We met the other volunteer couple who live in The Villages.  It’s a small world!  They are from this area and were looking for a seasonal spot in the area to be closer to their kids and grandkids than they’ve had the last few years.  Jean asked it they’d like to work camp and they said they’ve give it a try.  I think they could use 3 couples, as least for the peak times!  Everyone we’ve met have bee very nice and welcoming.

Since Bill does the local driving, I agreed to go in to Grandville to Cabela’s as I wanted to get a new rain jacket and we had a gift card for there.  It’s about 45 minutes but it was OK, and we did find a jacket that I might keep, and then we used another gift card at TGI Friday’s.  The food was better than I expected and we left full!  On the way home we stopped at a Meijer’s (like Wal-mart) for half and half and they had a good produce sale so I picked up a few things.

At least I didn’t have to cook dinner!  I did a load of laundry and Bill was happy to have TV.  We got home at 10, just as the fireworks the owners were doing from the other side of the lake started.  We heard more than we saw as we were whipped by then.  We were told they are having them again on the 4^th, so we will plan to see them for sure!  I didn’t get my computer out.  Not sure how I’m going to manage things as the WIFI does not reach here in the back 40! 

Last day in Elkhart area.....

June 29 – No rush this morning, our last day in Indiana.  I cooked the sausage I got at the Amish shop and it was OK but our local butcher in Winter Garden does better.  I promised Bill we’d have fruit and sausage at home and on the way to Elkhart we’d stop at a shop we’ve seen for a breakfast pastry.  So we got ready, ate our half breakfast and stopped at The Bakery Next Door and each had a big muffin.  Mine was blueberry and Bill had raspberry.  It was the best muffin I’ve ever had.  It was heavy and moist, very cake-like.  Yummy for sure!

We drove on to Elkhart and found the RV/Motorhome Hall of Fame.  The building is rather new and it’s a beautiful space with a grand staircase to the upstairs.  We watched a movie first that covered how and when it got started and what order to visit the rooms.  They have a nice gift shop with souvenirs

as well as camping items.  There a hall of all the inductees over the years and a huge area of vintage RV’s.  I think the oldest was 1929 or so.  They have been donated, some refurbished, some kinda rough but it interesting to see.  We saw some of the originals that they are now making Retro models of.  There were several from the year I was born. 

There’s a room with some current models for show that come from the local factories.  Someone made an excellent display showing models of the process and it’s exactly like we saw at the factories.  That took a lot of work!  Bill bought a magnet but they had some cute things for camping and signs to put out.

We stopped at Aldi for cereal and then headed to Middlebury.  There was a detour, of course, and we found an alternate route and it’s a nice ride.  There is a big Jayco plant there and we had them passing us in each direction.  There are lots dotted around town with 5^th wheels and travel trailers.  When we stopped on Main Street for lunch there was a continuous flow of trailers and 5^th wheels the entire time.  After lunch we drove a couple miles out of town to see where the plant is.  There were a couple of other brands also.

From Middlebury we drove to Shipshewana to an Amish company that makes house and RV furniture.  We’d looked at their products before in Florida but with shipping it was a little expensive.  We are still talking about getting 2 recliners and they have a little 6 inch table for between them with 2 cup holders and drawers in front that you can put your books or magazines in.  We’re going to think about it and see what we come up with.

We made a couple of stops in Shipshewana at a bulk food store and the meat shop for

some scrapple to freeze for later.  Then it time was to head for home.  Molly was glad to see  us and while we were gone we got 2 new neighbors.  The place is filling up for the holiday week.  We put our purchases away and I made a meatloaf.  Then we rested and read while the meatloaf was cooking.  We had corn on the cob and salad for dinner.  I really wasn’t very hungry as we’d had a big breakfast and I had a big lunch. 

After dinner Bill emptied the tanks and put things away outside and I downloaded 3 days of photos and tried to hotspot my phone but didn’t have any luck.  My signal isn’t too good to start with.  I did pay some bills on my phone though!

Bill did the dishes and now we’ll read since we have no TV.  We have certainly enjoyed this area but look forward to meeting everyone at Lake She-nepp-a-ho tomorrow.  I think it’s about 3 hours or so.