Today was a rest day which was fortunate since we spent way too long riding in Charlotte yesterday while covering a lot of miles, encountering horrible rain and shopping at Costco while en route. The day started with nice showers and coffee before heading to the Hometown Family Restaurant in nearby LaGrange, IN. The restaurant had great breakfasts with Peg choosing the bacon and egg skillet while I opted for my favorite, chicken fried steak and eggs. The food was great and the prices more than reasonable.
From LaGrange, we headed west across Indiana to a town called Shipshewanna where we stopped in at Ben’s Bakery where they specialize in fried pies. We picked out 3 different varieties (apple, rhubarb and raspberry) before continuing up the street to a produce stand where Peggy had her way with vegetables. Shipshewanna has a large Amish community. You can tell, even without looking at the locals, that the Amish are lurking in the community because Amish do not use automobiles so there is great amounts of horse flop alongside the road where they drive their carriages. The roads that lead to their churches are particularly well speckled with big green piles of former hay right near the fog line at the edge of the traffic lanes. Near intersections, drivers are frequently presented with the choice of either encroaching into the lanes of oncoming traffic or driving through the shit. It is sometimes a tough choice, considering the two equally unpleasant options.
You can also spot communities where there are large Amish populations because the farms are very orderly and all seem to have large quantities of laundry drying on the clothesline gently blowing in the breeze. Near towns, the stores where these folks prefer to shop have parking lots that have specific areas for parking cars and separate areas for parking carriages. In carriage lots, you need to watch your step.
We took a short foray into southern Michigan since it is only 2 miles north but we didn’t make any stops other than a quick side trip into a diesel station since it is cheaper in Michigan than it is in Indiana. We returned to the Barbarian Invader just in time because almost as soon as we got back into our home, the elements put on another angry display of power through an impressive thunderstorm with an extraordinarily torrential downpour coupled with some loud rumbling noises. We spent the rest of the day doing what seemed best – reading, napping and watching movies. It was wonderful.