Leggs Inn, MI Continued from the week



Continuing from yesterday, we
found a great place to stop, a place we would want to visit again, a working inn, along the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

The beautiful setting, the wonderful food is worth the wait and the trip there if one is in the area.   

Apparently this place has been mentioned in famous unique inns and has been on some episodes of Food Channels, but I was totally unfamiliar with it.  Local legends are not always as interesting . 






Jerry examines the teepee

We found Legs Inn easily right smack dab at the intersection of M-119 and what appears to be the main street of Cross Village.  This was a place we could have easily spent the day, as it was the couple hours we could spare went all too fast.  The tepee to the left was made of wooden bark hunks resembling shingles and was different from any tepee we had seen elsewhere in the country. 

As soon as I saw the sign and the Polish link I knew it would be something enjoyable and  my imagination rolled along thinking about the collaboration between a Pole and the local Indians even if it was the 1930"s.  Jan Smolak immigrated to America in 1921 and made his way to the upper peninsula of Michigan.  There were copper mines and ore mines in the upper that attracted the Polish immigrants.  He also was talented  musician and artist as we learned in the hallway art gallery. 

I could not understand why the name Legs Inn but one sign explained it was for the legs placed along the roofline.  Who but a seeker of curiosities would place legs along the roof? The photo below shows the side of the stone building, the Indian head carving over the door and the row of legs on the roofline. 

  Legs Inn is one of those  the way places that one might stumble onto unaware while out exploring the backroads.  It is the center of the village and as the bartender replied to one man who inquired if it was the only restaurant in town due to the big crowd and the wait to be served, "this is the town."   Tell me that I can have authentic Polish food and I am hooked.  Seeing it on the menu with accurate Polish spelling drew my immediate attention.  

It was a feeling of pride, when  I saw the Michigan Historical Site sign printed in Polish on the other side.  

 I have not seen this tribute to the Polish elsewhere.  So I am quite enthused about Michigan for honoring the native language of these early immigrants. 

Polish side of the sign


We walked around the back of the inn to the gorgeous outdoor seating overlooking Lake Michigan.  It was a warm balmy day which diminished the draw of the smell of real kielbasi and pierogi.  To me that is food for the cooler weather so despite the thrill of the original, we did not indulge.  There would have been a one hour minimum wait for appetizers at the bar so we passed.

Lake Michigan off  alongside the outdoor dining



Some primitive stone art

We made our way inside to the bar....a 100 year old hemlock tree trunk
is the bar, very shining  finish allowing natural grain and knots to be appreciated
as one sits there enjoying any number of brews and vodkas
true to the Polish heritage, no cheap booze,  Premium pours, Belvedere and Chopin vodkas.
to this day I know my heritage because I neither  drink nor serve
cheap wine, vodka, etc.  If you are having a drink make it count.
Sto lat naz drowie

Talked to a man from New York who was sitting at the bar next to us, waiting for a table.

Some were eating at the bar and as I mentioned there was a long wait, but we were

quickly served beers on tap.  The NY'er said, he had been in every bar in Manhattan and many all over the country but never the likes of this and he never had a bear staring at him.  Usually I am squeamish with too many heads and taxidermy but there is so much of it inside Legs that it takes on an aura of a museum and was fascinating.   

I called this Jabba the Hut from the Starwars character, but
it is something more remarkable and one of the hundreds of
wood carvings.  This postcard captured the detail better than my photo

Polish beer on tap  Hooray
Look at the wood above the shelf, carved and  finished to a glow

One of many totems inside this one closest
to the bar where a customer downs a tall
cool one. Notice the legs on the totem. 

A short trip to the gift shop took us past the art gallery.   I purchased  a couple hand decorated Polish Easter eggs and a  book, Bootleg Buggy by a local author about her Polish immigrant roots to the area.  And we had to be on our way.  This is a place to return next visit to the area. 

Portrait of Chief White Cloud as the Indians
called Smolak

We would exit out this front door, again
notice the woodcarving, inside the workmanship
captured Jerry"s attention. 

 

Off back along the tunnel of trees M119 to Bay Harbor and Petoskey. 

Blogger is again protesting so I am off here for today....sometimes I think I should migrate the blog....

Con't from Tuesday more up north

On travels and at home we see panhandlers alongside roads with their signs  to attract donations, I admit I used to donate occasionally out of a benevolence or Christian duty, but I overcame that as I noticed the proliferation of the same compounded by the fact that when local business owners offered them a job they scattered.  Panhandlers often station themselves at  stoplight controlled intersections where there is massive traffic but this guy as a living bronzed statue in Mackinaw City outdid himself.  People could place tips in his bike basket and take their photo with him.  This attracted many tourists and children ad is either a unique way to panhandle or is an addition to the tourist draws.  Several times as we walked by I thought that is a tough way to make a living standing immobile in the warm sun; he would move ever  slowly when a donation entered the basket.  I anticipated  when he would walk away for a break but  never caught that.  I am not sure if he was an attraction from one of the shops or not but he was at the same place several days in a row, BTW the dog is a bronzed statue.

One shop where we  indulged in ice cream  had an exhibit of the local Lion's club fundraiser, a different sort of barbque grill.  .  Not my taste but Jerry got a kick out of it.  

A local woman told us about the  wonderful drive along Michigan Road M-119, known as the Tunnel of Trees 27miles between Harbor Springs and Cross Village and an alternate route to Petoskey.  We are thankful she did because it was magnificent, very much a two lane twister that treated us to sights we'd have missed.   I'd noticed the multitude of polished rocks being sold as Petoskey stones as decorative or pendants so I was curious about Petoskey.    This Heritage route is a stunning display of northern hardwoods located close alongside the roadway, with no visible light above, creating the feeling of actually travelling through a tunnel.  The route is a favorite of Northern Michigan visitors because of its rolling terrain, stunning vistas, and dramatic turns and curves; this would have been prohibitive in the motor home.  There were many great glimpses of Lake Michigan along the way but no  place to pull over to photograph safely .  Although the traffic was sparse, there were ever so many motorcyclists along the way, a bikers dream despite names like Devil"s Elbow that was a  crooked mile where the crooked man could have built the crooked footstep if I've ever seen one.    

 

Just one of the many curves on M 119



Thick hardwood trees along the road



 Our first stop was at Cross Village also recommended by the local woman
 to visit Legs Inn which was a delight. 

Turns out Legs Inn was founded by Jan Smolak, a Polish emigrant in the 1930"s collaborating with local Indians..... to be continued next blog post because I am having difficulty posting photos here now and the photos are how I will tell the rest of the story

More Mackinac con't from yesterday

I did not take this photo of the 5 mile Mackinac Bridge at night, but it is just that spectacular.  The bridge was begun in the spring of 1954 and opened November 1, 1957 and is designated as the number one civil engineering project for Michigan of the 20th century.   It is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world.  For other data such as shown in the poster yesterday, you can go to this website link
     http://www.mackinacbridge.org/facts--figures-16

We watched 4th of July  fireworks from the American Legion, on the mainland, Mackinaw City. Being Legion members gave us the advantage of staying right at the bar inside where we could people watch for a break from being out amongst them.  Besides the bartender, a local gave us tips on where to eat, avoiding the  multitude of touristy places.  It is always a benefit to get acquainted with locals.

They  did show off with the best fireworks I have seen live  since Calgary, Canada. We knew we were above the 45h parallel which is exactly half way between the equator and the north pole, up north as the say, but we were oblivious to  how far north that is until we noticed day light lasts until 10 o'clock PM so fireworks could not start until 10:15PM or so making for some mighty cranky tots if their parents had not napped them earlier in the day. Many many years ago, when we spent summers in Prince George, British Columbia and Steve was a boy he refused to go to bed until midnight, because it was still light.  We recalled that.  And also when talking to the locals they mentioned the light is great now but oh those long dark winters. 

 
Before this trip, I could not get straight whether nac or naw or Lake Huron or Lake Michigan but now that we have been there, I've  got it. The mix up with the nac and naw is traced back through the history of the area way back to the Indians, the French, the British as explained by this clipping which you should be able to enlarge by clicking on in your browser.  Fort Mackinac itself is very interesting and the re-enactments and docents in period dress travel and transport visitors back into history of the fur trades.  The beauty of the area enhances the reality of the experience.

The following page said that the British never did
develop a friendly relationship with the Indians and suffered for that

Another carriage on tour.  Some walked, some rode bikes, some
rode horseback.  To me the carriage was the best way to see
the island.  Our guide, Dave knew all the local history.  He also told us how
his job entails caring for the carriage horse teams too,
washing and feeding and gearing them up and down.

Here we stopped to switch carriage horses mid tour

Douds founded in 1884, on Main Street is the oldestAmerican family
owned  grocery market  Their website is
 http://www.doudsmarket.com/history/

Although the lilacs were not blooming, beautiful hanging
flower baskets are everywhere.  Reminiscent of Victoria
British Columbia

Atop the island, the Fort lies down the hill.  This is Turkey Hill,
during the carriage ride we did see some wild turkeys.

Hearse and fire carriages at the Island museum.  The carriage
stops here so passengers can use necessary rooms and
grab a bite to eat. 

Arch rock looking down to the Lake is awesome

Seeing the Arch rock made me wonder yet again, why people who have never seen half of what there is to see in this country rave about traveling elsewhere in the world.  The water there is as beautiful as the Carribean anytime.  Of course we are flying adverse refusing to spend good money to be herded into a flying bus crammed with hundreds of others, packed like sardines and not even pickled.  Nope, we prefer driving our 2nd home. I have another spectacular photo of this arch but Blogger will not post it correctly.

A Girl Scout on duty working as a docent; summer jobs for youth abound
for the industrious, willing to work and learn the history

We got well acquainted with Dave, our carriage driver whom you met yesterday.  When he saw me taking the following photo he asked if I knew his dad.  I replied  I did not, but that there was something about this sight that reminded me of some people.  I asked Dave if he ever got tired of the view afront, what's that old saying, unless you are the head dog in the sled the view never changes...look on, recognize anyone?

Dave explained when he told his family he was returning to the island for another year for this summer job, Dad said, "uh huh so you are going to spend the day looking at yourself..."  We learned that the horses are
transported off the island to the upper peninsula where they winter. 

To be continued with our trip on the mainland along the magnificent tunnel of trees and to the Legs Inn.

Retreat from the heat and wish we were there

 

Yooper Ruthie famous lady of the Michigan
Upper Peninsula, aka UP


 It is to be 100 degrees today which is not our MN weather, but puleeze nobody tell the global warming alarmists.    I walked early this morning and even then, by 8:00AM on the return I was sweaty; the high school track which I often have to myself for 1/4 mile laps was invaded by our Lancer football team and not wanting to mix it up amongst  the boys twice my size and 1/4 my age, I departed the track for the 'hoods and woods.  So its a good day to catch up and post some of the vacation photos.  We have been home a little more than a week now and downloading, editing and dealing with the photos takes time.  In old days, a simpler time, we just took the film out of the camera and dropped it off taking our chances with printed results a week or so later. 

This 2+ weeks motor home trip to the Fleetwood Rally in Goshen Indiana followed by a swing up north to Michigan's upper peninsula and all the lake lore was a great time.  Trip details, we  added only 1376 total motor home miles,  26.5 hours actual driving time, consumed 163.7 gallons of diesel including the 3/4  tankful we brought back home, and appreciated the declining cost of diesel, spending only $587 on fuel.  Altogether not an overly costly trip, $526 for RV sites including our rally gathering that had been prepaid in February, $93 for tours, $19 for tolls,  $217 restaurants, $45 groceries, and a  whopping $458 shopping for other items including my RV purse at the Indiana quilt shop, more microfiber mops and cloths at the RV rally from my favorite vendor, a new carved wooden sign for the RV which Jerry is now staining and shellacking to protect it (there never is a piece of wood that he can just leave as is) and other miscellany and finally a special rally deal to extend Good Sam coverage for a couple more years at $99.  All total only  $2044 spent.  Further poof to those who doubt the economical side to RV travel and we never have to worry about bed bugs from hotels having our own home on wheels.  

Now  the first series of photos of Mackinac Island and departure to it, here I am at the dock mainland and it is  a windy cool day, I was not ready to have my photo taken but in a rare moment Jerry had control of the camera, so here, do I look a bit like Ruthie?  Do not answer!  Ahhhh wish  I were back in the cool lake with the wind.  There was no need to comb hair because it would tousle around.  Fortunately I have a simple  cut that doesn't demand staying in place.   

Rest stop sign about Bridge

The previous day, on our drive to the area a rest stop along the American Legion Highway displayed a nice sign and photo of the bridge.  We were a bit early for our RV site arrival so we dallied at the rest stop outside of Grayling Michigan. It is one of the few we saw amidst the plentiful forests of hardwoods of the area which reminded us of western Canada and British Columbia, an area Jerry especially loves. 


We took a Ferry to the  Island along with the multitudes of others touring that day.  Although locals said that the numbers of tourists were down, we could not tell. To us if there was a downside to this trip it was too many people,  more people than w see in a year here in our town.  I especially dislike crowds so it was a bit of a stretch to have to be amongst so many of them the entire time both  on the island and mainland.  If we ever return to this area it would be September when the crowds disperse.  Tourism is a key if not the key industry of the area.






Our Cadillac arrives at the dock



Jerry took many magnificent shots of the world famous
Macinac Island  bridge from our ferry 



We learned too late that had we stayed across the bridge at
St Ignace, the ferry would have taken us under the bridge

Lite house and Ft Mackinac left, up the hill



The ferry takes about 25-30 minutes to the island;

Here we approach as does another ferry



No kidding about the people and the bikes
We arrive at the dock as others too come and go



Breakfast dockside

Main street on the island.  Bikes,  walkers, or those riding either
horseback or carriages.  We had a carriage ride and tour.
It was a good choice which took us all around and over the island.  





The Island is famous for fudge and lilacs.  This is one of the oldest lilac trees
on the island at 100 years old.  Bloom was done



Meet Dave, handsome, personable MI guy and
 our carriage driver and tour guide for the day.  This was his
second year working there.  He is a college Senior at Northwestern.

Grand hotel carriages were empty

To be continued later around the island and more....I have been sitting here long enough.   

Celebrate the Freedom on the Fourth

Mackinac Island Porch

Today, we eat hot dogs,beans, potato salad and watermelon but my tradition is to read aloud the Declaration of Independence.  It used to cause Steve to roll his eyes, "oh Mom" maybe he still does from his soul at peace beyond this earth.  
 
Today we celebrate our nation's history and acknowledge our freedom, a magnificent gift  from our founding fathers.  We will celebrate here on Michigan's peninsula, Mackinac City and watch fireworks over Lake Huron.  
The following column written in 2000 by Jeff Jacoby for the Globe is  worth saving and rereading at least once a year. It is mindful of one's responsibility as a citizen of our heritage or a time before responsibility became a dirty word.  A time when we had pride in work and success.  A time before people went on the dole, and we are not talking pineapples; a time when a government handout was temporary if at all, before the masses became lazy, willing to draw out unlimited unemployment, unwilling to work for a lower paying job, but willing to wallow.  On our travels, we meet hard working people who move around following construction when necessary rather than sit and whine, or young families who live in motor homes and fifth wheels, while making a living.  Those who are not envious of  successful people,  those who still know responsibility. 

Our Founding Fathers Paid The Price For The USA

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted 12-0 -- New York abstained -- in favor of Richard Henry Lee's resolution "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States."

On July 4, the Declaration of Independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson -- heavily edited by Congress -- was adopted without dissent. On July 8, the Declaration was publicly proclaimed in Philadelphia. On July 15, Congress learned that the New York Legislature had decided to endorse the Declaration. On Aug. 2, a parchment copy was presented to the Congress for signature. Most of the 56 men who put their name to the document did so that day.     And then?

We tend to forget that to sign the Declaration of Independence was to commit an act of treason -- and the punishment for treason was death. To publicly accuse George III of "repeated injuries and usurpations," to announce that Americans were therefore "Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown," was a move fraught with danger -- so much so that the names of the signers were kept secret for six months.  They were risking everything, and they knew it. That is the meaning of the Declaration's soaring last sentence:  "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

Most of the signers survived the war; several went on to illustrious careers.

Two of them became presidents of the United States, and among the others were future vice presidents, senators, and governors. But not all were so fortunate.

Nine of the 56 died during the Revolution, and never tasted American independence.

Five were captured by the British.

Eighteen had their homes -- great estates, some of them - looted or burnt by the enemy.

Some lost everything they owned.

Two were wounded in battle.

Two others were the fathers of sons killed or captured during the war.

"Our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." It was not just a rhetorical flourish.  We all recognize John Hancock's signature, but who ever notices the names beneath his? William Ellery, Thomas Nelson, Richard Stockton, Button Gwinnett, Francis Lewis -- to most of us, these are names without meaning.

But each represents a real human being, some of whom paid dearly "for the support of this Declaration" and American independence.

Lewis Morris of New York, for example, must have known when he signed the Declaration that he was signing away his fortune. Within weeks, the British ravaged his estate, destroyed his vast woodlands, butchered his cattle, and sent his family fleeing for their lives.

Another New Yorker, William Floyd, was also forced to flee when the British plundered his property. He and his family lived as refugees for seven years without income. The strain told on his wife; she died two years before the war ended.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, an aristocratic planter who had invested heavily in shipping, saw most of his vessels captured by the British navy. His estates were largely ruined, and by the end of his life he was a pauper.

The home of William Ellery, a Rhode Island delegate, was burned to the ground during the occupation of Newport.

Thomas Heyward Jr., Edward Rutledge, and Arthur Middleton, three members of the South Carolina delegation, all suffered the destruction or vandalizing of their homes at the hands of enemy troops. All three were captured when Charleston fell in 1780, and spent a year in a British prison.

Thomas Nelson Jr. of Virginia raised $2 million for the patriots' cause on his own personal credit. The government never reimbursed him, and repaying the loans wiped out his entire estate. During the battle of Yorktown, his house, which had been seized by the British, was occupied by General Cornwallis. Nelson quietly urged the gunners to fire on his own home. They did so, destroying it. He was never again a man of wealth. He died bankrupt and was buried in an unmarked grave. 

Richard Stockton, a judge on New Jersey's supreme court, was betrayed by loyalist neighbors. He was dragged from his bed and thrown in prison, where he was brutally beaten and starved. His lands were devastated, his horses stolen, his library burnt. He was freed in 1777, but his health had so deteriorated that he died within five years. His family lived on charity for the rest of their lives.

In the British assault on New York, Francis Lewis's home and property were pillaged. His wife was captured and imprisoned; so harshly was she treated that she died soon after her release. Lewis spent the remainder of his days in relative poverty. 

And then there was John Hart. The speaker of the New Jersey Assembly, he was forced to flee in the winter of 1776, at the age of 65, from his dying wife's bedside. While he hid in forests and caves, his home was demolished, his fields and mill laid waste, and his 13 children put to flight. When it was finally safe for him to return, he found his wife dead, his children missing, and his property decimated. He never saw any of his family again and died, a shattered man, in 1779.

The men who signed that piece of parchment in 1776 were the elite of their colonies. They were men of means and social standing, but for the sake of liberty, they pledged it all -- their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.   We are in their debt to this day

Goshen Fleetwood RV Rally and Fleetwood tour

Expensive computer technology and router with one of the employees
who uses the equipment and visually inspects it   He told us it was a massive
improvement from the old days where 8 would be needed to do what the
equipment enables one person to do.

Touring the Fleetwood RV plant yesterday in Decatur, IN was interesting with a great deal of walking and some of the people at the Rally are marginally mobile. All three tour bus options, Tuesday-Thursday were sold out with a waiting list.  I did consider scalping our seats for a good price, because we are often in Decatur and could do this on our own.  Well the facotry tour is something we have talked about doing for years, when we stop in Decautr but it is always relegated to the next time which next never comes. Having the opportunity for the tour here at the Fleetwood Rally was the remedy, so I did not scalp our seats.  Some people declined to get on the bus after it was explained they'd be walking for a couple hours after a two hour bus ride. DUh! What did they expect? Did they not read any of the registration material?  Perhaps they thought there would be scooters to escort and drive them through the factory?   It seems people pay no attention until reality smacks them in the face or falls at their feet in this case.   

Jerry near some wiring harnesses inthe plant wearing
safety goggles we all donned

Upon arrival we were greeted in the massive breakroom, gathering place and given safety goggles which we would wear at all times in the plant. Fleetwood  separated us into 6 groups about 10-12 of us  each and introduced us to our guide, who was a line manager or shop supervisor and who'd escort us through the entire mfg process.  All the guides wore red shirts, seen in some photos below, kind of an alert to the floor--"Tourists coming through!" Each group started their tour in different wings of the plant so we would not be a full busload of gawkers descending upon the workers at once which could be a distraction in a plant that is prideful of its safety record.  

Steering mechanism installed on the coach

Another shop supervisor explains processes for
installing side walls and cabinet

We were also cautioned to be aware of moving equipment and forklifts and the like.Our tour guides herded us carefully and shifted us aside to allow the forklifts to race by.   Three people from our group dropped out halfway through; they went back to the lunch room where they waited on the rest of us. They said they couldn't walk any farther. That was a good thing because they were the same who would not pay attention to the speakers then would ask dumb questions on the shop floor about something that had been covered. Questions to understand or to learn are OK, but to talk  to hear oneself is tiresome to others.  It takes all kinds! I wanted to thump these people on the head. This is why it is often best for me to participate in group activities; I have no patience for idiots. 

One lady may have some dementia or Alzheimer's. She wandered in the break room at first and  her husband had to fetch her. He doesn't seem all that well himself and may be in denial about whatever is best for her. Seems a factory tour would not be something for her.  She sat at our table when we arrived across from us but with a man who was not her husband. Thought perhaps she knew him but when the man's wife arrived with the woman's husband following along it became evident they were unacquainted. The other woman asked her to exchange seats to be with their own husbands. The demented one just stayed seated staring. Her husband switched seats with the other man but the woman just continued staring. It was obvious to a couple of us that she had something wrong which became more evident. I have sympathy for her husband but what is he thinking taking her into unfamiliar surrounding?  As I said he does not look all that all right himself, and remember these folks are driving RV’s!  The other couple began to say rude things about her so I walked over to them out of earshot of the demented one & suggested they might consider that she is unaware what is happening and suggested she had issues. This seemed to embarrass them both as  they gasped & said they'd not figured that out.  With this muttering they promptly went to another table. Maybe they thought this dementia contagious?  Maybe they wondered about me?

I chuckled later about this unfortunate situation. Think about the humor here.  Is that what's ahead with our age group? Like mainstreaming the Developmentally Disabled? Mainstreaming the demented here come the boomers!

Multiple Daily Information
MDI

I was most interested in all the shop floor data, measurements, analysis in constant quality improvement and their full adaptation of Kaizen, Japanese data driven processes. I studied all that in CA ; even attended seminars with the guru, W Edwards Deming. Governor Pete Wilson charged several of us from multiple agencies   to improve state government using these methods. There were some  substantial improvements in services such as at the Dept of Motor Vehicles but really it became an absolute exercise in frustration with most of the bureaucracies. Bureaucrats were so data resistant--when we'd show improvements by educating the workforce they were amazed.  I could write a book about many of those efforts, not all were successful but there was more than ample frustration for all. . As many of us feared it became fad du jour and today not one lasting effect remains. 

Four years ago in WY at the initial Fleetwood Rally Executives of AIM, the corporation which bought out Fleetwood addressed our group and promised improvements and absolute attention to customers. Ahh music to my ears.  I recognized the techniques they said would instill to revamp & revitalize their industry & ensure top quality. So today we see it in full practice in the consolidated Fleetwood operations in Decatur. And watching full blue collar staff enthusiastically explain data measurements shows that data based decision making modeled after what Deming taught the Japanese to reconstruct after WWII, was a testament to the process. The photo of the MDI wall to the left is only one of many all through the plant.  Each morning as their shifts start, all the employees gather at the board, go over the data, talk about the goals for the day and after they all stretch and move through some warm up exercises they go to work. 

Jerry inspecting the wiring harnesses behind him

Jerry was very interested in much of the construction materials and processes for the coaches. I did not at all like the Laminating wing--very noisy & dusty there so I told our guide I'd scoot thru and wait outside. Well Decatur has a population of 10' & Fleetwood employs 1100 so it's important to the community. Many families work there & our tour guide was 2nd generation & his son now also works for Fleetwood. Reminds me of the old PA mills--Alcoa, PPG, steel and I think of all my family who worked there.  The Fleetwood plant is very different though with staff wearing shorts and tennis shoes.  On the bus ride back to Goshen I thanked the Lord that I never had to work in a plant or factory. Not for me. 

Two of our plant tour guides with some of our group
outside the door of the laminating wing.  Very dusty and
noisy in there 

There is more railroad activity in Goshen than I knew existed. The railroad runs next to the fairgrounds. So all night we hear trains. The worst were dueling train whistles at night, a language I am sure the conductors understand.  We have become used to it and slept through it last night or was that the effect of little sleep the night before and a very busy day. When we attend events like this Rally we realize how easy our routine daily schedule is at home.  Here the day can start at 7:00AM gathering for breakfast and continue through 10:00PM.  We select activities to allow for some free time to visit vendors and still try to cram in as many seminars as we can.

This is a sign I saw immediately when we entered the plant.  I had
to photo this while laughing.  Don"t you know someone who
could be sharpened?  Send them to Fleetwood in Decatur.
  The plant guide was curious what was funny to me.  He sees
this sign all the time and didn"t find it odd.  He explained that there is a company
who comes in to sharpen equipment and this was to be sharpened.  I laughed.



One of the coaches with the tape and layer design painting
At first I thought this was Steeler country--go black and gold
But it is just the design team at work, notice factory casual dress



Last night’s Rally dinner for over 500 of us was good but to bring some semblance of order to getting food from the buffet, tables were assigned numbers which were randomly drawn and called for to get food.  The man who had this task asked a 10 year old girl, who was likely a bored grand daughter  to draw and call numbers.  Some people bring their grand children to these events, most do not.  Most of us are quite content to be empty nesters.   The caterer had set up 3 tables of food but the child responsible for the Table bingo.was not aware that more than one table seating 8-10 people,  could be called at a time.  Someone finally explained 3 or 4 at a time would work and that speeded it along.   

Then we had a great time entertained by Kenny Evans who entertains at Pigeon Forge, TN and who sings all the good 50”s 60”s oldies from the Diamonds to Roy Orbison to Elvis.  A fun time with some of us dancing in the aisles and wearing off our dinners.  I saw another strange (to me) sight—a man from Ohio who wanted to dance with his wife who adamantly did not.  He was up to his feet swaying along and begging her to take a spin, she finally agreed. Most men are reluctant dancers if at all, Jerry is in that group.  This man was different.  

Today was a barking dog day--over 100 degrees with a hot wind.  Our coach Air conditioning is cooling the coach and here we sit to recover from several trips to seminars.  It was  just too daoggone hot to leave and flag down a golf cart transport down to the seminar building, so we skipped one on Alaska, which we really wanted to catch.  Really, manybe not--the 5 minute walk to the buildings in 100+degrees even with potential to see glaciers on the big screen will be another day and or we can talk to the vendor at their booth.  . By 4:00PM the bright sun is a downer! Even the Amish bakery declined to show up today to sell their baked goods.  Tomorrow will be better and it does cool way down to 50 or 60 degrees at night.