Another Awful Campground

September 24-26, 2019

Blue Lake Campground, Churubusco, IN

Day 102-104

Sparky is still not right. Before hitching up and leaving for Fort Wayne, I take Sparky to a dog park just up the road, in nearby Michigan. The park is empty. It’s sunny and cool – great ball throwing weather, but he doesn’t want to play. I’m puzzled and starting to get nervous about his health.

Took the scenic Lakeshore Drive back to camp and hoped to have breakfast at this cute farm-to-table restaurant Goblin & The Grocer, right outside camp. Sadly it’s closed with no hours posted. It was open yesterday? Too bad for me, I am starving.

I hitch up, eat a protein bar and head off to our next camp in Indiana. There's a time zone change. Drove the back roads to Fort Wayne and even though a good portion of it was farm country, it wasn’t as pretty as other states. The homes didn’t look cared for and there were a lot of big trucks on my route, even for a small two-lane road. I didn't enjoy this drive.

And, I am not enjoying this camp either. It's a dump, an arm pit, equal or worse than Sublet, IL. My first spot was horrible. It wasn’t level, and the water and electric were so far from the spot. They weren’t even full! Most rigs looked dumpy with lots of mildew. (Note to self, I guess mildew is a problem in the mid-west and/or in areas where it’s lush and has a lot of lakes…forgot about that). It looks awful! After complaining, I got a new spot, only after looking at eight others. At first the 30 amp did not work, so I had to complain again, which I don't like doing. I’m told, soonest they can get an electrician is a few hours because they all have 2nd jobs. Ugh. I go back to my electrical box and reconnect everything, shutting on and off the fuse box and, like a miracle, the power goes on. Thank goodness.

I call Ford and make an appointment to get my alignment checked. I am here for two nights and make the best of it by heading off to Fort Wayne, about 20 minutes away, for dinner.

First, I like Fort Wayne! It’s a nice small town that little by little is revitalizing it’s downtown. It’s affordable too. Not quite Boise, Idaho, but deserving of a shout out for being affordable, clean and safe. Found rock star parking and a great farm-to-table place for dinner – Tolan. Ate outside and had a dinner typical of what you would find in SF. Met two other ladies along with their dog. One of them just purchased a vintage Spartan trailer (aluminum like Airstream, but more rectangular). She and her boyfriend use it at their boat/campsite, which happens to be right across the lake from where I am staying! She agreed my camp is awful and invited me over to her camp tomorrow to see the vintage trailer maybe get on their boat! Awesome!!!

Day 2 - First order of business, an alignment at Ford. Sunrise is at 7:30, yikes. I had to leave at 6:30 am for my 7 am appointment. I don’t like to drive in the dark in areas I am not familiar with. Most of these back roads have no lights, so the idea of hitting a dear, or worse, is a possibility. It was hard leaving this early. The wheels were out of alignment due to the horrible Chicago roads, so I am glad I got that corrected.

Thru recommendations by the Ford service tech, I go to Foster Park to see the homes and dog park. I get to the dog park and am immediately berated from a local. She says the park is by permit only and she doesn’t care that I just need to throw the ball for a few minutes. Geeze, that was really the first time anyone on this trip has been a jerk to me.

We leave and drive around this area. Most homes were not in good shape. All have potential though – some were very large and stately, and others were cute bungalows. Looking at Zillow, homes range in the $80-200K range, and this is a better neighborhood. Then we drove thru the Wells Corridor, an up and coming older district where some of the streets are still the original brick. Houses here are smaller and go for $100K and up (until recently were $60K and up). It’s quaint and near downtown. Found a church nearby where I could throw the ball to Sparky, but he won’t get out of the truck ☹!

Decided to head back and stopped off at a local popular burger joint called Magic Burger. Not a bad burger; they even wrapped it in lettuce for me. But, like most places in the mid-west, they are still using Styrofoam. My friend Myra calls and we catchup for a bit. I tell her about my hip and likely that my return to SF will be delayed a few months, but I am still having a great time. Almost ready to head back to camp then Mitch from last night calls. She and her boyfriend Kevin are at the campground across the lake, so I can come by now.

Wow, I can see my horrible camp from here! Their vintage Spartan is 40’. It is super cool and feels like a cabin because of all the dark wood inside. Mostly original, there are a few modest updates. She was just looking for a trailer they could sleep in while hanging out at the lake during the summer. It’s perfect. They even took me out on their platoon boat, which I have never been on one before. I can see why people like them. It’s like a living room on the water. You can fish or just relax on it. Not meant to be traveled on like a boat, but perfectly comfortable for a small group of people. The weather changes. It begins to down pour, and we rush back to the Spartan and enjoy a whiskey tasting. What a great serendipitous connection. Hope we stay in touch.

Came back and napped because of the whiskey, and well, because I can. Sparky is still not perky. Started looking at vets near our next stop, Airstream factory in Jackson Center, Ohio (near Dayton). I’ll be there for two nights and can stay longer if needed.