Gangsters, Boxers, and Buggies

Question:

What do Al Capone (the gangster) and Joe Louis (the boxer) have in common?

Answer:

There were times in their lives that they needed to be “on the lam” and recede from the public eye.

Well Don, that’s neither exciting nor unexpected, there are times when any of us would like to disappear for a while!

Yes, I know that. As a matter of fact, we have been accused recently of staying just one step ahead of the Chocolate Police as we are definitely guilty of running high-quality chocolate across state lines as of late. So we needed a quick “hideaway”, one large enough to conceal the motorhome for a few days until we cooled our heels while the Feds looked for us.

Yes Don, we’re quite sure that you are as guilty as sin, but you still haven’t answered your own question!

Ok… so we was talkin’ ta Darla and Sandra, ya know, from da World Cruise an we was lamentin’ ‘bout where we was gonna try an’ hide…. big rig an’ everythin’ when Darla says like…. “I know! My parents live in lower Michigan halfway between Detroit and Chicago an’ they got this farm ya see, real old place, big property, an’ there was a few times when Al Capone used it like a kinda halfway house cuz he was travelin ‘tween his ‘business’s’ in Detroit an’ Chicago……. and….. Joe Louis used it to stay in when he was trainin’ for some of his fights, his camp was just up the road!”

Perfect!

            So, here we are just off the State 60 which runs from Detroit to over by Chicago, on a quaint little farm, with the motorhome tucked away in the back, with Darla, Sandra, and Darla’s parent’s, Jack and Sharon.

It is typically, wonderfully, entirely, “Mid-West”.

That is about as high a complement that can be given to anyone in my opinion. The folks from the Mid-West have a beautiful lilt to their accented speaking and are probably the most genuine and friendly people on the planet.

We arrived here after two long days on the road from Durango and we don’t want to leave. Besides being welcomed with the proverbial “Open Arms” of Sharon and Jack, the area is so relaxing that staying here would be a tonic of sorts and definitely a welcome respite from the road.

Yesterday we ventured over the State Line, down into Indiana to a town named Shipshewana, a stronghold of both the Amish and Mennonite communities. We strolled from shop to shop, where items ranging from furniture to linens were on display. The one thing that you notice right away is that there is no ‘junk’ being sold here. Everything is of the highest quality and the distinct lack of “Imported” items was quite evident.

We acquired a few things including some chocolate 😊

Then we went to dinner at Das Dutchman Essenhaus, one of those gigantic “Family Style” restaurants that the Amish are so famous for. It was as wonderful as you may imagine and if you haven’t had the opportunity to experience this kind of hospitality you’ve been missing something! Here, or in Lancaster, Pennsylvania are the two locales that come to mind, so skedaddle over there and get some Fried Chicken!

                        And Pies!

                        Don’t forget the pies!

While we were making the  plans to visit Darla and Sandra, and before we arrived, we were told that we needed to be careful coming down the long driveway as a Killdeer couple had made their nest smack dab in the middle of the driveway.

Ouch!

Killdeers are mostly shore birds (there are a gazillion lakes around here) and as such, do not make nests in trees. Their eggs are brown spotty things that blend in nicely with, unfortunately, the gravel and dirt of this big, long driveway. When approached, one of them will fake a broken wing to try and draw you away from their nest with the thought that they themselves are easy prey! Bravo! Great performance!

I have no idea what they are going to do once they hatch!

We heard that the Chocolate Police had given up on finding us and turned their attention to chasing someone accused of palming off some milk chocolate for dark chocolate so now’s our chance to make a run for it!

For security purposes, we will not be disclosing our departure time or route as Al told us, “Yuz guys ‘ll be sorry!”