IN: Indiana Meanderers

We started off the camping year with a very nice turnout and had great weather for most of the long weekend. There were a few showers on Wednesday night and Friday afternoon but those April showers will soon turn into May flowers and the water didn’t dampen our fun at all! Wrede and Kathy Banta were first time wagon masters for the outing which was held at Peaceful Waters Campground near Bloomingdale, Indiana on May 21-24. They did an awesome job of hosting and everyone enjoyed the new to us campground. I think Wrede and Kathy must not have gotten the memo that if you do a really good job of hosting an outing you’ll probably be asked to do it again. We ended up with 11 coaches total for the weekend including Wrede & Kathy Banta, Ron & Peggy Campbell, Mike & Kerry Ely, Jim & Nancy Gineris, Glen & Janet Gish, Al & Janet Grove, Ron & Tammy Kline, Dorothy Michalak, Fred & Carol Thomas, and Lori Tindall & Mike Pieczko. We also had guests Frank Lamm & Monica Olson join us and they became the latest members of the Indiana Meanderers. They are from Lebanon, Indiana and have a Minnie Winnie Travel Trailer. We look forward to camping with them again soon! Welcome Frank & Monica!!

We and the Bantas arrived on Wednesday and after getting parked, setting up and having dinner, we played a few games of euchre. Kathy and Fred skunked Wrede and me so someday there WILL be a rematch. It started raining that evening and was wet and very windy up until early morning when the four of us took off for a nice hike at Turkey Run State Park. The walk up and around trail 4 was a little tricky with the recent rains but we managed. There were signs of spring everywhere as we made our way along the trail stopping every now and then to look at flowers and watch Harley get wet and muddy. By late afternoon everyone but Mike & Lori and Monica had arrived and were parked and set up. We then headed for Rockville and dinner at the Thirty-Six Saloon Bar-n-Grill. There were 15 of us and we had the back room to ourselves so we could be as rowdy as we wanted for our meal and conversation afterwards.

Friday morning Glen, Fred, Ron Kline, Ron Campbell, and Al went into Rockville for breakfast at Benjamin’s Family Restaurant. Some of us went into town to shop at the many stores in the vicinity of the courthouse and had lunch at Aaron’s on the Square. Mike & Lori and Monica made it to the campground in time for the evening meal. Dinner was at the pavilion which had a beautiful view of the campground’s 4 acre pond. Kathy had made chicken & noodles, sausage & green beans, seven layer salad, and apple cake for dessert. Everything was scrumptious and she didn’t have to worry about passing out or taking home leftovers! After dinner we had our business meeting and officially welcomed our new members Frank and Monica.

Then we had perfect clear skies for the campfire and were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of the meteor shower known as the Lyrids. “The Lyrids, which are active from April 15 to 29, are known for their fast and bright meteors that often leave glowing dust trains behind them as they streak through the sky.” It was pretty cool to see! Saturday morning the “boys” went to breakfast at Aaron’s on the Square and from the sound of it a lot of fish tales were passed around. Mike and Kerry had to leave early for a Monster Truck show in Indianapolis but we enjoyed seeing them again if even for a short time.

While the “boys” were at breakfast the “girls” met for Crafts with Tammy. We painted sun catchers at the pavilion and had a really fun time visiting and getting acquainted with Monica while we worked. Eight of us went back to Turkey Run in the afternoon for more hiking, Al & Janet did another one of the covered bridge tours, while Ron & Peggy and Dorothy held down the fort at the campground. Jim & Nancy shopped in Rockville. Klines and Gishes drove down to Mansfield for the Mushroom Festival and car show. Dorothy brought her new to camping 7 month old Labrador retriever and spent the weekend breaking her into it gradually. After numerous walks with the many Meanderer camping dogs Annie was showing many signs of positive social skills toward the end of the weekend.

Several of us met at Aaron’s for Bluebell ice cream in the afternoon and then it was back to the campground to get ready for our evening meal. There was a very nice variety of food for our pitch-in dinner at the pavilion and afterwards we had cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Dorothy and Al. We had one more campfire to close out the evening with clear skies and entertainment by Mike and Lori with stories about their Macon, Georgia experience. If you missed it I’m sure there will be reruns next year. Sunday morning we gathered for donuts and conversation with sunshine and windy but warm weather before heading out. It was a fun weekend and we all would like to thank Wrede and Kathy for taking on their first time hosting. Job well done!!