Shopping In Shipshewana and An Excellent Meal

Shipshewana, IN.

59 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 79F. Winds from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

One of the reasons that they originally wanted to come to Northern Indiana, was to do some shopping at a few Amish stores here in Shipshewana or Middlebury, so, yesterday was "Tourist Day" for Jim and Linda. Being that we had been in this area a few times before, (the last time in 2006), they had some idea which stores and shops that they wanted to go to.

Their first stop yesterday morning was at the Davis Mercantile where there's a little shop that sells lace items. There, Linda bought some round doilies and some lace curtains for one of the kitchen windows in the house down in Florida.

Their next stop was the Yoder Department Store. There, they bought some shirts and a new leather belt for Jim, some Minnetonka shoes for Linda and some embroidery projects to be used as gifts.

By the time they were finished there, both Jim and Linda were getting tired, so they headed back here to the CG to grab some lunch and to rest. (Jim took a nap). ;-)

For dinner, they decided to go to the Blue Gate Restaurant and Bakery. So, to beat the crowds, (and it does get very crowded for dinner), they headed over there about 4:30. At this restaurant, you can either order from a menu, or you can get what they call a "family style" dinner. Jim and Linda chose the family style with broasted chicken for the meat.

The meal came with a drink, a small loaf of bread, a big plate of chicken, a bowl of dressing, a bowl of mashed potatoes, a bowl of  noodles, a boat of gravy and a bowl of green beans. All of this is "all you can eat", so if you run out of anything, they'll bring more. Then, after you're completely stuffed with all of that very good food, you have your choice of about 20 different home made desserts!!!!

For dessert, Jim and Linda both got pie and brought it back here to have later. ;-)

Dinners at the Blue Gate are kind of pricy, but the food is excellent and so is the service. If you come to this area, be sure to try one of the great Amish restaurants. If you like good home cooked food, you won't be disappointed.

After eating they headed for the bakery and purchased some homemade bread and some goodies before heading back here to the park. Once back here, they both "crashed" for the evening.

Today, since a cold front when through here yesterday afternoon, it should be cooler and not so humid. That's good because Jim and Linda want to do a little more shopping and go a few more places before we head up to White Pigeon, MI tomorrow to get the leveling jacks installed on Bobbie T.

We need to be up there by 7:00 AM, so I probably won't have time to do a blog, but I'll post one just as soon as I can to let you know how the installation went.

Did you know that it is estimated that about 249,000 Amish live in North America?

Woof!!!