Events of Monday, September 13, 2010 

          Around the country in 80 days has landed us in Indiana. After visiting University of Michigan on Saturday, we had to give Notre Dame its due (especially since Notre Dame lost to U of M on Saturday in the rain) and visit it as well. So we headed off to South Bend. We arrived on campus with plenty of time (or so we thought), found visitor parking closed to RVs but managed to find parking nearby. After leaving a note of explanation of our attempt and failure to follow the rules, we headed off to find the Golden Dome (not to be confused with the Golden ticket – which we will discuss later).

          At the informational session there was a time of meet and greet where locations and year in school were to be volunteered. The kids had a little bit of difficulty determining exactly what year they are in school.  So some eyebrows were raised when Caitlin said she was a junior, Ben a sophomore and Lindsey a freshman. We then spent the next hour listening to the do’s and don’ts of the application process, helpful information that can be applied to just about any college. Then it was time for our tour. Our tour guide, a senior from southern California, showed us all over the campus and proved to be a master at walking backwards while keeping up a running dialog. The kids all asked good questions, and even Abby seems to be beginning to grasp what college life might be like. Our tour took us past lunch, so we were hot and hungry when we returned to Harvey. So what did we do about that? Visit the South Bend Chocolate Company for a guided tour and treats!

          We enjoyed lunch in the shade of the parking lot of the Chocolate Company and then ventured inside for dessert. The tours happened on the hour so we had a bit of time to wait. We passed the time checking out the timeline of chocolate throughout history and an exhibit about the process of making chocolate, from bean to bar. Then we visited the chocolate shop, the gift store and the Chocolate Museum where the history of chocolate was displayed in the boxes and paraphernalia from around the world and across the ages. On a TV in the waiting area Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (with Johnny Depp) played and displayed on the walls were posters of “Where are they now?” about the child actors in the original Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (with Gene Wilder). The highlight for me was when I found what I hope to find in my Easter basket next Easter – a three-foot high chocolate bunny! Check out our photos to see it. There was also a three- foot high chocolate Santa which I would not be opposed to finding in my Christmas stocking. Now thoroughly hungry for chocolate, it was time for our tour.

          After being taken through the history and process of making chocolate, we were ushered into the factory itself. Abby’s first words were:  “This smells SO much better than the cheese factory!” We were walked through the production steps, observed chocolate being sorted and packaged and had the concept of “nearly perfect” chocolate explained to us. “Nearly perfect” chocolate is the stuff that isn’t perfectly up to snuff. It tastes just the same, but perhaps it has a bit too much chocolate (and that’s a bad thing?) or a swirl is slightly off kilter. These were the “nearly perfect” chocolates that we were to sample. Five of us chose the milk chocolate truffles and Jim chose the dark chocolate orange truffle. After careful reflection, we all agreed that this “nearly perfect” chocolate tasted perfect.

          The next stage of our journey is a bit hazy for me as I was way-laid by a migraine. But I was able to piece together what happened from the sounds I overheard and by checking on our location every time we stopped. We were headed to Shipshewana, IN as we plan to experience the largest flea market in the Midwest tomorrow. On the way we were to pass back through Elkhart, IN, the RV capital of the world. We had some minor RV things to pick up and figured we’d be able to easily find the supplies we needed. Well we were led in circles by Gypsy, our brainless GPS, and ended up getting most of the items we needed at Lowes. Then it was off to find camping near the Shipshewana Flea Market. The RV Park associated with the flea market was full, so we headed down the road. The kids did an excellent job helping Jim position and level off the RV and hook everything up. Then they worked together to get dinner on the table. By this time, the combination of chocolate, medicine, darkness and rest had paid off and I could join them at the table, although my sunglasses were required through most of dinner.

          After cleaning dinner up, we sat down to figure out what we wanted to see in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio and how we were going to make all that work. It took everyone’s input, poring over maps and tour books and googling everything under the sun, but we think we came up with a good plan for the next few days specifically and the next few weeks generally. We took to heart the pastor’s message from Sunday, to stop “mourning the past” (things we’ve missed and mishaps along the way) and start “anticipating the future” and our excitement was renewed as we looked forward to all the great places and people we have yet to visit.