June 11, 2005 - St. Bernice, IN
These shots were taken across the street from where we were parked. Had to move though because we were in the trees, and every time the wind would blow, we'd loose the satellite signal. If it ever quits raining, I'll take some shots of our current spot, backed right up to the lake. We like this place! I've even been fishing in back of the Road Abode a couple of times and we know there's fish in this lake for sure.
On our morning walk we spotted a turtle, and I told Barb I thought she was quicker than it was. She was, but just barely. We'd neither of us seen a turtle jump before, and it startled us. When she picked it up to show its bottom for a picture, it leaked all over the place. As soon as she put it down, it scurried into the lake. The club house is nice, and these fishermen (and girl)--looks like grampa and grandkids--show how much of a family place it is. Those white specks you see on the water are the seed pods from the cottonwood trees that abound here.
OK, we have a thief in the birdfeeder. But I want you to pay attention to its cheeks. See the difference between these two shots?
And again. This little chipmunk is really stocking up!
Finally finished, it escapes. Needless to say, I put the guard on the post right after this. And no, Friend John, we've not forgotten how to take pictures. These were shot through the side window glass in rather rapid succession by Barb. Were it not for Photoshop Elements 3.0.1 we'd not have them as good as they are.
We were wandering around the town of Clinton, IN, about 10 miles from "home" and came across this speed limit sign. Well worth a shot we thought. And then it was off to Rosedale for the strawberry festival. The woman working in the post office in St. Bernice had a friend visiting her when I inquired about the nearest grocery store. Between the two of them, we learned a lot about what to see and do in the area. Ernie Pyle's house (museum) and this strawberry festival among them. Rosedale is a big enough town amongst the corn, wheat, and beans to warrant a speed limit of 30 MPH rather than just 40 MPH, and when we went to check it out, the grocery store had a schedule of events for the festival that was impressive. Anyway, one of the events was a "dressy dog" affair. When this dog won a prize, I had to go find out why, because from this angle it didn't make much sense.
Get it? It's a Hot Dog! With the bun, mustard and ketchup! It carried a squeaky toy that was in the shape of a bottle, and written on it were the words, "Doggy Beer". What fun. And then another new thing for us to enjoy. A water balloon war zone. The combatants stand under these shelters, and fire the balloons at each other with the launchers. Where the young lady is standing, you can see the launcher just above her head. It's that yellow thing with the blue ring on the top. It's attached to the shelter with bungee cords, and the idea is to put the balloon in the launcher, stretch the bungee cords and fling the balloon up through the roof of the shelter and into the hole in your opponents shelter, thus soaking them completely. If you look carefully, above where the blue supports for the overhead net cross, you can see a yellow balloon on it's way. That particular balloon was fired by the young lady's father, and he missed, only getting his daughter's feet wet.
The girl was a pretty good shot, as you can see from daddy's shirt. In the second picture you can see the pink balloon right at the top of the picture that dad has just released. What fun on a hot day! The young man in the foreground was busy filling balloons and putting them in buckets. Price for the fun was $5 for 2 buckets, and we thought he'd do well with his concession stand.
And then the cute baby competition. And a whole bunch of babies there were, too. See the fire trucks in the background? They were a part of the parade that we'd managed to be on time for as well. Got enough candy thrown at us during the parade to last most the morning, too. And on the way home, guess what. Yup, a U-Pick strawberry farm.
So we stopped and I did some picking. Just enough for Barb's breakfast cereal. I don't much care for them, but she's a real strawberry fan. The weather hadn't been very cooperative so the berries were small, but flavorful I'm told. Barb was suppose to be staying out of the sun, but she sneaked these pictures anyway.
The next trip was to Arcola, IL. There were a couple of things that Barb had read about that we thought might be fun. The Rockome Gardens, in the Amish area, and the Raggedy Ann museum. As usual, I got it all wrong. You'll see what I mean in a moment.
I was silently saying to myself, "Well, I wonder how long it'll take us to look at dolls for sale before we can go to see those fancy rock sculptures at the Gardens." And that's Marcella's Corner gift shop. I failed to see the "M" in my haste to get this over with. Once inside, I'll admit to a bit of a surprise, as there really were a variety of the little dolls on display that were not for sale. It really was a museum. These dolls were part of the "not for sale" display.
More of the display of the old ones, and then some newer ones that Barb and I could relate to. If Raggedy Andy had been bald and with a grey beard, we might have found them irresistible. They dang near were as it was!
The display case was right next to the "No Photo's Beyond This Point" sign as we went into the museum proper. I'm always on the lookout for those signs, because it's so embarrassing to take pictures where they're not allowed. Those of you who have traveled with us here can remember several clandestine shots, all unintentional, I assure you. I just wish more people knew how to take pictures without using their flash, then we'd have more pictures to share. But anyway, on with the story. In the museum, a fellow named Tom told us to go to the other end, and he'd tell us about Johnny Gruelle (creator of Raggedy Ann & Andy) and his cartoons. The information was great, and brought back lots of memories. There were displays of some of Johnny's political cartoons and some wonderful artwork done by his granddaughter Joni. She'd been named after her grandfather who'd died before she was born. The flyer says in part, "The 2,000 square foot exhibit traces the history of Johnny Gruelle and the heartwarming doll he created in 1918. His heartbreak at losing his 13 year old daughter, Marcella, that same year changed him forever. "Uncle Johnny" emerged and created favorite children's stories and character dolls. Some of the Gruelle artwork on display has never been shown in public before."
Do these dolls remind you of traditional Japanese clothing? Well, they should, because that's the way Raggedy Ann and Andy are available in Japan. And if I remember the story correctly, the name "Raggedy Ann" came from a couple of stories by another children's writer, "The Raggedy Man" and "Orphant Annie".
Barb found a Raggedy Ann nearly her size! Remember our tour guide Tom I mentioned? Turns out he's married to the granddaughter who'd done the art work we'd admired, and that's Joni with Barb, Tom, and Hurricane the cat. Of course, if you're going to have your picture taken in the Raggedy Ann museum with the granddaughter of the creator of the doll and all the wonderful stories, you have to dress appropriately. And no, that ex-Marine Tom isn't as mean as he looks. He's got a perpetual sly grin hiding under that moustache. You'll see what I mean in a moment.
As luck would have it (amazing what good timing Barb and I seem to enjoy), Joni and her husband were on their way to Washington, D.C. for a Marine reunion and had stopped by the museum to sign a few books for a tour bus load of people who were just leaving as we got there. Joni is quite outgoing, and was talking to some of the other people when I realized who she was, and struck up a conversation with her. One thing led to another, and Tom found out about our lifestyle, and promptly told me and another fellow that if we sat here, we'd be inducted into the "Raggedy Man Society" or some such thing. Amazing how quickly I can forget the facts when I'm excited and having fun. One wall was full of pictures of guys who'd been subjected, er, ah, "allowed" this privilege. The other fellow was Dave as well, and I don't think we ever got their last name or even the girl's (wife?) name that he was with. Anyway, we were told to sit here and Tom would be right back.
And here came Tom with our "official" garb for the ceremony. We had to solemnly swear to never tell the secrets of the Society, which was pretty easy for us as we didn't really pick up any secrets, but a grand time was had by all. The women were cracking up, and we could hardly repeat after Tom the oath we swore to. Makes me chuckle just to be writing about the adventure.
Tom's sense of humor was great fun, and as a reward we got a wonderful little book called "My Own Raggedy Ann True Stories" by Sherry Nichols Rasmussen and illustrated by Joni Gruelle. Joni was kind enough to autograph it for us, "To Dave and Barb with Raggedy Love!" and a little drawing of Raggedy Ann. Is this a great lifestyle or what!!
You can guess who came to live with us, can't you? That's a chef's hat she's wearing, and a gingerbread man is peeking out of her apron pocket. And since I'm modest, I asked Barb to pull up her dress to see if her heart says "I love you" and of course, it does.
Much like the Precious Moments Chapel experience, this will always be one of the highlights of our travels for me. Barb doesn't have to drag me to things like that chapel or to this not-for-profit museum, but I'll admit that initially I'd rather have gone fishing. But the experience of meeting Tom and Joni and learning about their love of orphaned animals (they were "down" to 13 cats and a few dogs at the time we met them) and the fun we had in the museum, are very special to me. Barb usually is slow to buy things for our home because of the space limitations, so you can see that this was a special time for her as well. And little Raggedy Ann will always be grinning at us with a heart that says, "I love you". What more could we ask for?