Elkhart, IN July 23, 2010

Up early this morning to head to Elkhart, IN, about 2 hours and 20 minutes from Joliet, IL. Our first stop in Elkhart was Ruthmere, a mansion built on the banks of the St. Joseph river that reflects the lifestyle of an affluent midwestern family in the first decades of the 20th century. Albert and Elizabeth Beardsley built this home in 1908. They named this place Ruthmere for their daughter, Ruth, who died in infancy. "Mere" refers to the river. The home was designed by an early associate of Frank Lloyd Wright, and was meticulously restored inside and out. Every last detail has been attended to: all the silk wallcovering was custom matched by a firm in Paris. The plaster ceiling decorations were all cleaned and restored. Mahogany paneling, hand carved embellishments , and silk and lace window treatments all looked brand new, as if the family had just left. Hand-painted ceilings and wall murals were all cleaned and restored. Very cool place. The tour guide could have added a bit of oomph to her presentation--she read from her notes at times, but the home itself was the star.

Then we moved on to the RV and Motor Home Museum in Elkhart. The RVMH museum houses vintage trailers and motor homes from 1913 up to the 1970s, a hall showcasing the latest current models, an Exhibitors Hall where industry supply firms tell their company story, and the world's largest library of RV and manufactured housing related literature and photos. We saw a unit that was made to fit inside a truck bed, early motor homes that included wood stoves, the first Airstream model and much more. We did stop for a while to check out the new models, having picked out our favorite, The Winnebago Outlook, a while ago. It was well worth the stop.

With Tuesday's chemo and work coming up, we pushed east. We decided against heading down to Pittsburgh to see Fallingwater, a stunning Frank Lloyd Wright house. The drive down would be long (4 hours down), and the tour was only an hour long. Next time we're down in that area, we'll surely stop in.

We stopped for the night in Amherst, OH, and tomorrow, we will stop in to see Alex and Jenna, and hopefully get to see the site of their prospective new home.

The humidity is thick here, and the thunderstorms come in and leave quickly, only to be replaced by another storm in short order. We know we're getting closer to home!