South Bend Adventures - Shipshewana

We headed to the Amish town of Shipshewana, named after Chief Shipshewana of the Potawatomi tribe of Native American.  The town considers itself to be a quaint and unique small town with strong faith and honest good people.  It's primary industry is agriculture and then retail and is home to the nation's largest flea market.

The last time I was in Shipshewana the flea market was not going on, but this time it was in full swing.  We ate first a delicious home style meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, coleslaw, and homemade bread with various toppings.  We finished the meal off with different pies ranging from custard to chocolate to peanut butter.

From the restaurant we hiked down the street to the flea market where we wandered and wandered from vendor to vendor looking at all sorts of items we didn't need, but wanted.  Darcy bought a wallet.  Gabby bought sunglasses.  I bought a stylus for my Ipad.  Susan looked at home goods, but refrained from purchasing any of it.  I lost count of the stuff Kelly bought.

As we walked and looked and shopped we passed a building with graffiti begging us to enter for only one dollar.  Since we were tourists and suckers at that we paid our dollar and entered the makeshift building which reminded me a lot of Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in St. Augustine.  The walls were full of interesting tidbits and trivia like the world's largest man.

Susan's hand against the largest man's hand 

We learned of some new companies and some new products, and I gained a few decorating tips for when I returned home.

The trip through the building wasn't a long one, but taking the time to read all the stuff on the walls made it a lot longer.  I took my sweet time through the building as it was cooler in there then it was outside.

My favorite item in the whole building was this one:

 Put your eye in the hole to see the state bird of Indiana

Oh, yeah! Larry Bird!

As we came around the corner toward the exit we realized that we were not exiting, but instead were in jail.

 

I kept taking the cup that was hanging there and banging it against the bars.  Eventually I peeked out through the bars and saw a man smoking a cigarette right next to us.  I asked him if he had any extra coinage.  He told me he didn't think it would help me in jail.  I told him my probation officer told me to get a job.  He told me it didn't look like I would need a job any time soon.  I told him smoking would stunt his growth.

We shopped some more.  Maddy and I hiked back to the entrance and sat down in some shade to eat some icy treats and have something to drink.  The flea market was set in the middle of what must have once been a field of some sort.  Now it was nothing but dirt and since Indiana hadn't had any rain forever the dirt was dusty and as people walked it just rose up and got clogged in our noses, our mouths, and our lungs.  I was more than ready to leave when the others finished shopping. 

We ended with a trip to an air-conditioned building for a visit to the restrooms.  We all washed our faces and hands to clean up and cool off.  Kelly bought some kettle corn for a treat later that evening while we played games and then we drove back home all hot and sweaty and happy with our purchases.