FINALLY Visiting an Elusive Museum and Coming Home (Day 16)

One of the places I have always wanted to visit was the RV Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Indiana.  I know it sounds silly, but I have driven by there many time and never been able to go.  Either I had some place to be, it was closed on that day, I drove though too late at night, or something else.  I've never been able to go.  Well I made sure that I was going to go on this trip.  

I had slept in the George N Craig Travel Plaza along I-80 the night before.  I didn't sleep great, but I got enough sleep to drive safely.  That morning I got up around 8:00 a.m. and went to the Cracker Barrel up the road for breakfast.  After breakfast, I headed over to the RV Hall of Fame and Museum just as they were opening.   

Elkhart is the RV manufacturing capital of the world.  Where I love being on the road, RVs and modes of transportation for being on the road have always fascinated me.  The collection at this museum was stunning.  So many amazing vehicles which have been preserved and put on display for all to enjoy.  

Overall the museum was well worth the wait and I highly recommend going for anyone who is interested.  I was done with the museum around 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and headed out on the road.  But before I did, I needed to do something for work and got to use my awesome steering wheel desk.  

The drive home took about 10 hours with a stop for some food.  I got home around 9:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, just in time to unpack the car and relax before going to bed earlier.  

Overall, this trip was amazing.  I got to see some amazing places I thought I'd never see before.  I got to see some friends that I don't get to see nearly enough.  I got to take my wife and kids on some amazing experiences.  There was just so much to love about this trip and I can't wait to get to visit Michigan again sometime soon.    

A Day of Trolls, Mustard and Metal (Day 15)

I don't sleep very late in the day anymore at my age.  This is especially the case when I'm not in my own bed.  That was the case as I woke up on this Sunday morning.  I decided, instead of waking up my hosts, I would get in the car and go for a drive.  The previous day, as we were driving to New Glarus, Wisconsin, we drove through a town called Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.  This was a neat town as they had a bunch of troll statues around town.  They were also having a arts and crafts fair.  So I decided to make the hour and 15 minute ride over to check it out. 

I got there just before the arts and crafts fair had opened and decided to walk around, take some pictures of some of the troll statues, and do some shopping.  The town had a very neat vibe to it.  The whole troll aspect was fascinating and really neat.  

I walked up and down the aisles, checking out the vendors, and even did some shopping.  I bought Avery a Chicago Cubs scrunchie and I bought my mom a cardinal statue for her garden. 

While there I decided to stop at Brix Cider House.  They were just opening up and I was able to sample some of their ciders. 

After enjoying some ciders, I went over to the Grumpy Troll Brew Pub and had some lunch. I had a really good pulled pork sandwich and a flight of beers. 

Once I got done eating, the arts and crafts festival was getting a little crowded so I decided to take off.  I drove over to Middleton, Wisconsin to check out the National Mustard Museum.  

I had heard of this place before, but never visited.  These are the types of places that I like to visit when I'm on the road. It was really neat to see how many different types of mustard they had. 

They had mustards from all over the United States and the World. 

You could even sample and buy some of the mustards in their store.

Once I was done with the National Mustard Museum, I headed back to Milwaukee and drove directly to American Family Field (formerly Miller Park).  That is where the Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett concert was going on.  I met up with K9, his wife, and their friend in the parking lot and headed in.  

This was unlike any concert I've ever been to in my life as the stadium was jam-packed for the opening act, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. It was really electric in the stadium and people were having a lot of fun. The crowd sang along to every song.  Joan Jett was surprisingly good. I missed seeing her when she played in Washington, DC the previous month.  Her music sounded great and the crowd was really into it. 

Next up was Poison.  I saw Poison play in Washington DC the previous month and they were outstanding.  They really got the crowd going and they are one of my favorite bands. So it was pretty awesome seeing them again.  

Next up was Def Leppard.  Again, I saw Def Leppard the previous month in Washington DC.  We were on the verge of some thunderstorms when they played in DC, so the stadium wasn't full.  Unlike the Washington DC show, the crowd went absolutely nuts for Def Leppard. There's points where they were playing and you could barely hear Joe Elliott's vocals over the crowd singing along. This was hands down one of the greatest concerts I have ever seen in my life. 

Finally, Motley Crue played.  I had missed Motley Crue the previous month when they played in Washington DC, as there was a two and a half hour delay due to thunderstorms.  I had my daughters with me at that concert and didn't think it was appropriate to make them wait until 11:00 or midnight to see Motley Crue play.  So we went home. 

Motley Crue is really good live, and it was fun to see them again. I had not seen them since August  2015. However, their show was nothing compared to the show that Def Leppard had just put on. 

Once the show was over, I said goodbye to my friends and got in the car. I had to get back to Maryland and needed to be at work on Tuesday.  Since it was 11:00 p.m. on a Sunday night and I didn't want to deal with Chicago traffic in the morning, I got in the car and began to drive. My goal was to see how far I could drive before I got tired. 

I ended up making it all the way to Elkhart, Indiana. There, I slept in the car behind the building at the George N Craig Travel Plaza along I-80.  I got there around 4:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and slept for about 4 hours.  My goal for getting to Elkhart, Indiana was so I could go to the National RV Hall of Fame and Museum before driving back to Maryland.