Journey Back to Chicago

Our journey continued from Jackson, Michigan to Holland, Michigan for a three day hiatus. We visited friends but mainly relaxed. On Sunday we joined Jay and Elaine True to attend their church for service then had lunch at Bowerman's Blueberries Farm Market. Later that evening we entertained them at our campsite for great conversation with good friends and a barbecued pork chop dinner.

Monday afternoon, July 13 we drove into Grand Rapids, Michigan to visit Steve Parlette, a fellow RVICS friend who was recovering from open-heart surgery in the hospital. We have served with Steve and Joyce on a couple of projects in the past and they are dear friends. So, it was a priority to try and get in a visit if possible. Steve was in good spirits and even was up and walking around while we were there. He and Joyce have a daughter in the area and they can stay in the RV location until middle of August. We pray Steve's recovery process goes smoothly and he gets back to his regular self again. He and Joyce need and have our prayers for the recovery process in the coming months.

Later that same day we joined Gary and Mickey Vander Veen back in Holland for a porch visit and later dinner at their home. We first met on the road while traveling back from Alaska on Highway 37 Stewart-Cassiar Scenic Route. They also have a Alliance Avenue 32RLS and we like to compare our experiences with our RV units; good and bad.

From the Ottawa County Fairgrounds in Holland we traveled south to visit Bontrager's Surplus in White Pigeon, Michigan. Bontrager’s Surplus, Inc. is a family owned and operated RV business. It began in 1972 as Bontrager’s Cabinet Shop. Henry Bontrager, a long time employee in the RV industry, set up shop in a shed behind his home with the idea of building cabinets. However, with his knowledge of the RV industry, he would hear of deals on surplus materials offered by the RV companies in nearby Elkhart, Indiana. Never one to turn down a bargain, he would purchase these items, and then set them outside his cabinet shop. Before long, the sideline surplus business had taken over the cabinet shop.

This place was as big as a Home Depot but spread out with multiple buildings.

We went looking for a replacement sink for our bathroom but didn't find anything we liked. It was truly a massive facility and looked like a great place to get replacement appliances, furniture and just about any thing you might need.

Since we were close to Shipshewana, a town in Newbury Township, LaGrange County, Indiana we had to stop by for a visit. In the heart of Northern Indiana, Shipshewana is where visitors experience one of the largest Amish communities in the United States. LaGrange County is home to more than 28,000 Amish residents as of 2025 — the third-largest Amish population in America, following Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and Holmes County, Ohio.

While the town of Shipshewana itself has fewer than 1,000 residents, it serves as the cultural and commercial hub of Indiana Amish Country. Surrounded by picturesque Amish farms and rolling countryside, Shipshewana is where Amish families come to work, shop, dine, and gather — creating an authentic experience visitors can truly feel the moment they arrive.

Here, horse-drawn buggies share the roads, family-owned businesses welcome guests with handmade goods and traditional cooking, and a slower pace of life invites you to reconnect with what matters most. From Amish bakeries and quilt shops to scenic backroads and local markets, Shipshewana offers a genuine glimpse into Amish heritage and everyday life.

After our brief stop in Shipshewana we continued on to our one night stay at the Elkhart Campground. The next morning we headed over to the Alliance RV facility to talk with Kyle Prater, Customer Experience Manager to discuss some warrenty repair and other items we want to update. Kyle was awesome and got us in touch with Brittanie Medlen, Service Advisor at Alliance RV so we can schedule a repair appointment when we return to the area in 2027.

From Elkhart, Indiana we drove three hours and 152 miles to our next stop in Elgin, IL. The trafffic around Gary, Indiana was stop and go for about an hour and added some time to our trip. We eventually arrived at the Paul Wolffe Campground located within Burnidge Forest Preserve, one mile west of Randall Road on Big Timber Road.

All this for $41 a night...a super deal this close to Chicago!

Plenty of room for the RV and truck. The water was two hoses away but the 50A pedestal was close.

Beautiful campground. Well maintained with very friendly hosts. Navigating through the park with our 35-ft RV was easy, and the sites were long enough for both our RV and truck. (We chose a back-in site; there are a few pull-thru's as well.) Plenty of space between sites. We went into Chicago a couple of days on the Metra train, the station is just a couple of miles from the campground.

We had some horrible air quality on Thursday, July 16 due to fire smoke from Canada. We ventured into the city anyway and took the Hop ON Hop OFF bus tour to get a better idea of other sights to visit. We decided to return on Saturday to visit the Planetarium when the air quality improved; this Planetarium was not that impressive and a bit of a disapointment. We decided to take the Red Line L out to Rate Field (site of the old Comiskey Park was across the street) where the Chicago White Soxes play their home games. This was an information gathering trip to see how easy or difficult it is getting to the ballpark on a game day.

This is the METRA train we traveled on into Union Station, downtown Chicago from Elgin Station. The train ride took about an hour and ten minutes.

Union Station Chicago is the hub for all the METRA and AMTRAK trains.

A short walk from Union Station over the Chicago River gets you to the #130 CTA bus stop out to the planetarium .

The planetarium did provide a great view of the city.

The Chicago Board of Trade building is a 44-story, 604-foot Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street "canyon".

On Sunday, July 19th we attended Calvary Chapel Cardunal in Algonquin, IL not far from our campsite. We met some wonderful brothers and sisters in the faith there and enjoyed the teaching from the Book of Philippians by Pastor Eric Bentz. After the service we returned to Paul Wolffe to hook up and head out to a return trip to Waupun County Park on 825 County Park Rd, Waupun, WI.