Back in the land of motorhomes and mega-churches

After a relaxing weekend in St Louis, we were on our way to Indiana for our annual pilgrimage to the land of motorhome repair. We stopped at Reyco Granning to try to get a diagnosis of our sheared bolt incident only to be told “not our problem. We don’t make the bolt”.

The $2,000 Bolt

That sent us off to Spartan and Newmar. Can’t get the words of that 70’s song out of my head – “Indiana wants me, Lord I can’t go back there”.

John wanted his “birthday burger” at the Hunter’s Hideaway in Nappanee. Nothing like a 1/3 pound burger covered with green olives and blue cheese crumbles. Our favorite waitress, Miriam, was there anxious to serve us the few airline-sized bottles of chardonnay that they had in their back refrigerator.

Miriam at the Hunters Hideaway

With 3 big screen TV’s playing, we ate our dinner watching CNN, ESPN and the Hunting Channel. Watching men with high powered rifles and scopes killing animals really enhanced the dining experience.

We were scheduled to be in Decatur, Indiana for some carpet repair and grout cleaning/sealing on John’s birthday.

The highlight of our day- a trip to Huntington, IN to see Dan Quayle Center and Vice Presidential Museum. Yes, the man who gave us an alternate spelling for potato….(remember “potatoe”)…. has a museum and “Learning Center”.

The museum-- whose slogan is “Second to One”—is in an old Christian Science Church and tells the story of all of our Vice Presidents- from John Adams to Joe Biden. Each VP has his own display with political cartoons, letters and memorabilia. Spiro Agnew even has his own board game, doll, hard hat and trash basket.

Spiro Agnew's Exhibit

While Dan contributed 400 boxes of personal papers, Dick Cheney has said that he would “think about it”…

Part of the museum is dedicated to Dan Quayle memorabilia- Marilyn’s inaugural gown, the “Danny sweater” he wore as a child—even his dog-chewed law degree with photos of his dog, Barnaby.

Dan's Childhood Sweater...

Dan's dog-eared law degree--and the dog who chewed it

We wanted to visit Nick’s Kitchen – Dan’s favorite restaurant. In 1988, Dan stood on a chair in the restaurant and started his campaign during the Bush-Quayle election.

Nick's Kitchen in downtown Huntington

We intended to get the famous “Quayle Burger”- but found that we were at the birthplace of the pork tenderloin sandwich. In 1904, Nick Freinstein started selling them from a pushcart before opening his restaurant, Nick’s Kitchen, in 1908. Legend has it that his brother Jake, had too much whiskey one winter night and passed out drunk in the snow. The fingers on both hands were frostbitten and had to be amputated. Nick put Jake to work at his restaurant pounding out tenderloin with his stumps. Today, the meat is run through a meat cuber twice, marinated for 24hours in buttermilk, eggs and flour, then dredged in crunchy cracker crumbs, deep fried, and served on an extra-large five-inch bun. The meat extends at least 3 or 4 inches beyond the bun.

Breaded Tenderloin Sandwich and Sugar Cream Pie ...Mmmm!
Nick’s is also known for their “Sugar Cream Pie” –a cream pie made with sugar, milk and whipping cream (the official state pie of Indiana!) A birthday surprise for John!

Couldn’t leave Huntington without a drive-by their other claim to fame—the “Privy Collection”. Hy Goldenberg and his wife Lorry started collecting privies (out-houses) in 1960. After Hy died, Lorry donated their collection to the Huntington County Historical Museum.

"The Privy Museum"
On the road home–cow houses

And the Markle, Indiana happy face water tower.