Notre Dame, Indiana

3 Sep 2013

On Thursday, we headed out to South Bend for the opening football game.  Chris was able to come with us and spend a few days camping and visiting Notre Dame. Our campground is about 8 miles away from campus, so it was pretty convenient. This is the first time he has stayed with us in our new trailer. The slideouts made for a very comfortable living area to visit in. He enjoyed watching some TV since he has been without cable since his move to a new apartment last month.  And the sofa converts into a base for a queen sized air mattress, so he had a very comfortable bed to sleep in. I fixed him some of his favorite dishes and enjoyed getting to spoil him a bit.

Friday and Saturday were Notre Dame days.  We visited all our favorite spots around the campus and had fun listening to some of Chris’ reminisces. The students were all excited for the game and the pep rally Friday evening was loud and rowdy. The day was hot, the temps were in the 90s. We managed to keep cool enough though.

Game day started out a little cooler than Friday, but very muggy.  It lightly rained around 2 pm, but then the skies cleared and it got warm again.  Much more tolerable than Friday though. One of Chris’ high school buddies was visiting Chicago for the weekend and was able to come out to South Bend for the game. We enjoyed showing Alex a little of the campus and listening to Chris and Alex trade college stories (Alex went to Cal.) The game was exciting, especially since the Irish won. We had dinner in the South Dining Hall for the traditional Candlelight Dinner.  It was like eating in the great hall at Hogwarts, I swear. We had to get Alex to the train station to catch the last train to Chicago, so it was a whirlwind visit, but well worth it.

Sunday we got up early and drove Chris back to Chicago so he could go to work.  Miss him already.

Then on Monday, we went to Shipshewana.  Ah….Shipshewana.  The best quilt shop I have ever been to is in Shipshewana.  Not to mention the very best fresh soft pretzels. Russ was a good trooper since I spent over 2 hours in Lolly’s looking and looking and looking, then buying and buying.  I came away with several projects to keep me busy this fall and winter.  Shipshewana is in the middle of a large Amish community and we saw lots of Amish moms and their children shopping. We got over to Yoder’s in time to roam through the hardware store and then the department store where I bought some more fabric. It was a little early for dinner, so we spent some time driving through the countryside.  We saw lots of Amish activities – men driving four horse teams from the fields, children helping their mom dig potatoes in the garden, buggies going home from shopping in town and families out for a bike ride after dinner. The weather was beautiful so I left my window down as we meandered down the county roads.  That is, until a wasp blew in through the window and stung me on my arm. OUCH!! After an Amish dinner at the Blue Gate Restaurant, we headed back to our campsite.

We had one more day in the South Bend area, so we headed out to the RV Hall of Fame in Elkhart. Enjoyed seeing all the old trailers, but it sure made me appreciate the luxuries we have in our new trailer. We tried to find the place where our trailer was built, but Forest River has several manufacturing plants in the area and we couldn’t figure out which was the right one. The rest of the day was spent relaxing around the campsite and running some errands.

Tomorrow we start heading west.

Standing at the Knute Rockne gate.

No visit to Notre Dame would be complete without a stop at the bookstore to stock up on some Notre Dame shirts and souvenirs.

Russ and Chris were taking a rest while waiting for the trumpet performance in the Main Building.

 

About 30 trumpets from the band played the fight song and alma mater in the Main Building under the golden dome.

 

There are several of these symbols on the side of Hesburgh library, depicting important events in Jesus' life and resurrection.

The Golden Dome.

 

Walking around campus - this is the Law Building.  The room that is above the walkway is their study room.

 

Pretty cool for a company car.

The Grotto.

These are the lakes that Father Sorin saw when he came to start Notre Dame in 1842.  There are actually two lakes, but he thought there was only one since he arrived in the middle of winter and things are frozen and snowed over. So the official name of Notre Dame is "Our Lady of the Lake", not Lakes.

Lots of tradition going on during football weekend. This is a volunteer group of drummers and pipers who give short concerts around campus.

 

For the pep rally, each dorm generally comes as a group with their own flag and shirts, cheering and singing.

The mascot stopped often to get his picture taken with fans.

After some rousing cheers and songs with the band and cheerleaders, the coach and team entered and gave a few words of wisdom.

 

This is a shot of South Quad showing gameday festivities.  In addition to tailgating which takes place to the south of the stadium, North and South Quad was full of fans enjoying the sights and food cooked by the various dorms and clubs. You had to watch out for the bazillion footballs that all the little and not-so-little football players were tossing around.

Chris, Alex and Russ striking the traditional pose with Touchdown Jesus in the background.

Alex at the game.

Touchdown Jesus keeping watch over the stadium.

Leading the team out onto the field.

Here Come the Irish!!!

On the way to a touchdown!  Go Irish!

Catching a punt return.

The student section.

I spent a lot of my time watching the student section doing their cheers.

Final score!!

Enjoying dinner in South Dining Hall.

An Amish parking lot in Shipshewana.

I love "Lolly's" quilt shop!

In Yoder's hardware store, there are lots of things that the Amish folks use in addition to the standard things you would expect to find.

Haven't seen one of these things in Home Depot lately.

This is a typical well-tended Amish farm.

Lots of buggies were on the road.

We saw several families out for a walk in the late afternoon sun.

The RV Hall of Fame was laid out as a road through time.

This is the very earliest "RV". It was pulled by a Model T.  In those days, things were custom made as there wasn't yet an RV industry.

Imagine that - a pot belly stove to keep your RV warm.  There weren't specially made RV parts, people used things they had around their home and farm.

Trailers weren't big in the old days.  Did not have the comforts we expect today, including a bathroom and a full kitchen.

This is a 10 foot Airstream.  It never went to production, so this is the only one of its kind.