After a year’s hiatus the National Meet is underway. I got ready to ride the Servi car to Waeseon from my home base at Sauder Village in the steady rain. At this point I really didn’t care about the weather. I was excited about being able to ride into the event on the bike that had carried me through The Cross Country Chase. It is the year of the three wheeler at Waeseon and a special display area was set aside for these vehicles. I enjoy displaying the Servi car and the premium parking at the display is a plus. I met up with my SMC Brothers and Sisters and also got to see a lot of my Chase family members as well. I visited with folks more than I would normally as I am usually busy walking and looking through the huge swap meet. I did manage to grab a couple of small items as well as a new coil from Steve Lemay “Resurrection Cycles” for the Servi car. I grabbed a $9 cheeseburger around 10 a.m. and continued on. I reconnected with the SMC guys to find out that Mike Lyle had purchase a 1939 Harley WR. We all went to check out the new ride. It’s a nice little bike that Mike is proud to own. I would be proud as well. It should make for some interesting stories and learning experiences for us all as Mike brings the bike back up to a reliable state. It was getting late and the rain was continuing to persist so I decided to head back to camp and take Eva out to dinner. We chose Mom’s Diner in Archbold, OH. It’s a retro styled diner complete with juke box, Neon signs and Ms. PacMan in the corner. The sign out front said it all………
The day before!
Eva and I awoke early and hit the bakery/coffee shop once again. It was laundry day so we spent a little time taking care of the necessities. After that we hit the Sauder Village where we found artisans galore. Woodworking, pottery, glass blowing, quilting and blacksmithing. The Sauder Village also has a replica of Archbold, OH set in the 1920’s. This town was complete with a Service Station, Theatre, Drug Store, Soda fountain and much more. I never expected to be happy about getting away from motorcycles for a few days and I’m still not but I’m happy to spend some time with my girl checking out all of these early crafts. The broom shop was incredible where Eva and I got an up close and personal experience in creating a web broom. The mint chip waffle cone was just the ticket afterwards. We checked on the Speakeasy and it seemed to be clouded in secrecy so we decided to pass on that hassle. We retired to our campsite with simple grilled hotdogs and a roaring campfire. I will be riding into the National Meet on The soda Kracker (Servi Car) which has been another kind of wish of mine. Only we know that I am staged up 15 min away.
Relaxing prior to Wauseon
The Sauder Village and campground is awesome! It is the perfect location to prepare for the 2021 AMCA National Meet in Wauseon, OH. Eva and I woke up early to catch the sunrise above Sauder’s Little Lake Erie. We hiked around the trail to find some beautiful horses and glimpses of rabbits dashing across the trail ahead of us. It Was time to visit the Sauder bakery and coffee shop for our morning fix. We also purchased a freshly baked loaf of whole wheat bread and a pound of the famous chicken salad for lunch. Back at camp it was time to do a little maintenance on the Servi car as I am still running hot wired to the coil. After lunch we decided to take another of the numerous hiking trails around the complex. We chose to take the wetlands trail which was full of flowers, lakes and a walnut tree grove. While in the grove Eva spotted a Fox Squirrel. I haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid hunting with Pop. I watched the big brownish-red squirrel for several minutes as he tried to avoid me while never letting go of the walnut he was carrying. We made it back to camp as some of my SMC friends arrived. First it was Erik Bahl and then shortly thereafter SMC President Mike McCloud arrived along with Tommy Harper and Mike Lyle. Things got very entertaining at that point. Erik stayed in the campground while the others checked into the Hotel. There was some disappointment from Tommy when he was advised that there would be no cut-off shorts allowed in the pool. We had a great time of fellowship around the camp and we called it a night as everyone headed back for a good nights sleep.
We found a diamond in the rough!
We left Yogi’s Jellystone park behind and made our way northeastward toward Indianapolis. I reminisced about passing through the city many times in my travels. As I drove Eva would search out our next nights stop. I asked for her to find something as close to Wauseon as possible. And boy did she!. Eva found the Sauder Village resort and campground located in Archbold, OH. The village is the dream of one man “Mr. Sauder”. His idea was to make a place that represented the area’s history. The Village contains time period correct buildings, a working farm, bakery, restaurant, train, horses, a speakeasy and a modern hotel and campground. And on top of all that it is 15 minutes from Wauseon. The speakeasy is open on Thursday evenings only and we were told it has an extensive Bourbon collection. The one catch is that you need to know the secret knock to be allowed entry. We can’t wait for Thursday night and I’ve got to find out about this knock. In addition I will actually be able to ride The Soda Kracker to the meet! How kool is that? Eva really hit a home run with this one. We’ve decided to make this our home base now and for future trips to the National meet.
Making our way through Indiana
We left the Westwood campground on our way to Wauseon. We planned to stop and spend the night in Bloomington, IL so that I could see where my son, Thomas will be studying for his Master’s of Music degree. It was a nice ride on I-64 to I-69 toward Bloomington. Eva tired quickly about my jokes of being on I-69. We arrived hungry and hit the Chik-Fil-A at the Indiana University exit. I spent a year of my early adulthood in the Midwest and it seemed somewhat familiar and comfortable to me. We drove over to the IU campus and Eva navigated us to the Jacobs School of Music. What a striking building and campus. I felt very proud to know that my son will be furthering his education at such a beautiful, well respected institution. OK, enough with that. We were tired and decided to camp at the nearest campground which was Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Campground. We called and made a reservation and pulled into the facility to find countless children running around, swimming, doing arts and crafts and RIDING BIKES. It was the perfect spot for Eva and me to sit back and enjoy watching all the kids.
Post Chase trip to 2021 AMCA National Meet
Eva and I said our goodbyes to our new Chase family and loaded up and headed out of The Cape for Wauseon Ohio. We are going to attend The National AMCA event starting on July 16th. My Birthday! This years theme is The Celebration of 3 Wheels. Of course The Soda Kracker after her legendary run in the 2021 Cross Country Chase has to be there. We’re taking our time and and enjoying time with each other. We decided to stop off for lunch in Benton IL where we were shocked to find the best Carnitas since we left California. We ate until we were stuffed and still couldn’t finish it all. We then stopped by the local Wal-Mart for some camping provisions. I told Eva that we were not going to be staying in a suite at the Marriott in Wauseon so I will break you into the camping gently. Eva chose a KOA in Grayville IL. We knew as soon as we pulled up that she had made the perfect choice. It was an Old Western themed campground. Complete with a jail, saloon and miniature golf. We enjoyed the evening and bedded down for the night. We plan on going through Bloomington IN tomorrow to check out Indiana University and The Jacobs School of Music where Thomas will be attending next month to begin his Masters program.
