Indiana Wants Me

Posted on February 16, 2014February 16, 2014 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Back to my vacation decision making. I feel pretty comfortable saying Idaho should be left for another year and another style of vacation. Colorado is still in the running. The next State with a timeshare exchange where I haven’t visited is Indiana. And that gave me a “ear worm” you know when a song gets stuck in your head and you can’t get it out?

The minute I saw Indiana had an exchange I heard the song Indiana Wants Me start running through my head. I can only remember the refrain so that makes it especially annoying. (Indiana wants me, Lord, I can’t go back there
Indiana wants me, Lord, I can’t go back there
I wish I had you to talk to)
Anyway Indiana has 1 exchange in Mishawaka, the Varsity Club of America.

According to the timeshare description this time share is located in the heart of a college town with easy access to the University of Notre Dame. It’s near the Indiana / Illinois line only 100 miles from Chicago.

A more interesting location for me anyway is Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Carl Sandburg once wrote “The dunes are to the Midwest what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona.

Charles Kuralt sang the praises of Madison but that little town is located in the southeastern part of the state. Too far from Mishawaka. Same goes for Nashville and Brown County.

About 4 hours away in west central is Parke County. Parke County is the unofficial covered bridge capital of the World. Ahhh my photographer’s heart is going pit-a- pat! But what a long drive that would be. How much time would I have to explore the bridges if I have to drive 4 hours each way?

Only an hour from Mishawaka is the little town of Topeka. Why do I mention this? Because if popcorn had a world headquarters it would be here. Yoder Popcorn Shoppe sells popcorn “the way you remember it”. That’s tempting!

And that about sums up Indiana. I’m not a Nascar fan so the Indianapolis 500 or anything about the speedway wouldn’t be an attraction for me. I won’t rule it out yet but unless you folks can give me more suggestions I don’t think it will beat out Colorado.

Once again, I look to you, my readers and followers for comments, suggestions and advice about Indiana as a vacation spot. Remember, base camp is in Mishawaka.

Photo of the Week~ Week 5

Posted on February 4, 2014February 4, 2014 by Dusty Roads

And the week 5 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Meditation Center with a total of 30 points.

To order prints click here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/h3ee3543b#h3ee3543b

When is a Bridge more than a Bridge?

Posted on January 10, 2014January 10, 2014 by Dusty Roads

When is a Bridge more than a bridge? When it’s covered , of course.

Pennsylvania is supposed to have the most covered bridges. It is also supposed to have had the most covered bridges of any state throughout history. Estimates say there was at least 1500 during the height of bridge building. But don’t forget Vermont.

Vermont has the most covered bridges per square mile or at least it did have before the bad weather in recent years started taking them out and turning them into matchsticks. I’m not sure where the count stands now.

New Hampshire has bunch and I got to see some of them on my vacation to Waterville Valley.

The one I want to talk about here is the one in Rhode Island. Up until I started researching this bridge I thought it was the only one in Rhode Island. Most articles say Rhode Island has just the one but there’s a rumor that there’s a newer bridge in Lincoln Woods State Park. I may have to check that out.

But back to the bridge of the day, little Swamp Meadow Covered Bridge in Foster , RI. This little bridge was a real labor of love. A replica of an early 19th-century structure, it was built by volunteers back in 1994. The timber was logged from nearby forests and the 40-foot-long bridge straddles Hemlock Brook, north of the small town of Foster, just off Route 94. It uses the lattice-truss method of construction and was rebuilt in 1994.

It’s officially listed as part of the “leaf-peeper trail. A true treasure to see.

I saw a documentary on covered bridges on PBS and that show mentioned that the Swamp Meadow bridge had burned down. It was determined it was arson and the cuplrits, 3 village youths, eventually were identified and apprehended. But that wasn’t the end of the story. The community banded together to rebuild the bridge. The bridge burned on September 11, 1993 and was rededicated in November 1994 and stands to this day.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2013December 27, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Christmas is behind us but the Christmas Season doesn’t have to end there. I remember as a kid we always kept our tree up after the New year. I think it was about a week. I always thought it was to get plenty of enjoyment out of the tree. It goes up the day after Thanksgiving and comes down the week after New Year. But it turns out there is a reason for leaving the tree up until January 6th. The 12 days of Christmas aren’t the 12 days leading up to Christmas Day, but the 12 days between December 25 and January 6!

This period is also known as Christmastide and Twelvetide. The Twelfth Day of Christmas is always on Epiphany Eve (5 January), but the Twelfth Night can either precede or follow the Twelfth Day according to which Christian tradition is followed.

England’s Boxing Day falls in this period as does Childermas or the Feast of the Innocents.

Currently, the twelve days and nights are celebrated in widely varying ways around the world. Some give gifts only on Christmas Day, some only on Twelfth Night, and some each of the twelve nights.

The custom of the 12 days is largely forgotten or ignored in the United States which is probably why I was unaware until I looked it up! After all the Saints and Feasts that are celebrated in the various branches of Christianity are done, what I got out of my research is that the 12 days are the time between the birth of Jesus and his baptism.

So if you plan to give your sweetheart the gifts from the Song, The 12 Days of Christmas, it’s not too late. But you’ll have to hurry … On the first day of Christmas my truelove gave to me a Partridge in a pear tree…

Virginia

Posted on October 26, 2013October 26, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I struggled with this state too. Virginia has so many things to offer to the exploring tourist and I’ve seen so few but I have been in the state for more than an change of planes. My brother and his family live in Virginia and I’ve been to visit them for more than a day or two. I’ve also been to Arlington National Cemetery.

Speaking of Arlington National Cemetery, this is where you have to go if you want to understand the true cost of war. Row upon row of nearly identical white headstones march across the the rolling acres of grass. More than 300,000 veterans from the Revolutionary War to Iraq have been laid to rest here.

This is where you can find the Tomb of the Unknowns and pay your respects to those lost and never recovered or identified. Those brave soldiers who have never been able to return home to their loved ones in life or in death.

John F. Kennedy is also buried here where the eternal flame is maintain for all time, marking the resting place of a president, a commander in chief.

Shenandoah Valley – Shenandoah is a Native American word meaning “Daughter of the Stars”. My brother lives in near here and another friend has gone rafting down the lazy river. I’d like to take the time to explore the Shenandoah National Park.

For me, there’s another must see…Chincoteague. The Eastern Shore runs from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (A marvel all it’s own) to the Maryland border. At the northern end of the shoreline is the island the Indians called Chincoteague; ‘Beautiful land Across the Waters” . A band of wild horses makes this island their home. Made famous in the book and later the movie , Misty of Chincoteague, the band is actually split into two herds, one located on Virginia’s side and the other on Maryland’s. There’s a yearly round up and auction in July to control the size of the herd.

Monticello, the dream home of Thomas Jefferson is located in Charlottesville , VA. Only 11 of the first floor rooms are open to the public but still worth a stop.

The vacation I am toying with for 2014 is historic Colonial Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg recreates the period from 1750-1775, the end of the Colonial era. Reenactors dressed in period clothing and speaking the dialect of the time roam the cobblestone streets.

There’s still so much more to Virginia…The Blue Ridge Parkway, George Washington’s beloved Mount Vernon, Busch Gardens, and many civil war sites such as Fredericksburg, Lexington, Manassas and Appomattox, and historic Richmond.

I have one last shout out to another blogger and new B &B owner. I want to visit Bell Grove Plantation. I’ve watched the B&B their get ready for their launch and now they are “live” so I really want to visit to see it in person. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Belle-Grove-Plantation-at-Port-Conway/271783509524776?id=271783509524776&sk=app_190322544333196

So although I’m adding Virginia to the yes side of the countdown, it really needs one or more repeat visits to see it all.

The tally now stands at 19/27