Tag Archives: Indiana

Metamora

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Whether I go to Indiana this year or another year, I will get there and now I have even more reason to go. One of the reasons I post my thoughts on my various vacation plans is because I get such great suggestions from you, my readers. Case in point, one of the comments on my Indiana post suggested including a visit to Metamora.

I will freely admit that I had never heard of Metamora and maybe that’s not so unusual because on the home page of it’s website , Metamora is described as Indiana’s Best Kept Secret.

I love hidden gems. We’ve had such good luck finding them in our travels, my sister and me. Probably due to my sister’s good attitude… we’re not lost, we’re sight- seeing.

Anyway Metamora is described as a Canal Town. Having grown up near the Erie Canal I know what that means but as far as I know we don’t have any horse or mule drawn canal boats anymore on the Erie. Well Metamora does. Isn’t that cool? I wonder if we can ride on one?

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They have a Grist Mill too. We have one in Plymouth  and they are great photo ops.

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You know what else they have? A train ride. That’s always a big hit on my trips. I love taking vintage train rides.

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And they have a covered bridge but it covers an aqueduct.  Metamora has the only wood aqueduct still in service in this   country.  It was built to carry the canal 16 feet above the Duck Creek.

aquaductheadNow this kind of stuff gets me excited for vacation. The only problem is that it’s too far from the timeshare location. I would need to arrange to stay in a local Bed and Breakfast or motel. Not that  that’s a bad thing, just that it changes the cost of the vacation a bit.

But Metamora certainly moves Indiana up on my must see list! Thanks for the tip.

Indiana Wants Me

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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!

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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.

H & I

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Oh no, the numbers are stacked against me here. I haven’t been to the “Heartland” of America.

H is for Hawaii

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YES! With an asterisk of course.Hawaii is still my favorite state. Just thinking about it makes my heart flutter. 2 trips so far and hopefully more in my future.  The first trip was  to the Big Island. This trip was amazing. It was the first BIG trip I’d ever taken. The first trip where I’d used my time share. The first Luau I’d ever been to…The Island is amazing, half rain forest and half desert. We explored both and I loved Volcano National Park.  In Hilo we explored the Tsunami Museum and went to the Zoo. Just north of Hilo was a beautiful botanical garden.

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We even got to walk on a black sand beach.

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Trip two was to Oahu where we made a visit to Pearl Harbor, beautiful and emotional. This is a must- see stop on anyone’s bucket list. We visited Waikiki and the Polynesian Cultural Center. We climbed Maka Pupu Point and shopped at the International Market Place. We drove up to the crater of Diamondhead but didn’t climb to the top. Maybe another trip. 🙂 Next up is Maui and the road to Hana!

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I is for Idaho

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No. But it sounds like there’s couple of must do things. Lava Hot Springs for one and Craters of the Moon National Monument, 618 square miles of lava field.

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I is for Illinois

NO. Although I did go to Chicago once for a work seminar. It was probably 30 years ago and I don’t recall much about the city at all.

Of course there’s Chicago itself  and many travelers get into Illinois via O’Hare International Airport, one of the busiest in the country. I do remember being there. I was stuck on my way to Wisconsin. My plane out of Boston had been delayed so I missed my connecting flight. At the time OJ Simpson was still a football hero and  was running through airports in a Hertz Commercial. I remember thinking I felt like that as I raced to my gate only to see the plane taking off as I got there. It’s one of those moments seared into your brain! 🙂

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RT 66 is in Illinois. I saw part of the iconic highway when I was in Arizona. I’ll have to look up how many states it crosses or maybe I should say crossed as many parts are closed now.

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There seem to be a lot of scenic drives in Illinois and I saw something about a Japanese Garden. So More research needs to be done to plan the visit to this state.

I is for Indiana

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No. Once again I have to say I don’t know much about this state. The tourism web site lists National Parks and Monuments, and I know racing is big there; Indianapolis Speedway. It’s the boyhood home of our 16th president so I could certainly include a visit to the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.

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I is for Iowa

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No. I am really lost when it comes to Iowa. It’s broken up into so many sections it’s almost like states within states. 10 different sections to research just to decide what I want to visit! This too will requires some digging and reading on my part.

Boy, I didn’t do well in the “I” category at all!. I’d say that breaks the tie. It’s now 6 visited and  9 on the “not seen” side of the ledger. I really need some suggestions of the  not to miss places for the “I” states. Have you been there? Or maybe you live in one of those states? What is the most important thing to see/visit?

But on to J, K & L.