Indiana Vacation - part 4

I almost forgot to post about the Exotic Feline Rescue

http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org/home.html

The Exotic Feline Rescue Center

2221 E. Ashboro Road, Center Point, IN 47840

(812) 835-1130

Our second day in Indiana our friends took us to this cool rescue. The guide was really nice. There was one guy in the group who kept getting too close to the fence. We all wanted someone to swoop down and eject him. 

Attainable Goals 2014 - Update

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Let's see if any were attained...

 Go to a destination in Tennessee June

Go to a destination in Georgia June

Go to a state park  Ft Clinch, O'Leno, Devils Millhopper

Make 5 recipes from my overloaded Pinterist boards (accomplished a few)

Read 5 books (up to three)

Take a day without computer or phone

Go to one tourist destination in FL that I have never been to   Gatorland! 

Go to Silver Springs because the husband has never been (and it's free entramce)

Find a couch  Accomplished, a free one, then the puppies ate it

Paint at least one wall  painted the kitchen and the door on the second bedroom

Make my own laundry detergent  Done twice

Go camping for more than one night

Make a holiday tradition

Give away things at least 5 times (I would say 3 times with a box awaiting)

Ride my bike 5 times

Volunteer or give to an organization 3 times

Make a craft project

     Go on a girl's trip

     See a drag show


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Indiana Vacation - part 3

While we were in Indiana during Halloween we also went to see home haunted places. Years back the husband and I went to Eastern State Penitentiary. That was a creepy place.

My friend found a haunted library. The Willard library, in Evansville, Indiana, is said to be haunted by The Grey Lady. She has been showing up in the library since the 1930s. We went on Saturday night to one of their tours. It was even free. The library building is huge. The place was packed. Scarier than the ghost were some of the characters in the tour. We joked about them but did not spot any ghosts.

The Grey Lady

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Not that it was haunted, but my friend wanted to go to The Boo at The Zoo at the Louisville Zoo. She made her costume, the Queen of Hearts. She got multiple compliments. I threw together a costume before we left. I thought I was dressed as a farm hand, but ended up I was just dressed regular for around there - the husband's overalls, a striped shirt, a cowboy hat and pigtails. The husband donned his motorcycle gear. He looked the most normal of the group.

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It was a little odd without a child. They had stations set up for trick or treating. Most of the zoo was closed off so everyone went around the mile circle. We did see a snow leopard, a Bongo and a handful of others. They had themed areas decorated. The decorations were great. I forgot the camera or else I would have had a bunch of photos.


Waverly Hills

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We looked forward to going to Waverly Hills Sanatorium. I already had it on my list of places to see. I have a fascination with hospitals, haunted places, etc.

It was packed with people. Not really that far off of the road and up on a hill. It was not quite what I imagined. You parked right in front of the building. We went to a short tour and skipped the haunted house on Halloween. The tour took us only a small part of the immense building. My friend said she saw the shadow people. The only let us use a flashlight on the stairs, so I was focused on not tripping/ Definitely need to check that out for a full tour.

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Indiana Vacation - part 2

We learned during our trip that Indiana is a beautiful state. The fall colors are amazing. Indiana also has a lot of cool parks and nature activities.

Our friends took us to Lincoln State Park on our first day there. It has Lincoln's boyhood home. It was nice to walk around and see the home, barn and equipment. We also went to Brown County State Park.

Lincoln State Park

We also went to Spring Mill on our last day. The pioneer village was closed for the season but we walked around the grounds. It would be cool to see when it's staffed. The park was beautiful and was a good size.

Spring Mill State Park

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The husband and I decided to check out one of the local caverns. We went to the Bluespring Cavern and took the Myst'ry River Voyage. We have been to a cavern and a cave on previous vacations, but never on a boat tour. It was a nice tour and we saw blind fish, crayfish and a ton of frogs.

Bluespring Cavern

The entrance

We also drove a lot. I am convinced it is state law that every town have a square. The towns were adorable. We saw a lot of small towns with empty buildings. I wondered where everything went. The houses were also great. I like to pester the husband and yell "Architectural Tour" if I see a town square or a historic district.

French Lick

Applacres, although spelled wrong, has lots of cool produce etc, plus popcorn samples that made me eat more. 

One of my favorite building in a square was the hotel for sale in Paoli, Indiana. I could imagine us buying it, living in it, running it and the restaurant, plus two store fronts, if we won the lottery. We figured we would lure in the elderly from the local senior center into the restaurant. We could lure hotel guests away from the pretentious French Lick resort down the road. We could lure skiers that come to town for Paoli Peaks.

Indiana Vacation

The husband and I had planned on visiting a friend in Indiana for a while. We lucked out and went during the fall. Since we live in Florida it was a treat to see leaves of other colors and cool weather.

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My friend took her picks and a few we wanted to see and made an iitinerary The husband is not one for having a plan. I usually like to have some idea of points of interest so not to have an blah day out. Or even worse, being in the middle of nowhere. Of course the plan changed when my friend couldn't get much time off.

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The husband's top pick since we were in southern Indiana, about an hour away from Indianapolis, was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). We went there after being there a few days. We got there before they opened. The husband was like a kid in a candy store.

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We lucked out when we got there. They had a bunch of FFA teens and they let us have the reduced FFA rate. We were the only two non-FFA people on the grounds tour bus. They take you around the track on a bus. It was at a much slower speed but incredably cool. The other tracks we have been to only let you walk around the track.

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They took us to the infamous bricks. The husband jumped out of the bus and was the first to kiss them. Of course he had his picture taken and posted it to facebook within 5 minutes.

They also take you around the media center in the Pagoda. They let you take photos in the media room and at the winners circle.

After the ground tour we wandered around the Hall of Fame. We took a zillion pictures.

They even have two gift shops. The husband got a hat and tshirt. He bought his Dad a foam brick. I even got a magnet.

Our next stop that day was the Kokomo Automotive Museum in Kokomo, Indiana. It was aboyt an hour away from IMS. It was a nice museum with only a $5 cost. He took a picture of every car in the museum. I bought a magnet since it was so adoreable.

Kokomo Automotive Museum on Facebook

While we were driving we also stopped at 4 Harley-Davidson dealerships so the husband could pick up more poker chips. The husband loves telling people about his travels to get poker chips. He is even starting to trade chips with others.

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We also stopped that day at Cycle Re-Cycle in Indianapolis. I found them online and knew they would have some parts for the trike project. We picked up a few things and talked to the guy with 30 years of experience.

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I almost forgot to mention that day's lunch. We tasted a local establishment (multiple locations in Indiana). Grindstone Charlie's. We have noticed on vacation that we end up going where the elderly eat during the week. Hey, they know good food and low prices. This place was no exception. The lunch prices were great. They had a variety of options. It was a cold day so I enjoyed a grill cheese and some chili.

Grindstone Charlie's

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