Indiana attractions

Lavender farm near Mooresville

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Lavender field in bloom

Rows of Lavender

 

 

 

 

 

Recently we had a delightful day trip suitable for not only seniors like us but people of any age.  The Willowfield Lavender Farm  is south of Mooresville, Indiana southwest of Indianapolis.

Enjoying the sweet Lavender Mint iced tea

Healthy Lavender plant we now have

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a glass of their fresh Lavender-Mint tea. It was so good that Sher had to have one too. The gift shop was fun to see, and the staff was very friendly and informative. We even bought a live Lavender plant and some lavender soap.

Comfortable seating under shade

Go to the Willowfield Lavender Farm website for hours, directions and special event calendars.

Honey farm in Martinsville

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Martinsville, Indiana is a quaint little town south of Indianapolis in the beginnings of southern Indiana’s hill country. West of town is a family owned, fourth generation of beekeeper’s honey farm producing a multitude of products from bees.

Store signage

Honey for sale!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter’s Honey Farm has 65 beautiful acres providing homes for bees, timber and Christmas trees. The family has been producing honey and honey related products in Indiana for over 100 years.

More honey products

Round table is full of samples!

 

 

 

 

 

The store on site is filled with anything and everything honey! Available for sale is honey, honey comb, honey mustard, honey candy, honey products, raw honey, honey sticks, and a variety of honey based soaps and lotions.

Live bees at work in an award winning display

Of course we bought some honey!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The farm also offers tours of the grounds, including trips out to the timber and Christmas Tree areas as well as bee hives and beekeeping demonstrations. Go to Hunter’s Honey Farm website for details concerning farm tours and upcoming special events. This is a great day trip destination.

Impressive Civil War Memorial includes an anachronism

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Sitting on the north side of the Johnson County Courthouse in Franklin, Indiana is a striking memorial/fountain commemorating the valor of Union Soldiers from Johnson County during the Civil War. John Vawter was a businessman and banker from Franklin. He donated the memorial in 1905. It includes a bronze statue by artist Rudolph Schwarz.

This is a wonderful memorial to the men who served in the Civil War. The anachronism? As a history nerd who has been interested in, and studied military history, I need to point out that the arms and accoutrements on the cavalry trooper looking out over the battlefield are of a kind that did not even exist in 1861 to 1865.

Detail of the Model 1873 Trapdoor Springfield

The carbine is a Springfield “Trapdoor” that fired a 45/50 cartridge. This firearm was not invented until 1873, and was issued in both rifle and carbine lengths. The cartridge box on the trooper’s belt appears to also be from the 1870’s and designed for brass cartridges. The statue is a very good portrayal of a trooper from the mid 1870’s on.

This is an impressive memorial, complete with all branches of the services represented under the lion heads fountains. It is interesting that the statue artist picked the wrong model for his rendition of the trooper. It doesn’t take away from the honor given to the Civil War soldiers from Johnson County.

When it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

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Riley statue at the courthouse

You have no doubt heard the saying “When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” That quote is from James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier Poet. He is from Greenfield, Indiana, a small town east of Indianapolis.

Riley was noted for his down home use of dialect that epitomized rural Indiana. He is famous for his remarkable volume of poems. He wrote and published over 1000 verses. His most popular are “Little Orphant Annie”, “The Raggedy Man,” “Our Hired Girl,” “A Barefoot Boy,” “The Bumblebee,” “Granny,” and “When the Frost Is on the Punkin.”

Mural with verses from his “Wet Weather Talk” poem

Displays at Ford’s Garage

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Ford’s Garage in Noblesville, Indiana is one of a chain of 24 restaurants. The lion’s share, 18, are located in Florida with others in Texas, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. The first one opened in 2012 in Ft. Meyers, Florida. It was a mere mile away from the winter residence of Henry Ford himself.

The outside, patio seating is behind the 4 openings

The overall ambiance and décor of the Noblesville establishment, like all of the locations, is based around a 1920’s service station. You have to have cars at a service station, thus you are immediately seeing vintage Ford Model A cars on the outside of the facility.

The entrance

Front door handles

Shop rag and hose clamp for tableware!

Ford Garage branded on the bun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you’re seated, and even on the way to your table, your eyes are filled with all kinds of Ford and automotive items. The more you look, the more you’ll see! Ford memorabilia and 1920’s pictures and car items are everywhere.

The way to the restrooms

Unique RR sink

The quote on the back wall is Ford’s “any color as long as it’s black”

Nice old race car

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a wonderful and fun place. The food and drinks are great. The whole Ford theme is most interesting. If you want a unique dining experience Ford’s Garage is the place for you.

 

Antique cars and gourmet burgers

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Ford’s Garage in Noblesville, Indiana is not a place to have your car repaired or serviced. No, it is one of a nationwide chain of restaurants that features vintage Ford cars and an overall historic automotive theme giving the feel of a 1920’s service station.

Touted as a gourmet burger and craft beer establishment, our table was in the open air portion of the seating areas. We had already looked at the menu online, and had a good idea what specialty drinks we were interested in trying. Sher ordered the Lincoln Punch and Maj had the Model Tea. (Note the Ford auto name connections!)

” Lincoln Punch” made with Mount Gay Rum, Blackberry Puree, Pineapple Juice, Orange Juice, and Lemon Juice

“Model Tea” made with Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Lemon Juice, and Sweet Tea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at the menu for the large number of gourmet burgers available was kind of a wow, what to order moment. All of the burgers are made with a 1/2 pound of Black Angus beef. A bison burger is also on the menu. When Maj mentioned to our server that he was looking at the burgers, she immediately recommended “The Estate Burger”.  That was a good choice as it turned out.

Smoked Gouda Cheese, Sweet Red Onion Marmalade, Arugula, Tomato, Fried Onion Straws, and White Truffle Bacon Aioli on a Brioche Bun

Sher and our son shared a couple of appetizers. As is true with most menu items, the Ford auto theme is utilized again. The “Giant Funnel Tower of Jumbo Piston Onion Rings” and “Edsel’s Hot Pretzels” were complimented with “Ford’s Fries”. As the photo shows, the onion rings were served on a tall funnel!

Salted Soft Pretzels, Served with Ford’s Beer Cheese and Honey Mustard Dipping Sauces

Jumbo Piston Rings Served with Homemade Chipotle Ketchup and Hidden Valley Ranch®

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a most enjoyable time at Ford’s Garage in Noblesville. The service was good and the food was delicious and filling, too. The ambiance of the place is very unique and provides a fun dining event for you and your family or group. There is such a wide variety of good stuff on the menu, both the food and drink. Ford’s Garage should be on your dining agenda. Be on the lookout for other Ford’s Garage franchises around the country.

Historic Seagram’s Distillery in Lawrenceburg

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Driving along US 50 through Lawrenceburg, Indiana, it is hard to miss the large complex of tall red brick buildings and multiple silver tanks that are part of the former Seagrams Distillery plant that straddles the Lawrenceburg and Greendale city boundaries. The current owner/operator of the facility is now MGP Ingredients, based out of Kansas.

This building has multiple floors of aging racks for 550 pound barrels of whisky

The Cincinnati Magazine published a fascinating and detailed story about the history of the Seagram’s Distillery, its current owners, and the ins and outs of the distillery business around the country. Read that article here. 

This paragraph is from the Cincinnati Magazine article.  “According to (Master Distiller Greg) Metze, it all starts with the water. MGP Ingredients sits on an aquifer, just a short walk from the Ohio River (most of the facility is actually in Greendale). That 56-degree water—low in sulfur and iron, high in calcium, and limestone-filtered—lets MGP make a lot of whiskey, and also have a continuous source for cooling the equipment. That’s why there were so many distilleries in Lawrenceburg in the 1800s. MGP’s began life as the Rossville Union Distillery in 1847; after Prohibition, in 1933, it was purchased by the legendary Canadian company Seagram. Right next door was Squibb, which opened in 1846 (though another distillery, Dunn and Ludlow, was on that patch of land in 1807) and became part of the Delaware company Schenley in 1933.”

More aging racks, and the tower houses multi-story continuous column stills

We were on a day trip to southern Indiana, the Ohio River and Lawrenceburg. The Seagram’s facility is huge, and we decided to drive over to the site, having never done that before.   Unfortunately we discovered that the new owners do not offer public tours of this historic distillery. At one time the Seagram’s plant employed over 2800 at the distillery and bottling plant. It is truly an iconic business with a rich and colorful history.

 

LOVE statue is now 53 years old

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LOVE outside at the IMA in the early years

Robert Indiana was born in 1928 as Robert Clark. He changed his name to Indiana in 1958 to show his roots in the Midwest. His first widespread use of the stacked four letters of “LOVE” was a Christmas card in 1964 for the New York Museum of Modern Art. This design creation led to the LOVE sculpture constructed of Cor-ten steel in 1970. LOVE in steel was first put on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It made the rounds of several American cities for five years until it returned to the IMA. After needed restoration was performed due to weathering of the steel, it is now displayed inside the museum building to protect it from the elements.

Permanent display inside the IMA

Remember 8 cent stamps?

The design was also the inspiration of a USPS 8 cent stamp in 1973. Countless copies of the statue were made and sold over the years, however Robert Indiana had failed to copyright his design, thus he did not reap the benefits. He died at the age of 89.

 

Hard Truth Distilling Co. cinnamon vodka

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Here I am tasting the Cinnamon Vodka

Nashville is in Brown County, one of Indiana’s most popular tourist destinations. Last year we found the Hard Truth Distilling Co. on the outskirts of this quaint little town.

Hard Truth began in Nashville above a pizza parlor, and has developed into a full tasting facility and a separate restaurant, all set on beautifully landscaped grounds just outside of town. We went to the tasting room, where we each had samples of many of the distillery’s products.

We liked many of the offerings, however our absolute favorite was the Cinnamon Vodka. This spirit is made with their original, wheat-based vodka and premium, natural ingredients to produce an awesome true cinnamon flavor drinking experience. This has 30% alcohol by volume, in other words 60 Proof.

Photo courtesy Hard Truth Distillery

We enjoy it mixed with lime soda, as a chilled straight shot and even in coffee and tea. There are several recipes utilizing this great spirit on the Hard Truth website. Well worth your time to visit the site.