travel

Oldenburg 1871 Sorrowful Mother Shrine

/ Roadtirementvintage / 17 Comments

Oldenburg Indiana is known for its rich religious history. Founded in 1837 by German settlers, it is known as the “Village of Spires” due to the multiple church steeples that make up the town’s skyline.

Located about a mile outside the town limits visitors will find the beautiful Sorrowful Mother Shrine, erected in 1871 by Siegfried Koehler, who had arrived in Oldenburg from Alsace, France in the late 1830’s.

The Altar

Prayer bench

 

 

 

 

 

The statue on the altar is actually a plaster cast of the original that Koehler brought with him on the ship from France. The original was found to be hand carved from black walnut, and now is in the Holy Family Catholic Church in Oldenburg to protect it from vandalism.

The Seven Sorrows of Mary

Seven Sorrows pictured

 

 

 

 

 

The shrine is found on a country road, and is in a beautiful setting. Trees, lawns and a stone bench ad to the ambience. While it can be locked, the shrine was open the day we visited. This is a Holy and Sacred place, and you can feel peace and serenity at the shrine.

A fun Saturday discovery

/ Roadtirementvintage / 20 Comments

Wine bar to serve you

Sher and I wanted to have a new experience Saturday. We had been looking for nearby attractions, and found that there was a winery near Batesville, Indiana, about half way between Indianapolis and Cincinnati.  Ertel Cellars Winery is a well established winery and bistro, offering both excellent varieties of wines and varied and delicious menu selections in the restaurant.

Loving that wine!

Studying the wine list

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s a burger

We decided to have our meal on the outside covered patio. The seating was in very comfortable wood rocking chairs, and overlooked a beautiful green valley through classic rough stone masonry. We each received a complimentary flight of three wine samples. Of the samples we both preferred the Pink Catawba, one of the Estate wines, meaning grown, fermented and bottled on site at Ertel Cellars.

The meals we ordered were from the lunch menu. I ordered the Smoked Gouda cheese burger, and Sheryl had the Spinach salad with all the trimmings. Both of our meals were superb and very filling. We had a bottle of the Pink Catawba with our meals and took the specially packed unfinished bottle  home with us. Sarah was perfect as our wait staff and made our visit most memorable.

Gorgeous view from our table

Some of Ertel’s vineyards

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dining patio is an absolutely delightful place to enjoy a quiet and calm Saturday afternoon. With the best company (no question there), great food and excellent wine we had an adventure that turned into a romantic Saturday date. Ertel Cellars should be on any traveler’s agenda. We’ll be returning.

 

At Bob Evans we felt safe and enjoyed our meal

/ Roadtirementvintage / 19 Comments

Sher and I had been running errands, shopping and visiting a winery in Indianapolis, and it was time for a stop for a light supper. We have not been to a Bob Evans since before the pandemic hit, but we knew their menu featured items we both liked.

Extra partitions installed above booth benches for patron separation

The Bob Evans at the intersection of I-65 and Southport Road, just south of Indianapolis, was on our way home. The restaurant was fairly busy, but not packed. Most of the staff wore masks and about half of the customers we saw also were masked up. We watched staff clean a booth in preparation for the next patrons. The effort that went into the cleaning was impressive and very thorough.

Our food was delivered in a short time, and the service was excellent at this Bob Evans location. We did felt safe and comfortable here, and were able to really enjoy our meal and each other’s company.

Easley Winery in downtown Indy

/ Roadtirementvintage / 13 Comments

Sher and I had the opportunity to visit another central Indiana winery today. The Easley Winery is literally in downtown Indianapolis, a couple of blocks north of Washington Street, the main east/west artery in the city.

The main entrance

Inside at the counter for picking wines to sample

 

Basket full of sample glasses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easley has been around since 1974, and currently has over 100 acres of vineyards in southern Indiana. They offer very nice tastings, either inside or out on the patio at umbrella covered tables.  For $5.00 you  can sample seven different wines. Easley has a great variety of wines to choose from.

We found that of the seven wines we tasted Sher and I both liked the Sweet Barrel Red and the Reggae Margarita wines the best. We purchased a bottle of each before we left. Family owned Easley Winery is a great place to have a nice break from a busy day of sightseeing in Indy or for an enjoyable single destination.

This mill opened in 1821

/ Roadtirementvintage / 12 Comments

Red Mills was a functioning grist mill from 1821 until the early 1970’s. Located in Shelby County, Indiana, the mill operated on Sugar Creek north of the little town of Boggstown.

 

 

 

 

For decades the mill had been a magnet to artists who used the mill as the object of countless paintings, both oil and water color. Sher and I had enjoyed lunch at a restaurant in Greenwood, and on the way home decided to take a little drive through the country. The attached photos are the result.

The scale shed received and weighed all of the wagons of grain brought to the mill by the local farmers. Today you can get to Red Mills by exiting on London Road off I-74, (east of Indianapolis) then head south. Soon you will see a brand new bridge on your right. Continue south and about 100 yards later you will make a sharp right hand turn and be at the Red Mills.

Enjoying Harmony Winery wines

/ Roadtirementvintage / 8 Comments

We liked the Indigo wine so much from Harmony Winery that we just had to go back for more.  It has become our new favorite.  It is so refreshing and has a hint of blueberry.

When we had a wine tasting on Thursday, we bought 2 bottles of the Indigo.  We had a wonderful time during our tasting.  Our host was the head winemaker and general manager, Kyle Condra. He was very helpful in selecting our wines to sample.  He even offered suggestions on serving it.  He was also fun to chat with.

The Harmony Winery wines are delicious.  We tried about 5 for our wine tasting.  It was hard to decide which we liked best.  Usually we find one or two we like, but rarely all 5!  We tried Copper Tiger which tastes like you’ve taken a bite of watermelon.

On Sunday as we were leaving the Highway 40 yard sale we decided we should get some more since we now have a new favorite.  This time we met the owner, Josh Adams, another delightful person to talk with.  He told us about some of the plans they are making for the winery and events they are going to have.

Turtle Bay is a fantastic pairing of the natural berry and plum flavors of White Zinfandel with a host of luscious fruits including blackberry, strawberry, passionfruit, and blackcurrant.  We bought a few bottles of this on our return trip on Sunday.

It was a nice ending to our yard sale week.  We were tired and ready to go home and relax.  It was nice taking a long shower and then having a glass of wine.
We are looking forward to returning and tasting some of the other wines.  We also want to attend some of the events they have planned.

Kyle and Josh are super nice and make your visit to the Harmony Winery a most enjoyable way to spend an afternoon in Knightstown. Knightstown is on the Historic Highway US 40 between Indianapolis and Richmond, Indiana.

Local pizza restaurants can be the best

/ Roadtirementvintage / 49 Comments

We had our own meal preparation ingredients in the RV when we were at the Highway 40 yard sale last week. We’d been there since Monday and were enjoying the time in our RV, including the meals we prepared.

However after the rains all day Wednesday and most of Thursday, we were ready for a change in our eating. A search of the web for pizza restaurants near us produced a couple in Knightstown, just a few miles down the road. Jeff’s Pizza looked inviting, and online ordering was quick and easy. Whenever we can we like to patronize local hometown businesses.

Special w/tons of veggies under that thick layer of cheese

The pizzas were very very good! We ordered a veggie special and a meat special. The toppings and cheese portions were most generous. Sher and I both had “leftover” pizza the next day as well. I’d have to say that I heated mine up on day two in the microwave, and it was frankly as good as if not better than the first day.