Sher and I are in the B Concourse at IND (Indianapolis International Airport) waiting to board our flight to Seattle. We’ll be with our family in a few hours!
travel
Indiana to Seattle: fly or drive our RV?
Requires 33 hours drive time, one way. At least four or five days with stops.
That was the question. We were planning a trip to Seattle to visit our daughter, son-in-law and grandson. It was hard to decide as we love travelling in our RV. It gives us a place to stay so that we aren’t intruding on our daughter’s family all the time. It also gives us a chance to relax and be alone. Staying with them is lots cheaper and gives us more time with them and our grandson. They have a big house and we have our own room when we are there. On the other hand, is it fair to stay with them? I feel like it is a lot to ask having to put up with us. If we drove we would need to be there for a longer time period, maybe 2 or 3 months. If we fly we can stay a shorter amount of time and go back for another visit sooner. Our grandson who is growing up fast (he is 6) and started 1st grade this year was a big part of our decision. We need to see him more often. We have done both and have been happy with each visit.
After much debating we decided to fly. This decision was based on many things. We didn’t really want a long road trip at this time. The coronavirus has kept us away from family a long time. We did have a quick visit as our son’s wedding, but we wanted and needed some quality time with each of our 5 kids and their families. We also thought that maybe we could help them while we were visiting. We can cook some meals and help keep the house straightened. When we decided to look at it as a we can help trip, instead of being a burden it became more definite that we should fly.
Flying time: 4 hours 53 minutes, non-stop (Photo courtesy Alaska Airlines)
So next week we begin our journey to Seattle, WA. We are flying on Alaska Airlines and were able to get a direct flight for a very good price. We bought our tickets with our Chase Freedom card and we like the points we get when we use it. We usually fly Delta and have lots of points built up on their plan, but couldn’t find a direct flight for the right times and dates. Our daughter tells us that the Alaska Airlines miles program and credit card are the best, so we will be looking into that. Would love any suggestions on what you think is the best travel miles and credit card choices. We check out doctorofcredit.com and will often find good deals on his site. We don’t spend enough to really take advantage of his credit card finds, but we have made extra money by opening checking account he suggests. We get nothing by mentioning his site, but it is an interesting site to check out.
We are excited about our trip next week and have started packing. We will be posting pics of our bags in the next few days.
~Sher
A nice Labor Day weekend family visit
Sher and I and our son took a quick trip over to Ohio for a Saturday before Labor Day cookout at our #2 son’s house. (He’s the one who got married a little while back.) The trip over was fortunately uneventful with light traffic and no rain.
We had a great time! It is so nice to see family. We had the chance to visit with three of our grandchildren and our new step-granddaughter. The food was great (see the grill photo!). After the meal Sher and I watched the others play some funny and fun online games. We also played the two pinball machines that our son has in his basement. Both he and his new wife are serious pinball machine players, both doing very well in tournaments. While I played the Star Wars pinball machine, I kept remembering the classic song by The Who about that deaf, dumb and blind kid, Tommy the “Pinball Wizard”.
Sher enjoying the lovely day outside.
It is so nice to spend time with family. Sher and I both shared stories with the grandkids about their parents, went over genealogy and pictures, and even discussed future get togethers, including the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. We certainly enjoyed our time in Ohio. Soon we’ll be in Seattle for more time with more family…
Roadtirement is going to take a break
Pearly Gates morning glory
Sometimes you need to take a break from blogging. That’s what Sher and I have decided we are going to do for a while.
Not to worry, we are both doing fine. Our recent doctor visit resulted in good reports for each of us. We did have to get blood tests today after fasting, yuck. Maj’s diet is still going well, and his daily bike rides for exercise are slowly increasing in duration and distance.
And for those of you who caught our last post on Roadtirement know that we asked you to guess the destination of our next adventure. Today we’re giving the “reveal” as they say on the reality shows. Drumroll…………. We are going to Seattle and the state of Washington. We’ve visited there before, and our daughter, son-in-law and grandson live near Seattle so fun visits coming! It is beautiful country with lots of things to see and do.
We are not leaving forever, just taking some time off. Thanks so much for your support and we’ll be back sometime.
Got our detectors out of storage
Our metal detector gear, digging tools and headphones
A day or two ago I was trying to ride my bike, my legs gave out and I ended up with 2 scraped knees. Hmmm…. that’s when we pulled out the metal detectors. Dusted them off, put in new batteries and much to our surprise – they still worked! So, about our metal detectors, yes we have ’em. Maj has a Garrett GTP 1350 and I have a Whites CoinMaster. We bought them a few years ago when we were convinced we were going to find hidden treasure! (smiling face) Anyway Joshua Gates , from Travel Channel’s Expedition Unknown really inspired us to do something with our detectors. Joshua uses metal detectors a lot in his searches for treasure and other artifacts. Doing a google search I found that metal detecting is a very good hobby for senior citizens.
I don’t know if we’re going to find buried treasures, but we might find a few coins and maybe even a piece of jewelry. We haven’t figured out how well we will be able to bend down and actually dig. But, it is good exercise and we may just look for surface treasures.
Why are we doing this? We are getting ready for our next big adventure. We’re leaving it up to everyone to guess where we are going. I’d give a prize but don’t have anything really to give that would be good. Only thing is, you will know if you’ve guessed right.
The first hint: it is west of our home state of Indiana…
~ Sher
Hot day at the track
Last Wednesday we went out to the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino to see what was going on with the day of the 27th running of the Indiana Derby. The Indiana Derby is touted as the premier thoroughbred race in the state. There was a full race card with 12 races and several high stakes races with purses totally nearing 1 million dollars.
The parade of entries
Ready to run…
Looking at the parking lots and garage, it was obvious that there were tons of people at the facility. We parked in the garage, having to go to the top (5th) level to find a parking spot.
We went into the casino for a bit first. Complimentary drinks and the AC were a draw for sure! Not having a tremendous amount of luck at the slots, we headed to the track. The first floor was packed, with folks at the large bar and at the many tables looking at the screens with tracks from all over. Many were placing wagers with tellers or at pari-mutuel kiosks.
We sat out side for a while, at least there was shade from the building. We stayed for four races, and then decided it was too hot even in the shade. It wasn’t the best time we have had at the Indiana Grand, and headed home to the AC!
New home for an old bridge
By 1870 Shelby County Indiana had 154 miles of new gravel roads. It was time for the county to start building bridges at principle crossings of rivers. By 1880 there were 10 “substantial and elegant” iron bridges with additional bridges planned each year thereafter.
The bridge’s new home, seeing bicycles and pedestrian traffic only
The Clover Ford Bridge over Buck Creek was constructed in 1889 by the King Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The cost of the bridge, Shelby County Bridge No. 13, was $3,384.50. The bridge served many years but was closed due to structural issues in 2011.
Beautiful and sound reconstruction
History board
Deemed historically important, it was refurbished in 2018 and moved to the Blue River Memorial Park in 2019. It is now part of the Blue River Trail that traverses Shelbyville. USI Consultants was the company that oversaw the relocation of the restored bridge, as well as designing the new Shelby County Bridge No. 219 which replaced the old Shelby County Bridge No. 13 over Buck Creek.
Praying mantis didn’t move an antennae
We were on the hunt for a Geocache at a nearby park when we saw this praying mantis on an asphalt walking path. It didn’t move when I got down with the iPhone for a close up.
A neat feature at a park
This afternoon Sher and our son and I went on a ‘hunt’ for a Geocache at a nearby park. We had looked it up last night on a map, and there it was! So off we went.
Explanation of how the swale works
This Geocache was not one of those hidden boxes or log books. This one was a feature at the park. We went in search of a Water Quality Bio-Swale. Yes, a feature that is designed to collect pollutants from rain fall runoff.
That’s the swale in the background
It actually looked like an ordinary swale for rain runoff. This one had a more complex design than you normally expect. There was a thick layer of sandy soil in the low part of the swale which filtered any pollutants. A layer of gravel at the bottom surrounded a perforated drain pipe in which the storm water runs off to a nearby river.
The story of Indiana’s state tree
The swale banks were planted with trees native to Indiana. One of the park volunteers was mapping the location and species of each tree while we were on site. He informed us that there will be individual ID signs on each tree and a brochure with detailed info coming soon.
Even though it is one of a chain…
…the Lincoln Square Pancake House in Greenfield, Indiana is more like a small town independent diner. This group of 9 restaurants has a fascinating story. The restaurants are scattered around central Indiana, and unlike other chains no two buildings are alike in design nor size. They are the result of decades of hard work of George Katris , first generation Greek immigrant who came to North America at age 18, where he bussed tables in Toronto.
Hoosier tradition breaded tenderloin
Yummy waffles covered with goodies
Fast forward to today, and the Katris family still owns and operates the restaurants. A diner? Yes, in the typical definition of good food and lots of it! Sher and I were told of the Lincoln Square Pancake House by one of the shop proprietors. We got there at 2:00 PM with an hour to spare. The restaurants, in true pancake/breakfast tradition, open at 7:00 AM and close at 3:00 PM.
Sher and I enjoyed very tasty and very filling meals. We’ll look for other Lincoln Square Pancakes Houses as we travel around Indiana.
Roadtirement 