Indiana:

            My home state is the greatest state in the union, always proving it on Presidential Election nights.  My 2^nd state.

 

            Austin:  Just off Exit 34 of I-65 sits Home Oven, which has excellent food for good prices.  The chicken and dumplings are highly recommended.

            Battle Ground:  This is where the Battle of Tippecanoe took place.  It also features the Wolf Park, which I hope to go to someday to admire these fine animals.

            Bedford:  Here is a town name with power, with majesty; one that just says greatness.  It had tried to build a pyramid here, to mark its status as the “Limestone Capital of the World”, but failed.  It does have an impressive amount of school buses thanks to the major factory that builds them here.

            Bloomington:  The home of Indiana University (IU), this campus is practically a park and is gorgeous.  When Harvard graduates pursue Master’s degrees, they come to IU, making my IU Masters a sign of my great intellect as now Harvard grads are my peers.  The downtown area is filled with many great shops, the best being the Game Preserve, a chain of Indiana gaming stores.

            Charlestown:  Just outside of town is Tunnel Mill, where I camped with my Boy Scout Troop.  It’s a wonderful area to explore, especially with all the geodes to find..  It even has some great ghost stories connected with it.

            Clarksville:  The mecca for Sunny-Side shopping, with two impressive malls along Ind. 131.  It’s big enough to be a city. But it insists on staying a town.  It marks the true start of Lewis and Clark’s expedition.  Derby Dinner Playhouse has a decent, but small buffet, combined with plays that change on a regular basis.  Greentree Mall is perhaps the best mall in the Louisville area, even if Mom keeps telling how she remembers when it was just a cornfield.

            Corydon:  Indiana’s first state capital has much to recommend it for the historian.  Besides the town square lies the Battle of Corydon, the site of one of the only two battles during the War of Northern Aggression fought above the Mason-Dixon Line.  Magdalena’s has excellent food.

            Fort Wayne:  I have not been here often.  On my first trip up here in 1991 we went to the old fort, where they tried to be “in period”; I will never forget when a couple of workers there corrected my brother’s statements about an artillery piece, at a time where there was a remote chance that my brother would even remotely think of admitting he may be wrong.  There is also the Lincoln Museum, named after the tyrant, hosting many artifacts of him.

            Friendship:  I have been going up here for years.  It is the home of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA).  At its annual meets in June and September there is are impressive flea markets and well as a “primitive area”, where people camp out in tepees.

            Henryville:  The birthplace of Colonel Sanders is home to Clark State Forest, a beautiful place to picnic.

            Indiana Dunes:  This should be considered a major beach upon a midland sea.  A very pretty area, I am forever reminded of my “Mistake at the Lake”, where I got majorly lost and unable to enjoy the rest of the day.  I remember drinking 8 glasses of lemonade within a 30-minute stretch once we found a restaurant, much to my mother’s and Granny’s chagrin as they thought it was unhealthy to drink so much water.

            Indianapolis:  This is the perfect big city.  It has a Northern city’s efficiency and a Southern City’s charm, the opposite of how JFK described Washington DC.  The Indiana Convention Center is perfectly situated for conventions, with many options for dining.  My favorite place to eat here is the Hard Rock Café.  The Fashion Mall in Northern Indianapolis is the classiest & coolest place to shop in the state.  The Indianapolis Zoo is a high quality zoo, simply because of its wonderful penguin exhibit with my fellow Rockhoppers.

            Jeffersonville:  Often referred to simply as Jeff, this is my hometown.  We were originally laid out by President Thomas Jefferson, but we had a dismal bicentennial.  The Howard Steamboat Museum is close to my house.  People worldwide have appreciated Schimpff’s Confectionery “red hots” for over a century.Howard Steamboat Museum is the main attraction, although people for over a century have enjoyed Schimpff’s confections.  We are seriously lacking in quality restaurants, although we are being besieged by Asian restaurants.  However, we did have the first ever Papa John’s and Rally’s.  All the good restaurants are located on the small strip between the Kennedy and Clark bridges: Kingfish, Buckhead’s, Rocky’s, and Hooter’s.

            Leavenworth: a very pleasant river town features The Overlook, which has excellent food and a great view of the Ohio River in which to dine by.

            Loogootee: What a fun town to pronounce; it tries to be both modern and Amish.

            Madison:  The Lanier SHS is a very pretty building.  The old railroad depot has some nice history connected with it.  Clifty Falls SP has breathtaking scenery.

            Mitchell:  Home of my childhood hero, Virgil I “Gus” Grissom, who was one of the Mercury 7 and, had he not died on Apollo 1 may have been the first man to walk on the moon.  Nearby Spring Mill State Park not only features his Gemini spacecraft in a memorial to him, but also has many caves to explore as well as a pioneer village to enjoy.

            Muncie:  It’s not only the home of Garfield, but of the Knights of the Dinner Table as well.  A museum downtown has many Garfield items on sale.  There is also a nice Outlet Store nearby.

            Nashville:  This area is noted worldwide for its fall color.  A colorful downtown with many different places to shop invites the tourist.  Artists always go to Brown County State Park during the fall.

            New Albany:  The home of my alma mater, Indiana University Southeast (IUS), is slightly bigger than its sister cities Jeff and Clarksville.  Mansion Row, at downtown, has many impressive Victorian era homes including the Culbertson Mansion, where a volunteered for a few years as a spook at their annual Haunted Carriage Barn.

            New Alsace:  A pretty little hamlet.  The local winery/restaurant, Chateau Pomije, has the tallest chimney in Indiana as well as the best ribs and cornbread in the world.  If you happen to vacation around Cincinnati, you should definitely go.

            Santa Claus:  When I was very young, Granddad would take us to Santa Claus Land, a pleasant little theme park.  I have never been since he died in 1981.  It has since been renamed as Holiday World, which in 2002 had a promotion offering free soft drinks for the entire day at the park.  Nearby Lincoln Boyhood NHS marks where Abe’s mother died and where he met his stepmother.

            Spencer:  Nearby McCormick’s Creek SP is very pretty, but this town has the worst Sunday Drivers in Indiana, and its all week long.

            Terre Haute:  A nice little town, but I find it unlivable due to the fact that the residents not only poke-poke-poke at everything, especially when driving, but then they become quite indignant if you do anything to go on with your life that they are intruding upon.  It was during an overnight stay in Terre Haute in March 2001 that my toenail got bent 90° straight up, causing me to be in pain for days until it finally came off, and letting my toenail grow healthy for the first time since 1983.  This town is blessed by three major schools: Indiana State University (ISU), Rose-Hulman, and St. Mary-of-the-Woods.  Graffiti’s, a restaurant/bar at the 1600 block of N. 13^th Street, has the best scallops and stuffed crabs you will find anywhere.  Honey Creek Mall has the best Waldenbooks I have ever seen.

            Vincennes:  The George Rogers Clark NHP is really not worth going to unless you are in the neighborhood.  However, every year in may they have the Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous, where Revolutionary War and Mountain Men reenactors strut their stuff.