Indiana Quick Trip

We recently made our twice a year time back to the Hoosier mother land. Got to see the moms and some other family before we pack up and head to Florida to avoid the snow shovel syndrome. I’ve mentioned before about the 500 mile drive on this page. It makes for a long day, but great to see family and friends. On to the Indiana quick trip…

We left at an early 7:45am and began the drive all fresh and alert. Arrived at 6:30pm and dragging a bit, although we did not push it this time. Stopped for a nice lunch at a Bob Evans in Gallipolis, OH. And then a good dinner at the Coachman in Plainfield Indiana. And another three stops for coffee. So, we took an easy peasey pace this time.

Visits With Moms

We spent quite a bit of time with both of our moms. Pat’s mom is 94 and mine is 90 years old and both have some health concerns, but are in decent shape. It was good to see them even though we talk on the phone very often. It was hard to leave them not knowing what the next few months will bring until our next visit.

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Friends & Family

During our trip we met with my brother Kevin and his son Drew at mom’s place for dinner and some card games. Kevin is a sales executive and still working as he was the youngest in our family. We are fortunate that he lives very close to mom’s facility and can keep in close contact.

Pat also arranged a meeting with a high school friend, Mary Beth, a distant cousin. Mary Beth is a teacher/tutor for local students. They have stayed in communication the last few years and have many similar interests. Our high school class recently celebrated our 50th anniversary that we unfortunately missed due to a scheduling conflict.

We also enjoyed a dinner meeting with Pat’s sister Sandy and her husband Brad. They have very busy work schedules, but were able to meet at a cool Mexican place for dinner and catch up on all their family news.

Greencastle, In.

Greencastle is the small town that Pat’s mom lives in and it is the county seat. Also, home to DePauw University, a private liberal arts school. LINK

We stay in a spare bedroom at her place on a day bed and an air mattress. Great accommodations for a few days. We spend most of our time either cooking meals or cleaning. And some visiting with mom of course.

The downtown has the iconic town square with their courthouse in the center. I was quite impressed with the number of active businesses in all the shops around the square. It looks to be a healthy downtown area. I walked around the square one afternoon and managed to avoid all the large truck traffic. Not sure why, but there is a tremendous amount of tri-axle and semi-trucks coming right through town.

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History Museum

I had a few minutes one afternoon so took in this local history museum in Greencastle. It was small, but had some interesting displays. One I particularly liked was a display about the Monon Indiana Railway. Always a fan of things railroad, this was quite interesting.

This combination of passenger and freight lines connected Chicago to Louisville and 89 stops in Indiana including the two spur lines. The MONON served five major Universities in Indiana, Purdue University (West Lafayette), Wabash College (Crawfordsville), DePauw University (Greencastle), Indiana University (Bloomington), and Butler University (Indianapolis).

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The MONON passenger line ran from 1853 to 1959 and served most of Indiana, transported war time troops, carried Lincoln’s funeral train, serviced the Indiana limestone industry, and changed to diesel locomotives in 1946.

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Wrap Up

Thanks for following up and I wish everyone a great Thanksgiving with your families. We did not get to visit with many friends and some family, but hope to have more time in the spring. Take care and God Bless.