Indiana

Denny and I are feeling ever so smug.  We have deftly side-stepped major traffic-causing events these last few months.  It has all been quite coincidental, but we feel very clever, nonetheless.  We passed by Augusta, Georgia a few days after the playing of the The Masters' Golf Tournament (she says a bit wistfully); zipped through Louisville, Kentucky shortly after the muddy Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs; and will be heading out of Indiana tomorrow in advance of this weekend's Indianapolis 500 race.  Some people might enjoy being in the midst of highly populated showings such as these, but we find that we can see all the action better on the TV screen.  That may sound odd to some, but it's true for us!  The more we've been on the road spending time in smaller communities, the less we miss big-city life.  We are just small town folks at heart, I guess.

We tend to enjoy life at a slower pace.  Our time here in Indiana has been lovely.  While in Columbus, a bustling metropolis of about 40,000 kind hearts, we came across a wonderful old fashioned ice cream parlour.  Three brothers from Greece opened Zaharakos Brothers in October of 1900; and they've been serving 'sodas, sundaes, and smiles' ever since from this gorgeous soda fountain.  After tasting a couple of their specialties, we understood how the establishment has lasted so long!

Columbus is a beautiful city known for its amazing architecture.  According to the American Institute of Architects, Columbus ranks 6th in the country after Chicago, Washington, New York, Boston and San Francisco for innovation and quality of design in over 60 public and private buildings.  We saw lush gardens and creative pieces of sculpture at every turn; it was quite impressive, really!

Here is a beautiful covered bridge and a sweet little family gathering that appealed to me in Mill Race Park. 

I love this shot of downtown; now that is my idea of manageable traffic!

Of all that was to be found in Columbus, I believe Dennis most enjoyed the Cummins Corporate Offices and Museum.  He was very excited about seeing all the various diesel engine modifications since the company's inception in 1919.  I thought the 'Exploded Engine' display by Rudolph de Harak was pretty cool...

After we left Columbus, we hustled right up to Crown Point, where Dennis' eldest grandchildren live with their mother.  This is one amazing little family unit; it is not easy to successfully manage a home and a job while rearing 2 teenagers, but Julie is doing it with a smile on her face!  She can take pride in her children; Emily and Robby are exceptionally well-rounded young people who will make a difference in this world, mark my words!  =]

I took this shot of the group on an afternoon run to Warren Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan.

One day, while the kids were in school and Julie was at work, Denny and I went to check out Fair Oaks Farms, a dairy a few miles away from our campground.  The dairy is comprised of 10 separate sites (we toured one of them), and there are approximately 3000 cows at each site.  The dairy produces about 28,125 gallons of milk each day, along with a variety of cheeses and ice cream - it's a busy place! 

 

We visited the 'Birthing Barn' and found 2 young bulls that had been born just moments before we arrived.  I couldn't get over how big they were - these guys weigh between 70 and 90 pounds at birth!   The one in the pen furthest from the camera hadn't been able to stand up completely yet...his legs were still too wobbly!

  

An average of 90 calves are born here every day.  The bulls are sold immediately; the heifers are shipped to growers, then returned after 2 years to become milk cows.  The cows take in 90 pounds of food and 25-50 gallons of water each day, and it takes the cow's body 2 days to process her food into milk. 

They tell us the cows enjoy the milking carousel - it didn't look like fun to me.  

Denny later tried his hand at milking on a cow display...

The next stop on our journey will be Springfield, Illinois as we begin our descent back down toward Texas.  We hope all is well with you and yours.  Keep your eyes on the road and we'll catch up with you soon!