DAY TRIPPIN'

Yesterday Spouse suggested we take a trip to Indiana. We're only about an hour from the Indiana border so it made a nice day trip. I don't think he actually had a destination in mind, but off we went after I put the dog in her kennel, made sure she had water, fed the cats, scooped litter boxes, grabbed some bottles of water, and threw together a tote bag full of magazines and projects. I'm always amazed by the fact that men can decide to go somewhere and simply walk out the door. Spouse was waiting for me in the car, as usual. He seems to have no idea what always takes me so long to get there. Maybe I need to make him a list?

We kept seeing signs for the Mary Gray bird sanctuary so we followed them and found a beautiful and serene nature reserve. There are plenty of hiking trails but it was a bit hot to go exploring.

We walked down this gravel road for a bit and the scenery was beautiful. We could hear the wild birds chirping away. One of the other visitors told us there was a resident bald eagle that often swoops down and scares people. We didn't see him, but that would have been awesome.

We found ourselves in Metamora and though we'd been there some years ago, the town looked very different to us this time. Like many small tourist towns, Metamora seems to be struggling to stay alive. I can't say it was thriving, but there were people walking around and going in and out of the shops. The shop above looked so promising - lots of good junk in the windows - but even from the street I detected a strong musty "aroma" and decided to not set off my allergies and asthma by browsing inside it. We did walk inside for an instant, but the smell was too strong for me and by the time we walked back to the car, I was wheezing. It's such an interesting shop. It's a shame the owner didn't take some time and air it out or at least add a window AC unit. It was not air conditioned, or perhaps the AC was in disrepair. Either way, it would have been a "pickers" haven had it been more invinting.

This little shop was full of train memorabilia and vintage stuff - old cookbooks, aprons, kitchen utensils, feedsacks, and books....lots and lots of old books. I saw plenty of things I might have liked to buy but the prices were pretty high. We had fun browsing though.

This shop was filled with vintage wares. I loved looking at all the old stuff.

Here are more vintage kitchen items - nice but prices were high.

These were advertised as old lanterns but not all of them looked old to me. Spouse picked up one marked $65 and promptly put it back inside the wagon. Again, good eye candy, but high priced.

We were up close and personal with Joe and Jordan, the two draft horses that pull a canal boat down the center of town. Those things over their eyes were to keep flies from bothering them. Being the animal lover I am, and worrying whether they could see or not, I asked about them. I was told looking through the fly masks was like looking through a screen door.

Here are Joe and Jordan at work. I didn't get a shot of the canal boat though. By the time I was ready to take another photo, the horses had been unhitched and led back to their stalls.

This is the Metamore Grist Mill. The Whitewater Railroad track runs beside it. Spouse and I took our grandson on the Whitewater train ride when he was just five. He loved trains and we had such a good time. I'd packed a picnic and we ate lunch on the train. That's the last time we were in Metamora. Grandson is now 15, so that tells you how long it's been.

We're homeward bound. I took this through the windshield so it's not a clear and vivid picture. We took the backroads to and from Indiana and for us, that's what makes a day trip fun.