Caving just the way we like it

Just a short walk from the tasting
room to the cave entrance

Packed up in the rain and made our way to Cave Vineyard in St Genevieve, about an hour south of St Louis.  As you can probably work out, it is a vineyard and there is a cave there.  The cave is set up with tables and chairs for picnicking

Sister in the mist

with an entry fee of one bottle between 5 people.  After tasting some of their wines, we chose a bottle each to take down to enjoy lunch with.  The rain had stopped but it was still damp and misty in the cave.  Perfect we thought.  It was with a bit of reluctance that we left there a couple of hours later.

Sue & Jean enjoying an underground picnic

Santa is everywhere in
Santa Claus, Indiana

Leaving St Genevieve we made our way back into Indiana.  Parked up for a few nights on the banks of the Ohio (hands up who hummed the old tune).  Spent one day relaxing at the campsite and one day visiting Santa Claus.  The town of Santa Claus that is, where it is Christmas all year round.  The Christmas shop they have there is huge and has a great range of decorations and ornaments.  A definite reminder though that summer is coming to an end.  A lot of the kids are back in school which means a lot of the attractions are just open on weekends.  Still, that’s a good way to save some money.

The last of the sunset over the Ohio River

Total bridge length is 460'

We left the south of Indiana and made our way to the north of Indiana, stopping off at various attractions along the way.  Our first port of call was at USA’s longest covered bridge.  When we first approached it, it didn’t look any longer than the bridges we saw in Madison County.  As we got closer we revised that opinion – at least twice as long.  There was a decent sized car park and turn around area so stopped for lunch as well the ubiquitous photo shoot.

There is this much room in here

We bypassed the Interstate and made our way to Columbus by way of the very scenic Hoosier National Forest.  Sure we would’ve got there twice as quick if we'd travelled on the Interstate but, wow, what a great piece of road to drive on.  Not as narrow as the Tunnel of Trees in Michigan but just as gorgeous and a lot longer.  Not too many blooming tourists either. 

At Columbus we stopped at Kids Common, an interactive museum for children.  I know, a kids museum, but we are kids at heart especially when we know they have the World’s Largest Toilet on their premises.  We even had a personal guide to explain all about the museum (I’m sure it wasn’t because we were unaccompanied adults J).  Again, I lamented the fact that we never had museums like this when I was a kid.  Jean got swallowed by the toilet while we were taking the photos.

Sue sits demurely on the edge ...

... while Jean annoyed the toilet gods and got swallowed

If you recall when we were in Iowa, we drove down a road that had a huge tree in the middle of it.  Indianapolis has gone one better – they have a road with a grave in the middle of it.  The family of Nancy Kerlin Barnett

The road is split by a grave

didn’t want her grave removed when the county put a road through back in the early 1900’s.  The rest of the cemetery was relocated.  Initially the grave on the roadside wasn’t too much of a problem but became one when the road got widened.  Again the family stood staunch and now the grave neatly divides the road in two.

Artspark in Indianapolis

After finding an RV park just outside Indianapolis we ventured into the city to check out some more of the weird and the wonderful (are you getting the feeling that we just don’t

Imploding cube at Artspark

do normal very often?).  Found another park with some funky artwork and another children’s museum (how come kids museums get all the good stuff) where they have some life-sized dinosaurs both breaking in and breaking out.  Awesome. 



Dinosaurs breaking out of the museum ...

... while others are trying to get in

Sycamore stump that is
57' in diameter

Continuing north we stopped at Kokomo and, yes, the Beach Boys tune played over and over and over.  Stopped at Highland Park for lunch.  This park is home to a huge sycamore stump, a taxidermied bull from

Ben has been taxidermied
for 104 years

the early 1900’s, a civil war cannon and yet another covered bridge although it was chatting to a local who was out walking his dog that was the most interesting.  We also swung by a couple of great buildings and a very large praying mantis.  What a place.

 

Woohoo!  Another covered bridge.

Story Book Express - the outside of the building is funky, the inside is ... a grocery store

Fell in love with Seiberling mansion the minute I saw it



Did not fall in love with this giant praying mantis but did think it was pretty neat though

Stopped off at Elkhart just before heading back into Michigan where we visited an RV & Motorhome Museum.  Did not think we’d enjoy it as much as we did.  Wow!  What a fantastic walk down memory lane – and even further back down the lane as the earliest travel trailer they have is dated 1913.  Who would’ve thought. 

This baby dates back to 1913



1958 Airsteam - they still look pretty much like this today from the outside
and there are a lot of them out there

Jean showing the size of the 1957 Serro Scotty Teardrop Trailer
- seen a few of this type out there too

A 1937 Hunt Housecar built by cinematographer and producer Roy Hunt
(you'll have to Google him if you want to know more about him)

Funky looking Star Streak II built in 1988

Was Skyping with Mum & Danny earlier this evening and, while we were chatting, Dan Googled the museum – turns out it was a walk down memory lane for Mum too.  Hope the Scottish Country Dancing went well for you Mum.

 

Happy birthday to our nephew Caleb.  We've put on an All Blacks v Wallabies game to mark the occasion.