Crown Hill Cemetary

Crown Hill Cemetary was established in 1863, and at 555 acres is the country's third largest cemetary in the country. Notable persons buried at Crown Hill include the infamous bank robber John Dillinger, President Benjamin Harrison and Hoosier Poet James Whitcomb Riley.

Lots of tour options are available, and at $5 per adult, it's a heck of a deal.

Online calendar:

http://www.crownhillhf.org/calendar.html

Savannah & St. Augustine

Savannah - beautiful historic district, gorgeous architecture and interesting history. Definitely want to go back and spend time. Took the trolley ride... catch it on Martin Luther King Street - across from the Visitors Center. Cost was about $30 / person. Took about 1 1/2 hours.

Most interesting - the Sears "kit house" that was put together but the windows were installed upside down. The African something something (can't remember the full name) church that was a stop on the Underground Railway - apparently if you tour it you can see the air holes that were put in the floor for the hiding slaves. And The Pirate House where Robert Louis Stevenson supposedly wrote part of Treasure Island.

The Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is the country's tallest man-made monument at 630 feet.

Taller than the 305 foot Statue of Liberty.

Taller than the 555 foot Washington Monument.

The little "egg" / pod holds 5 people each and takes 4 minutes to ride to the top, 3 minutes for the return trip to the ground.

Check out the short documentary (it's free) prior to going up. The history of building the arch is very intersting. It was done in the 1960's - they estimated they would lose 13 men while working on the arch. Those fella's didn't use any kind of safety gear (scary !!!). Happily, every man who worked the arch was safe and sound at the end.

Fun short trip from Indy. Just make sure you buy tickets ahead of time if going on the weekend - it was sold out for most of the weekend we were there.

Traderspoint Creamery Hand Milking and Hot Chocolate

Traderspoint Creamery and our tour guide - Paula Jay - were a delight. Interesting and devoted to utilizing the land and bringing products to market that are healthy and sustainable. At the same time, they incorporate a manure run-off pond with a solar panel which is ultimately used to fertilize the fields. I love this full circle mindset.

The cattle at Traderspoint are 100% grassfed, with workers mindful of not overstressing the cattle. Unlike the Fair Oaks Farm operation in northern Indiana, mother cows are kept with their babies. While the caretakers of these great animals watch over them with a careful eye, the ladies also have the TLC of the bull - Dennis.

Traderspoint has approximately 200 cattle (of Swiss origin) with about 70 currently being milked twice a day (6 cows at a time). The farm includes approximately 150 aces on the original property with another 50 or so acres and hay production on outlying farms / properties.

For a bargain price of $100 for a group of 10, Jay (as she is called) gave us a tour of the operation, demonstrated the proper way to milk the cow - which we were then lucky enough to try, and then brought hot chocolate made from delicious Traderspoint chocolate milk.

Interesting barns with so much character were dismantled and brought to the property from other locations in Indiana. I believe the barn that holds the store and restaurant was originally from Bluffton, and is quite lovely.

Paul & I have eaten here - we were able to sit on the outer deck on a beautiful evening - and watched deer graze in the meadow below. Good food and great scenery.

Beyond the Hand Milking and Hot Chocolate tour, the farm offers other tours as well as summer camps and Jay is going to be introducing more hiking and informational opportunities. I love this place!

http://www.traderspointcreamery.com/

James Whitcomb Riley Home

James Whitcomb Riley, born 1849 in Greenfield, Indiana, made his living writing poetry (Little Orphan Annie being one of his most well known) and stories. He even toured nationwide with Mark Twain, performing at Madison Square Gardens in NYC.

In 1911 Riley donated land for the new Public Library in downtown Indianapolis.

Mr. Riley is buried at the highest point of Crown Hill Cemetary, dying in 1916 after suffering a massive stroke.

The Riley Home is open for tours, at a cost of $4 per adult. Points of interest in the house include:

*Weighted gas lights throughout the house, many with "smoke bells"

*A rose glass window at floor level on the 2nd floor stair landing, allowing the housekeeper to see who was at the side door (the door reserved for non-family or friends, such as salesmen)

*Beautiful Butternut woodwork and doors in the front of the home

*Wainscoting in the formal dining room that looks like carved wood, or tooled leather, or really anything other than the pressed parchment paper it actually is (called Lincrustia)

*Little porcelain 'cups' embedded in the walls that were blown into - emitting a whistle - to alert household staff when they were needed. The air blown in moved tags which indicated where in the house / to whom they should go to offer assistance

The Lockerbie neighborhood is worth a drive by, and the home is on a lovely cobbled street. Very enjoyable outing.

www.RileyKids.org/museum

phone: 317.631.5885

528 Lockerbie Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202