The Great Park Quest

    We had a new adventure yesterday. The Johnson County Library's #GreatParkQuest encourages individuals and families to explore parks in each city in our county. I had hoped to visit some parks throughout the past month or two but never found the time. Finally, yesterday was the best day to head to a park, and we chose one in the southern part of the county where we had visited previously.

    

    The Library has written a unique clue for each site, and the one for Hoosier Horse Park is as follows: Quit "playing" around and go north to the "ground" past the "neigh"borhood. Benjamin Bison has lost one of his golden nuggets in this park...can you locate it?"

    

    The Hoosier Horse Park was easy to find, but we were surprised to see all the activity and many RVs and people camping. There were lots of horses too! We could hear something going on inside one of the buildings and walked over to observe horses racing around poles. Each event took about two minutes, and then another horse and rider would enter the arena.

    

    After rereading the clue, we knew that we had to head north, with many acres to search. Passing by the park office, I stopped to talk to a young man, but he didn't know anything about the clue. Then, in a moment of inspiration, I realized that the two words in the clue surrounded by quotation marks "playing" and "ground" could mean a playground. He thought there was a playground at another campsite about a mile away, so we got in the car and drove there. There was a swing set but no nugget. Of course, we didn't have a clue what size or shape the nugget would be. We drove a bit further and found another playground with some children playing on the equipment. The three brothers playing there were interested in helping, but we couldn't answer their questions about size, shape, or color. 

    

    We decided to leave, and then I remembered there was a park office nearby. We walked in to ask if anyone knew anything about the hidden golden nugget. The woman standing in front of the information desk was surprised to see us and immediately said, "Hi, I'm Steph Martin." A lovely coincidence. She's the wife of our son-in-law's brother, Chris. When we asked about the nugget, she knew immediately what it was and where to find it and offered to show us. We followed Steph in her golf cart back to where she and Chris have their RV. She said she could see the nugget from there. We could see it, too, and walked over to take a picture.

The nugget was not in the playground but under a nearby tree.

Before leaving, we took a photo of Steph and Chris. They live permanently at the camp serving as hosts.

    There is only one week left in the #greatparkquest. I'm wondering if we can find another nugget or two this week. If we find at least four, we might be eligible for a prize.

Quilt Garden Trail

    Last Sunday, after church services, we headed to northern Indiana. I've heard of the Quilt Garden Trail and wanted to see it in person. Our first stop was in Wakarusa, a small town not far from Elkhart.

Windmill Star

Clara's Flower Garden Mural

    When we arrived in Elkhart, we planned to stop in the hotel where Ray had made a reservation. The clerk didn't have a record of us even though we had the correct address. We drove on further and found a Travelodge thinking that this might be where we had a reservation. They didn't either but had a room available at a reasonable rate. We then heard that the place we had stopped at first doesn't have a good reputation, and the young lady at the front desk was glad that we weren't staying there. We were also relieved to have a nice place to stay. We'll never understand what happened to our original reservation. We're checking our credit card statement to make sure we don't get charged. 

    After settling in the Travelodge, we still had time to search for several Quilt Gardens and found one mural. 

    

"Unity Through Diversity" at the Ruthmere Museum

"Morning Star" Mural

    We arrived at the Wellfield Botanic Gardens about 30 minutes before closing time and decided to pay the entry fee. We heard that it covered about 30 acres and had many beautiful trails and plantings. The quilt garden was outside the premises, and we could have avoided the entry fee, but we don't regret visiting here, only wishing we had had a bit more time. Enjoy these scenes from the Wellfield Botanic Gardens.

Goddess of Fresh Water

  

Origami

    

"Peace" Quilt Garden
(photographed from a viewing stand)

     We enjoyed an Italian meal at Davinci's Restaurant before settling in for an overnight stay. The following morning we picked up our "Grab and Go" breakfast from the lobby to eat in our room. I wouldn't classify it as a "great" breakfast, but it was good enough to get us started on the day. The coffee was good.

    

    Our first stop of the day was to see the "Eclipse by Diana Bennett" quilt garden in the downtown area and one mural.

"Morning Star" Mural

"Eclipse by Diana Bennett" Quilt Garden

    We then headed to Elkhart's Environmental Center to see the "Canoe Crossing." It was a pretty little garden, but the mosquitoes were intense, so we left in a hurry.  

 

"Canoe Crossing" 

    As we headed to the "Tickled Pink" quilt garden, we were also looking for a pharmacy because we needed relief from the mosquito bites. This garden was one of my favorites. We used the GPS to find a CVS and came away with some Benedryl that helped to relieve our symptoms.

"Tickled Pink" at the Linton's Enchanted Gardens

        Our next stop was in the small town of Bristol, where we quickly found the "Box Car, 1897" quilt garden.

    Leaving Bristol, we headed to Middlebury, which wasn't far. These small towns are close together. Here we found the "Old Windmill" garden in a lush green setting on the grounds of the Das Dutchman Essenhaus.  

    Our next stop was to see the "Dutch Mill" garden on the site of the Dutch Country Market, and I was able to get a photo of an Amish buggy driving down the road.

    Our last stop in Middlebury was at Krider World's Fair Garden to see the "Postage Stamp" garden and the windmill.

    It was getting close to lunchtime when we arrived in Goshen. First, we visited Abshire Park to see "The Mill at Abshire."

    We stopped next at the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds, where we drove around for a while, noticing all the preparations for the fair. We couldn't find the quilt garden in the fairgrounds but saw it as we got back on the main street.

    Our third stop in Goshen was at the Elkhart County Courthouse to see the "Cornflower" quilt garden.  

    Across from the Courthouse, Ray found a small and busy restaurant where we had sandwiches outdoors under the umbrella. I had an "Olive and Nut" sandwich which was a first for me. Have you ever had one? I liked it, but it was probably too salty with all the olives. We finished our meal with a giant ice cream sundae!

    I asked if they had a restroom and learned that it was in their basement. I don't think many older women would venture down those steps, but it was vital for me, and I made it down and up the stairs with care.

Hopes and Wishes Mural in Goshen

Our final destination was Nappanee to visit two quilt gardens and photograph these murals.

    We visited the garden sponsored by the Nappanee Center & Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber provided a viewing platform for taking photos. Like several other sites, it had about 8-12 steps and a railing to prevent falling off. This garden named "Sweet Apples" may have been the most unique of our trip.

     We had trouble finding our last garden at Amish Acres. We drove the narrow paths and finally found the quilt garden "Arrows to the Barns."

Notice the green parsley plants.
I also saw them in another garden or two.

    We didn't look for all the murals on the Quilt Garden Trail and captured a few, but mainly I wanted to see and share the flower gardens. Without the GPS to get us from one quilt garden to the next, we couldn't have visited all these gardens in such a short time.

    Our last stop was in mid-afternoon, and we headed back to Greenwood with a camera loaded with more than 60 photos and good memories.

Finally, All Caught Up!

We all have probably had times when we wish we could redo something. I had that situation when I forgot to take my iPod out of my pocket and later discovered that it was no longer working after inadvertently washing it with other clothes. I called a local repair shop and asked if they could repair it. They said they hadn't had much success with iPod water damage. Fortunately, I didn't throw it out but just ignored it for a few weeks. One day, not too long ago, I checked and could see a sign of life. I plugged it in to recharge the battery, and now I have a working iPod! Win! Win! 

    We settled down into our routine after returning from our trip in late June. After not playing bridge at The Social of Greenwood for the last 16 months, we could finally play bridge there again. Fortunately, several months ago, we had formed a four-member bridge group that met weekly. Fortunately, I say, because the first time we played, we had to refresh some simple rules, and in a short while, we were able to play without checking the rules.

    I hope I can keep up but knowing that life sometimes throws curves, please don't hold me to it. I'm planning on posting a lengthy review of our trip to northern Indiana very soon.

June 28-July 4

We returned to our usual routine after returning from our trip to Texas and Lexington.

On Tuesday, we finally had our rescheduled LifeLine Screening. Now we have to wait about three weeks for the results.

Noticing that the air conditioning in the car wasn’t cooling, we stopped at CarX for an evaluation and scheduled a repair for later in the week. Since we haven’t had overnight guests since moving a year ago, I spent most of one day getting the bedroom ready. I also made a rhubarb pie! Early Friday morning, Ray took our Nissan to CarX, had breakfast out, and then spent some time in the library. Now we have a very cool car (no pun intended).

In the late afternoon, Bart, Christy, and Persephone arrived. We last saw them in person in December 2019. We played several games of cornhole before heading out to dinner at a locally owned restaurant. 

The next day, Bart, Ray, and I found our way to the Nolin Cemetery. Bart had information that this was the burial site of Christy’s third great-grandfather. The cemetery was small, and many of the gravestones unreadable and toppled off their base. The dates on most headstones are in the late 1800s. 

The cemetery is located in Clark Township, Johnson County, IN

We found the monument for Isaac Parmer, who died Feb. 15, 1870, 68 yrs, 3 months, 24 days old.

Locating Isaac Parmer’s gravestone

The cemetery is maintained but the gravestones are hard to read.

 Later on Saturday, we headed to Joe and Nancy’s house for a family cookout and some swimming. Kylie and Dustin, and a few other friends were there.

Family Photo 2021

Brother and Sister

The weather was unusually cool for early July, and the pool was chilly, but that didn’t stop the younger kids from enjoying the water.

Jayden & Dustin challenging each other to jump.

Persephone helps Joe bake his famous cookies!

After swimming, it was time for a ride on the golf cart.

Don’t be fooled! Joe used his leaf blower to simulate motion!

Back at our house, Persephone and Christy enjoyed watching neighborhood fireworks after dark, but Ray and I were already in bed and missed the show. I heard them popping for quite a while.

Our guests packed their bags on Sunday morning, and we said goodbye wishing them a safe trip back to Louisiana

June 14-20

In my last post, I mentioned that we spent the night in Texarkana after saying farewell to Gloria and Ross at the DFW airport. The following day, Monday, we started our trek toward Lexington, KY. Our original plan was to arrive on Wednesday evening, giving us three days to make the trip.

With three days for an approximately 10-hour drive, we planned to stop in Little Rock to visit the Clinton Presidential Library. We were disappointed to learn that the museum was not open due to Covid-19 but would be re-opening soon. The museum is located next to the Arkansas River and has spacious grounds to enjoy. An old railroad bridge across the river is now a pedestrian walkway, and we walked about halfway across before returning. We discovered that even though the museum is closed, the outdoor cafe was open, allowing us to enjoy our lunch there.

A trail on the grounds of the Clinton Library

Walking halfway across the pedestrian bridge

Discovered on the pedestrian bridge

Clinton was President 42 and the outdoor
cafe carried out the theme

We didn’t get to go inside

Dark clouds spotted as we returned to our car gave us the suspicion that we might soon have rain. We drove through the rain and, around 5 p.m., decided to stop for the evening. We were surprised when two Holiday Inn hotels didn't have any rooms available, and we had to choose another hotel. 

We were on the road again on Tuesday without sightseeing prospects and decided to arrive a day early in Lexington. Our hotel was about a half-mile or so from The Red Mile, a famous horse racing track. Racing doesn’t begin until later in the summer, but we wanted to see what they had to offer. At this time of year, everyone comes to play the slot machines. We checked in at the reception desk, and since we were newcomers, we could spin for free money to play the machines. Ray won $5, and I was surprised and delighted to have $100 for playing. Our primary purpose for going to The Red Mile was to have a meal, but we used our free money after figuring out how to play. I had some lucky spins, and we left with more than $300, and we hadn’t invested a dime!! I couldn’t have been happier since it covered about half of our anticipated hotel bill!

The Red Mile facade

On Wednesday and Thursday, I was busy volunteering at the various sites that I had signed up for beforehand. In one place, I helped with “special dress distribution” starting at 7 a.m. Each man and woman received a pre-ordered green t-shirt. The women wore a fascinator, and the men a black derby hat to complete the “look.” I also worked at the “Mission Walk” table, handing out t-shirts and accepting pledge donations for the walk on Saturday afternoon.

On Thursday, the convention’s opening service began at 7 p.m., where I met Gloria, Ross, and Ray after finishing my volunteer stint. As a past president of LWML, Gloria had reserved front-row seats and invited us to join her.

The opening worship service

 I was glad to sleep in on Friday morning. I had light volunteer duties: helping guide people to their correct noon luncheon and usher groups of 10 to their table for the evening plated meal.

After the evening meal, almost everyone went to the block party in the exhibit hall. We enjoyed milling with other people and taking part in some of the games where you could win a piece of candy.

Photo op

Bean bag toss for a treat

Another photo op!

On Saturday, I was able to attend most of the daytime convention sessions. The parade of countries was spectacular.

These flags were part of the morning’s procession

Thoroughbred Park - all the walkers passed by this
great display of horses as they near the finish line

The 1.5 mile Mission Walk began at 4:30. Ray joined me at the one-mile marker, where I held a sign to indicate the walkers had finished one mile. Many walkers took a photo of the “1 Mile” sign to show friends their achievement. My face had to be in quite a few pictures!

Holding the sign at the 1-mile spot. About a half-mile to go.

Ray and I joined Gloria and Ross in the reserved front-row seats for the evening’s entertainment, a bluegrass band, Billie Renee and Cumberland Gap, from eastern Kentucky. Many young women and children came to the front of the stage to dance to the lively music. Their enthusiasm was spontaneous.

Fun group of musicians playing bluegrass
for the evening's entertainment

We attended the last meeting and closing service the following morning. By late Sunday afternoon, we were home after ten days on the road with a stop for groceries and getting our mail from our neighbors who had kept it for us.

Congratulations for reading this far! One more post and I'll be caught up.