Road Trip 2024–Indiana
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The morning after our visit in Peoria, we began the driving part of the trip. It was a pleasant drive through the corn and soybean farmland, passing through the towns of Homer and Paris. I am tempted to call them quaint. They are the heart of America.
Pioneer Log Cabin, Poland, Indiana
We stayed two nights in a renovated log cabin on Boat Dock Road, near Cataract Lake. It was built circa 1850, but now has WiFi, air conditioning, and a full kitchen. It sleeps at least eight, but only one of the four double beds was on the same floor as a bathroom. Being a man of a certain age, I did not want to contend with stairs or a ladder in the middle of the night. So we left the second story and the loft vacant.
We went to Indiana to visit my older sister, Laurie, and her family in Reelsville, about an hour west of Indianapolis. She and her husband Darrell live on a farm with their son, my nephew Zachary. Darrell was dusty from working in his dental lab, and wouldn’t let us take his picture.
Cagles Mill Lake, Cataract Falls
The weather broke and we had a lovely outing with Laurie to see the waterfalls, some of the largest in the state. In Hawaii, they might not be mentioned in the guidebook. They gave us the locals price of $7 for the carload, saving us $2 over the out-of-state price.
How Not to Starve
After our short, pleasant nature walk, we went out for lunch. We had found the Fluttering Duck restaurant on the DePauw University campus offered a vegan entree, but when we got there, it was closed.
Fortunately, Laurie knew the area and suggested the Almost Home restaurant. They have a veggie sandwich that fit the requirements. It was only two blocks away, but a lot of the streets were blocked for road construction.
That night, the rain pounded down hard. We were safe and dry in our cabin in the woods. No axe murderers came to call. However, the rain was so loud on the steel roof, it sounded like we were inside a drum.
We spent two more nights at the Days Inn in Cloverdale, Indiana, which is the gateway to Greencastle. The less said about that, the better.
Sometimes, the best we could do was vegetarian fajitas at a Mexican restaurant. We request “no cheese, no sour cream,” and we don’t inquire about lard in the frijoles. We also found decent veggie sandwiches at Panera Bread.
For our last meal in Indiana, we found a vegan place in Indianapolis.
We shared a plate of fried Brussels sprouts and another of BBQ “wings,” made of seitan. I also had a mango salad with lots of dark leafy greens. Kathryn had the nachos.
In case anyone is interested, I only put gas in the rented Malibu once.
Our next stop was Covington, Kentucky, to see our best friends Mike and Amy Canary.
