Indiana Transportation Museum and Forest Park (Noblesville, IN)

Ticket Office

On Sunday we visited the Indiana Transportation Museum at Forest Park in Noblesville.  It was a great way to spend an hour on a Sunday warm, sunny afternoon!  The museum consists of an old ticket office (brought from Hobart, Indiana), a gift shop, and countless train engines, cabooses and cars in various states of restoration.

Desk in the caboose with kerosene lantern

We were able to climb on 3 of the cars and fully explore a caboose. We could sit in the engineer's seat and see what it feels like to drive these powerful machines.  We got to see where the train crew rested and ate.

Driving

In addition,we walked through trains from various eras including passenger cars, tankers, box trucks, etc.  It was fun to walk among so many different trains! This is the perfect place for a train lover of any age.  For those of us less familiar with trains, reading up a little before visiting would be helpful as there was no brochure or overview about the time period or history of each train there.

The Indiana Transportation Museum offers train rides for every train enthusiast! There are frequent trips to Fishers and Noblesville, open air train rides, dinner trains (they take you to a town where you find your own dinner), and special event seasonal train rides.  We did not have the opportunity to explore those, but we will be back! Costs vary, check the website for more information.

The Ticket Office and Gift shop

The Ticket Office and Gift Shop

Following our visit to the Indiana Transportation Museum, we spent time hanging out in Forest Park which boasts two playgrounds (one bigger and one for smaller kids), a swimming pool, a miniature golf course, a full size golf course, a carousel and a walking trail in addition to several picnic shelters.  It was a great place to eat lunch and spend time together as a family. 












Details:
Museum at Forest Park
825 Park Drive
Noblesville, IN 46060

317-773-6000
http://itm.org/

Hours: Saturday and Sunday, Noon-4
Price: Adults $3, Children 12 and under $2

Cincinnati - Castles, Knights and Presidents

Last weekend we planned a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. Holiday weekends are great because we have more time to spend traveling together, and most of the kids' activities are cancelled.  On the other hand, that is generally true for everyone, and we hate crowds.  So, we decided to go to places that are less likely to be overwhelmingly crowded - a real castle and a presidential home. 

We started the day at Chateau Laroche, also known as the Loveland Castle, outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. The castle was built and lived in by Harry Andrews between 1927 and 1981. Harry is a fascinating man. A conscientious objector because he objected to modern methods of warfare where you don't see your enemy, Harry was drafted into the army during WWI and served as a medic. His  escape from death from spinal meningitis is legendary (and well described on the tour).  After the war, he stayed in Europe to tour castles.  When he came back to Ohio, he started a boy scout troop which became the Knights of the Golden Trail.  Overtime, the knights built the castle which they still guard (and serve as tour guides for) today. 

Bedroom

The castle is on the banks of the Little Miami River, providing a lovely view for picnicking and relaxing.  It was hand built by Sir Harry and his knights and boasts beautiful gardens, a dungeon, an office, a kitchen, a bedroom and a dining area in addition to the large chapel.  There are suits of armor and historic swords and coats of arms to explore.  In addition, built into the bricks are stones, geodes, fossils or artifacts from all 50 states, many countries and outer space (there is a piece of asteroid).

We really enjoyed our visit to Chateau Laroche and spent about an hour exploring the castle and grounds before eating our picnic lunch at the tables near the river. The "knights" guarding the castle were very knowledgeable on building techniques, castle design, the history of the castle, and Sir Harry himself.  An inexpensive and fascinating place to visit! One note: the castle has many winding and uneven stairs, so it is difficult for anyone who might struggle with that (people with disabilities, strollers, etc).

After lunch, we decided to visit the William Howard Taft National Historic site. Aside from Brother who has been watching documentaries about the presidents, we didn't know much about Taft.  Through the movie in the visitors' center, the exhibits on the 2nd floor of the home and the park ranger, we certainly knew a lot more when we left!  President Taft and his family were fascinating people, promoters of racial equality, free trade and a limited role for money in politics. Although not a very successful president, William Taft was an excellent governor of the Philippians, helping prepare them for local control, and an excellent judge.  As Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, he worked to establish the court and appeals system that we have today.  He is highly regarded for the contributions he made in his various roles. 

We spent about an hour and a half touring the building, looking at the displays and watching the movie.  What an educational visit for all of us!

We were fortunate to have arrived just in time for their ice cream social, with a live Patriotic band and free ice cream. We really enjoyed our 4th of July weekend trip to the William Howard Taft house. 








Details:

Chateau Laroche
Opening Hours: April-September 11-5 daily, October-March 11-5 weekends only
Fees: $5 adults, $3 children 12 and under
Special Events: The 3rd Saturday of every month April-August is "Castle Days" with Medieval music, crafts, and activities, admission on these days is $8/person
12025 Shore Dr.
Loveland Ohio
513-683-4686
www.Lovelandcastle.com

William Howard Taft National Historic Site
Opening Hours: 8-4 daily, closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day
Free
2038 Auburn Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45219 
https://www.nps.gov/wiho/index.htm

Broadripple Art Experience

Brother and I spent an afternoon last week at Half Baked Pottery in Broad Ripple (Indianapolis). We had a wonderful experience!  Half of the business is dedicated to painting pottery, but we visited the half that was used for glass fused art.  The artist who assisted us was very helpful, but she also gave us the space to create on our own.  There were examples of pendants, magnets, plates, bowls, platters and other pieces of art.

We bought a Living Social deal that included 5 pendants each. We had access to pendant backgrounds, beads of glass, glass pieces and glass strips. They had so many colors and designs for us to choose from! In addition, we had the tools to cut the glass into different shapes and pieces.  We glued the glass on as we desired, and they will fire it in the kiln. We can pick up our art pieces in 2-3 weeks.  We're so excited to see how our pieces turned out!

This was a great activity.  We had so much fun time chatting and creating art together.  I highly recommend this for a girls night, a date, or family time.

Details: Ages 12 and up only. Book a time online or call to schedule a time.

6511 Ferguson Street
Indianapolis, IN 46220
(317) 406-6680

http://www.halfbakedpottery.com/

My travel plans - a year of living local

Welcome to my travel blog! I'm Jennifer, and I travel through my life with my husband and my two kids, referred to as Brother (13) and Sister (10). I LOVE travel.  I love to plan trips, and I love going on them.  I don't think there's any better way to understand the world than to go places, meet people, and explore.  I love museums, zoos, parks, nature areas, historic sites, and cities. I especially like walking around in a town or city to get a real feel for it. I like visiting interesting shops and restaurants, hiking through the woods, boating down a river.  I like Disney World and beautiful beaches and tent camping and walking through cities. I like traveling across the US and abroad. And, I love finding experiences everywhere I go.  This year, we're out of money and vacation time, so we're going to enjoy the local : ) 

Most of this year's ideas for trips, activities and experiences will be in (or near) Indiana. I checked out all of the books on travel in Indiana from the library, and I'm busy planning our year.  I am looking up every place online, reviewing ideas on Pinterest, and talking to locals to find our opportunities. I hope you find some fun ideas that will work for you and your family!