We had a very nice Christmas! I hope you did too. LOTS going on....
My main camera I use when I travel broke recently. The auto focus messed up somehow. It is being repaired, but I did take some photos at some fun locations that are useless now (they looked fine on the view finder but they appear blurry at more than 2 inches). Obviously, this has caused a bit of a slow down on my posting....
And, with the busy December going by, I have several posts I will get up soon, but I am running a bit late (I hoped to get them up this month but it is not going to happen).
For the month of January I will put up some scans of old postcards from California! I have some attractive ones laying around that deserve to be looked at. Also, I have some posts relating to southern Indiana I will get up soon. I really love that area too. And, I have some interesting Kentucky content to mention.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
Holiday World- Santa Claus Indiana
In late October I made my way to Holiday World in Santa Claus Indiana!
If you are a fan of this park, you know that they pretty much shut down after Halloween and open back up in May. I figured someone out there is itching for some info on this legendary theme park right now. Here you go! You are welcome!
When I was a very young kid, I remember going here each year with my family. I do remember going there when it was still known as Santa Claus Land.I really hate to admit it, but this was my first trip back since the 1990s.
In many ways, the park still seemed very familiar. There were many areas that I remembered well.
A lot of it seemed very new to me, like the roller coasters!
I was talked in to riding the Voyage roller coaster. I will never do this again. I mean, it was fun and all, but it was SCARY! All joking aside, this is an experience. We did get there pretty much when the park opened on an October Saturday. It wasn't too crowded, and everyone there simply seemed happy to be at Holiday World.
Beverages are free when you get in the park (adding to the value of the ticket). Our first stop was to get a cup of warm coffee!
As we grabbed a beverage, we noticed Pat Kotch (one of the owners and the face of the park) doing a little work around the place! Ms. Koch was extremely pleasant, and came over to chat with us a bit!The older I get, the less likely I am to ride the rides and all. To be honest, the thought of going to a mega-park and waiting around for hours in lines does not sound fun to me at all.
Its different here. I already mentioned the fact that they do have over the top rides, but the feel is much more calm. You are in rural southern Indiana and the park feels that way. I think I could go here for a day, not ride a ride, and simply just enjoy walking around and drinking free Pepsi. http://www.holidayworld.com/
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Nazareth KY
I visted Nazareth last year! What a cool little area! it is kind of like a small community inside of Bardstown.
Each year they have a special Christmas postmark that is popular!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Lexington at Christmas
I thought I would post a few pictures I took in downtown Lexington over the last year or two at Christmas time.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Rooster Run
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Upland Brewing Company, Bloomington, Indiana
http://uplandbeer.com/
While I am on the topic of cool brewery type places in Indiana......
We stopped by Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington on a Saturday night not long ago....
The place was busy and crowded! Tables are close, and there is a festive atmosphere going on.
I forgot to get pictures of our meal, but it was great!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Indianapolis-Brewstone Beer Company
Its funny, we don't drink at all, but we are finding that restaurants with the word "BREW" somewhere in the title are good places to eat!
We stopped by the Brewstone Beer Company on a recent trip to Indianapolis and we LOVED this place!
It looks like they have one in Pittsburgh too, and one coming to the Cleveland area.
We felt that the food was a lot more upscale than the prices reflected and it was a very comfortable place to eat. They had a nice, clear sound system that was playing classic and 90s pop rock, but they weren't blaring it so loudly that you couldn't hear the people at your table. We had a nice spot next to a fire place which was perfect!Keep an eye out for more Brewstone Restaurants.......
Monday, December 10, 2012
Images of Historic America: Holiday World
I picked up the book, "Images of America: Holiday World" at Holiday World this year!
In general, I like these books for the pictures, and the basic history lessons. They are very easy to read while still covering a lot of ground.
I mentioned before that I used to go to Holiday World quit a bit when I was young and it is great seeing the old photos. In fact, there are some VERY old photos in this book.
I love the fact that this book discusses the legendary Santa Claus Indiana post office, Santa Jim Yellig, and the various acts and rides that have been around at Santa Claus Land/Holiday World!
If you are a fan of the legendary theme park, you MUST get this book! The copy I bought at Holiday World is signed by Pat Koch.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Santa's Candy Castle- Santa Claus Indiana
The place was build in 1935 and it still looks great.
On our trip, I picked up some great old postcards of the Candy Castle, and I had an amazing hot chocolate!
One room in the Castle is devoted to "Nightmare Before Christmas" items. I thought that was darn cool. I also appreciated the HUGE selection of Christmas books they had!Oh, and if you like Pez they had a massive selection of Pez dispensers too.
As I waited for my hot chocolate, the person running the counter told me about some things going on over at the Santa Claus Museum! I was planning to go by there anyway, but I thought it was great that local stop was getting the word out about other attractions in the area!
I loved the selection and the prices. This is a neat little place that everyone in the family will appreciate.
http://santascandycastle.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=11&cat=Gourmet+Hot+Chocolate
Friday, December 7, 2012
Santa Museum
The Santa Claus Museum in Santa Claus Indiana is a very short drive from Holiday World and Santa's Candy Castle. I think you could drive from any one of those to the other in a minute or two.
The Santa Claus Museum was busy the day we went. I was glad to see that!On our trip there in October, they were having
a bit of a Halloween celebration going on! In fact, later that evening they were going to do a reading of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in the church. There were rumors that the Headless Horseman himself might make an appearance!
I wish I could have hung around for that. I will have to check the museum's website for cool events like that in the future!
http://www.santaclausmuseum.org/
And speaking of the church (which would be the perfect venue for a telling of the Sleepy Hollow story)- the museum is doing a lot of work to preserve the place!
The old church, originally built in 1880 was recently moved to this site! It seems that it was difficult to keep an eye on the church at its former location, so it was moved!
We talked to a couple of people at the museum who obviously care a lot about restoring and maintaining the great old church! We were given a nice tour buy one of the staff there and you could feel their enthusiasm for the project!Also on this site is the legendary Santa Claus statue. You can see him clearly from inside the church. Or, you can go outside and walk up to him!
Santa Claus has something very special going on. A person (or family) can spend multiple days at Holiday World, especially during the summer when the water park section is open.
Your visit to the town will not be complete without a visit to Santa's Candy Castle, The Santa Claus Museum, the post office (get your postmarks!), and the great Christmas themed stores near post office. There is a lot going on in this small little town!
