Chickamauga Battlefield Georgia October 2022

In October of 2022, FINALLY made it to the Chickamauga Battlefield in Georgia!  This is a great area, and a very well preserved battlefield, just a short drive from Chattanooga Tennessee!

Wisconsin Monument "Riderless Horse" at Chickamauga Park, near Chattanooga, Tenn. Old Postcard

 Wisconsin Monument "Riderless Horse" at Chickamauga Park, near Chattanooga, Tenn.

This wonderful old postcard is unused and undated.

Santa Claus Indiana Christmas 2022

 And here is our pre Christmas visit to Santa Claus Indianato see their great Museum and the Candy Castle!

"From Heroes to Homicide" by Joe Ford

 I totally lucked out and found a copy of the late Joe Ford's book, "From Heroes to Homicide" at a used book store!

Honestly, this book is VERY DIY...  It could have been made on a home printer for the most part.  It clocks in at 74 pages and you could indeed call it skimpy.  Still, this is easily one of my favorite finds while scavenging the book shelves at used shops.

If you don't know, Joe Ford started up the Owensboro Museum.  I remember him coming to my school to tell ghost stories around Halloween (and incredible treat at the time).  If you cared about Owensboro, and legendary locals...  well, Joe Ford was THE GUY.

The museum was great too.  I haven't been to it in some time (it is now right downtown on 2nd Street) but when I was a kid, I always loved going to the old location.  It was mind blowing.  I loved the gift shop too.  I remember 10 cent plastic dinosaurs.  There was a wooden barrel full of various used stamps for a penny each.

And I recently found out that Joe put out a couple of these little self published books.  This one is a fun, and quick read, and he talks about how the museum evolved from a childhood mini-museum to what it is now.

Reprinting these books might be a good and fun idea....  Now I just need to find a copy of his other book, "Haunts to Hookers".

Richmond Kentucky Train November 2022

 AND, just because I like trains....  here is a train that I filmed briefly while in Richmond Kentucky.

"Santa's Daughter" by Patricia Yellig Koch with Jane Simon Ammeson

 While visiting the Santa Claus Museum in Santa Claus Indiana (its very close to Holiday World) I saw that they had a new biography by local legend Pat Koch!  "Santa's Daughter" kind of gives her memories of her family, and growing up in southern Indiana.  She does get into some of the history of the famous theme park that she and her family have been closely associated with too.  I actually enjoyed her stories of growing up as a kid as she was born in the 1930s.

I felt like Pat was very honest with her thoughts on life, business and even religion.  I really enjoyed just reading this one, as it has a nice flow.

I have mentioned before that several years ago, while strolling through Holiday World, my brother in law and I saw Pat CLEANING!  We said hello to her and she stopped and talked to us like we were old friends.  Talk about kind and humble!  I have always had a lot of respect for her.

They did NOT have any signed copies of the book at the museum, but the very kind lady working the front told me that Pat was there, helping the elves at the old post office!  They made sure that I had a nice signed copy of the book before I left the museum!

West Baden Springs Hotel Indiana... at Christmas!

West Baden Springs Hotel is one of my favorites.  The place is flawless and historic.  I really love stopping by around Christmas!

The Carousel at the Ark Encounter in Kentucky

 And here is a brief video showing the new carousel at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown Kentucky!

French Lick Springs Hotel- French Lick Indiana early 1900s postcard

 I found this GREAT old postcard recently, featuring the spectacular hotel in French Lick Indiana (I have posted about this place a lot).  The card postmark is a bit hard to read, but I think it is 1911.  A friend is writing to tell her friend to come down and try the water!

French Lick and West Baden Springs Indiana... at Christmas!

French Lick and West Baden Springs Indiana are great towns any time of the year, but they are especially spectacular at Christmas!

Ararat Ridge Zoo at the Ark Encounter at Night at Christmas

 Here is a nighttime video from our recent visit to the Ark Encounter in Williamstown!  Check out the Christmas lights too!

French Lick Springs Hotel Indiana.... at Christmas!

We love the French Lick Resort hotels.  It is always a treat getting to the area and spending a little bit of time at the landmarks.

The Ark Encounter Williamstown Kentucky 2022

 Here is another video of the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky, from our recent visit!

Christmas Lights at the Ark Williamstown Kentucky 2022

 We were REALLY impressed with the lights at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown this year!  This is easily my favorite light display in the state.

Visit French Lick West Baden Springs Indiana Visitor Center

We really love the visitor center in West Baden Springs Indiana!

The Bagel Bistro West Baden Springs Indiana

Check out the Bagel Bistro in West Baden Springs!  Its a short walk from the towns historic hotel!

Trolley Ride French Lick Indiana

 Here is a complete, round trip trolley ride between the West Baden Springs Hotel and French Lick Springs Hotel in Indiana!

Irish Lion Restaurant and Pub Bloomington Indiana 2022

 We visited the Irish Lion Pub and Restaurant while in the great town of Bloomington Indiana recently.  We discovered great food, and a cool connection to one of my all time favorite TV shows....  Cheers!

Starlight Coffee Southern Indiana

 I have really enjoyed stopping by the Starlight Coffee shops in southern Indiana recently.

Home 2 Suites Columbus Indiana

 We had a really nice stay at the Home 2 Suites in Columbus Indiana and I wanted to give them a quick mention.......

Crumble Coffee and Bakery Bloomington Indiana

 

I wanted to tip my hat to Crumble Cookie and Bakery in Bloomington Indiana!  GREAT COFFEE and a great, unique, chocolate chip cookie!

Bloomington Indiana November 2022

We made it to Bloomington Indiana's wonderful downtown area!  Luckily, it was a decorated up for Christmas.  This is a great area and I am excited to get back whenever I can.

Noble Romans Columbus Indiana November 2022

 I recently discovered that the town of Columbus Indiana has a very retro Noble Romans Pizza!  This IS one of my all time favorite pizza chains.

I used to hang out at the one in Owensboro all the time when I was growing up.  All of my pals loved Noble Romans and I had friends that worked there at times too.  Well, the one near where I grew up closed down some time ago....  You still see them, occasionally here and there....  but they are usually in an altered form.  An edited down pizza place in a gas station or something like that.

This one was great though, and it was very similar to the one in Owensboro.

The pizza and breadsticks were great...  just like I remembered them.

Nashville Indiana November 2022

 We FINALLY made it to Nashville Indiana!  This might be my new favorite little town!  Check out my youtube video from our visit!

Fashion Mall at Keystone at Christmas 2022

 Its Christmas time!  We always try to get some Christmas shopping in at the Fashion Mall at Keystone in Indianapolis!

Souper Jenny Roswell Georgia October 2022

 Check out Souper Jenny- a great small chain of restaurants (I believe they have around half a dozen locations) around Atlanta.  I visited the one in Roswell recently and loved it.

I love the spirit of what they are doing too.  Good fresh food at a good price.  The staff there was great too!