DRIVING AROUND - 2

Here are two road sign posts – these were typical for the county!  My husband has had this rule for years – “don’t drive in Franklin County after dark” (he would actually get nervous!!!).  I have a rule “never drive in Franklin County without the county map”. 

However . . . in the past couple of years our rural county apparently got some stimulus money, because all of the old signs are being taken down and new ones put up – shiny green and white on a metal post – no character at all – it just ain’t the same.  Although my husband will no longer be getting lost!

The scenery is so “wild and wooly” – I really love it (but it is kinda scary!), so my husband and I have another rule about areas like this - “don’t have an accident here!”  We figure that if we have a wreck in one of these places they may never find our bodies!

And here is a sad but true story.  Several years ago a small plane took off from Aurora, IN, another local town located along the Ohio River.  A short time later a farmer in Franklin County heard a plane that didn’t sound quite right, then a crashing noise.  He proceeded to finish plowing his field, then went to the house, got some help on four-wheelers (you might call them quad-runners or ATVs) and went looking for the plane.  They also called in the police at that time and a real search took place but had to stop due to darkness.  It wasn’t until the next day, and then only after a helicopter was called in, that the plane was found in the trees.  (Sadly, the pilot died).

DRIVING AROUND

I've been chastised by a friend - "why haven't you put anything on your blog lately?".  

Well, sometimes this painting process is S L O W!!!

So - I’ve decided to put up some “Driving Around” posts to supplement my painting posts! 

In between my paintings, enjoy some photos of this beautiful area where I live – southeastern Indiana!

Here’s one of my favorite sites – I pass it almost every day.

You have all heard of “invisible fence” – here is an original version!  

This fence has been in this condition for several years!  (Note the lock on the gate!!!)

RIVERWALK IN INDIANAPOLIS

I had to drop my painting in Indianapolis for the Watercolor Society of Indiana show, so asked two friends to come along for the ride. (Thank goodness, since one had the GPS device and one checked the map and we STILL got lost!).

We ended up downtown at the Riverwalk for lunch. It was such a beautiful day, we ate on the terrace at the Indiana State Museum – and here was our view!

After lunch we walked for a while until we came to this beautiful bridge – makes you think of Venice, doesn’t it! – so we crossed and went back on the other side of the canal.

Even though it was a Tuesday, there were still plenty of folks walking, jogging, walking their dogs, using the peddle boats, cycling – and some shuffling along as we were! (Of course, it’s hard to walk fast and take photos!)

Line of peddle boats sparking in the sun - guess they are
waiting for a busy fall weekend!

I’m always impressed by Indy. We used to bring the kids up when they were little and we would stay overnight at the Holiday Inn Downtown. It was part of the old train depot and you could even spend the night in some refurbished train cars. There was a huge area of shops, places for the kids to play, and restaurants, all right downtown. I think that’s gone now, but not sure since we were slightly west of the downtown area. I always thought their zoo was much nicer than Cincy’s, and they have a huge Children’s Museum and we’ve been to the Indianapolis Museum of Art several times for exhibits.

Indy has certainly revitalized the downtown area, and this Riverwalk is spectacular!

MOTHER/DAUGHTER BONDING DAY

On occasion my daughter and I get together for what I refer to as “Mother/Daughter Bonding Day”. It gives us a chance to just spend some time together. We used to do it more often, but we are both busy, so it’s a real treat to get together now.

We drove to Brookville to The Dairy Cottage, home of delicious fried chicken and “jo-jos” – deep fried potato wedges. We each ordered a chicken breast and decided to split an order of cole slaw and jo-jos (of which I ate NONE!) and a Pepsi and then drove to the town park for lunch.

This is a beautiful setting, at the tailwaters of the Brookville Dam. There was a gentle breeze, we sat in the shade and enjoyed hearing the water trickling over a little waterfall while we watched one fly fisherman cast his line – a very bucolic setting. I took a few photos of the day.

You can just set the little ripples of the tiny waterfall (can’t you just hear that water!) and the beginning of the island

Here is the end of the little island

you can just make out a cute little cabin across the stream – I’m sure the homeowners spend a lot of time here in the summer, just listening to the stream and relaxing

farther downstream the water was quite low and you could see the rocks