Wednesday, May 6, 2015

On our first morning at Johnny Appleseed Campground, Sam and I stumbled on the reason for its name.  I didn't have a camera with me Monday but Joani joined us as we revisited the hilltop graveyard and memorial this morning in the fog.  There were no signs, but it was not too difficult to find.   From the campground, we walked past the dumpster, over the guardrail and up the hill.  Jonathan Chapman was born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1774, but passed away in Fort Wayne, IN in 1845 while visiting a friend, David Archer, and was buried in the Archer family cemetery.

The grass was so thick with dew, our feet quickly became soaked.  The color of the spring flowers struggled without the sun to brighten them up.

A small graveyard (with half a dozen stones) was perched atop a mound and surrounded with flowering apple trees.

John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) 1774-1845

We learned Johnny was quite an entrepreneur.  He traveled to an area just prior to its being settled and started apple tree nurseries.  When settlers arrived, he sold them seedling trees to start orchards on their homesteads.

I believe crab-apple trees have a deep rose colored blossom.

There were so many petals on the ground you would think the trees would be bare!

The fog was gone and the sun was out as we tried to find Joani's childhood home.  The neighborhood was a bit sketchy, but we had no problems as we drove slowly down the streets.  Once in a while, something would trigger a wave of nostalgia, but for the most part, it had just changed too much.

This is the alley behind my childhood home (2949 Winter Street, Fort Wayne, IN), but the house itself is gone-the shed is gone-the lilac bush is gone.  The yard in the front used to be elevated about 3 feet, but is no longer.  I assume they used the dirt to fill in the basement's hole left after ripping out the house.

This is the back of Max and Erma Baron's house, across the street from our side.  All I can think about is how upset Mr. Baron would be by his neighbors taste in paint.

This was my playmate, Dickie Douglas' house, kitty-cornered from mine.  Things that I will always remember:  he had the best toys, Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys, the Legos of my day - his mother's name was "Bumps," (Mrs. Douglas to me!) - Mrs. Douglas explaining to me that they didn't put a green wreath on the door at Christmas because in her day that meant there was a death in the family.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Today was one of those days where you cannot claim credit for anything productive.  I walked Sam early enough to avoid getting wet, but then the rain settled in for the day.  A strange aircraft caught my eye while perusing the web.  When I said to Joani we had seen it she said no we hadn't.  I could so clearly remember it and thought we had even posted it on the blog.  We each spent 30 minutes looking for it with no idea of when or where it would have been.  It was never on our blog, but I was more certain than ever I had seen it.  Joani was more certain than ever we had not.  Here's where it gets a little strange - we were both right - I had seen it and she had not. 

Joani set out to look through all of her pictures starting at the beginning of our travels while I looked through all of my pictures starting with the most recent.  Keep in mind we have more than 100,000 pictures between us, but with the rain outside what else did we have to do?  Joani finished looking through hers and I finally found it near the beginning of our travels.  It was at the Florida Air Museum back in February 2013, so we both got to look at nearly all of the pictures we had taken throughout our full-timing adventure.  The reason Joani had not seen the strange plane was that she had returned to the car to make sure Sam was OK while I finished up with the outdoor exhibits.

Glad to know I was not dreaming - I really had seen it and marital bliss was restored with the realization that we were both right!

Sunday May 3, 2015

Joani found a city RV park, Johnny Appleseed Campground, in Fort Wayne, IN that had mostly nice reviews.  It was pretty close to the downtown area to make exploring her old hometown a bit easier.  Our drive was relatively short at 173.5 miles (74,118.9 total) and again uneventful (just the way we like it).  We arrived at 1:30 only to find our site was not ready.  It was still occupied since check-out was not until 2:00 (check-in after 2:30).  There was a good place to park while we waited, and to pass the time, we walked across Harry Baals Drive to the St. Joseph River.  (Don't you know Harry had to say a million times - "it's pronounced Bales!")

The campground was adjacent to the Fort Wayne Coliseum.  That meant there was a large parking lot nearby that we found was used on the first Sunday of every other month for some street racing.  The drivers were racing against the clock.  That meant lots of flooring the accelerator on the straightaways and lots of locking up the brakes on the corners.  You just expected to hear the crunch of metal following the tire squealing, but there were no incidents and the event was over before dinner, so once again, we were lucky!

We were lucky that this wasn't an everyday event.  The noise was obnoxious to the non-car enthusiast.

Our site was more level than I would have guessed based on our first look.  The power pole was almost too close, but I couldn't find the water.  When the host showed me where the water was, I had a problem.  Fortunately, she had some loaner hose since the spigot was more than 60 feet away!  In more than two years on the road I have only had to use my extra 25-foot hose once or twice, so that was a new one for us. 

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Just a few miles west of Columbus was Nashville, IN.  It was known as the "Art Colony of the Midwest".  The Hoosiers had been cooped up by old man winter too long and it was a beautiful spring day, so there was quite a crowd.  We snagged the first parking place we could find and explored as much of the quaint little town as we could on foot.

We probably only covered 10 square blocks, but I don't think we reached the end of the shops in any direction.  Each little shop was stuffed into one of the houses I guessed were built in the early 1900's.

Joani looked for an appropriate souvenir (unfortunately, unsuccessfully) while I tried to take pictures. Sam got a lot of attention from passers-by. 

Indeed, it is!!!

I hear you, Sister!!

A couple of hours was enough for me, so Joani very generously agreed to head back home.  This is yet another place we will make sure to visit again someday!

Friday, May 1, 2015 - Columbus, IN

The Woods and Waters campground was about 4 miles from the heart of Columbus, IN making it convenient to pop back home when I forgot my camera.  The woodpecker below caught my eye as we pulled out of the campground.  There were so many birds the place sounded like an aviary.

Thanks to a very nice partnership between the city government and Cummins, Inc., Columbus is home to over seventy buildings and public art pieces by internationally noted artists and architects.

The Chihuly glass, below, was on display at the Columbus Visitors Center.  

"Persians" by Dale Chihuly

"Yellow Neon Chandelier" by Dale Chihuly

The works of the local artist were displayed and for sale at the Visitors Center.

The visitors center was more of a museum and gift shop than information center, but we did get a map and set out on foot to see some of the city's architecture.

First Christian Church, built 1942, was the first contemporary building in Columbus.  I wish we could have gone inside to see the interior features designed by Charles Eames.

Columbia was rightfully proud of their modernist architecture, but it also had some very nice oldies.

The Cummins campus was exceptional!  I was surprised we never saw any of the employees taking an outdoor break on such a beautiful day.

It was difficult to capture just how unique and magnificent the Cummins campus was.

When we finally found the main entrance, there was a nice lobby with many interesting exhibits.  Who knew Al Unser won the Indy 500 once in a Cummins powered car?

When you find the entrance to the Cummins corporate offices (5th and Jackson), just go into the rotating door like you belong there, the guard will point you to the museum.  It's worth a trip to Columbus, IN for this masterpiece alone.

All of the parts for a complete engine are included in this exploded display.  Employees spent 9 months completing the unique piece of art under the direction of Rudolph de Harak.

"Exploded Engine"

"While de Harak might have been the artist, the sculptors were a team of Cummins engineers and tradesmen led by John Walter."

Below you see the same corner from the inside and then, below that, from the outside.  The mirrors complemented the windows making the space seem very large.

The mixture of glass and mirror was brilliantly executed.

Columbus was a very walkable city.

You knew you were in a city that takes pride in its aesthetics when the alleys looked like this.

We had lunch at the world famous Zaharako's Ice Cream Parlor. Entering the place was like stepping back in time.  Half of the place was a museum with soda machines dating back to the 1850's.

Joani had the root beer float and a Gom sandwich.  As they say "When in Athens. . ." -  I guess the saying was about Rome and Romans, but it still fits.  Gom was Greek for "messy" and the sandwich was just a "sloppy Joe," but it was certainly tasty.

We will have to take our waitress' word for the translation of "Gom" being Greek for "messy."  My translator says it is "ακατάστατος."