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Day 1: May 20, 2014 Welcome Thunder Comment via blog |
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When the Atlantic-Pacific Highway, one of the early coast-to-coast auto
trails, crossed Indiana, it was all business. It traversed the state as
directly and quickly as possible. The Wonderland Way was conceived as a
scenic alternative that would show off some of the state's natural beauty.
Its ends connected with the main Atlantic-Pacific route just inside the
borders of neighboring Ohio and Illinois. I headed for the eastern
terminus, in downtown Cincinnati, with an army of commuters. I slipped by
the Horseshoe Casino and the twin towers of Proctor & Gamble, with
Cincinnati's tallest, the Great American Tower, behind them, to head west
on Fourth Street.
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My first stop was at Harrison's Tomb near North Bend, Ohio. The first U.S.
President to die in office, William Henry Harrison, is buried here along
with his wife and several other family members. Trees partially block the
view of the river from the base of the monolith but there are some great
views just a short distance up the road.
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Indiana, here I come. This is the real Ohio-Indiana border. The marker was
placed here along the Ohio River (which mostly belongs to Kentucky) in
1838 at a spot designated by surveyors from both states.
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One of the world's first pony cars is stabled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
It's a heavily modified Model T Ford named "Peggy" that used to
do wheelies and flap its wings in parades. Peggy's not for sale but cars
are available at Beers Used Cars on the west side of town. You might even
be able to buy a neon sign or a really big shoe but buying a car would
probably be cheaper.
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I've toured the crown of Aurora, Hillforest Mansion, many years ago and had thoughts of
doing it again today but I was too early. So, once again, I had to settle
for a shot of the nice river view from the front yard.
On a previous visit, I learned that what look like tunnels on the west side of town were once storage cellars for a pre-prohibition brewery named Great Crescent. The name had just recently been revived with the modern Great Crescent Brewery offering samples and growlers. I was also too early for the brewery today, but it looks like they've progressed well beyond carry-out beer. |
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This is a Triple Whipple bridge. Actually, those who should know think it
may be THE Triple Whipple Bridge. One of the bridge types patented by
Squire Whipple used tensioned diagonals to connect sections. Bearing its
inventor's name, the technique was typically used to connect two sections.
Three sections are connected by the diagonals of the Laughery Creek
Bridge. Bridge engineers may or may not officially recognize the Triple
Whipple designation but I bet they enjoy saying it just like the rest of
us.
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The last real Hoosier Boy, a record setting speedboat, is on
display at the Ohio County Museum in Rising Sun. I didn't make it to the
museum today but did grab a picture of the riverside Hoosier Boy
mural. I also got a shot of part of the town with the Rising Star floating
casino in the background.
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Four important buildings in and near Vevay. The little red shed is about
seven miles east of Vevay proper. The Switzerland County Museum is at the
east edge of town while the courthouse privy
and Cuzz's bar are near the center. The red shed is rapidly gaining
widespread fame for standing so long in the face of complete neglect but
also has significance as the only structure on some slightly unkempt
property my friend John and I own.
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In Madison, my first stop was at Hinkle's Sandwich Shop for lunch then at the
Broadway
Hotel to wash it down. Not only does the Broadway have two rare
working Bevadors, it has the only Red Wolf tip jar I know of. The tip jar
has been there since my earliest memory of the Broadway in the 1990s but I
haven't seen the beer in years. As I walked to the river's edge to get a
profile shot of the new Milton-Madison Bridge, I noted that one of the
local teams has taken to identifying players by
position. Then I got a straight on view of the bridge as it carries
US-421 to Kentucky.
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I had actually preplanned and booked my room for the first night of the
trip at a B&B in Corydon. Unbeknown to me, Corydon is a regular
overnight stop for the annual Run for the Wall and this was the night. This is the
twenty-sixth time veterans have ridden motorcycles across the country to
visit Washington, DC, on Memorial Day. I have seen no count of riders in
Corydon but the estimate is 350,000 motorcycles in DC for "Rolling
Thunder" on Sunday. Being present for this stirring event was a very
nice surprise.
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Not only did I luck out by being in Corydon for the arrival of Run for the
Wall, the group passed right in front of my B&B and there was an
Italian restaurant and a brewery right across the street. I ate dinner at
Alberto's and the food was quite good. I guess the place wasn't visually
exciting as I have no photos. I did get a picture of the bar, with the
establishment's name spelled out in beer bottle caps, at
Point Blank
Brewing Company. Accommodations at the
Kintner House
Inn were as good as its location. All rooms at the 1873 inn are
reasonably priced but I had opted for the most reasonably priced of all.
It exceeded my expectations and some of the rooms looked down right
luxurious. There were a few steps to
my third floor room but I didn't mind a bit.
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This was not the last picture I took for the day but it does seem a nice
finish to the post. Some of the Run for the Wall riders could be seen
throughout the evening as they shopped for needed supplies or did some
sightseeing. The flag lined street is a good indicator of the manner in
which Corydon welcomed them.
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