Day 2: June 7, 2009
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One of the reasons for coming to Madison was to experience the "oldest continuously operating hotel in Indiana", the Broadway. I've patronized the tavern and restaurant parts of the operation before so maybe that's why I took no photographs of either. Plus, they were always filled. Friendly former Cincinnatian, Libby Mann runs a popular and comfortable establishment. As I left this morning, I did get a picture of the outside area where I ate dinner and have included a shot of the fellow entertaining from the far end of that space last night. You can also take a look at my room.

About two months ago, I stayed at the "oldest continuously operating hotel in Ohio". That is the Golden Lamb in Lebanon. That wasn't part of a road trip so I don't believe I've posted any pictures of my accommodations there. Here they are.

Before taking off for home, I looped arround town by heading north on the Michigan Road, west on IN-62, then south on IN-7. There's a picture here from each of those roads. As the pictures show, Michigan Road and IN-7 are pretty little two-lanes that are pleasant and sometimes fun to drive. The picture in the middle is of the "other" Madison; the one that sacrificed itself to twentieth century development so that the historic Madison by the river was preserved. That's an overly romantic description, of course. But the fact that commercial development moved away from the riverfront did result in the preservation of a large portion of historic Madison.
I've often noticed the Hillside Inn as I've driven in or out of Madison. Today I decided to take a closer look. I was already past before that decision was made so that first picture is of the eastern entrance. It isn't the main entrance but it is rather nice. The middle picture is a panorama of the impressive view from the motel's parking lot. The US-421 bridge is toward the left side of the picture with Main Street to the right. I went out the west side and snapped a picture of the motel's front as I resumed my homeward drive.
The Ohio River Scenic Byway leaves Madison on IN-56, switches to IN-156 for several miles, then returns to IN-56 before leaving the state on US-50. It stays close to the Ohio throughout that entire distance and the river is sometimes almost at the road's edge. As many times as I've been over it, I still find this long stretch of highway one of the most enjoyable drives I know.
A stop to look over the Rising Sun river front turned out to be longer and more pleasant than I anticipated. Rising Sun is home to one of Indiana's floating casinos. That's it, the Grand Victoria, in the background of the second photo. I just can't make up my mine whether the casinos are good or not. They've certainly brought money into areas that need it but they have also altered the personality of some of the river communities. In one way or another, casino money is responsible for Rising Sun's fancy new river side park and those brand new row houses. Maybe that's a good thing.

I stopped by the pavilion and fountain (waterless due to technical problems) and walked west along the river. At the well equipped playground, I returned to the street and headed back toward the car. A cold beer sign stopped me. I'm sure I've photographed the Empire House Hotel before but I had the impression that it was not an active business. It definitely is now and as I sipped beer at a streetside table I met the current owner. Marsha Louden has owned the place for about three years. It was housekeeping time so, even though I got a complete tour, I took no interior pictures. The rooms definitely looked inviting and I do intend to try one out someday soon. The hotel's huge second floor porch offers a great view of the river; all the way the Rabbit Hash, Kentucky.

Lawrenceburg, Indiana, has a business named Whisky's and another called Beer's. Neither is open on Sunday. Beer's Auto Sales is one of my favorite used car lots. They usually have some vehicles you won't find everywhere. Whisky's, by the way, is a restaurant.
I stuck with Fifty until the Cincinnati skyline appeared and I could see the city's well known landmarks reaching into the sky.
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