Wednesday, May 12, 2010

HWY. 50 - North Bend, Ohio to North Vernon, Indiana

This morning we had the fringes of the storms raging through the mid-west.  It was moving day and even though the rain was pelting us with huge drops, we had to go outdoors to get the RV ready to roll.  There was lightning off in the distance and huge claps of thunder from time to time.  We wasted no time in getting our jobs done.  We were only driving about 50 miles today and as we got closer to the town of North Vernon, Indiana the weather looked like it was clearing up ahead.


We got settled quickly at our campground in North Vernon.  I'll post an RV Park Review tomorrow.  As we had hoped, the rain had quit by the time we needed to level out and hook-up to the utilities at the park.  We decided to take a drive on some of the rural roads this afternoon, as soon as we went to the White Castle in Seymour, about 12 miles west.  Seymour is also the birthplace of rock star John Mellencamp.  During our many trips to and through the mid-west, we had never stopped to eat at a White Castle.  So, we decided to see what was all the hulla-baloo with these small burgers. 

We got the 4-cheeseburger meal.  You can see by the photo above how small the burgers are.  Were they good?  Yes.  Will we race out to get more burgers at White Castle?  Probably never.  Been there, done that, no big thrill.

Small town America is great.  We enjoy driving through small towns and just looking at the various town squares, homes, farms etc.  This particular park in Rising Sun, IN has a walking path next to the Ohio River.  It was nice.  In another town we found  a beautiful clock tower in the courthouse building.


In North Vernon we weren't that far from the small town of French Lick.  Bruce wanted to drive down there to see this town, which is the boyhood town of Larry Bird the former NBA player.  The drive would take us through some nice farm country and I'm always ready for a little scenic road trip.  We had read in Road Trip USA that there was a Five and Dime store on Maple Street that was worth a look.  We got to French Lick and, really, the town wasn't much to look at.  Plus, the Five and Dime had been closed up so there will be no shopping there.  The town is basically 2 streets of touristy stuff and a lot of those shops were closed up.  We did see Larry Bird Blvd.  Larry was known as the "hick from French Lick."





We had great day even though French Lick was a bit of a disappointment.  We'll be in North Vernon for just 2 nights.  Thursday we plan to take another little drive south of town to the historic river town of Madison.



Until next time.....so long for now!

9 comments:

Kathy said...

Welcome to Indiana! I was hoping you would follow 50 into the southern part of our state. The entire drive along the Ohio River is gorgeous. The river towns have a lot of history to offer.

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your visit to French Lick. The West Baden Springs Hotel there is so beautiful and historic...definitely worth a look. And the French Lick Winery offers Rhubarb Blush wine on their list! lol

My husband and I have lived in Indianapolis for the past 40 years but I was originally from a little town called Hope on Highway 9 and he is from Richmond which is on historic Highway 40.

Hope you'll enjoy the remainder of your time in Indiana and meet a lot of nice Hoosiers!

Happytrails said...

Glad you all stayed ahead of the bad weather. Small towns are just so neat... hidden jewels. Thanks for sharing these small towns with us. Mike always enjoyed watching Larry Bird play basketball. :)

Enjoy and stay safe.
Mike & Gerri (happytrails)
http://freedom2roll.blogspot.com

Ali Workentin said...

Love the picture of the old barn. You take such great pictures.

Sounds like you are having a good time on this trip. Drive safely.

Rick said...

Great pics today Margie. I'm not sure I'd rush out to get one of those mini-burgers either. If it takes a 4 pack to equal 1 burger, then what's the deal? I guess it's a gimmick that works for them. Like Bruce, I'd had driven out of my way just to see the town where Larry Bird grew up. It looks like it was every bit the small town everyone always said it was.

Gypsy said...

By the time I read you planned to eat at White Castle it was probably too late to warn you - DON'T GET THE CHEESEBURGER! It's just not the authentic White Castle, and the cheese would overpower the basic burger, onion & pickles.

In NY, NJ and thereabouts they add catsup to them, without even asking you. They have had to take back their silly catsup burgers and give me real ones a couple of times - local taste I guess.

I'm so hungry for White Castles I even looked in the frozen food section today but couldn't find any. You have to be really hard up to eat the ones that have been frozen!

Travels with Emma said...

So far, I've missed the experience of dining at White Castle. :) I finally tried a What-a Burger last year after spending three winters in Texas! Guess I'm just not a big fan of fast food joints.

Jerry and Suzy said...

Good pictures for sure. You framed that clock tower nicely. Can't imagine why White Castle burgers are such a big thing when the are such little things. I would think the percent of bread to meat would be out of whack. But they are popular, I guess. Different strokes.

Phyllis said...

Yes, those of us from NJ eat catsup on hamburgers. I had never seen anyone put mayo on hamburgers until I met Leonard almost 23 years ago.

No fun setting up or breaking down camp in the rain but sometimes we just don't have a choice, do we? That is one advantage you have with a MH over us in a Fiver, you really don't have to go outside in the rain if you choose not.

Carol K said...

My dad always used to talk about White Castle burgers, mainly referring to the small size. We finally went to White Castle when we were in Kansas City about 8 years ago. I don't miss not having one around. Some stores carry them in the frozen food section.

I did enjoy the recent Undercover Boss segment about the White Castle company, though.