A full day of fun in Kokomo, Indiana
I have to admit that even though I’ve lived in our current area for over twenty years, and driven through Kokomo dozens of times, I’ve never stopped to explore this charming Indiana town that’s only 30 minutes from my home. Thank goodness I finally came to my senses and we decided to check it out.
Kokomo, Indiana has some wonderful adventures to offer!
We started our day in Kokomo with a tour of the Kokomo Opalescent Glass Factory. This tour was phenomenal. Kokomo Opalescent Glass is 1 of only 4 factories left in the US that specialize in art glass. They are the oldest having begun operation in 1888 – that makes them 130 years old this November.
During the tour, we got to walk through the entire factory and learn the process of making art glass from start to finish. I’ve never been on a factory tour where we were able to get so close to the action. Our first stop was the ovens where they melt the glass – look at this! These ovens last about 25 years and run continuously at over 2000 degrees. Needless to say, it was HOT in this room.
We got to watch the employees running the molten glass to a machine where another employee mixed it and pushed it through to be flattened. Then it goes through a cooling process and you’ll end up with a beautiful sheet of glass. It was really amazing. Here’s a short clip where you can see a tiny bit of how it’s done:
After watching that, we walked through the rest of the factory including the areas where glass is blown, art objects are made and the warehouses where finished products are stored and shipped. Super interesting. Our tour guide even made a glass bead right in front of us – it didn’t look that difficult believe it or not.
The factory has a lovely little gift store and they also offer classes on bead making, mosaics, glass blowing, and more. Tours are offered Monday – Friday at 10:00 and cost $6 for general admission and $3 for students. You must be wearing closed-toe shoes, and it is a lot of walking.
After walking and learning for a few hours it was time for lunch. We headed to Martino’s Italian Villa, a Kokomo staple. They have been serving authentic Italian food and delicious pizza since 1962. They were even inducted into the Pizza Hall of Fame in 2017.
We ordered a few Italian dishes and a pizza to share so that we could sample as much as possible. The red sauce was fabulous, a little spicy, and very hearty. The pizza was a good one – covered with cheese and toppings and perfectly cooked – had a nice bite to the crust but wasn’t crisp. We left full and happy to have found a tasty new Italian restaurant as Italian is my daughter’s favorite.
Being so stuffed it was necessary to walk off some of the food, so we headed to downtown Kokomo. Kokomo is working hard to revitalize its downtown area and it’s really starting to come together.
Several of the alleys were wonderfully spruced up and looked like terrific places to have a cup of coffee with a friend, or sit and enjoy the sunshine. We discovered a few really unique stores – a collectibles toy store, game shop, and comic book shop to name a few. The coffee shop also held a pottery painting studio – a perfect combination.
Just a few blocks from the main downtown is another very interesting area that seems to be really taking off. In and nearby an old train depot are several delicious-looking restaurants, a bakery, and a brewery. It was a bit early for the brewery, but as we love local breweries we will check it out on a future trip.
2022 Update: Unfortunately The Refinery has closed …
After all the walking around, we headed to the edge of downtown to The Refinery. This place is one of the coolest concepts I’ve encountered in a long time. The Refinery is located at the front of a dance studio and it is called a healthy drink station.
They serve kombucha, smoothies, and nitro coffee. What is really fun is that they also create mocktails using healthy ingredients. We spent a good hour chatting with the manager, Katie, and trying some of her amazing concoctions.
A few favorites included The Mermaid and the Bucha-Rita (both kombucha drinks), the key lime smoothie (matcha tea and lime – tasted just like a key lime pie), a cup of real pumpkin spice bullet coffee and the drink that’s “taking Kokomo by storm” – the lavender lemonade. Look at how beautiful these drinks are:
The atmosphere was also fantastic. It is set up like a standard bar (but of course kids are welcome), and there are two garage doors that open for outdoor bar seating. There is also a small courtyard out front that opens out onto a lovely city park. The Refinery has been open since June and it is a must-visit if you are in the area. I would love to see this concept expand as it’s truly wonderful.
We made a quick stop at Highland Park to check out another iconic Kokomo attraction, the World’s Largest Steer. I love these World’s Largest displays – we always stop to check them out when traveling. This guy was quite large – he clocked in at 4000 pounds. Yikes! He’s stuffed and on display in a building at the park. We also found a cute little-covered bridge perfect for a family picture!
Our final stop for the afternoon was Crown Haven Center. This was such an adventure-filled outing that I created a separate blog post just about our experience there. If you like off-road riding, archery, and/or horses, go read about our Afternoon Adventures at Crown Haven Center.
On our way home, we picked up a variety of interesting candy and popcorn at the Popcorn Cafe – a tasty treat for the short drive.
Kokomo, you surprised me! We had a delightful day and now that I know how much there is to do, we’ll be heading back again soon.
Kokomo Opalescent Glass Factory, 1310 S. Market St.; 765-457-1829; https://www.kog.com/
Martino’s Italian Villa, 1929 N. Washington St.; 765-457-9181;Â http://martinositalianvilla.net/
Crown Haven Center;Â 5282 West, 250 South, Russiaville, Indiana; 765-480-3930; http://www.crownhavencenter.com/
Popcorn Cafe; 1108 E. Markland Ave.; 765-252-3745
Thanks to the Kokomo Visitors Center, Kokomo Opalescent Glass Factory, and Crown Haven Center for sponsoring parts of our adventures. We had a wonderful time and we will be back! All opinions expressed are my own.
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Love this!!Thank you for sharing!
Thanks! It was a wonderful day.
I have never been to a glass factory. I would love to take a class sometime!
Nicki, I agree, I am so ready to take a class – maybe this winter.
What an interesting and fun getaway! The pictures of the glass are beautiful.
Thanks! It was a fun change of pace from the busy workdays. And so close to us – I couldn’t believe it has been there all these years and we never knew!
Glass making is so interesting to me. They have glass blowing classes in Atlanta that I really want to try sometime.
I think a class would be very fun – I’ve heard it’s not as hard as you’d imagine.
Sounds like a fun time.
We did have a very fun day.
Looks like so much fun!!
Yes, fun day for all!
I’m in Indiana. I’ve been to Kokomo a couple of times but never to these places. I brew my own Kombucha, so The Refinery sounds really cool.
If you brew your own Kombucha you should definitely check it out next time you go – just to get drink ideas if nothing else!
I love finding little gems like this, especially small towns that are going through a revitalization. The Refinery seems to be my kind of place!
The Refinery was so good!
As soon as I saw the word Kokomo the song popped into my head. Aruba Jamaica oh I wanna take ya! LOL
I’m a sucker for hand made stuff and especially seeing glass being blown. Such a skill and an art it just fascinates me. Wish I could do it.
I agree! I’m going to take a class and try it sometime!
Very interesting! I took a glass blowing class last year and it was wonderful
So fun! I have been wanting to take a glass blowing class – although now after watching our tour guide make a bead I want to give bead making a try too!
My Parents and I travel a lot across the US We are often looking for cool and fun things to visit. We will definitely put a tour of the Kokomo Opalescent Glass Factory on out list. Thank You!
Good, you definitely should – tour the factory, enjoy lunch and then check out The Refinery – perfect day!
This is great! Love the pics!
Thanks!
I’ve never been to a glass factory, that is SO cool. Definitely going to have to add it to my list!
It was a very cool tour! I’d love to see another one now to check out the differences.
This looks like a lovely town to sight see in! I went to a glass factory tour in Toledo, Oh and it was so interesting!
Toledo isn’t that far – I’ll have to check that out.
Sold! Kokomo sounds like a wonderful place and if I’m ever in the United States I would definitely stop by. The glass factory looked so interesting!
I did love the factory tour!
The glass tour looks like it would be so neat! Love to see stuff like that. Looks like such a cool place to visit.
It was very interesting – I love seeing how things are made.
I really enjoyed reading this! I have been through Kokomo several times, think I might have to stop next time. I love glass factories! Thanks for sharing!
Lauri, you should definitely stop – just make sure to head downtown and get off of US 31!
The Refinery looks like a place I’d love to visit.
We really enjoyed it – just spent an hour there chatting with the manager and trying delicious drinks. Very relaxed atmosphere.
The history of the glass factory is amazing!
I thought so too – I couldn’t believe it had been there for 130 years!
I’ve been to Indiana before but never this part. I’ll have to check out the healthy mocktail bar if I go one day.
It was very cool – I hope more of them start popping up!
Ooh that glass art is so beautiful! I have always wanted to see it made in person 🙂
Ooh that glass art is so beautiful! I have always wanted to see it made in person 🙂
I had never thought about how it was made and it was super interesting.
You find the greatest places to visit and now I’m seriously craving lavender lemonade. I’ve never had it, but boy it sounds good!
It was delicious – I know that in the Spring Epcot has a lavender lemonade at one of the stands – so keep that in mind!
This looks like so much fun. I love the glass factory! Love your photos. You always make me want to go exploring with your posts.
Thank you Mary! You should go exploring – I bet there are interesting places right where you are too!
Great post! The glass factory reminds me of my trip to Kalmar in Sweden.
Dee, that sounds interesting!
Sound like you had a fun adventure! With a name like Kokomo, how can you go wrong!!
Kirsten – love it!
The glass art is beautiful! It looks like a nice place to visit!
Yes, if you like art glass and/or factory tours it was excellent.
That looks like a fun place! Those food plates look great and the Crown Haven Center looks like a wonderful adventure. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks – we actually went back last weekend to try a few new restaurants and had a lovely evening!