Our weekend was very rainy and dreary – I can’t remember a time it rained so consistently! That meant we had to be a little more creative with our weekend plans. We decided to make it a Think Local weekend and see what adventures we could find.
One would think with living in a city for almost twenty years we would run out of new things to do, but this weekend proved that theory wrong. We did a TON of new things and came up with many more ideas for later this year.
Saturday morning we all jumped in the car with BIG umbrellas and started driving south. We had absolutely no idea what we were going to do, just began driving in a direction we weren’t very familiar with. Our first stop was Beasley’s Orchard – found on Yelp.
In addition to a farm store stocked with Indiana made products and fresh veggies, we were able to peak at the apples being washed. Had it not been a downpour, we could have picked apples and enjoyed the outdoor areas. Next time. We asked at the orchard if there were any interesting towns to explore nearby and were guided to Danville, Indiana. So that’s where we went.
Not only does Danville boast a cute little downtown with interesting shops and restaurants, it’s also home to the Mayberry Cafe – of Andy Griffith fame. We even encountered Barney Fife handing out tickets while we were wandering around the shops. He had his one bullet in his pocket …
We also discovered that Danville has an excellent little museum, the Hendrick’s County Historical Museum, and Old County Jail. It was so interesting to see the old jail cells (they looked like a horrible place to stay as a jail should!) and learn about the history of the area. Many years ago, the sheriff and his family lived in a home that also housed the county jail – and this was very typical – we have a similar museum in Noblesville, IN. The wife of the sheriff prepared the meals for the prisoners and was paid for her duties. The museum also shared a lot of very interesting artifacts and photographs of Hoosier involvement in WWI and WWII. The docent we spoke with was very knowledgeable and not only pointed out some of the more interesting items in the museum but even let us touch some of the exhibits – not something you are typically allowed to do. We enjoyed poking around the old house, it was the perfect indoor activity and was free to boot, although we did leave a little bit in the donation jar to help keep this hidden gem running. If you decide to visit, they are only open from 11 – 3 Friday & Saturday from March through December.
Sadly, we didn’t discover any amazing new restaurants on this outing, but we did stop at a fun little family-owned winery on the way home. Traders Point Winery is located in an industrial park, but don’t let the unassuming exterior detour you from checking it out. We enjoyed a 5 pour tasting for $5 and liked the wines enough to purchase a few bottles to take home. One of their claims to fame is a Peanut Butter and Jelly wine. Crazy I know, but tasted pretty good and of course, we had to buy a bottle of it, I mean, PB& J wine?
Lots of award winning wines
For starting out as a dreary day with nothing to do, we certainly had a great time and found a few hidden secrets located close to home.
Have you ever hopped into the car to explore with no destination in sight? How did it go?
Hendricks County Museum, 170 S. Washington St., Danville, IN; 317-718-6158 http://www.hendrickscountymuseum.org/
Traders Point Winery, 5520 W 84th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46268; 317~879~9463 http://www.traderspointwinery.com/
Absolutely. We frequently enjoy “getting lost”. It’s such a great way to get to know where you live. I love the little trip. And Barney!!
I love never knowing what you’ll find too!
An orchard! How yummy! I wish we had one near where I live, looks like y’all had a blast
For a dreary, rainy day, it was a blast!
That orchard looks like a neat place to visit. They have a sort of indoor farmers market. I really like that old stove that you saw, too!
Yes, I love visiting an apple orchard in the Fall (preferably when we can pick apples though!). It was a really nice market. The museum actually had two kitchens set up to showcase two different time periods – pretty cool.
That store looks amazing. I want to visit Danville now.
Marianne, it was a great store- I ended up buying a cute little insulated wine glass (with a lid!).
We have not hopped into the car to explore with no destination in sight. I am a planner and that would scare me. 🙂 Once we knew what state we were going to explore and we would flip a coin as to which direction to go. It ended up with a lot of backtracking. 🙂
I am a planner too, but once in a while, it’s fun to just see where we end up!
It’s always fun to find things to do locally. Looks like you guys had a fun time!
We are pros at finding new local things to do – it was a fun day!
My heart is with just jumping in the car by my brain says what if you can not find a place to crash! lol Looking forward to doing this with an RV someday though!
I hear ya! We did spend the night in our car once years ago …
I’ve never hopped in the car with no destination in mind, but that would be a super fun way to travel on occasion. Maybe once I retire, I’ll be ready to just get in the car and go. Maybe I’ll end up in Indiana and can check out all these sights for myself!
I’m looking forward to the day I can do that whenever I want too!
I love random outings! It’s good practice for when we take real vacations. Glad to see you made a rainy day work out for you.
It IS good practice!
Wow I wish I could get my family to do something like this. They have to know exactly where we are going they are not spur of the moment fun. What a fun little town to run into. We love Mayberry and the Andy Griffith show that would be just a pleasure to drop into for the day.
Do it on your own sometime!
Once we hopped into the car to explore with no destination in sight. We ended up backtracking many times. It was a one-time experience. I learned that I like planning. 🙂
I do tend to have a general direction in mind and then I use Yelp to search things out that are near each other on the map.
My girls and I love to just wander, although we have never done this where we are living. Thinking we should try this soon. Sounds like a perfect day.
We do it on vacation too, but if you haven’t given it a try locally, you should – you’ll start loving where you live even more.
This looks like a fun day trip! My husband’s family lives in Indiana, so these are some great ideas for us to do when we’re down to visit.
Yes, definitely check this area out – I have lots of Indiana posts as we get out and explore whenever we can.
What a perfect outing. I love discovering small towns with loads of history. I need to do this more often. My kids social lives are killing our spontaneous outings.
I hear you! We are in the busy season for swim and speech right now and it’s a challenge to squeeze time in!
I love adventures like these!!!!! It is how we discovered a lot around Yosemite! https://www.thisfamilyblog.com
Exploring is fun!