Rainy Weekend Fun in Hendricks County
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 local weekend and see what adventures we could discover.
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.
Look for indoor attractions for rainy weekend fun
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.
Explore a downtown area
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 even had one bullet in his pocket …
Look for a local museum to keep dry on a rainy weekend!
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 on 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, check the hours ahead of time as they aren’t open all the time.
Enjoy a winery for some rainy weekend fun!
UPDATE: Traders Point Winery is no longer open.
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?
For starting out as a dreary day with nothing to do, we certainly had a great time and found quite a few hidden gems located close to home.
Have you ever hopped into the car to explore with no destination in sight? How did it go?
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