Indiana, Rensselaer - Saturday, August 22, 2015 - Fair Oaks Farm

Since our motor coach is still in the shop we rented a car and booked a room at the Holiday Inn in order to spend the weekend with son AJ, daughter-in-law Kim and the twins Jackson and Braelynn.  Friday evening we enjoyed the community spirit while watching the Rensselaer Bombers vs. the Kankakee Valley team. 

 

 

 

On Saturday the twins had two soccer games.  Jackson spent some time as goalie.

 

 

Braelynn got in on the action.

 

 

And then sometimes it was just a waiting game.

After the soccer games we headed just a little north to Fair Oaks Farms.  We had lunch at the “Cowfe”.

I chose half a Havarti pepper cheese sandwich and chili – yum.

We hopped on a bus to the Pork Adventure Center.

 

 

We had to “shower” before we went into the facility so we didn’t bring in any germs.  The more they waved their arms the more bubbles showed up on the wall.

When they stood on a particular spot on the floor their picture was projected to look like they were standing amongst a herd of hogs.

A mezzanine with glassed in viewing enabled us to see all of the times in the life of a pig.  These little ones were a particular favorite.

One more photo op before leaving the Pork Adventure Center.

The Pork Education Center back at the main complex is the newest facility at Fair Oaks.  This carved wood pig out front is just the right spot for a photo.

Jackson was really interested in some of the equipment on display.

Jackson was the one who suggested they should try the high flying ropes course.  He soon found out that might not have been a good idea. 

 

 

He did get just a little more daring – after a LOT of encouragement from those of us on the floor.  Encouragement was all he was getting from us, none of us were going to volunteer to go up and get him.  In spite of the height I think this is a pretty safe activity with the harness and strong cables they are attached to, but I wasn't going up to find out.

 

 

Braelynn on the other hand took off a little slow.

But she was soon off on a daring adventure.  These pictures don’t do justice to how high she was, I had to use the zoom to even be able to tell that it was her.

 

 

When everyone got back down to floor level we checked out the custom playhouse.  This is half inside and half outside the building.

 

 

The inside was so cute.  Having this in your backyard would provide hours of entertainment.  But, I think it would set you back a pretty penny also J

 

 

I got Jackson to take a break from exploring this old truck long enough to get his picture taken.

At the birthing barn we just missed seeing the baby calf born.  I’ve seen enough of them I’m not too disappointed we missed it.

The jumping pillows provided entertainment a couple of times during the day.  Getting their pictures on this thing is challenging.

 

 

Then we were back on a bus, this time going through the operating dairy barn.

 

 

Seventy-two cows are milked every 8 minutes in this carousel style milking parlor.

 

 

Look at all of the cows in the background – it’s going to be a long day.

 

 

 

The twins couldn’t resist the magnetic climbing tower at the Dairy Adventure.  Braelynn went first and got almost halfway up before sliding back down.

 

 

Jackson also went up about halfway.  Keeping three limbs in contact while rolling the other one loose so he could move up was really a challenge – those magnets were strong.

We finished up the weekend on Sunday with a barbeque chicken dinner sponsored by a local church at the county fairgrounds - what a great weekend!!

Indiana, Remington - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - Tour of the Area

The weather was just too nice to not get out on the motorcycle today.

 

 

Before we left the campgrounds we walked around and took a few pictures.  It’s a nice campground, more family oriented than most we have stayed at.  Since they charge extra for the water activities, it could get a little expensive if you have a big family.  The majority of these activities are not something that we would take advantage of, but we may get the grandkids out for a day if the weather stays nice.  Since this campground is right next to I-65, if road noise bothers you this probably isn’t the place for you.  We are at the back of the campground where the sites are bigger and inside the coach we don’t notice the noise.  It might be hard to tent camp though.

 

Our first stop was Carpenter Creek Cellars.  This winery is just off of state road 16 and has been in business for a couple of years.  They have planted their own grapes but itwill be about 4 years before those grapes can be used in their wine production. 

 

 

The tasting room is a former draft horse barn.  I was too busy enjoying the free wine tasting to take any pictures inside.  Most of their wines are sweet or semi-sweet which we prefer over dry wines.

They had live music today.  I don’t remember the name of the group but it was three guitar players and “Bongo Larry”.  Their music was supposed to be mainly Beatles songs, but I think the bongos threw me off, I didn’t recognize some of them.  “Bongo Larry” is the guy in the blue shirt.

 

They drew a large crowd.  I think many of these people were attending the same class reunion.

 

We opted for a couple of rocking chairs in the shade on the patio instead of sitting out in the sun.

From the winery we headed north a short way to Fair Oaks Farms.  I wanted to see how much they had changed since grandson Tyler and I visited there several years ago.

We didn’t pay the admission required to go into any of the exhibits or to go on the tour of the dairy facilities.  We just walked around and looked at the well-manicured grounds and the outside activities for kids.

We stopped in the café/gift shop and did some cheese tasting.  After several samples Greg said we had to stop, they were all starting to taste the same.  We selected a sweet Swiss and an aged gouda to bring home.

They have a new restaurant opening July 1, 2014.  We won't be here then so we'll have to check it out the next time we are up here.

 

Our final destination was Earl’s Dining in Brooks, IN.  This place received rave reviews for son A.J. and a couple of his friends.  So we decided to celebrate our anniversary with Earl.  I think this must be a likeness of Earl since it was on the awning, the menus and this carving on the wall.

We pulled into Brooks at 4:30.  Earl’s wasn’t supposed to open until 5:30.  Brooks is a very quiet small town at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon.

 

About the only sound was the “Oldies” radio station that was playing from speakers attached to all of the light poles.

We found a nice bench across the street from Earl’s and watched for some activity.

About 5:00 a couple of cars pulled up and the occupants got in the front door.  Earl’s is the building with the black awnings.  Earl’s, the hardware store and bank seem to be the main businesses in Brook.  When we saw these people go in we followed.  Every table inside had a “reserved” sign on it.  We were able to use one of the tables that had a later reservation time.

I think Earl’s used to be the IGA store, the décor was rustic and just great.

 

 

Their special tonight was prime rib.  On Friday night they have all you can eat catfish and perch.  We chose the prime rib for our entrée, it was a good choice.  Even with choosing the smaller portion we both brought half of it home.

One of the choices for appetizers was Scotch Eggs.  Greg had never heard of them but thought they sounded good so he gave them a try.  They are hard boiled eggs covered with sausage and then deep fried.  They were served with a spicy dark mustard.  He declared them delicious.

Looks like things pick up in town once Earl’s opens the door.  The food was definitely good, we’ll look forward to eating here again when we are in northern Indiana.

 

 

In addition to our leftovers from Earl’s we brought home wine and cheese.

We’ll be joining daughter-in-law Kim’s family tomorrow for Father’s Day and June birthday celebrations.  I’ll have a new bracelet to wear thanks to granddaughter Braelynn – it goes with just about anything.

I forgot to mention in last night’s post that the grandkids had some toasted marshmallows in s’mores, but grandson Jackson decided that he liked them “raw” right out of the bag better.