Jamestown, IN

These Hoosiers have been keeping me busy!  I rolled into Indiana on the third, and haven't slowed down - that first day as I passed through Richmond (home of J's and some nice folks who work there), every single car that came near me at a stoplight stopped to talk, which is pretty unusual.  A couple of guys excitedly yelled out the window "ALL OF 40 IS HAVING A YARD SAAALLLLEEEE!!!"   Sure enough, this weekend hundreds of miles of U.S. Route 40 were lined with card tables and barns full of home-grown antique booths and knickknack shops.  When I finally stopped in to check out one, a church's basement sale, I found some bicycle decor - the emblem from a Ford Explorer to brand my buckets.

Around about Dublin, IN I stopped to ask directions to a state park I thought was nearby.  Since it wound up being closer to 20 miles away than 10, the firemen I asked for directions suggested I sleep in the dugout at the local softball field.  Just to make sure I didn't get lost, they dispatched an ambulance type vehicle to lead me the 2 blocks over to the field.  Since Dad's been telling me I need to be sure to have protein, I have of course gone overboard (temporarily).  Pictured at rightis the "Circular " - what I call a slice of salami with jelly on top.

The next morning I set out for Indianapolis.  On the way into town I ran into the Apple farm, owned and operated by Mark Apple.

He runs the farm himself, and the store runs itself.  What does that mean?  The whole store is on the honor system - you walk in, pick up a basket, pick up the food you want, and leave your money in the cash box on the way out.  I was happy to hear this business has been working for Mark for 10 years!  Mark's also a devoted Christian, who's really relying on God.  It's encouraging to see his faith in God and in his customers.

A few minutes later I arrived in Indianapolis, where I was planning on bumming a couch from my sorta-cousin Nicole Headlee.  She's on the police force, and I caught her on the way out the door to her shift, so I got to see the whole Headlee clan!

The next day, Saturday, Nicole took me for a tour of a city, which I unfortunately did not photograph.  The downtown of Indianapolis is very clean, almost crime-free, and has great architecture plus a number of sports venues (the Pacers, Colts, and Indy 500 arenas are all in town, to start).

Saturday night I went for a ride with Kenny, Nicole's boyfriend during his overnight shift.  More to come on this.










The rest of the time since my last post has been spent relaxing and recuperating and enjoying the all-too-rare company of the Headlees.

There's a lot of sky out here in Indiana...