Green With Envy
When we were living in the Pacific Northwest, I used to chuckle every time people would visit. Because they always ended up saying, “I can’t believe how green it is here!”
If I had a dime for every time I’ve uttered those words on this trip…
I mean, seriously:
The Black Hills just aren’t this green! I keep reminding myself the price they pay for such lush foliage in these parts is high humidity. Still, it’s awfully pretty to look at when you’re used to a color palette that is more brown (or white, when it snows) than anything else.
We left Champaign around 8 a.m. after grabbing the free hotel breakfast. It was your standard fare: scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, waffles. Best of all, it was free.
After crossing the Indiana state line, we left I-80 and found ourselves on a two-lane country highway in the heart of Marshall County. Totally charming place.
It felt a bit like stepping back in time.
Our destination was Turkey Run State Park. Tara had discovered it when we were planning our trip, and we thought it would be a great spot to break up the monotony of the road and get in a nice hike. Hats off to the wife, because the park was absolutely beautiful.
We were there about an hour and could have used approximately 72 more, but our next stop awaited. Ohio? Not quite…
OK, so maybe White Castle isn’t your dream destination. But we don’t have any in our neck of the woods. I’d only been once before (on my last road trip 10 years ago) and Tara had never had the pleasure. So, we ended up stopping at the very same White Castle I hit in 2011 in Brownsburg, Indiana. What can I say? It hit the spot.
The Inspiration for Our Trip
Our next stop was the inspiration for this road trip: Metamora, Indiana. It’s billed as Indiana’s only functioning canal town, and was a favorite getaway for my family when we were living in Dayton from 1977-1980. Meaning I hadn’t been there in 40 years. Meaning damn, I’m old. But whatever!
I’d been reminiscing about Metamora with my parents a couple of months ago, and Tara was intrigued by this historic town in the White River Valley of Indiana. We planned this whole trip around the germ of an idea to check it out. When I parked the car and we started walking through the town, I got goosebumps.
Honestly, I didn’t even remember all that much about it, other than quaint shops, really good fudge, and boat rides along the canal. Two out of three of those things still existed…
But COVID, unfortunately, put an end to the boat rides. At least for now.
After a couple of hours in Metamora, it was time to head for our next stop: Dayton, Ohio! Well, technically, YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio. Which is a suburb of Dayton (and just a few miles from my childhood home, which we’re going to swing by tomorrow).
We arrived at a much-more-reasonable 6:10 p.m., and that’s including a jump ahead to the Eastern time zone. After getting settled into our really cool hotel (I’ll post pics tomorrow), we drove to a bar and grill 10 minutes away for dinner and a few beers (Tara) and margaritas (me).
Then, we came back to the room. Tara took a nice, relaxing bath while I spent about two hours uploading pics and working on this post. Blogging is hard work, I tell you! But now that we’re in Ohio, we don’t have to worry about getting up early and driving hundreds of miles. We’re here for three nights and two full days, and don’t plan on straying any farther than Cincinnati.
I should mention the weather. It’s been summer-like the first three days of our trip; in the mid-80s and humid. Unfortunately, the next couple of days are supposed to be wet, with showers and thunderstorms in the forecast. Hopefully, we’ll still be able to enjoy all the outdoor activities we’ve got planned.
See ya tomorrow!
Mark My Words 
The closest white castle to us is in NY. Last time we drove to Philly, we stopped for lunch. It definitely hits the spot!
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Sadly, it’ll probably be another 10 years before I stumble upon one again.
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HOW can I be from Indy and not know Metamora??? That is so cool! Too bad you can’t ride the boats because of COVID.
Mmmm White Castle!!! Haven’t had that in ages.
I’ve heard of the Turkey Run Park but don’t know if I’ve ever been. So beautiful!!!
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It’s such a tiny village tucked away in the middle of farm country, I’m not really surprised. But if you ever find yourself back out that way, it’s worth a visit for sure!
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Especially since I just finished watching Zomboat which is about Brits escaping zombies via a slow moving narrow boat / canal boat🤣
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The rocks! The stunning greenery! The White Castle burgers! The park named after a turkey! How can you not have a good time?
👍
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Ha, right?! We’re checking off all the boxes this trip!
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I’m always shocked by how freaking green it is here every time we return from a trip out west. You don’t realize it until you spend time elsewhere. I’m not certain I’ve ever eaten at a White Castle; maybe once as a kid on vacation! TurkeyRun looks a lot like our various ‘ledges’ parks. Have fun in your old stomping grounds!
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It’s kind of like a shock to the system when you haven’t seen such vibrant green colors in a long time. You’re lucky you get to experience this all the time!
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I know all these places well, but haven’t been to Yellow Springs in years. I do hope you went to, or are going to go to, Young’s Jersey Dairy. You haven’t lived until you’ve feed the cows and played miniature golf at Udders & Putters! The ice cream isn’t bad, too. Happy travels
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You’re the second one to mention Young’s Jersey Dairy! We don’t have a ton of time left, but I may have to check this place out…
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Gorgeous photos. The only knowledge I have of small town America is from Bill Bryson’s books about his various travels.
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Thank you! They’re really something that words have a hard time accurately describing. Best to see for yourself firsthand.
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That state park looks beautiful, and with a name like Turkey Run, they’d better host a Thanksgiving 5K there every year…
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OMG. You’re right!! No idea if they do, but sadly, I don’t think a return trip in November is in the cards. At least not this year…
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I see now where some of your great “green” photos on Instagram came from. Like you say, “high humidity.” Wonderful photos. An excellent post, Mark!
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Plus, Ohio had near-constant rain the whole time we were here. Which, honestly, was kind of a novelty!
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So weird to read about travelling this far through a pandemic. Here in the UK we’re encouraged to stay home – no leisure stays in hotels Camping and self catering are allowed
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I sympathize with you. It’s gotta be weird reading about travels like this. For the most part, it’s business as usual. We have just had to mask up everywhere, and a few attractions that would otherwise be open have been closed.
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Well, I’m not really complaining – I’m just relieved that the pandemic is coming under control in the UK (our daily deaths are in single figures) But isn’t the fact that everything is open why it’s still so bad in the US? Economics over science!
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Sad but true! Although, things are a lot better now in most parts of the country. I just hope we keep trending in the right direction…
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The park you stopped at does look lovely; Tara is a great road trip planner.
I’ve not had a White Castle in years, but I can still taste it just looking at your pics.
The little town from your childhood memories looks SO sweet! I’ve never been to Ohio, so I’m going to live/travel through your posts.
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White Castle does have a very distinctive taste, doesn’t it? Just reading that you can taste it from looking at my pics makes me able to taste it looking at your words.
What a weird sentence.
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I had a college friend from Metamora. I had no idea his town was so quaint. Guess what I nicknamed him? Yep, I always called him Metamora. I can’t even remember his real name now.
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Haha. How hilarious (and original)!
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The name has such a nice ring to it, though.
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