Indiana INsider's Guide

Want to See Indiana's FIRST Capital? Visit Vincennes in Knox County

By admin on May 13, 2014

Want to know who the true Indiana geeks are? Ask them "what was Indiana's first capital?" You have to say it exactly that way, because it's a trick question. Most people will tell you, "Corydon, until they moved it up to Indianapolis in 1825." Except Vincennes was the first capital of the Indiana…

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Sounds and Smells Around Indiana

By admin on May 12, 2014

I always enjoy spring in Indiana. Not only for the warmth and the end of the ice and slush, but for what it's going to bring in sounds and smells. This is what I really love about Indiana. I love the spring warmth when you can just lie down in the grass and absorb the warmth of the sun. It's not too…

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Homage to Hoagy Carmichael in Bloomington and Richmond, Indiana

By admin on Apr. 27, 2014

Indiana has produced two great composer-lyricists (what we call "songwriters" these days): Cole Porter of Peru (Miami County), and Hoagy Carmichael of Bloomington (Monroe County). Hoagy Carmichael Mural in Richmond, IndianaWhile Hoagy may not have his own bed-and-breakfast like Porter, he does have…

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Indiana's Unofficial State Pie: Wick's Sugar Cream

By admin on Apr. 20, 2014

Indiana may be one of the only states with an unofficial state pie, the Wick's Sugar Cream Pie made in tiny Winchester (Randolph County), just east of Muncie on State Road 32. The Indiana State Senate voted to adopt the Sugar Cream Pie as the state pie in 2009. Wick's Sugar Cream Pie is also one of…

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Spend Night and Day at the Cole Porter Inn in Peru, Indiana

By admin on Apr. 16, 2014

Who'd have thought that little Peru, Indiana could be the birthplace of one of Indiana's most famous sons? Composer and lyricist Cole Porter was born in Peru, Indiana and spent his first ten years at 17-19 South Huntington Street. It's there that he composed several of his early songs, including…

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Southern Indiana Beer Trail, Day 2

By admin on Apr. 15, 2014

Just like last month, when I wrote about the Northwestern and Northern Indiana Beer Trail, I decided to create a Southern Indiana Beer Trail as well. There are 14 breweries in the 812 area code, and they're all fairly close to each other. So I divided our fantasy trip into two full days, starting in…

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Southern Indiana Beer Trail, Day 1

By admin on Apr. 14, 2014

Last month, I had so much fun dreaming up the Northwestern and Northern Indiana Beer Trails, I decided to do it again, and come up with one for Southern Indiana. Our imaginary itinerary took three days to cover, because we had 14 microbreweries in that part of the state. We were also a little "wind…

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Take a Literary Tour of Indiana, Day 1

By admin on Apr. 12, 2014

There are enough cultural trails in Indiana, usually centered around an industry, like the Southern Indiana Wine Trail, or a geographic area, like the Hendricks County and Morgan County Cultural Trail. So I'm picking a cultural trail of my own, based on my very own favorite subject: authors. I'm…

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Northern Indiana Beer Trail, Day 3

By admin on Mar. 20, 2014

We had to cut our day a little short yesterday, trying to cover the remaining seven microbreweries in the Northern Indiana Beer Trail (click here for the Google Map). We covered seven on the Northwestern Indiana Beer Trail, but we discovered that the rest of Indiana is a big place. So we visited…

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Northern Indiana Beer Trail, Day 2

By admin on Mar. 19, 2014

In trying to create an Indiana Beer Trail, we've hit a bit of a snag, but only a minor one. On Day 1, we managed to visit seven breweries all in "Da Region" , all within 20 miles of each other. So that's a lot of breweries in a small area, but if we're going to visit the rest of the Northern Indiana…

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