September 9, 2015
Day 17 still at Metamora, IN
rode on Whitewater Canal Trail
No alarm set for today, and I woke up at 6:40am. It was a pleasant temperature for sleeping. It's cloudy to the west. Rain is coming, but still seems a ways off.
I headed off at 8:20am, walking, to see the sites in Metamora, and maybe find a place to eat. Saw the canal boat and many interesting buildings. Walking up Clayborn Street I came to 'The Farmhouse Restaurant'. They were open, and I was invited in by the woman who had been writing today's specials on the outdoor chalk board. I was their only customer at the time. I decided to go with the 'Metamora Man's Breakfast', and added coffee and orange juice. This is a nice place for a quiet meal. They open at 7:00am, and I'm thinking about going back tomorrow morning on my way out of town.
I continued west on my walking tour of Metamora, arriving at the grist and roller mill. They were running, and that was interesting to watch. In the basement is the belt room, powered by an electric motor now. Up and down a few more streets, then I headed back to Gateway Park, arriving at 10:20am. Still no rain. The park's office building has a nice raised-up picnic pavilion in front, so I hung out there working on yesterday's report, with the BlackBerry's charger plugged into a nearby AC outlet.
Paul, the camp volunteer I'd met yesterday, pulled up at 11:25am and asked if I was ready to do my laundry. I'd asked him yesterday if Metamora has a laundromat. They don't, but Paul said there was one set of laundry machines in the depot, which I could use. Paul gave me a pick-up truck ride from the pavilion to my tent, then to the depot.
I got the washer started, then headed back downtown. A worker at the grist and roller mill had recommended I go on the noon canal boat ride. I bought my [senior-discount] ticket and boarded the boat. Four or five others came along, and we listened to interesting history the narrator provided as we glided along the Whitewater Canal. The boat was pulled by two horses, except when it coasted through the Duck Creek Aqueduct - "the only working covered bridge aqueduct in the country". On the return trip I asked the narrator if he knew the fellow in town who Vickie yesterday had recommended I look up. He knew him, and pointed to his house, which we happened to be floating by. I noted the place for a later afternoon visit.
Since there is an ice cream place right where the boat stopped (that's where it also started), I got a coffee-flavored ice cream cone, which I ate as I walked back to the campground. I put my laundry in the dryer and continued working on yesterday's report. It was 12:45pm, and just starting to sprinkle. At 2:05pm, the report was on its way, and I'd collected my dry clothes.
On to my next project: rotate my bike tires. They are holding up better than I'd expected - they don't seem to pick up debris, and only the back tire has a few small cuts in the tread. That job went well. I was about done when Paul stopped by. He'd just finished a staining project. He was interested in hearing about my bike trips. I told him one story and gave him my journal address. He had more-interesting stories - two of the campgrounds being used as a staging area for power line companies (one involved a helicopter). Another time the park was used as an over-flow parking lot for a nearby endurance event, which ended with hundreds of pairs of muddy tennis shoes discarded on the parking field.
Paul left, and I finished getting the bike back together. Just then, at 3:30pm, it finally started to rain - a gentle, steady rain. I was thinking nap-time, and did take one on the bench of a picnic table from 4:00pm to 4:25pm.
It had stopped raining, so I headed downtown, on my bicycle this time, to visit the fellow Vickie had recommended I see. I knocked several times at the place, but got no answer. Oh well. Anyway, I was now near the starting point for the Whitewater Canal Trail. It's 2.6 miles long, and I'd missed it yesterday, since I hadn't arrived in Metamora by-way-of Brookville.
I started on the trail at 5:00pm. According to a sign, the trail doesn't change altitude by more than 10 feet its entire length. Stopping to get pictures put me at Lock #23 at 5:40pm. I turned around and made it back to the start by 5:58pm. I continued on through town until I got to US-52. I'd over-shot my destination, but made it to 'Hav-A-Bite' restaurant at 6:08pm (I knew they closed at 7:00pm). Tenderloin Dinner this meal, with root beer and pecan pie.
Made it back to the camp's pavilion by 7:00pm. Plugged in the bike's battery charger, and started sorting through all the photos I took today. Kept working on today's report - and got it done before I fell asleep! That was my goal, since I need to get an earlier start tomorrow.
I've sure enjoyed my visit to Metamora, and this campground. Of course I've had the place all to myself.
Bedtime (10:00pm). Oh, it's actually 11:00pm! Good night.
Jeff
Spent: $14 (campsite) + $13.87 plus $3 (breakfast) + $2 (grist mill donation) + $2 (laundry donation) + $4 (boat ride) + $2.40 (ice cream cone) + $12.57 plus $2.43 (supper) = $56.27.
+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |