#AtoZChallenge: Junket

Photo © Diane Weidenbenner

My friend, Sandy, and I venture out of town whenever we can when the weather is nice. We’ve gone Amish Hunting, which sounds a lot more painful than it really is (at least for the Amish). We love to discover antique stores, barns, civil war graveyards and farms with lots of great animals including but not limited to sheep, cows, goats or the boutique miniatures that have become popular. We both remember when our parents and grandparents would go for “Sunday drives” and laugh at how we like to do the same. We’ve both traveled out of the U.S. so perhaps this is our way of discovering little known treasures right here in our backyard – Indiana!

We rarely go more than an hour or two away from Terre Haute or Brazil, Ind., but somehow it’s still exciting. We’ve run across interesting houses (with human and pet occupants like the photo far left with the kitty and civil war flag. We’ve stumbled upon a private garden with a trellis overflowing with wisteria. And, we always meet the most interesting people along the way, whether it be at a restaurant, Amish dry goods store or bookstore.

Photo © Diane Weidenbenner

It’s similar to garage sailing, with the knowledge that you have no idea what you will find, but knowing in your heart that you’ll have a good time, lots of laughs and come away with one or two exceptional stories. When I can, I take my camera which has proven interesting, especially when we’re on busy one-lane roads with lots of curves. And, we’ve been honked at more times than I can count because we drive slow in order to pull over quickly for the perfect photo, or animal siting, or stalk of Queen Anne’s Lace (it seems they are a favorite of moths and Sandy at one time was a foster mom for some lost eggs).

Both our husbands are glad that we like to drive around the countryside as neither one of them is fond of the task. We’ve laughed so hard that either Sandy has spit out her ice tea or I’ve almost wet my pants. And if you try and repeat the story to someone who wasn’t there, it just doesn’t sound the same. We’ve seen a dead mule, live chickens and an auction in Amish country.

Photo © Diane Weidenbenner

A friend told us about a new app for the iPhone and we tried it last Saturday. It’s called Fieldtrip. While it did find a few veteran memorial museums and the Markle Mill (which we had already visited), when you get out into the country, there’s not much to see around Terre Haute, according to Fieldtrip. However, we always seem to find something interesting and curious and worthy of our time. Before you know it, three or four hours have flown by. That’s when you know that you’re with a good friend and you’re doing something you love.