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Southern Indiana Tour: A monastery offering beer and a place to stay

June 12, 2017

When looking for places to visit in Southern Indiana, we stumbled across the Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, home to the Sisters of St. Benedict.  Upon further review, the monastery grounds offered affordable lodging and a brewery!  We stayed here two nights, attended morning mass, and had breakfast with a sister each morning.  The beer was passable and the central location allowed for quick access to regional tourist sites.

Tours of the monastery are available.  We didn’t partake, though we witnessed several areas of the building when going to mass and breakfast.  The brewery is open Thursday to Sunday.  Please click the link below for hours.

Lodging information

Brewery information

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Southern Indiana Tour: Vincennes

June 12, 2017

Southern Indiana offers its share of history.  The best part is that most of these sites are not crowded.  First up is Vincennes, a sleepy town of 18,000 on the banks of the Wabash. Our travel route brought us from Illinois to Vincennes on U.S. 50.  The first thing you need to do is exit on the business Route 50 (aka the old highway).  You’ll come across a tribute to Abraham Lincoln, who made his first venture into Illinois at this point.  You’ll drive across the Lincoln Memorial Bridge, a scenic two-lane deck arch bridge that was constructed in 1933.

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Once you cross into Indiana, the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park is on your right.  Who was George Rogers Clark, and how did he get this awesome memorial in his honor?  Well, we must have slept through that day of history class.  Clark was a Revolutionary War hero, a brother of William Clark of Lewis & Clark fame, and we’ll let you learn the rest of his story in Vincennes.  We were the only visitors on a quiet Saturday morning.

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The Old Cathedral is adjacent to the George Rogers Clark site, so take a few steps and check it out!  The building dates to 1826 and the parish is the oldest in Indiana, dating to 1734.

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Vincennes continued to be a strategic post for military operations after the Revolutionary War.  It became the capital of the Indiana Territory and home to William Henry Harrison.  We were awake in history class to learn about “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too” and the shortest-serving U.S. President.  We learned much more at Grouseland, where we received a private tour (no one else was visiting that morning).

Grouseland

After Grouseland, we ventured a few blocks to Vincennes University, home of the Red Skelton Museum.  The radio and early television comic grew up in Vincennes, and his boyhood home is visible from campus.

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Vincennes summary:

Free sites:  George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, Lincoln Memorial Bridge, Old Cathedral

Cost attached:  William Henry Harrison home at Grouseland, Red Skelton Museum

We skipped:  Vincennes State Historic Site (mixed reviews on TripAdvisor)

Time allowance:  One day.  We arrived in the evening and walked the George Rogers Clark grounds.  We toured the GRC building and the next morning, then the Cathedral, Grouseland, and finally the Skelton museum.  An easy 1-2-3-4 that took from 9:00 a.m. to about 12:30.

Waterfalls of Iceland: Hengifoss

February 10, 2017

Hengifoss is Iceland’s third-highest waterfall.  The layered canyon backdrop really makes this one of Iceland’s best.

Location:  About 35 kilometers from Egilsstadir, which is a good place to spend the night.  We were traveling clockwise, so an early morning visit to Hengifoss was in order.  This was perfect as hardly anyone was there (the crowd picked up slightly by our exit).  Google maps location

Pros:

  • Not crowded, at least in the early morning hours.
  • A nice hike to the falls (about 2.5 km).
  • A great photo backdrop.
  • While you have to travel off of the Ring Road, it’s a nice drive on a good road.

Con:

  • The walk was very, very windy – and uphill.  We enjoyed that, you might not.

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Waterfalls of Iceland: Dettifoss

February 10, 2017

Big…powerful…loud…Dettifoss!  This waterfall is by many accounts Europe’s most powerful.  Dettifoss can be reached by two roads:  862 to the west and 864 to the east.  862 is a paved road.  864 is anything but a paved road.  No 4WD?  Plan on some 15-20 mph time.  However, views from the east are very nice.  While you’re here, be sure to check out Selfoss, which is about a one kilometer walk.  Few tourists seemed to be going to Selfoss.  Their loss, your Selfoss.  Afterwards, drive a short distance north to Hafragilfoss.

Location:  About 60 km east of Myvatn (f you take route 862).  Myvatn would be your likely stop the night before (if traveling clockwise).  We traveled clockwise, staying at Myvatn, visiting Dettifoss, then going on to Egilsstadir.  This was a full day with several stops.  Google maps location of Dettifoss

Pros:

  • The shear volume of water is amazing.
  • The opportunity to see three unique waterfalls in a short amount of time.
  • Some tourists, but not overcrowded.
  • A famous waterfall – it has been featured in movies, including Prometheus.

Cons:

  • Road 864.  Not fun, though the east side provides the best views of Dettifoss.
  • If beautiful waterfalls are your thing…well, Dettifoss is more about the power.

Finally:

Be smart.  Be careful.  There are no fences.  This is a powerful waterfall.  Injuries have happened.

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Waterfalls of Iceland: Dynjandi

February 9, 2017

Dynjandi is an impressive waterfall in the Westfjords – actually it’s the first of a series of cascading waterfalls.  Dynjandi means thunderous, and it certainly is.

How we got there:  We spent the previous night at a guesthouse in Bildudalur, a village of approximately 200 residents.  The drive to Dynjandi is about 60 km, with several other sites along the way.  A highlight was a stop at a small hot spring – which was HOT and not crowded.

Pros: 

  • The cascading falls are very picturesque.
  • It wasn’t crowded for our visit.  We arrived late morning, and surprisingly, there were maybe 20-25 cars in the lot (you can count them from the top of the lookout).
  • Like most Icelandic waterfalls, you can get close to the action.

Cons: 

  • While not a long walk to the lookout area, there are many steps involved.
  • Parking could be limited in busier times.

Where it ranks:

  • Among the top five waterfalls that we visited in Iceland.  Highly recommend Dynjandi and the Westfjords in general.
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Two weeks in Iceland: A sample itinerary

February 5, 2017
Tourism is Iceland is booming, though that may not be a good thing for the nation of just over 300,000 residents.  Yours truly spent two weeks there in 2015 and loved every second of it.  Here’s the itinerary that was employed, and some comments as far as what we did right, and wrong.  Pictures will be added in separate posts, and linked to this post.
Day 1:  Blue Lagoon, Reykjavik
  • Arrived at Keflavik airport early morning.  The airport is about 50 km or a 40 minute drive from downtown Reykjavik.
  • My thought was that a rental car wasn’t necessary for time spent in Reykjavik, so we went to the Blue Lagoon via bus.   The Blue Lagoon is a tourist trap, and that was known going in…almost didn’t go, but then, we wouldn’t have known what was missed.  The Blue Lagoon is about 20 minutes from the airport, so if you go, do it on either your first day or your last.  First day = relaxing after overnight flight, last day = one last bit of relaxation before your flight.  I recommend the first day as you’ll be tired and can relax at BL.  You have to purchase the Blue Lagoon package ahead of time.
  • There are plenty of baths/spas around Iceland that are not touristy.  Some are free…so if the fanciness of Blue Lagoon isn’t for you, there will be other opportunities.
  • We spent some time at the Blue Lagoon, and then took the bus to our Airbnb host in downtown Reykjavik.  We walked around downtown Reykjavik to get our bearings, then hit the hay early (though it’s daytime nearly all the time in late June).

Day 2: Golden Circle, Reykjavik

  • We took a bus tour of the Golden Circle, leaving mid-morning and back by early evening.  Most Golden Circle tours visit the big three:  Þingvellir, Gullfoss (Golden Falls) and the Geysir geothermal area.  All areas were packed with tourists, though this won’t be an issue as you continue your journey around Iceland.
  • We were lucky enough to be in Iceland during the great Euro 2016 soccer run.  Iceland beat Austria on this day and we joined the street celebration in downtown Reykjavik!  (Our itinerary included too much time in Reykjavik for a normal visit…however, the soccer celebrations made it perfect!)

Day 3: Reykjavik morning, drive to Grundarfjordur

  • We picked up a rental car at Sixt’s downtown location at noon and drove to Glymur Falls, approximately a one hour drive.  The Glymur Falls experience is much different than Gullfoss – it is not for the faint of heart.  You don’t have to be a great climber, just have some good hiking shoes.  This isn’t a place for kids.  The hike took about three hours round trip (we went quite a ways up, though not to the very, very top).
  • Overnighted east of Grundarfjordur after a few stops along the way.  We did not spend as much time in the Snaefellness Peninsula as we could have – would recommend another day here.

Day 4:  Grundarfjorur to Bildudalur

  • The day started at Kirkjufellfoss just west of Grundarfjordur.  This waterfall is the backdrop to the blog’s homepage.  The waterfall is right next to a mountain and makes for a very scenic sunset photo, if you are in Iceland when the sun sets.
  • You can either take a ferry at Stykkisholmur or drive through to the Westfjords.  We drove, with the small town of Bildudalur our overnight stop.
  • The highlight of the day was a trip to Latrabjarg to see the famous cliffs and the puffins.  The road to Latrabjarg was verrrrrry rough – 20-25 mph in many spots, narrow, no shoulder, big dropoffs and it was rainy/foggy.  All part of the adventure!

Day 5:  Bildudalur to Isafjordur

  • This was a short driving day, distance-wise (90 miles, plus side trips).  It’s very slow in points, especially around Dynjandi.
  • The morning started with a stop at a small waterfall along the road (after a few days, you may not even stop at a waterfall like this one).
  • Another highlight was a hot spring, right along the road.  This one was free and only a few other people were there.
  • Dynjandi is the big stop of the day.  It’s one of several cascading waterfalls.  Surprisingly the area wasn’t too busy.
  • The area near Isafjordur is beautiful with all of the purple nootka (Alaska lupine).  We stopped and hiked up a hill to get a wide look at this.
  • There’s an interesting tunnel right as you approach Isafjordur…it’s one way.  We were driving north, or clockwise, so we had the right-of-way and didn’t have to use the turnouts.
  • It was a quiet evening for a delicious fish dinner in Isafjordur (it’s busy during the day as cruise ships dock in town).

(I WILL BE ADDING MORE TO DAYS 6 – 14, plus photos in time)

Day 6:  Isafjordur to Hvammstangi
Day 7:  Hvammstangi to Akureyi area
Day 8: Akureyri to Myvatn

Day 9: Lake Myvatn to Egillsstadir
Day 10  Egilsstadir to Hofn (116 miles if direct)
Day 11 – Hofn to lodging west of Vik
Day 12 – west of Vik to Reykjavik
Day 13 – Reykjavik – watched Iceland take on France with about 30,000 fans!
Day 14  – Reykjavik morning, to airport

Golf in all 50 by 50: Iowa and Texas

February 3, 2017

The golf in all 50 by 50 tour continued with my eighth stop in Iowa (not pictured).  I looked out the dining room window at Iowa nearly every morning from age 8 to 18, however, never golfed in the state until 2016.

I hoped to golf in Texas, but did not take clubs or have definite plans.  I took in a Rangers game with a friend on a warm Sunday afternoon.  A frustrating car issue followed.  Twilight golf seemed like the perfect way to get away from the car issue!

A course description says that Riverside Golf Club sits in a floodplain – and that’s a fact.  Texas had been receiving heavy rain all week leading up to that day – and the adjacent Trinity River was rolling.

A decent round ensued thanks to some nice rental clubs.  Nine down, 41 to go!texas-golf-1texas-golf-7

Golf in all 50 by 50: Hawai’i

February 3, 2017

In 2015, I came up with the goal of golfing in all 50 U.S. states by my 50th birthday.  I had golfed in six at the time (Illinois, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Missouri and Kansas).  No parameters were set on the course type (I’m a budget traveler, and a budget golfer).  My thought is to play any available course, and maybe splurge a little on number 50.

2016 started with a January round in my seventh golfing state:  Hawai’i.  Golf in the Aloha State is not cheap and I didn’t take my clubs, so rentals added to the coast.  I was staying on the North Shore, and did a little research to find Kahuku Golf Course, which is under city and county ownership.

The course was a little rough in spots, however, it was RIGHT ON THE OCEAN!  Beautiful, beautiful spot for an affordable round of golf.

The beach was nearby and this marked my first round of golf with surfers walking thru the fairway!

A recent Business Journal article (Jan. 2017) says that the course and surrounding area was recently purchased by the local government, saving the area from development.  I’m thankful for this, as some of us hackers do not like paying big $ for golf while on vacation.

Nearby:  After your round, be sure to stop just down the street at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck.  Yummy!

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