After finishing up in Florida. we moved on to our 42nd state of the road trip – Indiana.
Considering we’re visiting some amazingly beautiful states like Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming in this final year of our road trip, our priority is to spend as much time as possible exploring those places. That meant Indiana drew the short straw and only got just over two weeks of our time.
Two days were spent in New Harmony, then two weeks in Indianapolis. That meant we didn’t see as much of Indiana as we might’ve liked, plus with us staying in eight different places in the three weeks leading up our arrival to Indianapolis, we didn’t have much energy to explore the state capital once we actually got there. It also didn’t help that Truffles was sick while we were in Indianapolis which meant we didn’t get good sleep for quite a bit of our time there as we’d have to take her out at 4am each night.
Normally we would’ve published a roundup post of what we did in Indianapolis, but there wasn’t a huge amount we did there and so most of that is included in this list of our best and worst things from Indiana.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – While I liked the hotel we stayed at in New Harmony, I’m going to award this one to the Airbnb in Indianapolis. It was good value for a three bedroom house and it had everything we needed for our two weeks there.
Shae – The two places we stayed at in Indiana were great for different reasons. It was nice having a “home” to stay in for 2 weeks at our Indianapolis Airbnb, but I think it has to go to the New Harmony Inn Resort & Conference Center because it was so walkable to the town.
Favorite Meal
Stephen – It’s not a meal, but the beers at Brew Link Brewing in downtown Indianapolis were very good. I got their Ivory white stout and Just One Smore pastry stout and both were delicious.
Shae – Brain sandwich! … Sorry just kidding! But the dinner we had at Smokey Bones in Indianapolis was probably my favorite meal.
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – I don’t know if I could necessarily class this as the most disappointing meal as I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it in the first place, but the least tasty meal was the brain sandwich at Hilltop Inn in Evansville for obvious reasons. The other appetizers we got from there were good though, so it’s not an indictment on the restaurant itself. It’s just, y’know, brain.
Shae – The food at The Yellow Tavern in New Harmony was good but the service was just ok. They weren’t rude or anything, it just wasn’t the cute hometown hospitality I expected.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – Exploring New Harmony was wonderful – such a peaceful place.
Shae – Walking around New Harmony to learn about its history.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – It wasn’t really an Indianapolis-specific thing, but we saw Bill Burr’s comedy show live while staying there and it was excellent.
Shae – It wasn’t during this visit to Indiana, but still during the road trip, I went to the Indianapolis Zoo on a girl’s weekend and it was a great experience.
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – Metazoa Brewing Co in Indianapolis. Not only are they pet-friendly both inside and out on their patio, but they have a dog park too.
Shae – The pet friendly shops and bars in New Harmony.
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – We made a quick diversion through Santa Claus on our way to New Harmony. I’m sure in December it’s probably a great place to visit, but there’s not much going on in late February.
Shae – Driving through Santa Claus. It was mostly closed so it wasn’t much of a stop.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – We didn’t hike at all while in Indiana, but we did walk around a lot in New Harmony. The walk along the canal in downtown Indianapolis was nice too.
Shae – We didn’t go hiking in Indiana.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – Eating the brain sandwich, even if it was kinda creepy.
Shae – Trying brain sandwich. Even though it wasn’t my favorite food, it was quirky!
Favorite Memory
Stephen – The entire weekend in New Harmony.
Shae – Having delicious cocoa in the sun outside the adorable coffee shop that Alex and his husband own in New Harmony.
Funniest Moment
Stephen – Shae’s face when trying brain sandwich. Oh, and Bill Burr, obviously.
Shae – Watching Truffles eat brain sandwich for the first time… I think she might be willing to trade us in for an unlimited supply of brains and bull testicles!
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – Feeling like we didn’t have any energy in Indianapolis to go out and do stuff.
Shae – Not making the most of the time we were in Indianapolis.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – Probably Indiana Dunes National Park.
Shae – Indiana Dunes National Park in the northern part of the state and I’d be interested in seeing more in the Evansville area.
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – How awesome New Harmony was.
Shae – How much I loved New Harmony. I thought I’d like it and I’m so glad we went for the whole weekend.
My Indiana Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – Take a drink (or several) before trying brain sandwich – you’ll need it!
Shae – Take a drink every time someone asks you what you’re going to do in Indiana for 2.5 weeks.
Summary Of Indiana In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – Didn’t seem amazing, but we’d definitely return to New Harmony.
Shae – New Harmony is the jewel in its crown. Go there.
Indiana Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – New Harmony, Indianapolis
Shae – New Harmony, Indianapolis
So you didn’t go north to Kokomo to see the World’s Largest stuffed steer? If you return to go to the Dunes, definitely add this to your list. He’s called Old Ben and he’s in a glassed in pavilion in the City Park. We still have our t-shirts with Old Ben from the nine-year stint we had there at the Episcopal Church (the only one in five counties! There was absolutely no competition with any other Episcopal Church!) Where to next?
We hadn’t known about that, so I’ve just added it to our list for the future. We’re now in Boise, ID – we’ll hopefully be starting our posts from Idaho on the blog this week.
Would recommend Wilstem in Paoli, IN where you get to wash an elephant. We made a trip around it a few years ago and it was worth it.
Thanks for the suggestion! It looks like we had Wilstem on our list of potential places to visit, but didn’t end up making it there. I hadn’t realized it had a drive-thru safari and ability to wash elephants though!
If you return and go to the Dunes, be sure to spend a day or two at Lake Wawasee. It is the largest natural lake in Indiana and has a very interesting history. (I would recommend Oakwood Inn in Oakwood Resort, just outside of Syracuse, Indiana, as a very nice place to stay.). The Lake is also an easy day trip to Shipshiwana, an Amish themed community, with many small shops. There are several good eating places in Shipshiwanna, but Das Essen Haus is just down the road and has an outstanding menu and an interesting atmosphere. The Mounds State Park is located in the north eastern part of Indiana. There is local Indian history to be learned there.
Thanks for all the suggestions – I’ve just added them to our list of things to do in Indiana in case we head back there 🙂
You should check out what New Harmony does for the holidays!
If you ever want to hike. New Harmony State Park has nice trails. My favorite is Turkey Run hiking trails. It’s beautiful.
We had the state park on our list of places to visit, but didn’t have time in the end – hopefully we’ll get a chance if we return. When we were in one of the stores they showed us loads of photos taken at the different festivals and events – it seems like they have a lot of fun there year-round.