Bub’s, in Carmel, Indiana.
(Editor’s note: When a friend said he and his wife were heading on vacation, to include vistas in the West, we asked him to send us details on what they saw. Here’s the first installment. –eeb)
By Ed Orr
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. | Janet and my trip westward is one that is different than that of our forefathers. Rather than leaving family, hearth, and friends behind, we are seeking to reunite with friends of old, family we haven’t seen in years, enjoy the geology and geography of the different regions, sightsee a bit, and touch the last of the lower 48 that we haven’t visited.
We’ve left our home in Peachtree Corners with our destination of Nashville, where the objective was to hang pegboard for a sister-in-law. After several visits to a hardware store where my faith in southern humor was sated, everyone had their opinion as to how to better hang the peg board, most at my expense.
We had excellent Thai food. Eating Thai 50 and 60 years ago in the deep South was unimaginable. If it wasn’t chicken, casseroles, ham, okra and beans, we weren’t in the South or at least at my family).
After entering the bluegrass of Kentucky, we enjoyed seeing rolling farmland. It is easy to see why Daniel Boone brought people here. Passing the Corvette automotive museum and the only factory that makes that automobile, led us to Louisville and the Ohio River.
What an incredible river! Barges move upstream and down. The Ohio is a highway Native Americans, French, and English enjoyed long before we were formed as a nation, as it winds from Pittsburgh to Cairo, and flows on to New Orleans, via the Mississippi. Lewis and Clark first traveled down it on their way to the Northwest. Its width is daunting. Bridges crossing it at Louisville are numerous, including the older truss style which is complemented by the newer and attractive cable stayed design.
On to Indianapolis, the center and capital of Indiana, home to Benjamin Harrison, one of our presidents, who built a modest (by some standards) 10,000 square foot home on what was then the outskirts of the city.
Harrison’s stature in Indiana and his significant role in the Civil War led to a term in the Senate, and later as a one term president, where he championed veteran’s benefits, helping those with whom he soldiered. He married well; Catherine Scott Harrison was an artist who designed her own White House china and spoke publicly, somewhat unusual for that day and age. Hers would be an interesting story independent of his. She died of tuberculosis during his campaign for re-election. Both of their characters would easily reinforce Frederick Jackson Turner’s thesis of the role of the frontier on our character.
Changing gears, we headed slightly north from Indianapolis. From a foodie’s perspective, an elk burger from Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream, Home of the Big Ugly, in Carmel Indiana, is worth a stop. The Big Ugly is a Hoosier staple for hand-pattied, flame grilled and seasoned to perfection juicy cheeseburgers made from 100 percent fresh ground chuck.) I have passed the point of being able to reasonably think about a Big Ugly years ago; but its smaller cousin, “Settle For Less” is awfully fine. Their malts, which, unfortunately, I still consider although I shouldn’t, are awfully fine as well.
Happy Trails to all; about to move more westward.
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