Columbus...Indiana 10/15/2013

We normally shower in the trailer in the morning, but Ray had mentioned last night  that he had stopped in the rest rooms and that they were "amazing". How could I not check them out? Wow. These were not your run of the mill campground restrooms. Impeccably clean. New tile. Huge showers. Sensor commodes, water faucets, soap and towel dispensers. And a TV. So this morning I luxuriated in a shower that was almost the size of the living room in our first apartment.

After packing up, we set off toward Columbus, IN. (The ride was highlighted by long stretches of highway shrouded in dense fog. Needless to say, visibility wasn't the greatest.) This small city of about 45,000, located about 40 miles south of Indianapolis, is the home of Cummins, Inc., and over 70 architectural gems. Irwin Miller, instrumental in building Cummins into an industrial giant, became the driving force in building Columbus into a center of design excellence, and home to buildings designed by the likes of IM Pei and other renowned architects.

Our first stop was the visitors center, where the highlight was a gorgeous internally lit chandelier designed by Dale Chihuly.

From there, we strolled the streets of Columbus, checking out many of the fascinating buildings lining its tree-lined streets. We visited the gardens of The Inn at Irwin Gardens, now a B+B, built in 1864 by the Irwin family, which has been impeccably maintained with much of the original ornamentation and furnishings intact.

One memorable stop was at a veterans' memorial,

on whose pillars were engraved not just the names of Columbus veterans who had perished in wars, but also snippets of letters they had written to their loved ones back in Indiana while they were still at war. Very moving.

Once finished with our tour, we headed for Walmart, to pick up a few things, and then back to camp.