Back in the van again. May 21 and 22

 The forecast on Saturday was for thunderstorms and a possible tornado, so Nancy and Ken rented another  UHaul to schlep us in to Kokomo, Indiana.  The weather wasn’t as bad as predicted, but we probably wouldn’t have started riding until 11 am, a bit late for a 67 mile day.  I’m one of just two women riding a pedal bike and definitely the oldest pedal biker.  Four men who much stronger riders than I am pedal, and four people ride electric bikes. I’m used to being in the middle of the pack in terms of speed, and now I’m one of the slowest, so I was particularly grateful not to try a long ride with a very late start.

Today was a day off.  Some people went back and explored some of the trail we missed yesterday, and Sharon and I set off on foot to explore Kokomo.  I ended up at almost six miles of walking for the day!  One of my favorite parts of these trips is learning a bit about places that I’ve never visited.

This crazy building is a convenience store, built about 10 years ago with quite an assemblage of salvaged and recycled materials. 

Giant praying mantis on a street corner

We found lots of nice street art in downtown alleys, which looked to be illuminated at night.  Although everything was pretty quiet on a Sunday afternoon, the downtown area seems much more attractive than in many towns we see.

     Kokomo claims to be a town of firsts, including the first gasoline powered automobile.

We toured the Seiberling Mansion, built between 1889 and 1891 by the man who founded a glass factory here.  It was subsequently owned by George Kingston, a close friend of Henry Ford, whe developed the carburetor used in the Model T and also built a manufacturing plant in the city. Oh, yes, and it is claimed that he invented and manufactured the metal roller skates the you tightened with a key. Remember those?

                        I was fascinated by the round brick columns on the encircling porch.

I should have put my hand next to this ice cream to better show the size of the scoops.  Since the cafes and coffee houses were closed, I splurged on two scoops of ice cream for my lunch.  I couldn’t finish it!  The top scoop of black walnut is completely hiding the triple chocolate under it.