Bluegills and Barney Fife

The third day in Plainfield, Indiana, Troy and I went back to Solaris Park, but this time, to fish it!

 

The bluegills were nice 'n hungry!

We got an early start, as usual, and the weather was gorgeous!

The fish went bonkers over the top water spiders!

All of the fish we caught were of decent size!

We released them as we caught em.

The white spider seemed to be their favorite to hit!

Troy made some really great casts with the fly rod.  He was thrilled by watching the fish strike!

We fished from different places around the park, just for fun.  The balcony platform was neat, since we were higher up and could see into the water better.

Also, it was maybe only 1.5 stories high at best, but bringing up the fish was fun.

 

The spot under the little waterfall was so productive that the fly hardly had time to hit the water before a strike would occur!!!

After once again, catching all the gills we could handle, we went exploring some more.

We took a ride into Danville, and I stopped at a yard sale just for the heck of it.  It happened to be an awesome horse farm off a country road, and we were offered a horseback ride.  I wish I would have taken a few pics there.

Anyways, we spent over an hour at that farm, and then it was time for lunch.  The folk's running the yard sale advised us to try Mayberry Cafe.

And we did. ;-)

I know the Andy Griffin Show, but Troy didn't really remember the few times he watched it.  No worries though, cause I told him all about Andy Griffin & Barney Fife.

The restaurant was adorable.  Every town should have a Mayberry Cafe!  However, the bluegill may not share that sentiment.

Troy ordered from the kiddie menu and got the All You Can Eat Salad Bar.  The kiddie menu comes with a coin that can be redeemed for either a toy or an ice cream sundae.  My little Barney Fife, bought himself handcuffs with his coin.

Freshly baked bread and cinnamon butter was brought to the table.

Troy returned from the salad bar with a heaping plate full of ham cubes and pickles!  He ate all of it and had vanilla pudding for dessert.  :-)

I had the meatloaf, which was very good!

We went for a stroll downtown after lunch. It was remarkable how the Danville square resembled the Valparaiso square. 

Our next stop was a park along the White Lick River.

The bridge was really fun to cross!

It seemed like an awesome place to fish.  Although, the water was running fast and murky from recent rains.

We hiked throughout the park.

The other end of the park had a water play area with a swimming pool and slides that looked like fun. Since evening was approaching, we decided to save that section for another day.

They also had a Playscape there, similar to the old Valplayso!  My little Barney Fife handcuffed himself right to the swings!

We took lots of pics; several of them came out like this:



I guess that will happen on sunny days.  The nice thing is, for the entire day, my little Barney never once had to use his jellybean bullet in his pocket!  ;-)

Plainfield, Indiana

Hiya, from Plainfield, Indiana!

The three hour drive south was uneventful, but scenic for Glenn, Troy and I. 

The day before we left I got a anklet-- of bug bites.  Ugghhh! Chlorine will probably help-- at least that's what I tell the kids when they have booboos.

The first day was all about relaxing at the pool.

The agenda was fairly empty for Troy and I, which is just how we liked it.  ;-)

My little swimming man was very happy with all the pool time he could handle!  (He's striking a pose, the Little Ham, trust me, he's happy!)

 We swam, and gabbed, and swam some more.  :-)

I think my Guardian Angel might be showing a little in this pic:

The next day, Troy and I got up bright n' early and fished at Hummel Park; near the hotel.  I see you little frog!

Not only was a little frog hanging out, but a HUGE Black Snake was resting in the weeds near the water!

 

Both critters hung around for the entire hour and watched us, as we fished there.

 

After catching (and releasing) all the bluegills we could handle at Hummel Park, we decided to go check out some other sights in the area.

We came across a shopping area known as Metropolis.  That name cracked me up, because it reminded me of a city that seemed to be likely in a cartoon.

The shopping area was abandoned.  I reckon it was due to us being there at 7AM Eastern Time.  Well, we were early birds that day, and decided to take a ride over to Eagle Creek.

 

Our first stop at Eagle Creek Park was Lily Lake.  

We fished our way around the park, and spent most of the day there.

 

On the way back to the hotel, my cell reception decided to stop working!  As a result, I no longer had access to Google Maps, which I was relying on to guide us back.  Since, I am sooo good with directions and all (sigh, go ahead and roll your eyes), I decided to just follow a plane that was coming in for a landing.  After all, our hotel was near the airport.

 

Well, that genius plan of mine didn't exactly work out all that good. However, it did led us to the general vicinity and we happened upon Solaris Park.  Which, I made a note to revisit, because it looked very inviting.  Luckily, a nice person helped us find our way back to the hotel.  To be sure, I wouldn't get the directions wrong, I photographed them.  Yes, really!

That evening, Troy and I met up with Beefcake at Glenns Glenn at Beefcakes.  The time change really threw us off.  It seemed like 5PM, but really it was like 8PM. 

Anyway, it was my first time ever eating there.  I thought the lights were cool.

Glenn claimed that something was wrong with Troy and I, cause the little man order a grilled cheese with pickles, and I had a salad.

What can I say, sometimes we're just crazy like that!

The evening went by quickly. 

We did some shopping and a went for another dip in the pool, before turning in for the night. :-)