More Court Houses...

Took a little trip in Black Bess to identify what had failed since the last trip. Just couldn't keep away from those Court Houses though, ugly or elegant.
This neo-classical mausoleum at Huntington, IN, built about 100 years ago, seems to have little to commend it. Sitting almost on the railroad in a non-descript part of town it doesn't even bear the name of the County it represents. Probably appropriate.


Much more pleasing is the Whitley County Court House in Columbia City, IN. On a nice square in the middle of town, it anchors the major municipal and commercial features of the city in a graceful and comfortable manner.
By the by, Black Bess only turned up with three gnarly issues - about par for the course.

Secret rendezvous in Delphi, IN

Marika is away from home for three weeks of grueling training related to her restaurant. To give Eric a break and the kids a diversion, we took the girls on a White Rabbit excursion for the Labor Day weekend. Little did they know that this was a cover for a surprise meeting with Marika on Sunday.
Saturday included a miniature train trip, a ride on a restored, 120 year old Carousel and was capped off with a night at another exotic Wal-Mart, this time in Monticello, IN.
Having learned from our first uncomfortable night in the little RV that could, we had done some reorganization and were pleasantly surprised at how well we slept, even with two youngsters on board. The Navion performed exactly as advertised which we were also happy about. We all dined lavishly on chips, dip, Cocoa Pops, ice cream and assorted candy - a little like a health farm but much more relaxed.
On Sunday we set course for Delphi, another Indiana town left behind in the canal era, and arrived at the secret rendezvous at high noon. There, by the magic of cell phones and GPS was the female parental unit and much joy was shared by all. Following a nutritious lunch of pizza and ice cream, we all went for a pleasant stroll along the Wabash river. Three thirty, and it was time for farewells all over again. Marika headed west, back to Illinois, and we went east to Fort Wayne and home.
A nice day was had by all.