Southern Indiana Tourin'

In a happy confluence of events, Dad came down this weekend, and I was having my car serviced on Friday (okay, that part wasn't happy) - for 8 hours. Rather than sit at the dealership or have them shuttle me back and forth, Dad opted to visit and serve as transportation for the day, and we decided to "make a day of it".

First up...traveling the hills of Southern Indiana to French Lick, a place I haven't visited since it's very sad state of disrepair in the 1980s (French Lick was a very highly regarded spa town from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s). What an amazing transformation...

Approaching West Baden Springs Hotel...



The staggeringly beautiful interior of the dome...



The dome was once known as the 'eighth wonder of the world' and was the world's largest self-supported dome in the world until the Astrodome came along...



The grounds were equally lovely...



Then we ventured to the French Lick Resort for another walk-round both inside and out...love the original signs on the original springs... ;-)



After French Lick, we traveled to Ferdinand to visit the Immaculate Conception Monastery, a lovely looking church "on the hill"...



The interior was absolutely beautiful, and fantastically restored...



What an amazing view from the church (it was a clear day, so we could see a church steeple in St. Henry, seven miles away)...



What a great day being tourists in our own part of the world!

(Want to see our other pictures from the day? Click here.)