(UNDATED) – Looking for some fun things to do this summer, Visit Indiana wants to help you out.
It launched a new “road trip” website to help Hoosiers find some adventure or just a relaxing weekend trip.
“People want to take vacations closer to home, so we developed the Great Indiana getaway,” Misty Weisensteiner, director of the Indiana Office of Tourism, said. “Indiana has so much to offer from the north to the south. So many things that we don’t even know about or things we used to know and forgot.”
Here are a few:
The Grave in the Road, Franklin
After passing away in 1831, Nancy Barnett was buried on a hill. Her grave laid untouched until the early 1900s when county officials wanted to put a road in that spot. Her relatives defended her grave with a shotgun, so the state built the street around her. The road splits around her gravesite to this day with one lane on the side of the grave and one lane on the other.
Zaharakos, Columbus
Grab a counter stool and take a step back in time at Zaharakos in Columbus. The ever-popular lime-flavored ice cream soda, Green River, is a best seller. But that is not what makes this place truly unique. It is a must to see this meticulously restored ice-cream parlor and soda fountain dating from 1900. Zaharakos is home to the Welt Orchestrion, a self-playing pipe organ that provides the rich sound of a full orchestra
Old Ben and Sycamore Stump, Kokomo
The world’s largest steer was born, raised, and taxidermied in all of his posterity in Howard County. Old Ben was on the Murphy Farm in 1902. He weighed 125 pounds at birth and grew 100 pounds a month! Right next to Old Ben is the incredibly large Sycamore Stump. Estimated to be 1,500-years old, the stump is 12 feet tall, over 50 feet in circumference, and 18 feet wide.
If you don’t know where to go, Visit Indiana has developed a quiz on the website to help you pick the perfect road trip based on your interests.
Click here to see their list of must-visit road trip destinations in the state.
