I always see social media posts of people leaving this area to go to Florida, California, Chicago, etc for vacation. So many think that this area has nothing to offer. Our #wackywednesdaywanderings have proven that theory wrong over and over again. We have yet to drive more than two hours from home to find fun things to do. This week was no exception.
A trip to Amish country was on tap for our journey. We packed a cooler fill of ice and headed off to Shipshewana and Middlebury for the day. For starters, we went to the furthest east point on our list. This took us to
Shipshewana Lake Park. It's a peaceful little spot with a great view of the lake. There was a nice picnic table where we could sit a bit. They have a small playground and a little picnic pavilion as well. While we were there, we saw a butterfly, dragonfly and two herons. With this stop, there will officially only be one of our excursions this summer that didn't include a stop at a lake. The last three all involve lake stops.
Next up was our true reason for having Middlebury on the list of places to go this summer.
Heritage Ridge Creamery may well be the best place in this area to buy cheese. They have samples of all their cheeses so you can try them before you buy them. There are so many delicious kind to choose from, it's always hard to decide. They also have many different candies, snacks, jellies and jams to choose from, along with kitchen gadgets and little souvenirs to remember your trip. Their prices are great, too! We filled our cooler with 6 different kinds of cheese and were on our way.
Our next stop for the day was
Miller's Cider Mill. While it's not currently apple cider season, the young lady whose family owns and operates this mill was very happy to show us around the mill while telling us how cider and apple butter are made. You can even pick apples and take them there to have your own cider made. Her father has a small museum which displays artifacts from the area that have been collected over the years. You can walk along the Little Elkhart River, where you can also fish if you'd like. It's a great little spot and a hidden gem so close to home.
After spending time outside on such a hot day, it was time for lunch to cool off before another outdoor stop. We headed back into downtown Middlebury to eat at
Village Inn. Any restaurant that has tater tots on the menu is ok in my book. They also serve breakfast all day. We had a nice filling lunch and a big glass of iced tea while we relaxed and cooled off awhile. The service was great and the company was even better. After lunch, we went across the street to check out the Middlebury Mercantile. We looked around
Legacy Furniture and I got a cup of delicious iced coffee at
The Legendary Grind.
We headed off just north of downtown to
Krider Gardens. Krider Nurseries had a garden display at the 1933-1934 Chicago World's Fair. The almost 2 1/2 acre garden is on land donated to the town in 1993 and the garden was dedicated in 1995. There are so many flowers to see and there are even places to relax along the way. There is a windmill and some giant toadstool statues that were on display at the Fair also. It's a great place to take photos, enjoy a relaxing walk and see some beautiful flowers. It sure was hot out there but there was a breeze once in awhile so it made it tolerable. Who walks a 2.4 acre garden when it's 100° out? We do! It was well worth it!
Just around the corner from the Gardens is a cute little antique mall.
Old Creamery Antiques is a treasure trove of literally a little bit of everything. Room after room filled with all sorts of antiques at reasonable prices. I'm 99.9% sure we didn't even see everything they have to offer. After sitting in the car to cool off a bit, we headed off for our last Middlebury destination.
Forks County Line Store is so well worth the drive to Middlebury. We had heard about it but never been there to check it out. We were able to get lots of snacks to keep on hand for the grandkids. In fact, we got three different snacks totaling 22 bags for just $3.00! We left with 7 bags of food for under $25.00. If you're in the area, you simply must check this place out! We'll be making the trip there again...and then stopping for more cheese. 🤣
With it being warm and humid out all day, we figured ice cream was the perfect way to end our day. We decided to make a stop someplace we've heard a lot about but never visited. We made the drive to Goshen and stopped at
The Chief. They have a nice area of picnic tables under some shade trees. But we chose to sit in the air-conditioned car to eat our delicious ice cream in waffle cones. It was a perfect end to a fantastic day!
Only three more trips left for the summer. It's hard to believe our time is dwindling down so quickly. Please be sure to subscribe to our blog as I will continue posting throughout the school year.
A trip to Amish country was on tap for our journey. We packed a cooler fill of ice and headed off to Shipshewana and Middlebury for the day. For starters, we went to the furthest east point on our list. This took us to Shipshewana Lake Park. It's a peaceful little spot with a great view of the lake. There was a nice picnic table where we could sit a bit. They have a small playground and a little picnic pavilion as well. While we were there, we saw a butterfly, dragonfly and two herons. With this stop, there will officially only be one of our excursions this summer that didn't include a stop at a lake. The last three all involve lake stops.
Next up was our true reason for having Middlebury on the list of places to go this summer. Heritage Ridge Creamery may well be the best place in this area to buy cheese. They have samples of all their cheeses so you can try them before you buy them. There are so many delicious kind to choose from, it's always hard to decide. They also have many different candies, snacks, jellies and jams to choose from, along with kitchen gadgets and little souvenirs to remember your trip. Their prices are great, too! We filled our cooler with 6 different kinds of cheese and were on our way.
Our next stop for the day was Miller's Cider Mill. While it's not currently apple cider season, the young lady whose family owns and operates this mill was very happy to show us around the mill while telling us how cider and apple butter are made. You can even pick apples and take them there to have your own cider made. Her father has a small museum which displays artifacts from the area that have been collected over the years. You can walk along the Little Elkhart River, where you can also fish if you'd like. It's a great little spot and a hidden gem so close to home.
After spending time outside on such a hot day, it was time for lunch to cool off before another outdoor stop. We headed back into downtown Middlebury to eat at Village Inn. Any restaurant that has tater tots on the menu is ok in my book. They also serve breakfast all day. We had a nice filling lunch and a big glass of iced tea while we relaxed and cooled off awhile. The service was great and the company was even better. After lunch, we went across the street to check out the Middlebury Mercantile. We looked around Legacy Furniture and I got a cup of delicious iced coffee at The Legendary Grind.
We headed off just north of downtown to Krider Gardens. Krider Nurseries had a garden display at the 1933-1934 Chicago World's Fair. The almost 2 1/2 acre garden is on land donated to the town in 1993 and the garden was dedicated in 1995. There are so many flowers to see and there are even places to relax along the way. There is a windmill and some giant toadstool statues that were on display at the Fair also. It's a great place to take photos, enjoy a relaxing walk and see some beautiful flowers. It sure was hot out there but there was a breeze once in awhile so it made it tolerable. Who walks a 2.4 acre garden when it's 100° out? We do! It was well worth it!
Just around the corner from the Gardens is a cute little antique mall. Old Creamery Antiques is a treasure trove of literally a little bit of everything. Room after room filled with all sorts of antiques at reasonable prices. I'm 99.9% sure we didn't even see everything they have to offer. After sitting in the car to cool off a bit, we headed off for our last Middlebury destination. Forks County Line Store is so well worth the drive to Middlebury. We had heard about it but never been there to check it out. We were able to get lots of snacks to keep on hand for the grandkids. In fact, we got three different snacks totaling 22 bags for just $3.00! We left with 7 bags of food for under $25.00. If you're in the area, you simply must check this place out! We'll be making the trip there again...and then stopping for more cheese. 🤣
With it being warm and humid out all day, we figured ice cream was the perfect way to end our day. We decided to make a stop someplace we've heard a lot about but never visited. We made the drive to Goshen and stopped at The Chief. They have a nice area of picnic tables under some shade trees. But we chose to sit in the air-conditioned car to eat our delicious ice cream in waffle cones. It was a perfect end to a fantastic day!
Only three more trips left for the summer. It's hard to believe our time is dwindling down so quickly. Please be sure to subscribe to our blog as I will continue posting throughout the school year.
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