BACK HOME IN INDIANA — The Weekly Opine

The Oasis restaurant in Plainfield, Indiana, was a relaxing lunch stop last Friday as the “home” trip gathered steam. (Photo credit Bethanny A.)

A bounty of pleasant memories

I went home last weekend. It was all sugar plums and sunshine, capped off Saturday night when it was finally announced that Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States and his running mate, Kamala Harris, will be the first woman, and first woman of color, to be vice president. The adults are back from a 4-year vacation and the wayward teenagers are about to get booted out of the house.

But I digress. Today’s focus is my trip “back home” on what was a spectacular first weekend in November. Splendid describes my drive and walk down memory lane in the Hoosier state, accompanied by a travel companion, a.k.a. the special person in my life. Revisiting the places that shaped my childhood and forged my path to adulthood was an enriching experience. Visiting Plainfield and Bloomington allowed me to turn back the hands of time for a weekend, luxuriating in remembrance some 40-50 years after memory-making events from my youth took place.

A trip home is not fully complete unless you see relatives. Friday night included a visit with my Aunt Ann and Uncle John in Indianapolis, near Butler University. Showing the benefit of a college education, we took only one sip of my uncle’s concoction of limoncello, which featured the infamous Everclear as the alcohol component. Conveniently, friends of my travel companion live about six blocks from my relatives, so we stopped in to visit them before heading downtown to check-in at the Westin Hotel. By the way, the Westin staff was excellent and the hotel’s coronavirus protocols were comforting.

Everyone knows weather can make or break a trip and the weather in Indiana last weekend was perfect. Mid-70s, blue skies, abundant sunshine, zippo rain. It was indeed a pleasure to be back home again in Indiana.

Consistent with the recent evolution of The Weekly Opine – it is swell not to have to ask permission to make changes to my blog – the focus today is on photography, with written words playing a complementary role.

Enough talk. Hope you enjoy.

Of all the places I’ve lived, this is still home. (Photo credit Bethanny A.)

Hanging out at first base at the diamond where the Babe Ruth League Mets won three consecutive championships when I was age 13, 14, and 15. Nowadays, it’s called a 3-peat. (Photo credit Bethanny A.)

Tranquil White Lick Creek meanders through my hometown adjacent to a walking trail where railroad tracks used to roam. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

This building may have lost the title “high school” to “middle school” but memories endure at the former Plainfield High School. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

A friend’s girlfriend’s house was a fun place to hangout in the mid-1970s after the school day ended. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

A two for one outside Indy brackets my career! My first job, at age 15, was busing tables at a Waffle House. My last job was at McDonald’s corporate headquarters doing sports and entertainment marketing (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Located near the center of campus, Teter Quad was my first home at IU and is still near and dear. (Photo credit Bethanny A.)

It’s been nearly 45 years since IU went 32-0 winning the national title. A freshman in the spring of ‘76, I was tossed into Showalter Fountain during the celebration and came down with strep throat. (Photo credit Bethanny A.)

The 6-foot geophysical globe at Ballantine Hall is as magical and imposing as it was when first seeing it in 1975. (Photo credit Bethanny A.)

Debating with a statue of Pulitzer Prize winner Ernie Pyle is a losing proposition. (Photo credit Bethanny A.)

Displaying bias is usually frowned upon. In this case it is OK. There is not a more beautiful campus than my alma mater, Indiana University-Bloomington. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine, Bethanny A.)

My travel companion and me at Oliver Winery outside Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo credit Bethanny A.)