Indiana County Tour: Adams County

You might remember that last month, we started a new project...one that will lead us to eventually visit every county in Indiana. We decided that this week would be a great time to hit county #2 in the lineup!

So last month we went to Blackford County, and this week we checked out Adams County.

So the quick facts...before the fun stuff. Adams County was named for the 6th President of the United States: John Quincy Adams. And the east side of Adams County borders Ohio! {No, we didn't go over to Ohio.} If you're a reader...especially of authors from days gone by, you might recognize the name Gene Stratton-Porter. Gene is actually a woman, and she wrote a dozen novels and some other literary pieces. Her home is in Adams County, but we didn't tour it on this visit.

We started by visiting the Ceylon Covered Bridge. Anyone else love a covered bridge??

Bridges in general scare me {fear of their floorboard failure, of course} but there's something so fascinating about a covered bridge. Probably the story-lover in me wonders who all has passed through it...and where they might have been going.

The bridge used to go over the Wabash river, but as the river's flow has shifted, it now goes over a channel. It's the only one of 23 covered bridges that used to cover the Wabash...to still stand. {The Wabash was a bit frozen and snow covered for our visit.} It's not used for traffic anymore - but is sturdy enough to walk through.

The bridge is 126 feet long and so strikingly beautiful - especially against the snow and blue sky!

We were the only ones out there {which was good, since the entrance hadn't been plowed and no one else could have gotten in after us} and had a blast with our photo shoot!!

 After we left the bridge, we traveled on to Berne, Indiana, which is a Swiss community with quite a heritage. One of their biggest attractions is their clock tower - which is a replica of the Zytglogge in Bern, Switzerland. We couldn't get too close to it because the sidewalks weren't cleared {winter is obviously NOT the best time to tour Indiana!} but it was massive and beautiful!

We drove around town for a while - this town has a HUGE furniture industry. There were furniture stores everywhere! Not surprising, though, since this is also a heavily populated Amish/Mennonite community, and they're known for making great furniture!

Speaking of the Mennonites...we stopped by to take a picture of the Mennonite Church, which is a beautiful piece of architecture!! Every year, they perform The Messiah at Christmas time, and I remember going there with my parents to hear it when I was just a little kid.

After we did our little tour of Berne, we headed up to Monroe!! Monroe is the tiniest little place, but oh, my dear people, what a treasure it holds. Let me introduce you to the place that I sorely wish resided ON MY BLOCK:

You might remember that one of the main goals of each county visit is to find a local coffee shop that is, in a word, amazing. FOUND IT in Adams County!

The Shaka Shack Coffee Shop has all kinds of Hawaiian flavor to it and is just flat out fun. Check out the inside:

 We met the owner, Matt, who is the kind of guy you want to have in your favorite coffee shop. He has a heart and passion for teens...and we saw a whole bunch of them pass through this place while we sat there. You could tell they knew it was a place where they'd be loved and accepted...starting with Matt.

THIS was one of my favorite parts. There is a Wall of Fame...and we asked what you had to do to get your name up there. We thought maybe it was a Man vs. Food kind of thing where you had to drink 80 ounces of coffee in 10 minutes or something. Turns out???? Ask for a Sharpie and you can put your name on the wall.  Um...OKAY!!! We'll do that!!! So we climbed up on chairs and added our mark to the Shaka Wall of Fame. HOW FUN!!!!

Ahhhh but the true test of a coffee shop is...the coffee. And y'all, it was fantastic. Mine had dark chocolate, caramel and hazelnut in it...and I was in love. Ryan had a white chocolate/macadamia nut coffee that was also very good. And Matt took good care of us while we were in there...he let us try a couple of samples of iced coffees {my first coffee love} that were so, so scrumptious.

This whole coffee shop experience was so much fun. SO glad we chose this one. Matt, thanks for making our visit so wonderful!! We'll be back!! :) OR if you want to open a branch...say...in our kitchen...we're good with that too!!

Thanks, Adams County, for a fun visit!!

2 Counties Down, 90 To Go!