92 County Tour: Howard

Yesterday I showed you the personal side of our Howard County tour...and today I'm bringing you the rest of our fun day!

First, the official county tour chalkboard photo:

We were standing on the porch of a really old log cabin at the Howard County Fairgrounds. The fair is held in Greentown each year, and it's one of our favorite things. Over the years, a number of small historic log cabins have been relocated to the fairgrounds - and together, they're called Pioneer Village.

Here's another one!

 There's also a little church out there - and a few years ago, my friend Ronda's nephew got married right there outside that church!

The most recent addition is the relocation and restoration of this historic round barn. There have been several wedding receptions here, and actually, Ryan and I contemplated using this as our reception site, but since our reception was in March, we figured the lack of heating might cause some issues. We still think this is such a gorgeous building, though.

After we left Greentown, we headed to Kokomo, which is where Ryan works.

We went to Highland Park, which is a lovely place in the city. I actually had some of my senior pictures taken next to this very bridge!

This bridge {the Vermont Covered Bridge} was originally constructed in 1875 in the town of Vermont, about 5 miles east of Kokomo. After surviving floods, arson, and other issues, it needed to be replaced in its original location with a higher, wider bridge. In 1957, it was moved into the park!

I do love a covered bridge.

Also in the park are a couple of other cool things. We stopped by to visit them, but my pictures aren't that great, because they're completely enclosed and I was getting a HORRIBLE glare off the glass.

First up: The Sycamore Stump:

This tree was in the west end of the county and stood over 100 feet tall before a storm knocked it down and the stump was hollowed out. In 1916, it was moved to the park, and was measured at 57 feet in circumference. They also counted the tree to be over 800 years old at that time. That is one huge tree!

Also in the park is Old Ben:

He was a steer who, when he died at the age of 8 in 1910, weighed 4720 pounds. {I wanted my picture next to him. He made me feel better!!}

After our park visit, we headed to the Treasure Mart...this really cool place Ryan wanted to take me:

He found a tandem bike right away:

Me? I was just shopping:

Another of Ryan's finds in the Treasure Mart: a mattress he sewed when he worked at Holder Mattress. He recognized his own work:

We made a couple more stops by some of Kokomo's main attractions. We went by the Sieberling Mansion, which you can also tour for a small fee, but we didn't do the tour. Still...isn't this a COOL house?

And it's not a trip to Kokomo unless you make your way past the giant praying mantis. Don't ask. We don't know. But it does have its own Facebook page.

We caught a quick lunch at Louie's Coney Island. We first went there in our very first month of marriage - on our way to pick up our first Christmas tree. It was one of Ryan's favorite places, and he wanted to introduce me. Not quite a year after that, a tornado ripped through Kokomo and destroyed Louie's. They rebuilt, though, and this was our first time back:

And our last stop for the day? The coffee shop, of course!!

We chose Big Ben Coffee, which was in a little strip mall.

It was just darling inside - all set up with tiny little living rooms - so cozy.

We were kind of warm, so we opted for frappes - and they were gone in no time!

So that was our day! Thanks, Howard County, for being great hosts....for our whole lives!