Preface:  For many years the Super and I have visited Indiana University’s (IU) alumni camp in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the first week of August.  Folks from that camp, including the Super’s sister Rita, are now also doing a full week of Mini-University at IU’s Bloomington campus.  This year we were lassoed into joining them.  One takes 17 classes over five days from a syllabus consisting of over 110 classes, taught by the university’s professors, to 552 students.

I mentioned that I partake of senior college here at the Alexandria Technical and Community College.  The format is somewhat different because of differences of scale. Our classes are for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, a different subject every class, for the length of a semester, usually about 15 classes.  For those who requested such, here’s our brochure for the Fall Session 2016, which was excellent!

Preface No. 2:  Mini-University requires a bit of a geographical set-up.  Since geography was my major, that puts it in my bailiwick.  The Super grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and family still lives there.  Her sister Rita lives in Nashville, Indiana.  Nashville is another 79 miles down the road from Terre Haute.  It is 783 miles from Alexandria to Nashville.  Over the years, we have made that trip (or to Terre Haute) in one day.  We decided it’s time to break up the trip.  So the first day we drove to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, a distance of 642 miles. 

June 9

Champaign-Urbana

[Here we are on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.  We didn’t get to see much – it seems half the campus is undergoing major upgrades, so there were detours everywhere.]

[After a quick tour of the campus, back to our hotel, and then on to the Old Chicago restaurant right across the street for pizza.]

June 10

Nashville

[We stopped in Terre Haute on the way to visit with the Super’s younger brother, Dan, and our sister-in-law, Carolyn.  They live in the house where all the Callecod kids grew up.  Carolyn is the head honcho of the Terre Haute (population 61,000, metro area 170,000) League of Women Voters, leading to interesting discussions.  On the way to Terre Haute, we drove through Clinton, where Dan used to work.  Clinton is “famous” for these city limits speed limit signs (photo borrowed from the internet because “I forgot” as we were driving through).]

[Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of Indiana.  It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area.  According to the Monroe County History Center, Bloomington is known as the “Gateway to Scenic Southern Indiana.” The city was established in 1818 by a group of settlers who were so impressed with “a haven of blooms” that they called it Bloomington.  The city’s population was estimated at 84,067 as of July 2016.  Bloomington is the home to Indiana University Bloomington.  Established in 1820, IU Bloomington has 42,630 students, as of September 2014, and is the original and largest campus of Indiana University.  Most of the campus buildings are built of Indiana limestone.  (Wikipedia)]

[Then coming out of the east side of the city toward Nashville . . . it’s always Bruster’s!]

[Bloomington is in Monroe County, but soon we were in the neighborhood of the famous “mountains” of Brown County.]

[There are a couple of ski slopes in through here.]

[Brown County State Park is located in the center of the southern half of the state of Indiana.  The park is the largest of 24 state parks in Indiana, and occupies 15,776 acres (63.84 km²)—making it one of the larger state parks in the United States.  It is Indiana’s most visited state park, and has about 1.3 million visitors each year. Although Bloomington is the closest city, the park is closer to the small town of Nashville in Brown County.  (Wikipedia)]

[Brown County and its park are known for their scenic views of the hills of southern Indiana.  Both are the home of a wide variety of trees that attract visitors each year when the vegetation transforms to its autumn colors.  The park also contains many trees that flower in the springtime.  Visitors will find a rustic atmosphere, enhanced by an infrastructure that was mostly constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s. In addition to the park’s lodge, cabins can be rented and campsites are available. The park has trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding.  It has two lakes for fishing that complement the surrounding forests and provide a water source for the local wildlife.  The area’s beauty attracts artists and photographers worldwide. (Wikipedia)]

[State Road 46 from Bloomington to Nashville – pretty much what you have for the entire 18 miles between them.  If you keep going another 18 miles on SR 46 you come to Columbus (population 44,000) where our nephew, Rita’s son David, works for Cummins.]

[Nashville is a town in Brown County, Indiana.  The population was 803 at the 2010 census.  The town is the county seat of Brown County and is the county’s only incorporated town.  The town is best known as the center of the Brown County Art Colony and as a tourist destination.  Nashville boasts a tourist industry based upon the original works of resident artists and upon the area’s natural beauty.  Brown County State Park is nearby.  Art, antique, and specialty shops, as well as galleries, restaurants, and entertainment venues, make up downtown Nashville, and many inns, rented cottages, and bed and breakfast establishments serve visitors. (Wikipedia)]

[It’s a long down hill glide into Nashville . . . ]

[It’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon – tourists are swarming the town.]

[In a town of 800 you wouldn’t think parking would be a problem – in summer tourist season, good luck!]

[Advancing on the main downtown intersection stoplight.]

[Oy, the humanity!]

[After all our contingent meet up at Rita’s, we led the four folks from Fort Wayne out to this lovely cabin Reetz had lined up for them.  Gives you an idea the whole area is kind of outdoorsy.]

[The master bedroom – not too shabby.]

[The loft . . . Scott is 6 months younger than I am, so I volunteered him to lead the charge.]

[The living room]

[The loft sleeping area]

[It’s a long way down if you go over the railing, Scottie!]

[Always finding my niche . . . ]

[Reetz and Scott find their niche on the front porch.]

[Looks really “cabiny,” huh?]

[The back up plan.]

[Yes, there is a tourmobile in a town of 800.]

[When we got to Rita’s, her gardener was hard at work.  Reetz had to strongly correct her that she was “pruning” the wrong plants!]

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.  ~  Will Rogers

Up Next: Goin’ to college