Sunday, July 8, 2007

The Hoosier State Day 36


The states are flying by, as we entered Indiana today. While researching the term "Hoosier", I saw sources from the 1840's that already questioned the derivation of the word applied to residents of Indiana. The word "Hoosier" dates back at least to the early 1800's and seems to have been applied to/or by boatmen on the Indiana side of the Ohio River. Common thoughts include a term like "redneck" that was originally derogative, but came to be respectable. There are other suggestions as well. The popular story that folks used to say "who's here" continues, but is apparently mythical.
Our 82 mile ride was "with the wind", and not too strenuous despite the heat. After I entered the state with David (center), Rick (right) and Howie (who took the top photo), we had lunch at a quaint family restaurant with the Sunday lunch crowd. As we've finally entered the Eastern Time Zone (and lost another hour), I can hopefully adjust all my clocks for the last time on this trip.
The sign welcoming us to Hillsboro was cute. Is Rick one of the many, or the few? He looks happy to me.
Apparently bicycles have more uses than we knew. This building used old bikes for planters. I guess these are the Mommy and Daddy bikes, then the kid's bikes as well. At least the plants look well tended!
The hotel pool was a welcome sight for almost everyone, esp. with the hot weather. It's the first time this year that the water in an outdoor (unheated) pool was actually almost warm. Swimming and showers were followed by dinner at "Joey's", a Mom and Pop small restaurant in downtown Crawfordsville (where we're staying). However, "Mom" and "Pop" were both younger than I am, and their daughter who helped serve was about 12 years old.




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