James Dean is an Indiana legend who captured hearts and was taken too young. This small memorial…read morecommemorates the site of an apartment (now gone) in which he was born in Marion, Indiana. I happened upon the memorial while looking for a place to eat. There is a large sign pointing to the memorial and a historical marker at the memorial. A large granite monument with impressions of Dean is surrounded by benches to sit. Dean died in an automobile accident at the age of 24. He is bury in Fairmont, Indiana, where he grew up. He had made three movies depicting life in the early 1950's. While he died before I was born, I remember watching reruns of his movies with my mother. I think of her as I see the memorial. There is limited street parking near the memorial and no amenities.

What a nice tribute to James Dean! I was so excited to see that Marion, IN, gave quite the upgrade…read moreto their memorial in honor of Dean's birthplace. This is a small but nice park with a gorgeous memorial. Lots of free parking right next to it.

The Grant County Courthouse in Marion, Indiana was built in 1881 as the third Courthouse of the…read moreCounty. The granite building is surrounded by many memorials honoring those who served in wars from Grant County. The Courthouse, designed by E. E. Myers, is a replica of a structure in Elyria, Ohio. Originally, a large dome with a statue of Lady Justice topped the Courthouse. The dome structure and statue became unstable and began to fail in the 1920s and dropped debris into the streets. The dome was removed during the 1940s. The statue stood in a local park, where vandals eventually destroyed her. Today, the head has been salvaged and resides at the Marion Public Library. No mobile phones are allowed in the Courthouse, so I was unable to take interior photos. The original woodwork has been painted gray and very little original detail of the original building has been retained. All courts were in session, the Courthouse is fully operational as it has been for nearly 150 years. The deputy told me that there is some original detail in several of the courtrooms. I saw original folding seats in one courtroom had been painted. I saw no artwork in the courthouse. There is public parking around the square. The building is accessible. There is no historical information within the courthouse. Overall, not worth a visit unless you have business to conduct.

Didn't wait too long and employee was friendly and helpful. Got my business done in record time.read more

After scores of failed attempts to make a telephone appointment, ( busy signals-message box full,…read moreetc) we decided to try our luck as a walk-in and were prepared to wait. Unfortunately, they don't allow walk-ins at all. The guard was perhaps the most helpful guard I've ever met. Patient, helpful and friendly. The trick is to call, hang up, redial, hang up repeat until you get through. If it takes fifty or sixty tries so be it. Why the government should work this way is beyond my comprehension. Eventually we did get through and the person on the phone was able to take the time to fix our problem as best possible and we were able to avoid an appointment. For those that don't know. To get through on the phone, just keep calling and calling. Try early morning was what one person told us.

19 hikers from the Indianapolis Hiking Group decided to hike in and around Peru (the birthplace of…read morethe late, great Cole Porter) today to commemorate Cole Porter's birthday which was on June 9th. There were plenty of celebrations around town and we hiked around 9 miles on streets, wooded areas, and along the Wabash River. We started our hike at the cemetery where Cole Porter is buried. The good folks at the Museum in town educated us on the life of Cole Porter and recommended several places for us to eat. There was a classic car show going on and it is obvious that the town is very proud of their history. Cole Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre. After a slow start, he began to achieve success in the 1920s, and by the 1930s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike most successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote both the lyrics and the music for his songs. After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. His shows of the early 1940s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the 1920s and 30s, but in 1947 he made a triumphant comeback with his most successful musical, Kiss Me, Kate. Porter's other musicals include Fifty Million Frenchmen, DuBarry Was a Lady, Anything Goes and Can-Can, and his numerous hit songs include "Night and Day", "I Get a Kick out of You", "Well, Did You Evah!" and "I've Got You Under My Skin". He also composed scores for films from the 1930s to the 1950s. He was noted for his sophisticated, suggestive lyrics, clever rhymes and complex forms. Although Cole Porter was homosexual, he married a wealthy Divorcee, Linda Lee Thomas and the marriage was one of convenience for both of them; for Linda, continued social status and a partner who was the antithesis of her abusive first husband, and for Cole a respectible heterosexual front in an era where homosexuality was not publically acknowledged. Cole Porter is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Peru, between his wife and father, even though Porter was not close to his father. Cole was his mother's maiden name and as she was a very domineering woman, her son was buried in her family plot, rather than the Porters. A very cute and quaint town to visit. Only 70 miles North of Indianapolis.

Gas City, originally Harrisburg, got its name because of the natural gas that was found here. At…read morejust over 4.5 square miles, it is a pretty small city. It is accessible at exit #256 of I-69 north & south bound. Most of my experiences in Gas City occur along Indiana State Rd 22, probably like the rest of the non-locals, just passing through from Kokomo to I-69 and back. Most of the business are located on or just off of Indiana State Rd 22. The most exciting thing for me here is the Starbucks; believe it or not, I was thrilled when they built it because it gave me a good place to take a road trip break. Other than that, I've only ever gassed up (no pun intended) or stopped at K-mart. I like to think of it as Quiettown, America. I have yet to hear, see or experience anything negative here so Gas City is A-OK with me.