Monday, August 6, 2012

Visiting Madison, Indiana with Kids

Forgive me. I sat down to edit pictures of our visit to Madison, Indiana to share with you. Then I realized that every photo I took was essentially just a portrait of one of the Arrows.

Good mom, bad travel blogger.

Well, while you stare at my kids (they are pretty adorable), I'll offer up some ways to enjoy one of Indiana's most picturesque towns.

Nestled right into the rolling hills along the Ohio River, it's such a lovely spot that we couldn't resist the temptation to venture into town more than once during our weekend camping trip to nearby Clifty Falls State Park. Earlier in the day when energy was high after a lunch at the Lighthouse, we let Big Arrow stretch his legs along the brick pathway that runs along the river itself.

Sky looks ominous, huh? Ten minutes later, we were safely in our car while it stormed!

There's plenty of space for kids to romp, and plenty of benches for parents to rest. Or giggle at your big brother, in Little Arrow's case.


For kids, a real highlight of the riverfront area is all the cool boats and barges you see making their way down the Ohio. You can get an even better view with the binoculars for a quarter.


Just north of the riverfront area is charming downtown Madison. Later in the day, we headed there for dinner at legendary Hinkle's Sandwich Shop. Hinkle's is famous for their hamburgers (which I wrote about for Visit Indiana), but Big Arrow really enjoyed showing off his strawberry milkshake mustache.


Unlike some historic districts, Madison was very stroller friendly. Little Arrow helped me out by demonstrating.


But truly, even if you don't have kids, Madison is a really special place for a weekend getaway. Lots of beautiful old homes, fun little shops, unique restaurants. Beyond Madison itself, you've got Clifty Falls (one of my favorite state parks) and Hanover College, a really pretty college campus.  But you'll just have to take my word for it on that.

At least I proved that it's a great place to take pictures of your kids.

This post is part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

PS: This was my first trip where I took my camera off its automatic setting. I was pretty pleased with the results. If you're looking for ways to improve the photos you take of your own kids, I highly recommend this book (affiliate link):

3 comments:

  1. It was a treat seeing your blog almost a half a century ago I played at the playground down there by the river and ate many burgers and chili at Hinkle's . My absolute favorite spot is the Broadway fountain which was just mine as a child :>)If you missed it go back .
    http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMTVF_Broadway_Fountain_Madison_Indiana

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  2. They are very cute! :) I now try to consciously remind myself to take some photos without the kids because I've looked back at many places that we've visited and realize that all my photos are of the kids and not the place. And I trust you that Madison is a great place to visit!

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  3. I personally prefer the pictures of The Arrows. Just sayin'

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