Gesen KingJump to: Photo Gallery
While camping at Indian Lakes RV Campground in Batesville Indiana, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we loved the area! We had no expectations, it was not on our radar as an area to visit but was on our route to Maryland from Iowa.
During our stay, we participated in more local activities than we typically do. Mostly because we were staying there during all of the Independence Day celebrations, and partially because there were lots of fun activities going on to embrace Summer. We typically find out about local activities through Facebook Events and occasionally from Farmer’s Market marketing materials and word of mouth.
Here is a brief overview of the places and activities we enjoyed during our stay in the area:
We had delicious locally sourced grass fed burgers from The Farmstand Market & Cafe near Florence, KY.
The Lawrenceburg Farmers Market was great! They had a special day for the children where they were giving $2 wooden tokens and the kids could use it to buy veggies. Keahi chose to buy two cucumbers which we put into a delicious quinoa salad. Keahi had a lot of fun with Cool Critters Outreach – they had a tortoise, ball python, lizard and other animals to see and feel during the farmers market.
The Batesville Farmers Market was fairly small, but one produce vendor had a huge selection of seasonal vegetables so we were able to get gorgeous tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, onions and cabbage. We were also very grateful that we scored some of the pasture eggs from Sundance Farm after they were originally sold out.
Gesen and the boys enjoyed a playdate with friends at the Kids Discovery Factory in Batesville. There were plenty of exciting sensory activities to keep the boys entertained for hours! For only $10 per family to play from 9am-12pm it was a great deal (we didn’t arrive before 10 but it was still well worth it). One of the boys’ favorite activities was the air tubes, it was so fun to watch as the fabric would shoot out from the top.
ISO Performance and Fireworks – What a spectacular orchestra performance and firework show! We almost decided not to go because Keahi skipped his nap and Isaiah woke up cranky. Thankfully, we pulled through and made the best of it. Keahi had a blast running around and dancing with the other kids during the orchestra and enjoyed snuggling with Gesen to watch the Fireworks exploding in the sky. Isaiah had fun crawling around for a while before eventually falling asleep in Matt’s arms and thankfully he slept through the fireworks!
Waldron Freedom Festival – This was definitely a small town event, we went on Friday night so it was a smaller crowd, which was nice. Keahi was able to enjoy the variety of bouncy houses without getting overrun by other kids. Both boys loved getting to see and feel the giant bull frogs for the frog jumping contest.
Metamora Volunteer Fire Department Firemen’s Festival – Another small town festival. We arrived near the beginning which was great because Keahi and Isaiah had the bouncy house almost all to themselves for about an hour! They had a blast. Keahi and Gesen also enjoyed the exotic animal petting zoo. Matt and Isaiah held down the fort at the gun raffle – what a unique experience! Thankfully we didn’t win anything because it would have to be shipped back home to Texas which is not in our travel plans until next year. All the proceeds went to support the fire department, which we love supporting when we can.
Vogt Farm Blueberry Festival – We went on Sunday afternoon and it was HOT. When we arrived, it seemed very small to be considered a “festival” but we definitely had a good time. We especially enjoyed the horse drawn carriage ride and picking our own fresh ripe blueberries. We were grateful that there were no crowds because we didn’t have to wait in lines or fight over the best blueberry patches.
Lil’ Charlie’s Restaurant and Brewery – Nice local restaurant with outdoor patio, the boys loved playing with the giant connect four game while we waited for our food.
Music on the River – We received some brochures at the Lawrenceburg Farmers Market and knew we needed to make it back to Lawrenceburg for their “Music on the River” Thursday night free concerts. We were so grateful that it worked out for us to go the last Thursday during our stay in Indiana. They set up a stage in the heart of historic downtown Lawrenceburg with great music, food, beer garden, and fountains for the children to play in!
We went to the Costco in Florence KY which was about an hour away from our campsite. Even though we didn’t spend much time in the Florence area, the people were friendly and the area seemed nice. We really appreciated how Batesville and Florence both honored veterans with flags and posters on the light poles throughout the town.
