Wes & Erica finally travel!! - part 2: Ft. Wayne, IN -- Where to go

Downtown had several murals and gardens throughout. 

With how much this blog post is being split up, you'd think Wes & I were on vacation for weeks but in fact, we were only in Indiana from a Thursday (arrived late at night) thru Monday (left mid-afternoon). Dominique just took us to A LOT of places. One of her and Kenny's favorite pastimes is hiking/walking so we did a ton of that all around town. Dominique told us that Fort Wayne is known for its nature trails and she is actually a certified Master Naturalist. She took us on a short hike through Matea Park. The park had several trails and we took the Raccoon Trail. While on the trail she showed us the Indiana state tree (Tulip Tree) and identified some other plants and animals (mostly insects but we also saw a tiny tree frog). Since the weather was amazing (about 78℉ - 80℉ each day we were there, slight breeze, no rain!), we went on a couple of other hikes.

We walked through Headwaters Park, which is a beautifully maintained park in the middle of downtown. It lead to the old historical fort that Fort Wayne is named after.  The fort looked like a huge campus with brick ovens, several lodges and a large plaza. The outer perimeter is always open but the gates have been closed all of the other times Dominique has visited. Luckily on the day we went, there were groups of school children going for educational tours so we just followed them in. The lodges had their windows propped open so we could look inside to get a glimpse of how the inhabitants lived.

Dominique also took us walking through Johnny Appleseed Park. Remember the Johnny Appleseed legend from grade school? He's kind of a big deal in Fort Wayne. We saw his grave site and many apple trees. There were some other random graves near his but we couldn't figure out who the belonged to. Probably just some regular townspeople.

OTHER THINGS TO DO AROUND TOWN -
       Castle Gallery (☆☆☆☆☆) - this was an amazing art gallery housed in a three-story home. The old neighborhoods in Fort Wayne are beautiful. We spent a day just driving around, looking at historic homes. On a neighborhood walk, we ran into a LuLaRoe consultant who was getting out of the direct marketing business. She was selling all of her inventory for crazy cheap ($3 leggings and $5 for all other clothing). Dominique & I did a little shopping while Wes patiently waited. LOL And around the corner was a gorgeous mansion -- the Castle Gallery! I would love to be neighbors with an art gallery. The Castle Gallery had mostly oil and water color paintings (my favorite!). The house, which is currently lived in by the gallery owners, was immaculately decorated and each room had so much personality -- art, furniture, antiques. There was so much there but it didn't feel cluttered. Our favorite room was the upstairs loft on the third floor. It was a little hectic on the day we visited because the owners just acquired some new art and were rearranging the decor. The women were still super nice and welcoming. Their cat, Stella, followed us around. Sadly, the gallery dog wasn't at home that afternoon.

       Fort Wayne Museum of Art (☆☆☆) - the museum was tiny. It looked fairly large from the outside but only the first floor was open. There are no permanent exhibits. There were five temporary/travelling exhibits on display. The only one that I enjoyed was Tim Tate's The Persistence of Visions. The artist glued ceramics onto a mirror and used light to manipulate depth perception. It was really cool.

The other exhibits showed lithographs, etchings and wood block panels. There was a photography exhibit by Imogene Cunningham. She is known for her black & white photography and her revolutionary interpretations of the human body. The other artist being shown was Marlene Rose with her Japanese glass art. We weren't too impressed with the museum but I guess we just showed up during the wrong travelling exhibits.

       Artlink (☆☆☆) - a small non-profit gallery for creative arts. It showed several different art mediums, from paintings to jewelry to the ballet (a rehearsal was happening but it wasn't a public one so we couldn't watch, but we did hear them stomping about). There was one thing there that I would have bought if I had $1,500 and space in my luggage. It was a rock covered in glass beads (the pink blob pictured above). An artist wrongly interpreted the story of the albatross (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner) and it ruined the gallery for Wes. LOL
       Creative Women of the World (☆☆☆☆) - a cute little boutique in downtown. I liked that everything was handmade but I don't think many cultures/styles were represented. It was mostly beaded art. There was a nice variety of beaded products - a TON of jewelry, which is normal, but there was also some clothing, home decor and purses. I really wanted a souvenir from our vacation but I didn't see anything there that I wouldn't see at a local craft show in Oklahoma.

       PugFest (☆) - was a complete bust! 😒😑😔😩The event was held in the huge Fort Wayne Coliseum but the turnout was awful. I think there was at most ten pugs at the event. There were some other dog breeds, too, so probably a total of fifteen dogs present. There were a handful of vendors but they were mostly selling items for humans and not for dogs, which kind of sucked because I was really wanting to buy a souvenir for Sadie & Athena. We watched the pug costume contest (I wanted the "pugicorn" to win but he didn't), a pie eating contest (they ate whipped cream and the Chinese Crested dog won) and the talent show (turns out that pugs are not talented). The only good part was that all of the dog owners were very friendly and didn't mind me petting all of the dogs. There was a pug that coming back around to us for more and more cuddles!

       Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Chapel and Museum (☆☆☆☆☆) - the Gothic style cathedral was erected in the 1800s. I love going into cathedrals, so I insisted we take a peak inside even though Dominique & Wes aren't Catholic, and this one did not disappoint; the woodworking on the alter area is stunning. The baptismal font had glass "cut outs" so it looked as if the water was flowing out of it. The organ was beautiful. And there was a crypt but it was not open to the public. Otherwise, we wold have gone downstairs. We walked around the diocese grounds and viewed all three buildings since everything was open. The chapel had all limestone and/or marble walls and ceiling. The museum had some interested displays. I especially enjoyed the display of communion wafer making tools.

       Hampton Inn (☆☆☆☆☆) - simple and comfortable hotel. Sometimes that's better than the ritzy ones. We were barely "at home" so we didn't need anything too upscale. Our room was clean and furnished nicely. It actually looked like a cozy bedroom instead of a stale hotel room. The staff was really friendly. The check-in receptionist complimented Wes's eyes -- and not his hair!-- and she gave us lucky room #222. I wasn't sure why it was lucky. The hotel is right off the highway and near a lot of restaurants. Breakfast was a bit lacking but all the other amenities were good.

Wes & I enjoyed our vacation to Fort Wayne. It is a very small town so don't expect too many things to do around town. Besides visiting Dominique, we mostly went for GearFest. GearFest is a huge music festival hosted by the Sweetwater music gear & equipment company. More on that in next week's blog post.