Madison, IN: A charming Ohio River town. We will take a trolley tour to introduce us to the town. The visitor's bureau is preparing a "goody bag" introducing us to restaurants, antique shops, a winery, a local museum, and other options.
We will visit the Shrewsbury-Windle House and the Saddlery Factory Museum. We will be among the first to tour the former, which is currently undergoing a multi-million dollar historical renovation. The factory has been restored to its appearance when it produced saddles in the 1800's. Across the street, Vicki and I happened onto the winter quarters for "Miss Madison", a world champion racing boat. Fascinating! Designed to literally fly over the water at about 200 mi/hr. They expect to be there during the HJ Tour, and welcome us to come in to their shop. (Because the boat shop is small , the visitor's bureau was not so sure the shop could accommodate all of us. We can see what happens when we are there.)
Several small but nice museums within a couple hundred feet of the visitors' center. The old railroad station has exhibits specific to Madison's railway history, including a wax station master. A diorama explains the engineering required to get early rail service to the riverside and then able to haul cargo up the riverbank. The inclined track can still be viewed from the Main Street bridge. 2 blocks from the vistors' center is one of the nicest antique malls I've encountered. As before, there are many intriguing restaurants available, a summary list of these will be provided in our daily tour packet.
