A Weekend In Huntingburg, Indiana
New York City and Chicago may have some of the best museums, parks, shopping, and restaurants cuisines in the country — but I believe the American way of life is best discovered in small towns. The last shoot for the new show I’m working on required we travel to a cattle ranch located just outside of the quaint small town of Huntingburg, Indiana. Huntingburg is a charming small town located in southwestern Indiana, about an hour north of Evansville, an hour an a half west of Louisville, and two and a half hours southwest of Indianapolis. It’s a little off the map for anyone driving through the United States via interstates, but if you find yourself closeby, it’s definitely worth an afternoon. Surrounded by neighborhoods built in the 1950’s and thousands of acres of farmland, Huntingburg is a snapshot of life in the Midwest. I’ve been to this part of Indiana once before for work — and somehow, I missed the places that made me fall in love with the little town just a few days ago. The Main Tourist Draw: League Stadium “A League of Their Own” is a classic film, and it’s one of my favorite movies. I didn’t realize it until I saw a sign in a restaurant advertising the stadium– apparently, Huntingburg is home to the stadium where the movie was filmed. The location was chosen because the stadium had not been updated since the early 1900’s, and it was the best match for the era. League Stadium was donated to the community of Huntingburg upon the movie’s completion, and presently, it is the home of the Dubois County Bombers, a professional baseball team in the Prospect League. League Stadium is closed on Sundays, but is usually open during the week. The outfield wall is lined with advertisements made for the movie, and “Rockford Peaches” is painted on the stadium’s walls. Huntingburg Eats Fourth Street is the main drag in Huntingburg’s historical downtown, and it’s home to multiple small restaurants that all serve quality food. While I was in Huntingburg, we ate at: » Old School Sports Cafe: Best turkey chili I’ve ever had- the whole cafe is outfitted with jerseys and photographs from local teams. » Mama T’s Italian Food: We got the 4 for $24 for two massive dishes of pasta; it also comes with rolls and four warm, homemade cookies. I was overwhelmed by the size of the dishes! It’s EASILY enough to feed four people. We had the fettucine alfredo and spaghetti with meatballs, and both were delicious. I also had the sangria, which was a disappointment — merely...
Drinking with the Mermaids in Montana
Earlier this month, I found myself in Great Falls, Montana for work – a part of the country I’d never been to before. Great Falls is located in northern/central Montana, in relatively flat area where the Rockies can be seen in the distance. Great Falls still boasts the expansive skies which scream ‘Montana’, and is in close proximity some of our country’s most breathtaking natural beauty — Glacier National Park is 3.5 hours to the north, and Yellowstone is 3 hours to the south. Montana a great location for all things outdoorsy, and the lack of humidity was a nice break from the sweltering Nashville heat. With 4 days in Great Falls, our crew sought out the best haunts: the Montana State Fair, Jaker’s (a northwest chain but still great food — the scones are to die for), Borrie’s (family-owned; fantastic steak). And, finally, on our last night in Great Falls, we landed at the infamous Sip-N-Dip. It seemed a little sketchy from the parking lot, but we’d heard from locals that the Sip-N-Dip had been rated the #1 Bar on Earth by GQ two years ago (a little internet search turns up a plethora of MT tourism websites touting this fact- although the ranking was in 2003, not 2009). We also heard rumors of mermaids. Naturally, our curiosity was piqued, and we ventured inside. The Sip-N-Dip Lounge is found on the second floor of the O’Haire Motor Inn, which is just outside downtown. In all honesty, I was expecting a dive bar set in a club atmosphere. What I discovered upon walking up the stairs into this “other world”, however, was ENTIRELY different. The Sip-N-Dip is a cozy, smoke-free lounge with ambient lighting and a tiki motif. The bar is a decent size, and along with an excellent selection of mixed drinks and draft beer, there are mermaids. Yes, I said mermaids. Mermaids?! OK, they’re not REAL mermaids (obviously). They’re young ladies wearing swimmer’s goggles, a bikini top, and one giant fin. They’re really good at what they do, too — they swim gracefully through the tank, in various patterns, twists, and flips; if they notice you’re trying to take a picture, they’ll do their best to “pose” for you. There are no oxygen masks — they swim around for 30-45 seconds, and then resurface for a breath of air, and it really is just a breath. The night we were there, there were two mermaids that alternated every twenty minutes. I CANNOT imagine swimming underwater for that length of time, even with “air breaks”. Although it may suggest otherwise, and while “Mermaid Entertainment” is definitely different–...
indiana
Just spent two days working in Indiana. I feel so blessed to have had an awesome trip and return home and literally hit the ground running. Having somewhere else to focus all my energy has helped me readjust in a lot of ways, although I feel like I’m experiencing home/Nashville through a visitor’s eyes, and I’m only passing through. Today when I woke up, I felt so lonely, lonely to the point that theres something pounding somewhere deep within me. I’ve often felt this way when waking up to go to work, and before my trip I was terrified that I would feel ten times as lonely waking up on the other side of the world with no familiar faces within 9,000 miles. This morning when I felt that old, familiar twang, I realized I hadn’t felt it in a significant length of time — I didn’t experience it at all on my trip. Which is interesting: Why the pangs of loneliness when I’m home (home being the US) and waking up before doing a job I love? I don’t know. I went by Target a few days ago near here — the Target that I last went to the day before my trip — and it’s totally gutted. A lot of the stores nearby were completely empty, and there were only five or six cars in the entire parking lot. It’s unreal. It’s weird to have not been here when the flooding happened, but to come back and find a lot of things gone. As I said in my adventure/travel blog, it’s like being in an alternate reality. The weirdest thing about coming back has been how long the sun stays out. In New Zealand, the sun would set by 5:30pm/6:00. Here, it’s light out at 8pm and for the first few days I wouldn’t realize the time and end up eating dinner at like 10:00. And in Indiana, they’re further west than Nashville but in the Eastern time zone, and with simple addition you can figure out it was 9:30 before it was completely dark. And anyway. I’m losing my ability to write coherent and complex sentences....
You know you’ve dated someone from New Orleans for 9 months when…
…you actually get excited about celebrating Mardi Gras rather than condemn it as debauchery.…you’ve eaten red beans and rice more frequently than pizza — and you know how to prepare it.…you’ve eaten shrimp etouflee, po’ boys, and jambalaya.…you’ve been quizzed on the spot as to the correct spelling of Tchoupitoulas.…you understand the prestige of someone returning with the gift of Big Shot.…you learn that jazz can be kind of tolerable at times.…you are extremely aware that Louisiana has parishes instead of counties.…you know “making groceries” isn’t when Kroger introduces a new product.…you know snoballs have flavors.…you have a quiet respect for Camellia Grill, even though you’ve never eaten there.…you know it’s blasphemous to suggest that any kind of food any where else in the world may be better.…you’ve had to watch Stuck in the Suburbs and/or Runaway Jury.…you actually know who Drew Brees is, and you love him some days, but hate him some others.…you know that Magazine is a street with a lot of shops… and it runs parallel with the river.…you know the definition of “zephyr” and its relevance to minor league baseball.…it breaks your heart that you have to wait until 8:15 tonight for King Cake.…your first date was at Chappy’s. (…and you had this proof-read by aforementioned NOLA boy and he still found three errors. What can I say, I’m only from...
About
I'm Laryssa, and when I'm not working in film or television, I'm attempting to travel -- or I'm here, providing resources for working in film or travel. Read more Elsewhere on the internets
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