Grab the gals and plan your getaway

By Amy Lynch

Girls just want to have fun, and a “Just Us Girls” packaged trip in Richmond and Wayne County offers a perfect opportunity to do just that.

In addition to the fabulous food, great shopping venues, and array of discount coupons and freebies my friends and I enjoyed as part of the package, the highlight of my recent Just Us Girls trip was an overnight stay at the Historic Lantz House Inn in Centerville.

Daniel Lantz, a wagon maker, originally constructed the handsome brick Federal-style home along the Old National Road (now U.S. 40) in the early 1800s. The property takes in three separate buildings connected by a graceful arch, a distinctive architectural detail common to Centerville during that era.

These days, the Lantz House is owned and operated by Marcia Hoyt, a Richmond native who returned to the area in 1992 after a period of time living in Oregon. Marcia spent two years lovingly restoring the historic property before opening its doors to the public as an inn in 1994. Since then, Marcia’s dedicated efforts have garnered plenty of attention and media recognition, including an appearance on the cover of Midwest Living magazine in December 1996.

From the moment we stepped through the door for our Just Us Girls stay, we felt comfortable and comforted. A cozy fire burned in the sitting room, beckoning us to sit down and relax for a little while before Marcia showed us to our rooms. Throughout the home, the furnishings are an eclectic but tasteful mix of antique, traditional and contemporary items.

Upstairs are four spacious bedrooms (Just Us Girls package rates run from $87 to $155.95/person per night plus tax), along with a common area where guests can sit to read or watch television. The bedrooms are outfitted in simple and elegant Shaker-style beds, and each includes its own en-suite bathroom.

After a very restful night’s sleep in our peaceful surroundings, we feasted on the sumptuous breakfast Marcia prepared – fresh fruit with a tangy orange yogurt sauce, her signature soufflé-like lemon ricotta pancakes with sausage links, and all the coffee we could drink. After our leisurely meal, we had to reluctantly admit it was time to pack up, check out, and get on with the rest of our Just Us Girls getaway, although we all agreed we could easily have spent the entire weekend just relaxing at the Lantz House and been perfectly happy about it.

Before heading out, we strolled through Marcia’s stunning gardens. Her gardens alone are worth a visit to the Lantz House. Full of native bushes, trees and perennials, the verdant green space is home to hostas, wildflowers and a majestic century-old gingko tree — all provide a beautiful backdrop for weddings, events or just a quiet afternoon in the sun. I guess we’ll just have to plan to make a return trip…

The Lantz House is just one option amid a variety of local Just Us Girls accommodations. Each package also includes a packet for each guest full of wonderful coupons, freebies, discounts and store credits to use at local businesses like Warm Glow Candle Outlet, the Secret Ingredient and J&J Winery. Whatever your tastes, intentions and budget, there’s a Just Us Girls trip out there that’s sure to be an ideal fit. And if not, the Richmond-Wayne County Indiana Visitor’s Bureau can customize an adventure just for you.

For more information, contact the Richmond-Wayne County Indiana Visitor’s Bureau at (765) 935-8687 or toll-free at 1-800-828-8414, or go to http://www.visitrichmond.org//.

Freelance writer Amy Lynch was born and raised in Richmond, later graduating from Indiana University with a double major in journalism and English. She currently lives in Indianapolis where she writes for several local and regional magazines in addition to maintaining her own food and travel blog at http://www.amysfoodflights.wordpress.com./

Scott Shafer - A Wayne County Treasure

By Amy Lynch

Tucked into a small off-the-road studio on Morton Avenue just north of U.S. 40, you might drive right on by Scott Shafer’s pottery-making facility and store without even realizing you’d passed it. But you’d be doing yourself a huge disservice. With beautiful handmade stoneware and pottery for sale, this shop is definitely worth a stop and a look around.

With more than 30 years of experience, Scott Shafer knows his stuff when it comes to stoneware. A Knightstown native, Scott’s passion for pottery began back in high school. After an apprenticeship

in Colorado with Earlham College graduate David Blakeslee, he eventually settled into Wayne County, where he’s been pursuing his passion full-time since 1979. 

Scott’s enthusiasm for his work is obvious, and he’s happy to show interested visitors around his studio and kilns, telling stories with a twinkle in his eye. Items for sale in the small shop range from large decorative wood-fired pots, bowls and vases to everyday-appropriate plates, coffee mugs and soup bowls. The colors of each item are vibrant and distinctive, and each hand-thrown piece is unique in its own way. Scott personally constructed the on-site gas and wood-fired kilns he uses to create his wares.

Functional as well as attractive, each piece Scott offers is safe to go in the microwave, oven and dishwasher, and all the glazes he uses are lead-free. Can’t find exactly what you want? No worries – Scott can create custom-designed pieces, such as the pretty green polka dotted-pattern he devised for Marcia Hoyt’s table service at the historic Lantz House Inn just around the corner in Centerville.

If you’re in the market for locally made, one-of-a-kind pottery and stoneware pieces, you owe it to yourself to pay Scott Shafer a visit.

Scott Shafer’s Stoneware Pottery Studio is located at

610 N. Morton Ave.

in Centerville. For more information, call (765) 855-2409 or visit http://www.shaferstonewarepottery.com/.

Born and raised in Richmond, freelance writer Amy Lynch now makes her home in Indianapolis with her husband and three-year-old son. Read more about her food and travel adventures at http://www.amysfoodflights.wordpress.com/.

Centerville-based candle outlet casts a Warm Glow

 Get going and get Glowing!

 Located just west of Richmond where Centerville Road meets I-70, Warm Glow Candle Outlet beckons locals and travelers alike to make a pit stop, come in and explore. At first sight, the charming Warm Glow exterior calls to mind a quaint German-style cottage, and the hard-to-miss giant candle out front lets customers know they’re definitely in the right place.

With 11,000 square feet of space inside, the massive Warm Glow showroom includes not only candles, candles and more candles, but also gourmet food and kitchen items, home décor, silk flowers, bath and body products, gifts for kids and pets, purses and much more. Make sure to look up when you come through the doors and take in the beautiful wrap-around mural along the ceiling depicting rural Wayne County farmland.

Warm Glow candles have a distinctive nubby appearance that visually sets them apart from other candles, and come in several different sizes — three-wick, large single-wick (hearth), oversized votive and regular votive, all poured, dipped and packaged by hand. And as if that’s not enough, there are also potpourri, diffusers, sachets, air fresheners, electric candles, fragrance rings and atomizers to consider.

Finding your favorite scent among more than 80 or so options can be a challenge at Warm Glow. The popular baked goods-themed fragrances like Blueberry Cobbler, Cinnamon Bun, Grandma’s Brownie and Banana Nut Bread smell almost good enough to eat. Think ahead to spring and summer with fresh, fruity and floral fragrances like Cucumber Melon Stardust, Honeysuckle, Morning Dew and Green Apple Orchard. A continually changing slate of in-store specials and a candle-of-the-month offer provide even further incentive to stop by on a regular basis to see what’s new.

With all that shopping, you may find yourself building up quite an appetite. Fortunately, the cute on-site Stone Hearth Café serves up delicious pizzas, salads, soups, gourmet sandwiches and sweet treats, and provides a small section of tables where you can take a load off and refuel.

Insider’s tip – pay a visit to the Warm Glow restrooms; they’re some of the nicest and most interestingly decorated you’ll see along I-70.

Warm Glow Candle Outlet is located at  

2131 N. Centerville Rd.

For more information, call (765) 855-2000, or visit http://www.warmglow.com./

www.visitrichmond.org

Born and raised in Richmond, freelance writer Amy Lynch now makes her home in Indianapolis with her husband and three-year-old son. Read more about her food and travel adventures at http://www.amysfoodflights.wordpress.com/.

Autumn Inspiration in Southern Wayne County

Whether we live in a big city, the suburbs, a small town, or in the country, we tend to travel the same routes day after day, rarely deviating from our comfortable, well-worn paths.  We get used to the same sights and sounds and forget there is something different, interesting, or awe-inspiring, just minutes away. This summer, as I scouted sites for our Hometown Scavenger Hunt, I was reminded of how easy it is to live and work just miles from beautiful landscapes, interesting buildings, significant historical sites, and unique resources, without ever realizing they are so close and accessible. I was also reminded of how energizing and inspiring it is to get out and about to explore and happen upon unexpected pleasures.

One of my favorite places to explore during my 120-mile scouting trek was the area in the southern part of Wayne County, south of Centerville, near and around Abington.  I keep thinking how pretty it must be there this time of year, as the leaves change color.  I also keep remembering the fresh, hot, homemade apple pie that was offered to me at the old Abington General Store, at the corner of Abington Pike and Pottershop Road. I think I need to make another trip there soon to see the fall colors and sit inside the store, near their potbelly stove, or out front in a rocking chair, and eat that pie with a cup of hot coffee.  After my treat I would browse the antiques and collectibles in the quaint store, which has been in business for over 125 years (in a structure which is c. 1840s).   (Abington General Store Hours are Mon.-Sat. 8-4, phone (765) 855-3706).  

If you go to experience this perfect fall-like activity for yourself, you should also visit some of the other beautiful sites nearby, ones I visited during my scouting trip this summer.  West of Abington, off Pottershop Road at Abington Township and Chapel Roads, I was awe-struck by the most beautiful old chapel, surrounded by a lovely cemetery, rolling fields, and dense woods.  The brick Doddridge Chapel, with its tall, white steeple and arching windows, looks like something out of a movie.  I can imagine having a small romantic wedding, a harvest picnic, or family pictures taken there.  I am sure history lovers and genealogy buffs would love to wander through the gravestones that date back to the mid-1700s, including markers for Revolutionary War and Civil War veterans. 

The drive back east on Pottershop Road was breathtaking in the summer and should be even more beautiful this fall, with its panoramic views of the Whitewater Valley. I drove back east through Abington to US 27, turned left then took a quick right onto Estep Road, where I saw beautiful old farms and homes.  The steep and winding, stone wall-lined drive to the historic Elkhorn Cemetery is located on the left, just over the stream.   It’s another great resource for genealogists and history buffs, or those who just want to walk outdoors in the autumn splendor.  It's one of Indiana's oldest cemeteries dating back to 1806. Vist http://www.waynet.org/ at http://www.waynet.org/community/abington/default.htm for more information and images of the area.

For more southern Wayne County beauty, continue north on Esteb Road, turn right on Beeson Road, right on Straightline Road, then left on Boston Road, to Boston, Indiana, where you’ll find one of Wayne County’s artistic treasures, Magaws of Boston. In an interesting Arts & Crafts style home at 5774 State Road 227, the Magaws create unique, contemporary metal and wood sculptures for gardens, interiors, and businesses; they are nationally and internationally known. If you want to browse their studio and see their one-of-a-kind sculptures, you will need to call ahead for an appointment -- (765) 935-6170.  

To make this a full-day’s trip, you can first visit Dougherty Orchard and Historic Centerville before you head south to Abington.   Dougherty Orchard is the oldest family-owned orchard in Indiana and is located off Washington Road (north of US 40/National Road and south of I-70), halfway between Cambridge City and Centerville. While there you can pick your own apples, eat caramel apples or drink cider, visit their petting zoo, and purchase produce, jams & jellies, and gift items.  Centerville is home to the amazing Warm Glow Candle Outlet, Webb’s Antique Mall and other antique shops, Scott Shafer Stoneware Pottery, and its Main Street is lined with unique historic structures, including the home of Oliver P. Morton, Indiana’s Civil War Governor.

For more information about this fall journey in Wayne County, Indiana, contact the Wayne County Convention & Tourism Bureau’s Welcome Center at 765-935-8687 or 800 828-8414, or visit us at www.visitrichmond.org.