Weekend in Madison, Indiana

My daughter’s state gymnastics meet last weekend was okay, considering I don’t think she did as well as she could have done. Watching her was like watching a practice, as I didn’t think her heart was in it, despite performing in front of judges. She qualified to advance to level 9 regionals, but since that meet is in a suburb of Lansing, Michigan, we opted not to go. I wonder how many more years we’ll get out of this sport.

All was not lost, however. We finished the meet in time to go to downtown Madison, where we ran in and out of as many shops as possible before they closed for the day. We bought chocolates, tea samples, and decorative stuff for the house. By the time we shopped ’til we dropped, we had worked up quite an appetite. We ate at Joey G’s, where we had cheeseburgers, French fries, tater tots, and Fanta orange drinks.

Before we left downtown for the Clifty Inn, I took some pictures of Madison. I love the historic homes and businesses. It’s like stepping back in time, right down to the foundations.

Basement of a shop- note the ancient foundation stones in the arch

Downtown Madison shops

One of many well-preserved historic homes

At the Clifty Inn, we soaked in the whirlpool until we were sleepy and ready for bed. The next morning, we stuffed ourselves at the breakfast buffet before heading out through the park to look at the waterfalls. It was threatening rain, so we focused on seeing the four main waterfalls.

We managed to see three of the four and as I had hoped, they all had water flowing over them. Unfortunately, we were just far enough north for spring to not yet have sprung in Madison. It seemed everything was gray– the sky, the vegetation, the rocks, and the water.

 
Tunnel Falls- 83′ drop

Big Clifty Falls- 60′ drop

We had to leave because it was starting to rain and we faced a 3-hour drive home. In all, we had a wonderful mother-daughter weekend. I would love to come back to the Clifty Falls State Park with the whole family later in the later spring or in early summer, so we can see the park in all its green glory.

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Costly procrastination

My daughter has her state gymnastics meet in Madison, Indiana, on Saturday. About a month ago, I made reservations at the Clifty Inn, in the Clifty Falls State Park in Madison. We stayed there last fall after she had a meet and I really liked the hotel, it’s panoramic view, and the surrounding forest. After a drought last summer and fall, the waterfalls were dried up, so we weren’t able to see the park’s famous namesakes.

When I found out we wouldn’t need the hotel rooms for this weekend, I kept putting off (and forgetting) to cancel our reservations. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I called too late and they were still going to charge me for one room. We decided to stay Saturday after the meet was over, even though it meant spending the rest of the afternoon and night in Madison. No other families from our team were going to be there that night, so I couldn’t give it away. I certainly didn’t want to be charged for a room I wouldn’t be using.

I’ve decided to make the best of it– we can turn it into a mother-daughter weekend. If we have time after the meet, I’d like to go to the historic downtown and check out some of the shops. I think it’s amazing how many historic buildings have been restored and preserved in Madison. We can have a leisure dinner, go swimming at the hotel, and in the morning after breakfast, maybe we can hike one of the shorter trails. I’d love to see the waterfalls. With all the rain we’ve had lately, the hotel staff said they should be flowing.

I always enjoy spending time in nature and struggle to get my kids to appreciate it like I do. Hopefully my daughter will enjoy hiking and seeing the waterfalls. I find nature so peaceful and regenerating– it fills up my soul and makes me feel human again. I’ll be sure to take some pictures and post them to my Flickr account. 

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