I love a good roadside attraction and this one has been pinned on my map for a little while. We…read moretraveled from Wisconsin to Ohio for a wedding and made the detour to set a world record (even if it was for only an hour and a half). Everyone was a little weary about it as it added some time to our trip, but after everyone was happy we did it and it became a conversation topic for the weekend! We called on our way (be sure to pay attention to the time change if you're doing in a day) and Mike didn't seem like he wanted to chat, but we let him know about when we were going to be there and when we arrived, he was ready for us. He went through the story, getting into the world record book, then we picked out our color and got to painting. As we painted we chatted more and he told us some stories of all the different types of people that have visited, weird and unique paint jobs, and more. I am assuming he gets paint donated or he has paint that has been around a while, because it did have a unpleasant smell so we rolled quickly. Don't be too worried about getting it on your clothes unless you are reckless, there are long handles on the rollers, the most you'll get is on the bottom of your shoe. Its awesome you get to be a small part of a world record and worth the detour if you're in the area. He does accept donations through cash, venmo, or credit card. I recommend a stop!

I totally understand obsessions and the need to be first at something that many consider odd or…read moreunusual. Having the most reviews on Yelp would certainly be an obsession and that's where I am. So I went out of my way to stop here at the World' Largest Ball of Paint which is located in Indiana. Arriving during business hours, I was able to meet up with the painter himself, ask Mike some questions, see the wet paint and understand a bit about this pretty awesome piece of Americana. It is a bit out of the way but worth it. The Ball of Paint is free to visit and they do accept donations. You can also contribute to the paint ball. [Review 1313 of 2024 - 189 in Indiana - 22336 overall]

Love the Garfield trail. If you get to visit, be sure to do a week day, as some Garfield are inside…read morebuilding not open on weekends.

How fun is this? In honor of Jim Davis, Garfield creator, who was from Fairmont, Ind. I've only…read moreseen the Garfields at eating at Ivanhoes and Payne's restaurants (both a #yum -- check out my reivews), but I will eventually hit all of them. #Thingstodo #photoops #GarfieldTrail #followthefatcat

Grant County has honored the creator of the cartoon character, Garfield, with a trail tour through…read morethe County. Garfield's creator, Jim Davis, was born and raised in Grant County. Giant figures of the iconic feline are scattered throughout different communities. A cell phone tour describes attractions along the route. I visited several of the figures during my recent visit to Grant County. The first stop is at the Community Foundation of Grant County. The people at the Foundation provided us with a map and information of the Trail. The Garfield behind the Foundation is on a pedestal with a description plaque. This cat is called "Marion - Paws for Thought". Garfield (a little faded) stands with his arms folded showing a little attitude. Our second stop was at the Marion Public Library. Inside, "Bookworm Garfield" is surrounded by books. He is also decorated for the holidays. There are fourteen figures throughout the County. The Trail is a fun way to learn about Grant County. I didn't know about the Trail until my visit. I recommend picking up the map and hooking into the mobile phone guided tour. I found nearby parking at each of our stops, though accessibility was variable.

This is one of the Garfield statues on the Grant County Garfield Trail. Unfortunately, you can't…read moreget close to it, because it's in a garden that's fenced off and locked. So everyone in my party oohed and aahed from a good distance away. There's a plaque inside the gate but close enough to read that outlines what the Garfield Trail is and a little about the statue at this stop. Basically, Grant County has placed Garfield statues all around in different cities in honor of cartoonist Jim Davis, who is from the area. You can drive around and check out each one. It's a nice way to explore Grant County and learn more about a famous Hoosier. There were also some brochures for the Garfield trail inside a little plastic container, which tell you where each statue is located. There's a little parking lot just around the corner from the statue, or you can park on the street.

For visitors to the Youth Opportunity Center west of Muncie, there is a plaza in the roundabout…read morenear the entrance. Within the plaza, a sculpture called "Awakening Potential" stands on a raised pedestal. The plaza is paved with brick and has numerous columns with dedication plaques on them. The mix of concrete and brick is very appealing in its design. The art piece in the center is made of bronze and consists of two figures: a boy and a girl rising to 8.5' in height. Each figure holds aloft a small plant and seems to be contemplating the potential growth of the plant. Likewise, the location of the sculpture and plaza are placed at a facility that hopes to promote growth of the youth who come there. The sculpture was completed in 2006 by local artist Kenneth Ryden. Ryden has numerous works in the Anderson area as well as this one in Muncie. Although I've enjoyed Ryden's other sculptures, this one looks a bit unnatural in posing and proportion than his other works which are more lifelike. Review #1319

British Garfield unites the local icon Garfield (created by artist Jim Davis from Marion) with all…read morethings British like the Battle of Mississinewa and the popular Fish and Chips dinner served inside the nearby Payne's Restaurant. This is one of fourteen statues of the cat in various poses, dressed in different clothing, scattered throughout the county. The path to connect these sites is called the Garfield Trail and is a fun way to get out and explore, maybe finding a new place to eat, or something interesting to check out. Review #2570

The server met me near the kitchen to order a takeout order. I asked my questions and got quick…read moreanswers and suggestions on how to make it a special experience. When I was able to get my order, it was perfect, a good assortment of unique foods that gave me that British experience that we were looking for. We also got very hot English tea and it was delicious, very strong. This is a great stop on the Garfield Trail and very tasty! The only negative I had was no one, servers or customers, had a mask on. For that reason, we took our order to go but thank you for a great experience despite that...

I like this mural. Not only does it have a cool train, I like that it utilizes the street address…read moreto number the train. And since the former train depot is across the street, the placement of the train seems perfect. This is one of the pieces painted by international artist/muralist Jules Muck (MuckRock) while in Kokomo in the summer of 2019. The train is painted in reds and blues with a bit of steel gray and white wisps of steam adding to a somewhat patriotic color scheme. Review #3066

This brightly colored mural is a fun welcome to the small town of Elwood. The Red Gold themed art…read moreis the work of local artist, Rod Leisure, who signed the mural "Rod Man". Family owned, Red Gold has a large processing plant in Elwood and employs many local residents. Red Gold sponsored the mural with support from Red Gold owners, the Reicharts family. So, it is no coincidence that the mural reminded me of a Red Gold label. The "Welcome to Elwood" mural is prominent on Main Street in Elwood. The mural features butterflies, tomatoes with a blue ribbon attached, and Indiana farmland scenes. There is parking in the lot next to the mural.

This mural was commissioned by Elwood based Red Gold Tomatoes and the company's first family, the…read moreReicharts. It is located on the side of an old, and now vacant, cleaners and was painted in 2020 and is the work of Elwood native Rod Leisure. The colors and detail of the mural are awesome. It draws you in. Parking to get a closer look at this mural is simple. It overlooks a parking lot that you can pull into, get out of your vehicle and check it out. The mural depicts a tomato field with tomatoes in the fore ground. You will also find two butterflies with tomatoes for their body and the words "Red Gold" on the viewers left and "Welcome to Tomato Country on the viewer's right. The mural is painted around a window, which it is centered on and above that window is "Elwood, Indiana". The mural's border is a curtain that is pulled back which is a nice extra touch. The mural is interactive, as you are able to stand in front of one of the butterflies and it makes it appears as if you have wings. It is a great advertisement for Red Gold and a nice welcome to this small town. I really like this mural. It is defiantly worth checking out, as well as the story behind Red Gold and its roots in Elwood. As with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at some of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

A very beautiful mural with a positive message. Brings life and color into downtown Marion.read more

There is a new public art mural across the street on the north side of the courthouse in Marion…read more Created by local artist/art teacher Andrew Luttrull in 2018, the mural spans the entire length of the alley! The artist wanted to create a mural that would focus on the possibilities of what could be and then working towards making that change happen, i.e., a mural that would be positive and encourage being proactive. The mural is painted on a light blue background and from left to right, shows a young male preparing to launch a paper airplane which then changes in a frame by frame style, into a white bird. I found the story of the mural easy to follow and imaginative. And the bright colors seem to soften the emotional effect of walking passed a long, otherwise dark alley. I wish more communities would invest in transforming their old downtowns into canvases and thereby create points of interest for visitors to see. I hope that Marion and the rest of Grant County can take steps to revitalize their towns like I am seeing throughout central Indiana. Review #2258