Charley Creek Inn Brunch Buffet

With less humidity and heat, today seemed a good time to try the Sunday buffet brunch in the courtyard of Charley Creek Inn in Wabash Indiana. The buffet is the first Sunday of the month May thru September.

In the past we have eaten at the Sunday buffet at Eugenia's Restaurant about a block west at the Honeywell Center. The prices are about the same, $12.95 for Eugenia's, $14.95 for Charley Creek, but the variety and selection at Eugenia's is greater. There is an extra charge for beverages at both places.

The food was good at Charley Creek, but few selections.

I liked the potatoes best. I am not a biscuit and gravy person, but my husband said that was pretty tasty. The cheesecake could have been a standout if there was some kind of sauce, not just the fruit to put on top. I doubt we will return. The regular restaurant is open for breakfast with ordering from the menu. 

There were some little black gnats that kept trying to land on the food. I guess there isn't much that can be done about that when dining al fresco, but it was annoying. The buffet is entered from the side street (Miami?). We used the restrooms off of the lobby before being seated for our buffet brunch.

After dining, we strolled east a few blocks on Market Street. Not much open. I noticed on the posted hours of the shops, that most of them are closed on Mondays as well. Charley Creek Inn has an ice cream and candy shop open during the week so that would be a nice outing, combining browsing shops and having a sweet. There is an antique store that was going to open at noon on Sunday. 

Other than attending performances at the Honeywell Center (nationally known but older stars, the Fort Wayne Symphony Xmas concert), stopping once at the Charley Creek Gardens several blocks north of the hotel, eating at Eugenia's, and a long time ago visiting a bookstore, we haven't done much to explore Wabash.

Heading south on highway 15 (Cass Street in Wabash), one passes the restaurants and strip malls on the edge of town, then the road starts going downhill past some houses, churches, Carnegie library, to Market Street where the Honeywell Center is and also Charley Creek Inn and small shops, mostly made of brick. The hills "lead" down to the Wabash River.

The old downtown has some interesting murals on the sides of buildings. They are well-painted looking like real shop fronts.

This mural is on the Bradley building which houses now an espresso shop but at one time was a market. The elephant is part of the town "legends". Modoc escaped from the visiting circus in 1942 and "rampaged" through downtown, chasing off the roasted peanuts vendor and scarfing down the peanuts before charging thru the store and out a back door. Maybe you can see the little painted elephants along the curb on the sidewalk. There are some on Market (this main street) and a few on Miami Street.

You can also see in the photo above the eastern façade and entrance to Charley Creek Inn across the street from Modoc's.

Who was Charley? Charley was a chief of the Eel River group of the Miami Indians. He signed various treaties. He owned a sizable tract of land in Wabash near the creek. This property eventually was purchased by the Honeywell family. They built a large house with extensive grounds. Some of the property is now Charley Creek Gardens, open to the public to use.

The Indians were not treated well throughout Indiana history, but some of the tribe names and Indian words are enmeshed in the names of roads, parks, etc. (Potawatomi, Miami for example) of modern-day Indiana towns and state parks. 

It was a pleasant drive through small towns and the countryside to Wabash today.

Charley Creek Gardens

We drove south to Wabash for a brunch buffet today at Eugenia's restaurant in the Honeywell Center. It is a pleasant setting looking out at a patio with water fountains. The buffet choices are not extensive but most of the items are tasty. I had a custom-made omelet, fried potato cubes, tossed salad, strawberries, blueberries, and cantaloupe to begin. Then I took a small portion of the pot roast with a roll and two cheese cubes. My husband took the already-prepared scrambled eggs and bacon as well as the fruit. He tried the flank steak (OK) and the pork chop (not very good). I squeezed in bread pudding and chocolate cheesecake at the end.

Since our pleasant weather continues, we drove to nearby Charley Creek Gardens also in Wabash. This garden area is operated by the Honeywell Foundation. The large parking lot is just a few lots south of the Honeywell House. The address is 551 Miami Street, but we didn't see parking there so went around to Wabash Street where the large lot was marked as for the gardens. However, after walking the garden, we realized we could have pulled into the driveway past the greenhouse and educational center on Miami and back around to a couple of parking spots. This is definitely the place to park if you have folks with limited mobility. The walk from the Wabash parking lot is down a steep hill alongside a deep gorge where part of the creek runs, or alternatively down the terraced steps of the shade garden. Neither of these would work at all if using a walker, cane, wheelchair. This mini parking area would allow getting out and traversing the flat paths of most of the gardens.

The large parking lot is a few lots down from the Honeywell House which you can see from the parking area.

I wish I had brought bug spray. Waving the self-guided tour brochure at the mosquitos around my face did the trick though.

 There is some artwork in the garden. This is Key Way by Michael Smith.
At the bottom of the slope is a waterfall.

 The gardens are open dawn to dusk every day. I suspect the early spring would be pretty. The shade gardens have hyacinths, daffodils, bluebells, redbuds, dogwoods, rhododendron at that time according to the brochure.

 Near the waterfall is a bridge which leads across the creek and to a wildflower meadow.

Shortly after crossing the bridge we scared a heron in the water which flew off out of sight following the curves of the creek.

 There was a little elevated wooden "bridge" that poked out into the flowers for shooting photos.

 Near the educational building was a gravel path that went by the Charlie Creek cottage which is now a private residence but one was welcome to look at the flowers.

 It was on the gravel path that we saw some pods hanging in a tree. What kind of tree is this?

I did wander in the maze some. If  successfully and fully navigated (there are at least two access/egress gates), one arrives at a sculpture by Michael Berg.

Most of the garden areas were shady which made it pleasant in our warm but not humid weather. The flat area of the park is surrounded by homes looking directly on to the flowers, trees, etc. Must be a nice place to live.

Our little outing got us out of our rut. ((Filling the well.)

All of the ads are filled with back-to-school sales. Wow! This summer has sped by.