Our group of 25 passengers were wondering what adventures our day would bring, what mysteries lay in store. As hard as they tried, no one could guess – except one guessed correctly for the very last stop on our busy day.

After a short drive, we arrived in Columbus, Indiana, where we stopped at Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum, located near the airport. This museum is dedicated to all military and civilian personnel who served in wars and conflicts from 1942 to 1970. We were split into two groups. One group watched informational videos while the other toured the museum. This is one of the smaller museums I’ve visited, still very nice. I found the videos fascinating. One in particular was about the history of the Jeep and the role Jeeps played during the wars. The Jeep spoke to us in the first person. A final comment was, “I’ve become friends with the soldiers and wherever you find a soldier, you’ll find me.” A lady passenger commented that her father had spent his military training at Camp Atterbury before going into World War II.

We drove a short distance to downtown Columbus for lunch. We entered a most beautiful restaurant, Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor and Museum. This historic landmark was established in 1900 by three brothers from Greece. We were seated in a room that contained lots of beautiful antique soda fountains Tiffany-style lamps, and mechanical musical orchestrions from the 1800s. We ordered our lunch from a menu and were treated to the most delicious ice cream from this world-class ice cream parlor! There was even a little shopping going on.

Next, we went to the Visitor’s Center where we enjoyed learning historical facts by watching a short video, after which we were joined by a guide. She took us on a short walk to the First Christian Church. Built in 1942, this was the first contemporary building in the city, and is now on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. She explained the history of the giant arch sculpture nearby. We all boarded the bus for a city tour. The city’s largest employer (about 8,000) is Cummins Engine Plant which manufactures diesel and natural gas powered engines, a Fortune 500 company that operates and serves customers around the globe (63,000 employees). Columbus, Indiana, has been the company’s headquarters for 100 years.

Our final mystery awaited us about 20 minutes away in Edinburgh, Indiana, and it was a real treat! One man called out as we entered this small town, “Are we going to the pop corn factory?” YES! We all entered “Not Just Popcorn” and were given a hairnet to wear as we watched huge poppers pop corn and we learned how all the flavors were added. This is definitely a gourmet popcorn store offering many varieties of tastes to choose from. Talk about awakening your taste buds - caramel, caramel-cheese, cheddar cheese, jalapeno cheddar, cinnamon toast, cookies-cream, cocoa-marshmallow, snickerdoodle, unicorn, zebra – just to name a few.

What a beautiful, sunshiny, mysterious, fulfilling day this was! I’ll take a Mystery Tour any day!

First Christian Church -- this building is designated a National Historic Landmark.

From the Escort Seat of Maxine Harris

Croswell's Mystery Tour