Lunch in New Harmony

This past Saturday we were on the road again, and ended up in New Harmony, Indiana, for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants ~ The Red Geranium. Not so unusual of course - except that we happen to live in St. Louis, and all of southern Illinois lies in-between! My husband loves to drive; more on that topic later. We arrived in New Harmony to find it snow covered, and the trees and bushes glistening with ice. It was simply beautiful. We had snow at home, too, but several sunny, warmer days had melted much of it away. I would have loved to have wandered around town taking more photos, but the walking surfaces were treacherous, so my picture taking was curtailed.


New Harmony is a charming town. It was founded in 1814 as home to the Harmonie Society, a religious group pursuing Christian perfection in all aspects of their daily lives. When the Harmonists returned to Pennsylvannia ten years later, the entire town was purchased by Robert Owen. His goal was to create a Utopian society where social equality and education would flourish for all. Many of these early structures have been preserved, and a tour of this historic town gives you a fascinating glimpse into a past in which men and women strived for a better life.

This is the outside of the Roofless Church. The artist's concept was that only one roof, the sky, could encompass all of worshipping humanity.

Yes, my husband loves to drive. It's never any surprise to me that we end up 200 miles from home just for lunch. Our second date, many years ago, was a Sunday drive. (I was still prone to getting carsick back then, and undoubtedly feel asleep halfway through. Apparently my company had been sparkling enough earlier on to compensate for my snoozing!) Just ask our daughters ~ they are pros at the 1,000 mile road trip. One of our daughters went to college in Maine, and of the dozen or so times we traveled to Brunswick, ME (moving in, moving out, Parents' weekends, etc.), we drove there at least half the time. We do this because we love stopping and exploring along the way - sites large and small, cities and towns, country roads and local diners!