With a three-day weekend coming up, late September was a great opportunity to visit Indiana’s 2nd largest city: Fort Wayne. We’ve been in the Midwest for over 4 years now and have not made it up to that area yet. M had an early release day from school on Thursday and an E-Learning Day on Friday. It was our first test ride with the trailer that would include “connectivity” for work and learning. Also, we had heard nice things about the food in Fort Wayne. It had been an extremely stressful week at work, so we planned to treat ourselves over the weekend.
Day 1 – Indianapolis to Fort Wayne
We headed north to Fort Wayne on Thursday afternoon. We had made reservations at Johnny Appleseed Campground, which is located close to downtown (about a 10-minute drive) but even closer to any other conveniences you could imagine. We got a bit of a late start but arrived after just about 2 hours from Indianapolis and by 6 pm we were set up.
The campground is located within Johnny Appleseed Park, so there are lots of spaces to walk dogs and explore. Since it was getting late and we’d had a long day at work we decided to try one of the highly rated restaurants nearby. Amay Kitchen, a small, family-owned Thai restaurant.
It’s located less than 5 minutes drive from the RV Park and we couldn’t have been happier. The food was amazing! Spicy and flavorful just as we had hoped. This restaurant is very small, with just a few tables – and they do not have a website.
Originally we had planned to visit the Fort Wayne Museum of Art which offers free admission on Thursday afternoons, but due to our late start, we didn’t make it in time.
Day 2 – Fort Wayne
Friday started with work for all of us. It was the first real test if our Verizon Hotspot could hold up to the challenge of three people using it at the same time. Also, it was the first test to see just how productive we could be inside the small confines of a travel trailer. It all worked out surprisingly well and all of us got our work done.
M and S were the first to finish work for the day, leaving T behind to continue with her work. M’s passion is to try out small, locally owned coffee shops. Nearby Firefly Coffee House came highly recommended. The two of them headed out for a coffee run and were not disappointed. The place is super cute and the coffee is delicious.
After work was finally completed, we decided to stick close to the RV Park. We went to see Johny Appleseed’s Grave Site which is located within the park. Yes, that Johnny Appleseed of our elementary school days. They even host a Johnny Appleseed Festival at the park. Note: The campground is closed for the festival each year.
Hungry after so much walking we headed out to Ryu’s Kitchen. A small Korean restaurant not too far from the RV park. The service was very nice and the food was relatively good. It was a tough act to follow from the flavor explosion from our Thai dinner the night before. But the food was plentiful and the ingredients very fresh.
Our trip to Fort Wayne was our final shakedown trip before going on our first long-distance trip to Texas over fall break. We used the opportunity of the park’s proximity to the local big box store to grab a few more comfort items, such as throw pillows, to make the RV even more comfy.
Day 3 – Fort Wayne
We were greeted by beautiful sunshine on Saturday morning. Perfect for a long walk around downtown to see all the sights. Most famous of course, is the old fort after which Fort Wayne is named.
The downtown area is very walkable, with paths snaking through parks and riverfronts. As is often found, Fort Wayne started beautifying its industrial charm by putting murals on practically any exposed brick wall. Some of these are very impressive and it’s fun turning a corner and coming face to face with a larger-than-life piece of art.
After getting cleaned up at the campsite, it was time to head out for the dinner we were looking forward to the most: Bistro Nota. This small restaurant gets gushing reviews on Google and the menu looked amazing. We had even made reservations since we heard the place can get crowded.
We were not disappointed. The service and food were outstanding. It’s probably one of our new favorite restaurants and if we lived closer this place could become a regular hangout for us.
Day 4 – Fort Wayne to Fishers
Sunday morning came way too soon, and we were all a bit bummed that our little Fort Wayne city adventure was already coming to an end. We were treated to amazing weather in the morning as we took our daily long dog walk along the river.
With a few miles of walking we started to get a serious appetite. Before leaving Fort Wayne we had to round out our culinary weekend with our favorite type of restaurant: a breakfast greasy spoon.
We heard great things about Klemm’s on Wells and were not disappointed. The place was packed, but it only took a few minutes to get a table. This was another pleasant surprise. The food was amazing and the portions were huge. It seemed everyone in the area was packed into the tiny restaurant with the most diverse crowd we had ever seen. From hipster couples to motorcycle club members and everything in between everyone seemed to enjoy Klemm’s
We had to sneak in one more walk along the river before heading home and, in just two short hours, we rolled into our driveway during the early afternoon. We truly enjoyed our visit to Fort Wayne and can’t wait to return to explore of this cool little city in 2024.
