Today's focus was on sites in the Terre Haute area. As explained before, the Veteran's Museum and the Wabash Valley Railroad Museum were closed while we were here. We did a drive-by on the railroad site but we could not even get in the driveway.
Next we stopped at the
CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center which offers a deeply personal and moving look at one of history’s darkest chapters through the lens of its founder,
Eva Mozes Kor. As one of the few survivors of the brutal medical experiments conducted by Josef Mengele at Auschwitz, Eva dedicated her life to sharing her story not just to document the past, but to empower others.
The museum’s name—an acronym for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors—reflects its unique focus on the lives of the "Mengele Twins." Visitors can explore interactive exhibits that detail the liberation of the camps and the lifelong journey of recovery that followed. What truly sets CANDLES apart is its emphasis on forgiveness as a tool for personal liberation, teaching that while we cannot change the past, we can choose how we respond to it to create a more compassionate future.
I was a bit surprised by the security at the entrance and with my pocket knife in my left pants pocket like usual, had to make a trip back out to the truck before I could enter.
Once inside, the enhanced security became clear, In 1995, Eva Mozes Kor opened the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute, with a mission to prevent prejudice and hatred through education about the Holocaust. Thousands of people, including many school groups, have visited CANDLES since it opened. In 2003, the museum was destroyed by a hate-filled arsonist. Eva vowed to rebuild, and with the help of a generous public outpouring of support, the museum was rebuilt and reopened in 2005. There is evidence on display inside of the fire that destroyed the museum.
We had planned to simply walk around and read the displays but instead we were greeted by a volunteer Docent who provided incredible perspective on the history behind the holocaust.
The information was nearly overwhelming. Realizing the museum describes the history and events leading up to the atrocities relating to the holocaust, from Eva's perspective. In addition to all the other torture, as a twin, she was subjected to unimaginable medical experiments by Dr Josef Mengele.
The interactive experience at the museum is part of a project called Dimensions in Testimony, developed by the USC Shoah Foundation. It features a high-definition, life-sized projection of Eva Mozes Kor that can "answer" questions from the audience in real time. Eva recorded answers to over 1,500 to 2,000 questions over five days in 2016. Using natural language processing, the system matches your spoken question to her most relevant recorded response.
This museum total exceeded our expectations. It's one of those unexpected "nuggets" we discover as we travel around. Nicely done, Terre Haute!
We were timing our visits today based on when things were open, and the winery does not open until 1400 hrs so we took a drive where the creosote plant used to be, but there is nothing to see. So back into downtown we go and we stopped at an Irish Pub for a beverage and an appetizer.
Sonka Irish Pub and Cafe building was constructed in the early 1900's. Although it has been open for quite some time, on St Patrick's Day in 2026 the pub entered a new era, celebrating a grand reopening under new ownership.
We ordered drinks and an Irish Nacho which was great, and plentiful. The server was friendly and prompt, and we were even greeted by the owner to make sure everything was as expected.
With my Guinness I had to try my luck at Guinness Golf. The Guinness golf drinking game—often called "Splitting the G" or "Pub Golf"—is a classic pub challenge where the goal is to take a single, strategic gulp of your stout so the foam line lands exactly in the middle gap of the 'G' in the Guinness logo.
And here is mine. That is one swig only. Not too bad for a rookie!! I would struggle doing a full nine holes LOL.
After our stop at the pub we headed north to the Sycamore Winery. We got there a bit before they opened, so we walked around the grounds a bit.
The Sycamore Winery sits on a 60-acre estate and is a family-owned business built on the site of an old strip mine. It was constructed between 2016-2017. It uses geothermal heating sourced from the two lakes visible from the back patio. The beautiful outdoor pavilion pictured above was added in 2023.
Once opened the owner met us at the door welcoming us into the facility. To the right is a gorgeous party room set up for an upcoming wedding.
To the left we walked into the wine tasting room and were presented with a great selection of locally-produced wines. Their grapes are primarily grown in Michigan and in California. They also make their own beer!
We each got a flight of three wines so we could sample each others. We took them out to the patio and enjoyed the gorgeous afternoon.
Sizeable samples!!
Several bottles found their way back to our RV for enjoyment at a later date!!
Speaking of later dates, tomorrow we break camp and head about a hundred miles east and south a bit to the Whitaker RV Park and Camp Atterbury IN. This is an Army National Guard FamCamp we have stayed at multiple times before.
