We took our daughter and her roommate for a fun day trip to the Garfield Trail on a Sunday afternoon. The Garfield Trail seeks to honor the contributions of local creator Jim Davis. The trail contains 14 different Garfields in several small towns, each reflecting the flavor of the community. Click here to find more information and a map. I use the term map loosely. The map gives a general vicinity for each statue, but you will need to plug the addresses into your GPS to find them.
We chose to start with number 14, the Scream for Ice Cream Garfield, which is in front of Ivanhoe’s.
They have 100 different types of shakes and 100 different types of sundaes. This is how the girls felt after eating all that ice cream!
To be honest, I’ve had better ice cream, but this is local landmark. Plus, the amount of toppings can be overwhelming. Mike’s advice is to stay simple and avoid too many toppings! We probably should have just gotten one or maybe two ice cream sundaes to split to avoid the sugar coma we had later in the afternoon. Next, we visited the British Garfield in front of Payne’s, a fish and chips place that looks fun to try.
Next, we found the Glass Blower Garfield in Gas City.
The Firefighter Garfield was out of commission. The trail website updates any that are unavailable, so make sure to check it ahead of time We also did not visit the Bookworm Garfield inside the closed Marion Public Library, nor the Duffer Garfield that was inside a crowded golf clubhouse.
We had to visit Dr. Garfield. I feigned an injury.
The Garfield Trail actually starts at the Paws for Thought Garfield in Marion if we started with number 1. The foundation was closed, so we were not able to visit inside the gate.
We visited the Worldly Cat in Van Buren, which was dedicated during the annual Popcorn Festival. Weaver Popcorn Company resides in Van Buren, Indiana.
Finally, we visited the Fit For Life Garfield.
This Garfield is located in the charming Meadow at Matter Park.
We were all getting a little sleepy at this point, so we headed back to Anderson. My daughter had a fun idea she might try with her friends later. You could combine it with a food tour of the area. Research some local restaurants, then pick one dish from each place and share with the entire group as you drive around finding each Garfield. Regardless, I highly recommend this enjoyable daytrip.