The Date Inspired By the Letter N

This past Saturday, we did another alphabetical date, and that was fun, but for some reason, we just had an extra great day together. We always appreciate any time we get to spend alone (yes, I know it's weird for a couple with no kids to say that) but there was something special about this day. We were grateful.

The date inspired by the letter N was themed after NEW experiences. We chose to spend the day in Indianapolis, because we had a gift card for Costco and needed a few things. (That wasn't new. It just helped us choose a destination.)

So our first new-adventure stop of the day was at Lisa's Pie Shop. If you're from this part of Indiana, and have not been to this little gem on US 31 between Kokomo and Indianapolis, we would now highly recommend it. We have driven by it (obviously) for years, but usually it's not open when we pass it, because it's in the evening, and they have daytime hours only. But I'd always been curious about their pie, so we stopped there as soon as it opened Saturday morning.

It's tiny inside: big enough for the food cases and a small handful of bistro tables. They have pies, pies in jars, and then a few cookies and cinnamon rolls. I had to have one. I mean, you know my fond affection for cinnamon rolls! And Ryan loves pies, but married a pie failure, so it was a win-win stop for us both.

We got a cinnamon roll and shared it (also a new experience because Bekah doesn't share food) and then Ryan chose a small cherry pie to go, which we ate later. (All the thumbs up to both samples!)

Next, we drove on down to Clay Terrace, which is a shopping area in Carmel (outskirts of Indianapolis if you're not from around here). We have gone there many times for meals at Red Robin, and this was also where we took our Valentine's Day cooking class at Sur la Table last year, but every time we go, all the other stores are closed, so we've never gotten to actually shop there. So...shop, we did! Our shopping included Old NAVY, which was not a new store for us, but it did start with N. :)

We weren't really hungry for a full meal, because that cinnamon roll had staying power, but we needed a little something, so once again, we shared a meal (gasp!!!) and went to a little cafe there in the shopping area. It was similar to Panera, so we did the "pick two" thing and each ate one. Sammich for Ryan and salad for me!

Then we headed to our one specific event we had planned for the day. Another new adventure: an escape room! Have you done one before? This was our first!

I'm obviously not an expert on these, but for those of you who have no idea what an escape room even IS, I'll give what I hope is a correct explanation. The escape room has a theme/scenario and you and a small group of people are locked inside and have to figure out a way to unlock the door and get out. There are puzzles to solve through strategy and sleuthing, and you're given a certain amount of time to solve it and (hopefully) escape the room.

We thought, based on the website description, that we could do it by ourselves, even though we know from social media that often groups of 4-8 work these rooms together. So we booked our appointment, but when we arrived, we discovered we had been added to a group of six. I kind of felt bad for them, because they all knew each other and I'm sure planned to have a fun day on their own, and then they were stuck with us! But they were kind and we actually had fun with them. (More new experiences!)

Our room was called the Cabin. It was set up to look like the interior and porch of a log cabin deep in the woods, and our scenario was that we got lost and are so deep in the woods we also had no cell reception. We were trying to break into this cabin to get supplies and some means of communication to send for help, but we were trying to get in and out before the owner came home.

I was really worried that I would be claustrophobic, but I did okay! It was a lot to have 8 people in a little space, but it was extremely cold in the room, which helped it not feel so tiny and oppressive. And once I found out I could actually get out of the room without intervention (if I needed to), my panic level disappeared entirely.

We made it out with seconds to spare!

After leaving the escape room, we made our stop at Costco and then went back to the same mall we visited during our date inspired by the letter A to go to a store we'd missed that time. Lovesac. Have you heard of it? We hadn't until recently. They make these huge multi-person beanbag chairs and other living room furniture. Some friends of ours had a piece and highly recommended it, so we went to check it out. (We have one piece that will need replaced soon, we think.)

It was not a great experience. The showroom was SO small. They only had about 5 pieces on display. The lady that helped us actually confused us more, and the price range ended up being several thousand out of our range. Gulp. So we won't be getting that. BUT all was not lost, because it was one more new experience!

Our final new experience of the day was Ryan's choice: he wanted to try out Bub's Burgers in Carmel.

Bub's was featured on Man Vs. Food, and Ryan loves to try the places featured on that show or Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Bub's is known for its one-pound big ugly burger, and they have a challenge for people to eat a complete big ugly burger (condiments, bun and all) to have their photo added to the wall. The more burgers you eat at once, the bigger your photo. We saw one poster size photo of this skinny dude holding FOUR plates. He ate four of them!!! How???? We got the HALF pound burger, split that, and we were still stuffed.

In the sea of literally thousands of photos in that restaurant, we managed to find the one person we know of who met the challenge!!

It was crazy busy in there and we had to shout to hear each other, but the food was excellent.

So yes, if you're keeping track, that marks three meals in one day that we shared. Like I said, new experiences all around! :)

A fun, fun date. Grateful!

Linking up with Tamar!