Wrappin' It Up

You guys made my day yesterday with your comments about the doctor's office story. Thanks for enjoying that one and making the whole mess worth it! :)

I had a couple random end-of-the-Freelan-family-vacation things to share with you, so hope that is okay for today!!

The last night we were together, we all hung out in one of the common areas at the hotel, gathered up some chairs and couches, and looked at each other's pictures. Ryan lost his seat on the couch with me so other people could peek over my shoulder at the family pics...and this is what I caught him doing across the way. Content as he could be on my tablet. :)

Saturday morning, we ate together at the hotel and then went our separate ways. Ryan and I went shopping at a bulk food store on the edge of town, and when we came back to our car, we walked past a car with a WBCL window sticker in the back window. That was fun to see, and I wanted to leave a note! So Ryan dug some paper out of the car and I scratched out a quick message: 

I tucked it under the windshield wiper and we went on to the next store. The next day, I found a message on the station Facebook page from the recipient - who found the note and thought someone had hit her car! LOL!! No no - just me! She was excited to get a note and said she went to Rise n Roll {more on that in a minute} and looked for me because she knew I loved that place. I do and I went there - but not right away.

We went shopping at another store...some of our adventures included:

The swing we will NOT be getting because someone is not smart enough to sit in it without an adult helper:

 The log cabin we threatened to buy as a mortgage free existence, until we realized what is behind Ryan IS the kitchen. {Notice anything missing? Fridge? Stove? PLUMBING???}

 And this.

CAN YOU EVEN HANDLE THE CUTENESS????????

I CANNOT HANDLE THE CUTENESS!!!!!!!

I wanted him. But my logical husband said it's not the time. Lynne said if I had gotten him, I should have named him Winston.

So Winston probably lives at someone else's house now.

Sigh.

I consoled myself with a trip to the aforementioned Rise n Roll:

If you listen to Mid-Morning, you've heard our callers talk about Amish crack? This is what they're talking about. The donuts to end all donuts. The sweet bits of goodness that melt in your mouth.

My mouth is watering even typing the words.

Whoever invented the Rise n Roll....GOD BLESS YOU.

And please come to our house every morning with a half dozen.

For me.

You can't top this, so after we were done with this, we came home...sad to say goodbye to vacation, but so happy about our weekend away!!!

Now can I have a donut, please?

Shopping and Such...Heavy on the And Such

My mom and I have many things in common - and the love of a schedule is one of those things. But I was so proud of her...for our family vacation, she didn't schedule ANYTHING other than dinners. We were free to get up when we wanted, eat breakfast and lunch where we wanted, and do whatever we wanted all day long. And so...we did! :)

So Friday morning, we got up to have breakfast at the hotel. I love a hotel with a good hot continental breakfast. This one had biscuits and gravy...sausage...waffles...THAT is how breakfast should go. Except it should be a lot later in the day.

My parents...

Ryan...who is training for retirement...

And me. I really do hate mornings.

{Although getting up at 8 a.m. on vacation is considerably better than 4:30 a.m. on work days. I will give you that.}

After breakfast, we got ready and headed back into town to do some shopping. This is when Ryan and I did our coffee date you read about earlier this week in the county tour post. But here are some random glimpses into our shopping day.

I don't know if you're noticing a THEME or not....

...in the afternoon, my sister thought it would be fun to go on a bike ride. My niece had wanted to kayak with Ryan and me, but there were threats of storms and rain showers and party-pooper-Bekah did NOT want to be in a foreign body of water if that materialized, so biking seemed safer. {Keep that in mind, if you would.}

So Lori, Jeff, Cassie, Ryan and I rented bikes from a little shop in downtown Shipshewana and got directions to the Pumpkinvine trail just outside of town. We had to bike about a half mile from the rental shop to the trail - and that part was on a highway. No biggie.

{Also keep in mind, if you would, that I broke my leg on a bike at age 11 and have ridden one exactly TWO times since. Once in November of 2010 in Kansas and once {on the tandem bike} on our honeymoon in December of 2012. So it was about time again.}

So here we are at the start of the trail:

Couple quick things. Yes. Ryan is riding a girl's yellow and pink bike. It's because there was only one guy's bike at the shop and I knew Ryan wouldn't care if Jeff took it, so I gave that one up to Jeff. Ryan also carried my Vera Bradley backpack the entire trip - because it was heavy with the camera and tripod and he's a classy gentleman that way. He's rather bike through Amish country wearing a Vera Bradley backpack than make me get a sore neck carrying it. Husband of the year award.

The trail was GORGEOUS. It was scenic and smoothly paved and pretty much a straight shot. We went about seven miles before turning around to head back.

Some pics from the trip:

Right about the time we arrived back at the trail head and turned onto the road to bike the half mile to the shop...those storms they mentioned? SHOWED UP. Thankfully it was a rainstorm vs. a thunderstorm. I would have just keeled on over in a dead faint if there had been thunder and lightning.

Ryan took off the Vera bag and carried it like a football to protect my camera and my phone {which he had used to take all the above pictures.} Everyone pedaled like crazy to get back to the shop.

Except yours truly.

Apparently I am broken {in one of many ways} and in weird Bekah trivia...I cannot open my eyes in rain. Can't handle the water on my eyes. So there I was, even with sunglasses on to shield my eyes, trying to BIKE DOWN A HIGHWAY, with traffic and horse poop abounding, in the pouring rain, with my eyes shut.

True. Story.

Yes. I was crying. Everyone was so far ahead of me, they were almost out of sight and I was pulled over in somebody's driveway, trying to figure out how to get home. My clothes were soaked. I looked like a drowned rat. And I couldn't see.

I managed to catch up with them and the rain let up slightly and we got everything back and returned.

And we got our after photo:

Oh. And did I mention next up were family pictures??

Also a true story.

Despite the debacle, I had a BLAST biking with the fam. And I am gaining confidence on a bike again too, which is also exciting.

So that was that day!!! :)

First Ever Freelan Family Vacay

One of the disadvantages of the wide age gap between my sisters and me is that we've never...since the year of my birth {which amazingly, I don't remember}...gone on a real family vacation together. This August, my parents will celebrate 60 years of marriage, and rather than having a big party, they wanted to have a family vacation. With everyone. So we all consulted our day planners and found that this past weekend was the time all of us could actually get together and enjoy the first ever Freelan family vacation.

My parents took care of all the details. They wanted to get together in Shipshewana, in northern Indiana, because it's one of my Dad's favorite places to go. Mom reserved rooms at the Farmstead Inn, and I was excited about that, because I love the Farmstead! I've stayed there a few times before - including twice for spiritual retreats I went on before I was married.

We all gathered there on Thursday afternoon...which was pretty great. Ryan and I took the whole day off work, slept in, went for an exercise walk that morning and out for breakfast...and then enjoyed our drive north.

Mom met us all at the door of the hotel to take our pictures - just like she does on Christmas Day when we arrive at their house:

 Ryan and I - and of course, our fountain pops and my camera. We are so blessed predictable when it comes to a vacation.

 My sister Julie and her husband, Tom - all decked out for golf. They are so blessed predictable when it comes to a vacation. :)

My sister Lori, her husband Jeff, and their daughter Cassie won the prize for longest drive...making the trek all the way from Kansas to join us for the weekend!

We had some time to kill on Thursday between arriving and heading out for dinner, so we went around town and shopped a little bit.

Yeah that's Ryan and my dad supervising a mural painting in town. Good thing they were there to keep it going!!

 Awwwww......

 Sometimes you can't wait. Gotta use what's open.

That first night, we had dinner at the Essenhaus over in Middlebury. It is a HUGE {whatever's in your mind right now - double, possibly triple it and you've got the Essenhaus} home cooking restaurant where you can eat either family style or buffet. We went with the buffet.

Dinner was fabulous!!

After dinner, we walked around at the shops near there...and Cassie hung out with Ryan and me for a while. We found this shop that had a silo on the side, and you could walk up to the top of the silo to look around:

So...we did!

 Fun to look out over the grounds:

 And I don't know if you can see him or not but look who I spied meandering through the car show? My Dad! He's right in the middle in the tan pants.

While we waited on Mom and Dad to stop socializing...because it's true that they actually found people they KNEW and were talking in the parking lot...we had some photo shoots of our own!

Sisters!!

 And checking the photo....

 Photobombing my Mom's phone....

Oh...and here's a nice one of the lovebirds:

After dinner, we went back to the hotel, and Ryan, Cassie and I hit the pool for a while. We found a beach ball and played some hard-core volleyball...which I believe canceled out our entire dinner, thankyouverymuch.

And that's how family vacation, day one, went down.

92 County Tour: LaGrange County

This past weekend was a first for us in the 92 County Tour...more than one day in one county! As you might have seen yesterday, our whole family converged for a vacation to celebrate my parents' upcoming 60th anniversary {yes, that was a SIXTY in there}, so Ryan and I decided to turn the outing into a 92 county tour for ourselves as well!

So...without further ado...

LaGrange County is in the far north section of Indiana - borders on Michigan on the north, actually. It is best known for having a large population of Amish people living there, and Shipshewana, the town where we spent our time, is a tourist attraction built around the Amish community. The county name came from the French hometown of Revolutionary War hero Marquis de la Fayette.

Shipshewana has a HUGE flea market, and I've been to it before, but it's only open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so we didn't get to see that this time. We rolled into town on Thursday.

Since starting our county tours, we've never spent the night in any of them yet. We did this time...stayed at the Farmstead Inn, which is a large hotel and conference center at the edge of town. This was Ryan's first time to the Farmstead, but I've stayed there 3 times before, and I've always, always enjoyed it. It's clean, safe, and has a variety of room amenities and a really nice breakfast with hot food.

So many people are fascinated by the Amish lifestyle, thanks to the books, TV shows and movies made within the last few years. I could never be a hard enough worker to pull off what they do, but what LOVELY, lovely homes and yards they keep! Here is a sample of some of the life we captured through our lenses throughout the weekend.

Biking...

Horses and buggies:

Immaculate gardens:

Tiny schoolhouses:

It's beautiful country, for sure.

We didn't take the whole tour, but much like Marshall County had a barn quilt trail, LaGrange County had a flower garden quilt trail. Gardens of flowers fleshed out to look like quilt squares. I couldn't get tall enough to fully capture this one, but you get an idea:

Downtown Shipshewana is made up of all kinds of tiny shops - like the kinds that inhabit regular houses - and at the end of town one HUGE building called the Davis mercantile. It had a ton of stores inside - and some other fun features, too, like a tree that they left when building the place...built the stairs right around it:

The building also has a carousel inside. If those things didn't make me so blessed dizzy, I'd have tried it:

Of course we had to have a coffee date while we were in town, and my niece accompanied us on that one! We went to the Hitching Post frozen yogurt and coffee shop!

Look at that! Outdoor seating with fans above and a cute trash can {it's in the silo in the middle}. Anytime a place has a cute TRASH CAN...that's pretty amazing.

This was the inside...

Ryan liked the horse sticking out of the wall. :)

They had a full frozen yogurt selection. Cassie got the birthday cake flavor, and I got salted caramel pretzel:

 And their topping selection was pretty wonderful. :)

 And this is what makes a good appetizer to lunch on a Friday: yogurt and French Vanilla Fresh Brew. Man it was good.

Ryan got a latte - and it was peanut butter and marshmallow creme - and it tasted like liquid Amish peanut butter. If you've never had that, it tastes like fudge. Also like heaven. I had a taste of his latte and it was SO GOOD.

 Here are the two of us with our yogurt. {If you've not met her before, this is my niece, Cassie.}

 We ate outside, because it was a nice day. But they had tables inside too, including these two nestled in Amish buggies! Of course we had to do a little photo shoot!

We were happy to again find a place with great character and good coffee!!

This post is long and I'm going to spend a few more days telling you about our family vacation, so I won't go into HUGE detail about the rest here, but just to be sure to have it in the official LaGrange County post, here were a couple more things we did for fun in this county!

Bike Riding on the Pumpkinvine Trail:

{That's my sister and brother-in-law with me}

Lunch at the Breadbox Cafe:

And dinner at the Blue Gate Restaurant. {Basically we ATE.}

Thanks, LaGrange County, for keeping us entertained for a few days and for being so driven with character!!