92 County Tour: Tippecanoe

For several weeks now, we've been excited to visit the Indiana Dunes, which are up by Lake Michigan. We thought about going earlier in the summer, but it was so hot, we were afraid it wouldn't be fun. So we decided to save it for cooler weather, and we intended to do it this weekend. And then: rain. Boo. We hated to drive so many hours just to get waterlogged or rained out entirely.

So at the very last minute {aka Friday night when we succumbed to the weather forecast} we decided to do a county tour instead. Not-so-fun fact: we had not been on a county tour in NINE MONTHS. Last one we did was last December when we did Allen County while staying in Fort Wayne for our anniversary. New rule: no more waiting nine months for counties. If you have to do that, you are too busy.

So we made plans to tour Tippecanoe County, which is about an hour's drive for us. The county was formed back in the 1800's and named the for Miami people, a Native American group. If you're not from Indiana and think you know nothing about this county...you actually do! Purdue University is located here!

The day did start out rainy and yucky, but it got much better as it went along. Unfortunately between the mist and the humidity, my hair began growing immediately, so I'm just sorry in advance. LOL!

Our first stop was at the Columbian Park Zoo, which is this most darling little zoo right there in the middle of Lafayette. The zoo is FREE, which is really great, and very much in our budget. It's not huge {just in full disclosure} but we had a great time walking around and seeing the animals up close!

These other things were not open when we were there, but I did see on the website where they have kiddie rides, a little train, and a water park {I believe you do have to pay for those things} that are open during the summer.

We had a blast and even though it's not a huge, all-day-event zoo, we would recommend visiting!

We decided to go to lunch next. Many months ago, a friend of mine had suggested going to the Sacred Grounds coffee shop, but their site said they're closed on Saturdays, so I kept hunting for a coffee shop. {Fortunately in a college town, there are options!} We picked the Literato Cafe and my goodness - am I ever glad we went there!

 This is both a restaurant and cafe, so we ate lunch there first. We each got a sandwich instead of pizza, but it was delicious. 

We also had a special treat for lunch: company! The same friend who recommended the other coffee shop had told me to let her know whenever we came to do this county. So last minute, on Saturday, I asked if they were around, and they were able to come meet us for lunch! They are actually very good friends of my parents and they all went to church together before I was born - and when I was little. We determined we hadn't seen each other in THIRTY YEARS! But we had a great time together!

They told us {and then I read more about it later} that this coffee shop is part of the ministry vision of Faith Ministries, a HUGE church on the edge of Lafayette. And the building that houses the coffee shop also has a fitness center, a preschool, and apartments for college students. They also have church services right there. A whole ministry center in one building. I LOVED IT!!!!!

Oh! And the coffee was superb. Ryan had fresh brew and a blueberry bread, and I had the three kings latte {hazelnut, caramel and vanilla}.

Before we moved on to our next activity, we also stopped to see our friend Shawn, who helped us move earlier this year. He just happened to be home, so we stopped by to say hi. That resulted in an impromptu ping pong tournament for the guys and Shawn's son. I just took pictures.

 Because I lost my friend Craig on a motorcycle, I cannot bring myself {or Ryan} to have anything to do with them, but he did enjoy a photo opp on Shawn's bike.

 These two. Good friends and probably a whole lotta trouble.

We ended the day at Prophetstown State Park, which is the newest state park in Indiana. It's very different from any other state park we've visited so far, because the bulk of it is not centered around lakes or woods. Many of the trails are right out in the open, though some do run through woods.

We started out on a trail and commented on how it was the EASIEST trail we had ever hiked...

Then some bikes passed us, and we realized: we were on the bike trail! WHOOPSIE!!! So we turned around and went in search of the hiking trails. Because the place is still newish, there is much construction happening, and not all trails are well marked.

We finally found walking trails and hopped on. It was HOT and SUNNY, and because we'd only been expecting rain, we had not brought sunscreen. Of course we also forgot the bug spray. Not our finest hiking moment.

But we had a blast, and the scenery was beautiful. At a fork in the road, we took the path into the woods to get some relief from the sun.  Definitely the NARROWEST trail I've ever hiked, but it was still much fun!

Despite the trails not being well-marked {which I presume will come with time as they work on the park}, it was a really nice park to visit. Their camping lot was full, the trails were wide and many were paved, and it looked like a good, safe place to visit and camp!!

We ended the day with dinner at Chick-fil-A {We don't have one here} and grocery shopping before we headed home. It was a superb day, and Tippecanoe County had much to enjoy!

Before I leave you...a little collage of the counties we've seen so far!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday morning, we set out on our mini-getaway for anniversary #2!! We headed north toward Chicago, stopping just outside in the little burg of Willowbrook for lunch at Dell Rhea's, which we learned about on the Duggar show. GOOD chicken! We continued to Schaumburg, which was our home for the duration, and then that evening, we drove right to the heart of Chicago, to Lincoln Park Zoo, to tour the Zoo Lights...even got to witness a proposal! Minus a frustrating end to the day {always has to be some drama...} it was a GREAT start to a getaway!

* Monday morning, we slept in a little and then we set out on our next great adventure: IKEA, baby!! We had never been to IKEA before, and we were so excited. We went in with a completely open mind and were absolutely in love before we even got out of the first floor. We fell most in love with a couch that we have ever intention of purchasing if and when our house in Greentown ever sells. We also enjoyed eating lunch there in the store - and the free coffee in the afternoon. Let's move into IKEA!!!

* Tuesday was our actual anniversary, and it was a lovely day. We took the train into Chicago and went up to the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower to check out the observation deck, and then we trekked up and down the Magnificent Mile in the freezing cold. Did photo opps with the Bean and then we ended up at Ryan's surprise for me...dinner on the 95th floor at the Signature Room. GORGEOUS views - and so many surprises for me!!

* We left Chicago to come home on Wednesday - BOOOOOO - via a Christmas tree farm in DeMotte, Indiana, where we picked out our newest tree. We named her Penelope! We came home to find sparkling grape juice waiting on us, courtesy of our house-and-Braeya-sitters, and we enjoyed decorating Penelope and getting unpacked after our trip!

* Thursday was back-to-work day for both of us - and a busy day it was at our jobs!! I had a lot to catch up on, though Lynne did a marvelous job of keeping up on everything while I was gone. When we got home, we worked on a craft project, which Braeya insisted upon helping with. :) And we had our sparkling grape juice date. A good night at home after a week away!!

* Friday was Jim Barron's birthday, and he brought some of the tastiest cucpcakes to work! They did crack me up though, because I thought they looked a little like they had chives on top. Nope! Just green chocolate curls!!  Our Friday night was a little bit crazy...we had to scurry to get our Christmas cards addressed!! I was so thankful Ryan was willing to help with that project, because I would STILL be working on it if it weren't for him!!

* Ryan worked Saturday morning, and we did something we NEVER do - we overslept! He turned his alarm off and apparently mine had never been turned back on from the vacation weekend before. WHOOPSIE! Fortunately, unlike me, he naturally wakes up early, so he didn't end up late to work. As soon as he got home, we headed to Fort Wayne so I could work the Gaither Christmas concert. Even got to go on stage with Phil to make announcements for the station. Scared me out of my skull, but  it was still a fun night!!!

Lincoln Park Zoo Date!

Our first big adventure in the land of Chicago was to head to the Lincoln Park Zoo...which was exceptionally exciting for two reasons: it was free...and it contained Christmas lights. Yes please!!!

We'd thought about taking the train from Schaumburg, where we stayed, into the city, but we were new to the train thing and the thought of trying our maiden voyage at night just sort of seemed like a recipe for disaster, so we elected to drive.

While it was not without its issues...

...it was a fairly uneventful, and Ryan did a great job getting us there safely.

We had to park about a mile from the zoo, in a parking garage, and we were really excited about it, because it was well-lit and seemed very safe. For the girl who watches wayyyyyyyyy too many Lifetime movies and Dateline documentaries, this was very good news.

We bundled up and walked to the zoo on a relatively gorgeous December Chicago evening.

I think it's pretty amazing that this zoo has free entry - and man, was it ever gorgeous all decorated for Christmas. I can't even imagine the hours it took to put up all the lights in the trees!

We were pretty chilly early on - so we stopped by the fancy pants hot chocolate stand and got peppermint {Ryan} and caramel turtle {me} hot chocolates. They were SO GOOD!!!

We made our way through the zoo, enjoying the music, the lights and the atmosphere in general.

We even found a really cool architecture thing with the city in the background and had fun with some photo opps...and other fun angles of the city skyline.

They have a farm section in the zoo, as well, so we paid a visit to that area. Ryan, who grew up on a farm, had some opinions. LOL!!!!

 They had a barn where you could help feed the cows, so Ryan returned to his roots....

 And I tried my hand at it too!! {I had the camera on the wrong setting - hence the blur. My fault!!!}

After we looked through all the zoo, we stopped by the last thing I wanted to see...ice sculpting! I'd seen this done on our cruise ship a year ago in the summer, and I loved it so much, I wanted to see more!!

We got there JUST when they were starting....

It was SO COLD, and there was a crowd gathered round, but I wanted to stay and watch! They were working on a penguin, and he had one little wing that kept falling off, so they had to reattach it multiple times.

 Cutest little penguin in the world!!

It was right about HERE that we got a huge surprise. A gentleman and his wife sneaked up beside us and told us we were about to see a proposal - and the ice sculpture was all part of it!!! They were trying to stay hidden in the crowd, but they wanted to take pictures!

Here's how it happened.

After sculpture was nearly done, the artists called out "randomly" to the crowd, asking for a volunteer to help them iron off the excess snowy powder. They "chose" a young woman and "allowed" her boyfriend to come up with her. They gave her the iron and showed her how to polish the sculpture:

 And as she worked on the front part, she uncovered something hidden inside:

 ISN'T THAT THE CUTEST THING IN THE WORLD!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

By the way, she said yes. :)

We saw a proposal last year on our anniversary trip too. Happened at the Colts game, down on the field.

Must be the theme of the anniversary trips!

We made a quick stop in the gift shop for a souvenir and then we trekked back to our car in the parking garage to come home.

Except....

...y'all, we LOST OUR PARKING TICKET.

If you are new here and do not know us, let me just tell you that I am ultra responsible and the only person I know of who is 50 times more responsible than I am...is Ryan. He is completely organized and never loses anything.

But there we were, at like 9:00 at night, in the dark, in the cold, in a parking garage that is no longer attended by a real person, ripping our car apart, looking for {and praying for} that ticket. We both combed through {and under} {and around} that vehicle more times than I can tell you.

I panicked. Not only was I looking everywhere for someone ready to kill us {stupid TV shows!!!} - but I just knew we were going to have to spend the night in that parking garage until someone came back to work the next day! Or should we call 911? WHAT TO DO???

Well, it turns out that at the gate, there's a nifty little button on the machine for folks who lose their tickets. Unfortunately it means you have to pay more, but it also means you don't have to get killed, call 911, or spend the night in a sketchy city parking garage!!

We were so rattled and so relieved, we punched in the address to go back to our hotel and started driving.

Know where we ended up?

TRUE STORY!

We put the wrong stinkingaddress in the GPS and ended back up at Dell Rhea's!! {Ryan said to tell you he was a little upset they were out of chicken. HA!!!!!} A half hour LATER, we finally made it to our hotel. What a DAY!!

Despite its rather eventful end, it was SUCH a fun date. So thankful to have had the chance to experience this with Ryan!!