Finding Adventure

     I'm ashamed to admit that it's been over a month since I've written a blog post. It's not because we haven't been doing anything. It's more a matter of not thinking anything we've done is interesting to anyone but us. Then I remind myself I didn't start writing this blog for any other reason than to document our life so we can always remember.
        Some days we feel like all we do is work and sleep. Most of the time that really is the reality of our life this time of year. Some days I get home first and get things done so we're ready to relax together. Other days Drew takes care of things at home in preparation for my return home. Either way we spend most evenings relaxing on the couch and watching "our shows" that we enjoy. Just for the record, I like the fact our shows aren't on during the summer because it makes it easier to go on adventures and get some movies in. But it makes it hard to watch what we like to watch and still get to bed at a decent time. First world problems...
     Anyway, Drew continues to be busy at work as he prepares for inventory in a couple weeks. He deals with constant pain but puts a smile on his face and pushes forward through every day. He continues to give 110% even when he feels like giving 0%. He continually encourages me to put my best foot forward no matter how I'm feeling. He continues to play bass in our worship team and loves playing with our grandchildren when they come over. Most people will never realize how he's feeling on the inside. In fact, sometimes I don't even realize it because he hides it so well. He pushes himself to the brink of exhaustion to brighten my days and make me happy. I sure am blessed to call him mine.
     I've started teaching computer coding to everyone in my school. Between that, regular computer projects, and computer repairs my days are pretty busy. I hit the ground running early in the morning and don't always get to stop until close to time for our shows. But I love what I do and am enjoying being so busy at school. Outside of school, I keep up with laundry and things at home, help my parents as much as possible, spend time with our grandchildren and visit our neighbor weekly.
     We celebrated my birthday last month by going to Lake Michigan to watch the sunset. We've gone out to dinner a couple times and even started talking about next summer. Yesterday we had the chance to go on a bit of an extended adventure.
     I was able to get things ready for the new work week on Saturday afternoon which meant nothing needed to be done on Sunday except for going to church in the morning and then family lunch at my parents' house. So, soon after lunch, we headed out. Drew found a Fall Festival at Doud's Orchard in the tiny town of Denver, IN (we didn't even know this town existed!) It took almost 1 1/2 hours to get there because of a detour. This little orchard is literally in the middle of nowhere! It was a cute little orchard but the festival wasn't much of anything. I think the vendors had all packed up by the time we got there. But we were able to get my dad some apple butter and bring home a bag of mutsu apples and some fresh apple cider.
     Drew was determined to take me to find a lake before we headed home. While looking at the map, he found Lukens Lake so we decided to head that direction. Please understand, I'm a self-proclaimed beach bum. I'll go to the beach in February and stick my toes in Lake Michigan. My favorite feeling is soft beach sand between my toes. So, when we pulled in to this little "resort" and saw a sign that said "Beach" I was pretty excited. However, when we got out of the car, the lake, dock and beach that we saw could only be described in one word - "Sketchy." I wouldn't have stuck my toes in that sand and water if it was 110° and that was my only chance to cool off. Apparently, that area of Indiana has a different idea for a resort than I've ever seen. We spent all of two minutes there before getting back in the car and leaving.
     We attempted to find another lake but it was a private one down a long driveway. We figured that wasn't one we should try so we headed back down the road. We noticed a round barn along the way so decided we'd drive past and get a couple photos. But when we got up there, we noticed there was a small parking lot. It seemed to be telling us we should be pulling in to get close to the barn. So, we pulled in and spent some time taking photos. All we knew was that it was a bicentennial barn (built in 1816 and added to the bicentennial list in 2016) but there was no other information. After some research, I found out it's called the Hileman Round Barn, which had been a wedding venue. It doesn't seem to be used for anything anymore, but it sure is eye-catching and intriguing. We weren't sorry we stopped for photos. But now it was time to find dinner.
     We weren't too far from Warsaw so decided that would be the perfect spot for dinner before heading home. We settled on Mad Anthony's Lake City Tap House and we sure weren't sorry! First of all, Drew was able to enjoy a lager from Mad Anthony Brewing in Fort Wayne, I was able to try wine made at Two-EE's Winery in Huntington and also had a hamburger made with ground beef from Didier Meats, which is down the street from our first apartment. So, it was a dinner that made us feel at home. The food was delicious and our server, Jeff, did a super job! The kitchen was a bit slow as they had a couple people call off. So Jeff made sure we had an appetizer on the house to hold us until dinner arrived. Dinner was well worth the wait!
     After dinner, we stopped for drinks and made our way home, only missing the first bit of our Sunday night shows. It was a fun adventure and a beautiful day for a drive in the country! You just never know where we'll end up!