I've been back for a week now, but I'm finally getting around to blogging about a wonderful time in Indiana. :)
For a few months now, I had been planning a trip to visit my friend, let's call her "Christina" , a misplaced Texan who left almost a year ago to attend Purdue University. This was my first time visiting a friend in another state. 'twas a neat experience indeed.
Day 1 [Saturday] - Arrived in Indianapolis Airport at 3:00 pm, welcomed by Christina, and made it to Lafayette by 5 pm-ish -
what a cute little city. We saw the movie
Oz with some of her friends that evening - AWESOME movie by the way. I would love to see it again. :)
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| Leaving my mark in the leftover piles of snow - as often I could.. :) |
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| 1 out of 2 snowmen made in Indiana. |
Day 2 [Sunday] - We went to one of the churches she attended, which was quite similar to Community Bible Chuch only smaller (hehe). After church, we had lunch with a family she's really close to and have house is built on a bunch of land. Bunch of land + laser tag = sooooo much fun! :)
Our boots were not so fond of the terrain's condition from the snow melting - "squish squash" ...
"ewww".
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"Pew pew pew" - Laser Gun |
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| Building a snowman OVER 10" ... it was 18", but still progress. One day I will build one even taller than that. Also, I guess some of the Indiana natives thought I needed a little help building a snowman. :P |
Day 3 [Monday] - We walked Purdue's pretty "little" campus, visited a few shops in the area, enjoy coffee/fudge/girl talk/relaxing at Greyhouse Coffee, and enjoyed some pizza with one of her friends at Mad Mushroom for dinner (
Why is the mushroom mad? He didn't look mad at all - maybe he's bipolar? Who knows ... ). That night, we were able to skype with another friend who wasn't able to make it to Indiana - even though we were able to see her face, it still wasn't the same as hanging out in person.
Oh yes, and how can we forget the short 4-person Skype to FaceTime with my guy? What fun & interesting times. :)
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The "Clapping Circle" at Purdue University - so cool!
"Echo ... echo ... echo."
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Left - statue of Neil Armstrong. "Who is he?" ... just kidding.
Right - Stepping in Neil Armstrong's footprints.
"This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." |
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| Of course, we had to take a picture with a giant No. 2 pencil. In the words of my friend, "I think I can pass the test now". :) |
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Top-left: Pappy's - a diner stuck in time from the roaring 20s.
Top-right - Lunch, consisted of a swiss burger & hot fudge malt (I pretended that the bun was gluten-free)
Bottom-left - Fudge. Decisions, decisions ...
Bottom-right - My selection? Mint Chocolate & Pappy's Blend. Delicious! :)
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Enjoyed the Mocha at Greyhouse Coffee - Lafayette's version of Local Coffee.
We even enjoyed a little bit of fudge with our coffee. |
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Day 4 [Tuesday] - We drove into the Indianapolis area & visited the IMA (
Indianapolis Museum of Art). Later that evening, I had a opportunity to meet, bowl, and hangout with a few of my friend's Indiana friends.
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| Top Left: Obvious sign is obvious. Top Right: Colored windows in the entry way of the IMA. Beautiful & fun to look out of the different colors. Bottom Left: Gimwale dolls from the Ntwane people of South Africa, or premature Daleks. (That's kinda why this picture was taken.) Bottom Right: The original LOVE sculpture by Robert Indiana created in 1970 - other versions have been made. For
me, this was just awesome to see especially since I have never seen any
of the other versions yet. The original is always better than the copy.
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Day 5 [Wednesday] - My last day in Indiana. :( However, it wasn't a
total
disappointment after seeing a light dusting of snow on the ground that morning.
I was finally able to make my first snow angel - though after making it
I was quite ready to get back into the car where it was warm. While I was waiting for my flight to Tampa (
my connecting flight), I watched the little snow flurries fall gracefully from the sky one last time. They were so pretty, but I was ready to get back to Texas.
I enjoyed seeing my friend & the snow, but I am sooooo glad to be back in a warmer climate. :)
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