Monday, June 19, 2017

Back in Time with the Southworth Clan

Noblesville, Indiana. Small town feel, big town shopping. As we waited for April's long-time bestie Erin (Reen) and her hubby Jerry to get off work, we ran many an errand around their great city.  First stop was, of course, breakfast in the heart of the very quaint downtown.

At Rosie's Place, you can get Eggs Blackstone. That's like Eggs Benedict but on cornbread instead of an English Muffin.. with the delightful addition of avocado.  Bravo, Rosie's. Bravo.


Max enjoyed his time at Rosie's by sipping hot chocolate and acting like a dog that he insisted be called Rufus.



Our errands took us all about town, most notably to Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market.  Like a hybrid of Whole Foods and The Fresh Market, Fresh Thyme offered up a variety of all-natural snacks to fill our camper, including some delectable chocolate ganache cupcakes and a solid create-your-own sandwich counter.


Around 6pm, we headed over to the Southworth house. We brought fidget spinners, wine, and pizza. Just FYI, that trifecta will make you popular with any young family.



Our kids, thrilled to be in a real house with a plethora of toys, abandon us upon arrival. A few hours later, they reappeared and announced they'd like to go swimming.  At the pool, the abandon us again in favor of diving boards and freezie pops.



Poolside, the parents enjoyed cocktails and Euchre until the gnats threatened to carry us away. As we were loading up the truck, Max and Andrew informed us that they were going to walk home with Jake.

Walk? Through the neighborhood? Alone? At 9pm? This is not 1982... these things just aren't done. 

Reen calmed us, reminding us that this is Indiana and not Florida... and that in the Hoosier State they still have neighborhoods where children roam free.

I kid you not. We followed them in the truck all the way home. They looked so grown up, walking along carrying their pool towels and catching fireflies.  Where did the time go? 





Back at the house, Mark and Jake worked on programming a Raspberry Pi while Andrew formulated a plan. A plan, he decided, that would result in his first sleepover.



His first sleepover? What? Would he be able to fall asleep? Would he be able to find the bathroom in the middle of the night? Would he get thirsty? Would he miss us? 

Reen, again, assured us that she could handle a spare 8 year old for the next 10 hours.  It was already almost midnight, after all.

Feeling guilty, we loaded Max into the truck, kissed Andrew goodnight approximately 50 times, resisted him pushing us out the door as he rolled his eyes at us, and headed back to camp.

In the morning, we packed up our belongings and happily left the worst campground ever behind us. We met Reen and the kids at Best Bet, a local poker-themed breakfast spot complete with poker chips and a waitress who, in addition to setting the kids their own table, also offered to cut up their pancakes. She even told them to put their fidget spinners away and focus on eating. We applauded her... from our table, then tipped her well.


Bellies full, we headed to Conner Prairie, an awesome-sauce old-timey 1800s settlement that will rock your kids' world, while simultaneously exhausting them. Here, you'll tell them that they can ride in the "hot air balloon," then see that the balloon ride is an extra $18 a person, and then tell them that they cannot, indeed, ride in that overpriced balloon.















We couldn't help but chuckle at a few historic documents we found along the way...



Sweaty and most certainly stinky, we bid farewell to the Southworth clan, saying our goodbyes as we loaded up the trailer. What a wonderful family and a wonderful end to the week! Next stop, Michigan!






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