Completely Unplanned

This past weekend, we were planning on going to my friend Amber's in Lafayette for a cookout, but she had to cancel at the last minute when her daughter got sick.  In a weird sort of "What-should-we-do-now-I-don't-know-what-do-you-want-to-do-well-we-were-packed-anyway" kind of scramble, we set out for South Bend, IN.

<Blink blink>  Why South Bend?

I'm still not totally sure. 

After a drive that was made remarkably short by a happy toddler and Destroyer on the Ipad (for me, not him), we arrived to a crisp fall afternoon in Northern Indiana. 

Our first stop was the zoo.  Their zoo was a bit bigger and better maintained than the zoo here in town, and there was hardly anyone else there which was great, since Jacob was more into pushing his stroller than riding.

We saw some cool animals,

and watched a couple of other animals play in the water.

It started raining again after the zoo, so we hit up the mall.  For as happy as this made me, we only stayed about half an hour.  It was crowded, and the guys weren't into it.  At all.

We ended up at a local Italian place for dinner.  Restaurant selection is one area where Frank and I have some interesting discussions.  He loves the hole in the wall, non-chain places, and while I like those places, too, I usually pull for places more on the beaten path.  Taking a toddler to a restaurant is difficult enough, but when you don't know the atmosphere of the place (i.e. quiet?), or if they will have toddler-friendly food, and/or someplace other than the floor for a diaper change, it adds a whole new level of stress.  So that's my philosophy.  But this place ended up being fine! :)

The next morning, we visited with some friends of Frank's family who live about half an hour south of South Bend.  They were lovely people, and it was fun to hear stories about Frank as a little kid.

For a completely unplanned trip, it ended up being a great getaway!