Summer has come and gone, and I write this cuddled up beneath a blanket with a cup of tea. The change of the season reminded me that I'm overdue on wrapping up my blog with summer shenanigans. It was a lot of enjoying the long nights and spending time with friends in the summer sun!
One of the first weekends post PNW hiking trip was to Louisville to go to a music festival for the day with Elloree. We went to Forecastle Festival, which was along the Ohio River in Kentucky and it was SO hot, but a great day of seeing some of my favorites, with one of my favorites. We got to see Modest Mouse, my favorite band since I was 16ish, and it was sooooo wonderful! Seeing them always recharges me for a while, and it was great to dance to their jams! We also saw two of my favorite Swedish bands, First Aid Kit and the Tallest Man on Earth! A day well spent that also included brunch beforehand with Liz :-)
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| Trying to stay cool! |
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| At least it's not snowing.. |
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| First Aid Kit |
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| Modest Mouse! |
Other events included Alex's going away party, which was an attempt at a sneaky surprise! We had a great day hiking at Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park, followed by a bonfire/party at our house in the evening. We made up for my lack of fireworks this Fourth of July by lighting off our fair share of bottle rockets, sparklers and Roman candles during the festivities and it was a great night. I don't know if Alex was necessarily surprised in the end, but it was fun all the same!
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| Ladies! |
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| Sooo many sparklers! |
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| They move and groove! |
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| Last family portrait for a while. |
The biggest highlight of late summer was Sara's visit home. As you can see from above, Sara was here, and gosh was it good to have her near for a few weeks. I am so happy for my friends all finding their places in this world, but it's hard going months, or even years, not seeing some of them, Sara especially. We made the most of Sara's return and even managed to squeeze in a trip to Brookville, Indiana for a night of camping. Brookville has become our spot as of a few years ago, and some combination of the four of us ladies (including Erin) always manage to make it down there every summer, and this was to be no exception. I've been the one to miss the past few summers and I was glad to be back, Cricket even got to go..! Kayaking down the river is the biggest adventure, and the highlight was easily Cricket falling in the water, coupled with cliff jumping from the corn fields.
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| We go way back. |
Other highlights of the summer included FINALLY getting to see Trista and Brody's new place they bought this spring. I had to go to Milwaukee for work, and on the way home Claire (my co-worker) and I decided to stop off in Chicago for the weekend, as you have to drive right through to get to Indy anyways. I had a great weekend spending time with Trista, and her new pup, Riley! Riley is a Bernese Mountain dog, and dang is she cute! I've been plotting my kidnapping of her ever since, shh don't tell! In typical fashion, Trista also kicked my butt at a workout, brunch was had, and a trip to see Skyler at the Rainbo Club also ensued, as Alex happened to come to town as well. We also managed to squeeze breakfast in with our family, and it was a lovely trip to one of my favorite cities indeed.
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| Hi Riley! |
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| Hi Trista! |
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| Sibling love! |
There were also a couple of birthdays to be had this summer, notably Julia's and Craig's. Shola, Julia, Mark and myself celebrated Julia's 30th birthday into the wee hours of the night, and it was a great day. Julia had all of her friends do yoga with her for her birthday, followed by dinner and then we were the core four that carried on into the night, winding up back at Julia's parents backyard, arguably the coziest backyard in the city.
Craig's birthday is in the dead of summer, August, and that coincides with the Indiana State Fair, a spectacle I hadn't partaken in for quite some time. We thought we would dress the part for the fair and go on $2 night, Tuesday. We put on our best hillbilly looks and headed out for a night of carnival rides, barn animals and greasy food. A good time was had by all, and we were pretty psyched that we got Lucas onto the ferris wheel!
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| Happy Birthday, Julia! |
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| HBD, Craig! |
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| Ferris Wheel views. |
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| Indiana State Fair! |
There were also some festivals to be enjoyed, like the Lantern festival, as well as the India festival. Indianapolis is really upping its game in events/festivals/activities and it's really great to see the diversity of things you can be a part of. Our neighborhood also hosted a block party!
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| The lantern festival ultimately turned into a watermelon seed spitting contest on the porch! |
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| India Festival with Paula and George! |
A Mormon temple opened in the Indianapolis area recently, and I've always had a curiosity about the Mormons, especially their temples. Fun fact, the Mormon temples can be visited by the general public for a few weeks prior to them being blessed, and so off I went. Sally accompanied me to the temple, and we had quite the time seeing what we were allowed to see, and pondering what was being kept from us. I will say, the Mormons have a way of ensuring that everything that represents them is polished and sparkles in a way that is certainly majestic looking.
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| Sally, Moroni and myself |
Some work related happenings included neat meetings at different locations, like the below pocket park in Haughville. I will say, that the highlight of this job has been exploring both parts of Indiana I'd never been to prior, as well as discovering the hidden gems of Indianapolis I had never thought to explore. Indianapolis, as I alluded to earlier with my comments about the festivals, is trying really hard to turn itself around and become a city that people are proud to be a part of. I was already proud to be a Hoosier from Indy, but now even more so.
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| Haughville pocket park! |
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| Trips to Kokomo, Indiana |
Also on the work front, my co-worker Claire left our team to pursue an opportunity in Maryland. I couldn't be happier for Claire to start this next chapter/adventure, but was definitely sad to see her go because she was such an integral part of my work family. Our boss treated us to a nice bon voyage celebration for Claire with a paddle boat ride at Eagle Creek and dinner at Rick's Cafe Boatyard, a great send off indeed! I hope to see Claire next time I make my way back to the D.C. area.
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| Cheers to Claire! |
I also spent an evening with my co-workers fishing. While fishing isn't exactly my forte, it was really fun spending an evening with them out in western Hendricks County (where I grew up), soaking up the hillbilly vibes. We had a lovely barbecue followed by putting our poles in the water for hours. It was a great summer evening down by the lake. I've been ever so lucky to have co-workers whom I both enjoy, but also have become friends with, as these people are my saving grace when days are stressful.
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| Gorgeous midwestern views |
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| Thank god I didn't catch anything! |
Labor Day weekend was spent with Liz and her family down on Nolin Lake in Kentucky! Katherine and I hadn't spent real time with Liz since her wedding at the end of May, so it was great to get to join them at her sister's lake house for the weekend. Liz, Gabe, Liz's mom (Joy), Liz's sister (Emily), her husband (Trey) and their two children Livy and Max were the crew for the lake house. Katherine and I arrived on Saturday evening to the lake, and Joy, Liz, Katherine and I spent the warm summer evening on the back porch chatting away. Liz and Ryan had recently moved to Nashville, Tennessee so it was great to hear how they were settling in there. Sunday we woke up bright and early ready for a day of boating around the lake. We had so much fun swimming with the kids and the pup and soaking in the rays. It was too bad we had to go home, honestly, but it was nice to have all of Monday to recover from the sun exposure. Yay for Labor Day weekend!
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| Gal pals! |
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| Gabe, Cricket and Livy swim! |
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| I'm a natural with the kiddies :) |
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| Besties. |
Summer was rounded out nicely with a visit from Dave. We were able to spend a weekend in Brookville, where Sara, Katherine and I went earlier in the summer. We camped for two nights and got to kayak down the river as well, and it was great to finally show him this spot I've talked his ear off about for years. We got to have a picnic in the apple orchard, my ultimate happy place in Indiana. There was also a trip to Bloomington, finally, to see one of Dave's favorite bands and also a stellar meal at a Korean restaurant was had. There were games of Banangrams played, a trip to Broad Ripple, and then it seemed as if far too quickly Dave had to leave to head back to California :-( Time flies way too damn fast in this life, that's really what it boils down to.
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| David!!! |
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| I win! |
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| Orchard views :) |
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| Raspberry pickin' |
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| Raspberry smashin' |
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| Hiiiiiiii!!! |
The last tidbits of summer that I can share with you are that we managed to make it to the drive-in once this summer, thankfully! The drive-in theatre is always an event, and this time proved to be no exception. We brought snacks, friends and blankets to see the double header of The Visit and Straight Outta Compton, good times!
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| Drive-in |
And lastly, there was a concert, go figure. Alt-J was coming through Indianapolis, and we managed to get quite a crew to attend. Elloree, Erin, Katherine and Katherine's sister Isabella and her pal were the crew in tow for this concert at White River Gardens, a venue I'd always wanted to check out. We vibed on the openers, San Fermin and Best Coast and then danced like mad to Alt-J! I love live music, especially when outside with good friends.
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| Gal pals! |
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| Alt-J, Bell was stoked! :) |
And so concludes my summer. Autumn has really sunk its teeth in, and I am doing my best to maintain a good mindset. I'm training for another half marathon, and as I know I've said previously, running really is my saving grace. I'll update on autumn at its conclusion, but in the meantime excuse me while I go curl up under my blanket with a glass of vino.
