Road Trip.

Justin and I love to travel.  This past few months have been crazy with both of us working and lots of stuff going on at the church (our community day fundraiser, confirmation, upcoming mission trip, etc.).  Needless to say, Justin and I were both in need of some time away together, so we planned a trip this past weekend over the Memorial Day holiday.  It was an amazing trip.

We moved from Indiana to Ohio about six months ago, but when we lived in Indiana, we loved to go to Michigan and explore.  Often times, we would just pack up the car and drive without really knowing where we were going.  We found lots of cool places this way and decided to go back and visit some of them on our trip this past weekend.

We left Friday evening after I got off work (which happened to be my last day at the Boys & Girls Club, by the way).  We made a pit stop in Mishawaka to have dinner and ice cream with some of our youth group kids from Justin's time as a youth group volunteer when we lived in Indiana.  We love those kids and miss them immensely.  I know God placed each of them in our lives and, whether they know it or not, they helped prepare Justin and I for our ministry here in Ohio.  We shared many meals with these kids and had small group time with them in our home.  We are better for having known them, and it was wonderful to be able to catch up with them Friday night.

Justin and I with Michael, Annie, Natalie, and Tevin.

We stayed with my in-laws in Granger, IN, and were up early Saturday morning for some adventures in Michigan.  The weather was beautiful and we visited all of our favorite spots.  We started out in Niles to do some thrift shopping and antiquing (I'm not sure why, but Niles, MI, seems to be the antiquing/thrift shopping capital of the world).  Then we headed to Warren, MI, to have lunch at one of our favorite places before heading to Three Oaks, MI. 

We love Michigan!

Love the old buildings here.

Explore.  Imagine.  Create.

The bikes go with us everywhere.

Three Oaks was one of our favorite places to visit when we lived in South Bend, and it is one of my favorite places on Earth to this day.  It is a small town teeming with fun local businesses and a strong sense of community among the people who live there.  It is very historic with gorgeous downtown buildings and unique shops.  We went to the Journeyman Distillery (if you have never been there, you should go!).  When Justin and I first went there a couple years ago, we got a tour of the place along with information about the history of the building and information about the business.  Journeyman is one of very few organic distilleries in the nation, and the building was once a factory, but everything in the factory has been repurposed to be used as furniture or part of the bar or part of the walls.  It is quite the experience, and it was a joy being back there again.

Journeyman Distillery - Three Oaks, MI.

Whiskey/bourbon flight - just enough to taste.

Love this place.

Got the skateboards/longboards out for a tour of the historic downtown area.

We went to lots of local shops, antique stores, and art galleries and stopped at Mooney's, our favorite ice cream place.  After Three Oaks, we headed to New Buffalo, MI, to go to the beach at Lake Michigan.  New Buffalo ended up being my favorite part of the whole trip.

Instead of relaxing at the beach like normal people would, Justin and I decided to climb a rock path to get out to a watch tower where you could overlook beautiful Lake Michigan.  It was a long climb, but we went for it.  We made it all the way out to watch tower as the wind blew the mist from the lake onto our skin and our feet and legs were covered with sand and were scraped from the rocks.  

It took awhile, but we made it!

The watch tower was an interesting situation since they didn't have an actual ladder to get up and down, but we did it!

We could see Michigan City from the tower!

If you don't know, I've had four surgeries on my hand and just recently had a joint fusion surgery (and I now have a plate, three screws, and a rod).  Needless to say, this tiny peg-ladder was intimidating, but I climbed it like a boss.  I haven't felt that strong since before my last surgery!

It was such a gorgeous evening.

After our rock climbing adventure, we rode our bikes back to the car and loaded up to head to South Bend for dinner at Granite City with our good friends, Dylan and Ally.  It was great having dinner, catching up, and doing our traditional Barnes & Noble browsing afterward.  Luckily, they will be coming our way in a couple weeks!  Looking forward to seeing them again soon.

Sunday was our thrift shopping day.  We went to lots of thrift shops in the area as I was on the hunt for a dining room table.  I've been doing lots of research on repurposing lately and Justin and I are going to sand and repaint a table and chairs for our dining room.  We actually did find a table and picked it up for $15 (and managed to get it in our car and transport it back to Ohio)!  We are also re-doing our bathroom, so we spent some time at Target picking out towels to go with our new shower curtain.  I also heard they knocked down an old building at Indiana University South Bend, Justin and my alma mater, so we stopped by for a quick visit on our way down Mishawaka Avenue.

I lived on campus here for four years with my best friend, Cohen.  Justin and I met here and became college sweethearts.  I went to grad school here.  I taught for the first time here.  I was still working here when Justin and I moved to Ohio.  So many memories. 

Justin got his psychology degree from here.  We love this place!

Justin and I spent the evening at my brother-in-law's house with my mother-in-law, father-in-law, and oldest nephew for an early Memorial Day cookout.  There was lots of Guitar Hero, food, and conversation followed by Justin and I making a trip back to Niles, MI, to see Pitch Perfect 2 at our favorite movie theatre.  (We love Wonderland Cinema in Niles!  It is very cheap!) 

On Monday, Justin and I ventured over to the University of Notre Dame to have lunch at McAlister's Deli and to tour Notre Dame's campus on our bikes.  It ended up pouring down rain, but we still got a ride in.

It was humid, but I'm glad we got a good ride in before the rain started back up.

Love my bike.

The Basilica at Notre Dame.  If you haven't been to this campus, you have to go!  It's beautiful!

Campus.

In front of the library.

Me with "touchdown Jesus" in the background.

Saw this crane while exploring and riding on the trails.

The beautiful prayer grotto on campus.

Justin and I lit a candle and said a prayer.

When it looked like the rain was going to start up again, we headed to the mall and then had dinner with Justin's family before leaving to head back to Ohio.  It was a wonderful, much-needed break with my husband and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I'm so glad we both have adventurous hearts.