South Bend, Indiana

So for our children's 18th birthday, Ben and I decided to gift them with a trip - just a "long weekend" trip somewhere in the U.S. (and maybe perhaps Canada or Mexico). Miles had a hard time deciding where to go, but finally came up with the perfect spot for Miles: South Bend, Indiana. Huh?! Well it turns out there is the one and only Studebaker museum there and so that's what Miles wanted to see. Perfect.

It turned out to be a delightful trip!! Even for me - who doesn't' like history nor museums! :) But it was all awesome and just so fun to be just with Miles. What a pleasant few days we had together. 

We flew in to Chicago on Thursday evening. By the time we had gotten our rental car and we heading out of Chicago to South Bend, it was prime rush-hour. Ugh. It was awful. But we finally made our way out, found a Cracker Barrel to eat it, and then got to our BnB stay in South Bend. Our little "house" was quaint and perfect - it was literally across the street from the museum! So on Friday morning, after Ben and I took a lovely run along the river on a cute path in the downtown South Bend area, we headed to the museum. It was awesome. We all really, really loved it. It was just so awesome! My pictures are in reverse, but whatever:

After we spent a few hours in the museum, we next went to check out Notre Dame. Since we were in South Bend, why not?! I love college campuses anyways, so it was fun to go and check it out. It was gorgeous. All of it.

There we are with Touchdown Jesus in the background.

I love it!

This was the administrative building - and was quite beautiful inside. There is a legend that if you walk those steps before you have graduated . . . you won't graduate. So many of students avoid those steps. Miles decided it was best for him to avoid them as well. So we took the side doors. :)

We walked the whole campus, checked out the administrative building, the bookstore, and even the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (crazy ornate, but so fascinating!). It was very enjoyable. As was the weather - we lucked out with mild temps and humidity. Yay!

That evening we ate Mexican food (Miles' choice) and then had dessert at Bonnie Doone's drive-in. Bonnie had a "fleet" of Studebakers way back when that her employees used for deliveries, and just to look cool at her restaurant. It was fun. :) That night we watched "Air Force One." 

On Saturday morning, after another run along the river (I loved it), we left South Bend and headed back towards Chicago . . . 

On our way to Chicago, we stopped off at Indiana Dunes State Park to see Lake Michigan. It was gorgeous! We weren't expecting it to be so beautiful.

After that little stop, we made our way to downtown Chicago. Ben was not a fan of driving and parking there . . . but we did it. We just did the river walk in Chicago and I loved it. I don't know how much Miles and Ben did - I think they thought it was cool. I just love being outside and seeing new things, so it was a win for me. The buildings, while different from the beauties of nature, were definitely pretty in their own way. The river alongside them made it all the cooler in my opinion.

After our walking tour of Chicago (we walked a ton!), we were on to our final destination: Ben's Aunt Martha and Uncle Rudy's home. Aunt Martha is Jim's sister. She and her husband live about 45 minutes north of downtown Chicago. They were nice enough to host us for the night - complete with a delicious dinner (briskets - something I have never done but man were they good) and a fun night playing games. We slept at their lovely home and Aunt Martha even prepared a yummy breakfast sandwich for us to take on our way to the airport early Sunday morning. It was so nice to meet up with Ben's family!

Rudy and Martha's home and property were beautiful.

A couple of Ben's cousins (here's one of them, Adam) came over for dinner and games that night. It was a lot of fun!

Adam showing off some magic skills. :)

We flew out early Sunday morning. What a unique and awesome trip!