Friday, May 13, 2011

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a nice trip to visit the kids last weekend. The flights were uneventful, mercifully. I don't like to fly, but not because I am phobic and afraid. Its just the hassle of security, of being at the mercy of the weather and the airline schedules. I don't like sitting in a plane waiting for reasons unknown. And I also hate the prices of airport food. But I made what would be a 14 hour drive in 4 and a half hours total, so I understand the necessity of it. And we had really nice weather in Lafayette once we got there too. Hannia said it was the first warmth she had felt in months.

Lafayette is not the kind of place you would vacation, so there is only so much to do. Not that I cared. Just hanging out with my 3 children was more than enough. But we toured the town, toured Purdue campus, visited a local winery, spent an afternoon at a really nice park with a zoo. And we ate. Oh boy, did we eat. We hit all the best spots. Lafayette Brewing Co., The Wine and Cheese Cellar (that does the most amazing mandarin chicken salad sandwiches at lunch...yum). We hit up the Triple X, which is NOT porn but a burger place that looks like a dive but was featured on the Travel Networks' "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives". It was delicious too although not the place to go for health food....LOL. Saturday night we went to a Tapas/Hookah bar called "Maza". We went for the Tapas, ordering a whole table full of appetizers. It was fun sampling so many different foods and we ended up being full and satiated without feeling overly stuffed. And then, on a whim, we decided to try the Hookah. We sat and chatted and shared Tropical Paradise flavored tobacco. Its something I have never done. Its something I might not do very often, but it was interesting.
Our last night there we went to a Greek place that was amazing. Maybe the best meal out of a LOT of good meals that we had.

On Mother's Day I got flowers. And just being there, being with the kids, made it one of the best Mother's Days I have had in a really long time. I hated to leave. The visit was over way too soon. But it was wonderful while it lasted.

A visit to a candy shop just a block or so from Stephen's house:



Stephen and Hannia molest Neil Armstrong (because we are all crazy like that):



Goofing around a giant, unexplained pencil on Purdue campus:



What are they doing??



Stephen in the prairie dog exhibit:



Hookah!!



Beautiful Mother's Day Flowers: