Labor Day Weekend

Elise moved to Syracuse, New York over Labor Day weekend! And she needed help driving the U-Haul truck full of her belongings. SO, Steve helped her. Here is how it played out:

Friday afternoon/evening, Steve and I drove to Lafayette, Indiana to stay with Julina because Elise’s place would be packed up. Early Saturday morning, Steve continued the drive in to Indianapolis (Carmel, actually) to meet up with Elise. After she did some last-minute cleaning, they took her Toyota and the packed truck to the U-Haul place so they could install a tow trailer and load the car onto it. They finally pulled away around 11:00 that morning, arriving in Syracuse at around 1:00 a.m. Sunday. After a bit of sleep, they attended church at Elise’s new ward later that morning to get acquainted and, by the end of the block, four men had signed up to help her un-pack the U-Haul the next afternoon. Awesome! Elise’s met her roommate, Angela, Sunday evening who had recently acquired two kittens, was returning from a weekend of role-playing activities, was wearing a golden snitch around her neck, and who loves Renaissance festivals. I think she and Elise are going to do just fine together! Now, whether Tonks and kitty 1 and kitty 2 do the same is another question. But, after Tonks gets over the 13-hour trip in a crate and the new surroundings, I think they will get along great. That night, as Steve slept on the couch, the two lively kittens entertained themselves by chasing each other over his head as part of their tag-you’re-it frolics! Early Monday morning, Elise drove Steve to the airport in Albany so he could catch a 9:30 flight back to Indianapolis (to arrive at 1:30)………only, due to stormy weather, his Continental flight was cancelled and he was put on an 11:30 U.S. Air flight through Washington D.C. for a 3:45 arrival in Indy. Oh, well, it gave me more time with Julina –

Here is what I did with Julina all weekend:

It was one of Julina's temple work-days so we spent Saturday at the Chicago temple. We drove up in Dee Ann and her husband Dennis's car. After the temple, we stopped at a Culvers for dinner (mmmmmmm - frozen custard) and drove through a torrential downpour (probably what caused Steve's flight cancellation)

Sunday was church and nap and relaxing. Monday morning, Juli showed me where she is currently student teaching. It is in a town about 20 miles from Lafayette








Then, we visited the beautiful grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. First, we walked around their "100 Acres" with assorted sculptures throughout the woods and meadows. Below we are sitting on the spinal chord of a giant skeleton called "Funky Bones".


Two more of the sculptures in the park































The yellow benches are located all around the lake
and appear in various configurations.








On to the formal gardens next door to the 100 Acres.

I just love this tree

After our pleasant outing, Juli drove me to our car which was parked at Elise's former apartment and she returned to Lafayette and I picked up Steve at the airport and we drove back to Columbia via St. Louis where we ate a late dinner and enjoyed a very short visit. Home by 11:30.