Making Memories

What a great weekend! It was precisely what we needed. Almost as soon as we hit the road, we were back to our old selves- happy and silly. God provided generously for us. Santa Claus, IN is a very small town. It was so quiet and peaceful. It was the perfect two-day getaway. I wouldn't recommend it for a week-long vacation, but it was just what the doctor ordered for us.

On Saturday, we started the day at the Santa Claus Museum. The best part of it was the preserved letters that children have written to Santa Claus over the years. One of my favorites- "Santa, please don't leave me sticks and rocks. If you do, tell me what I did. I love you, Santa. ~Joey"








After that, we went over to the Silent Night Cafe. Let me tell you, this tiny little place was wonderful! Though it is very small, it was probably the classiest little place to eat in Santa Claus.






We both ate turkey paninis, which turned out to be the best we'd ever had. The homemade wheat bread and Roma Tomotoes are (I think) what made it so delicious. It also came with a side of home-grown strawberries that were naturally sweet and juicy. Kyle enjoyed it.





After lunch, we made our way out to Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home. Lincoln spent his childhood there until he was 16. His mother is buried there. Being the spoiled Illinoisans that we are, we were somewhat unimpressed by the memorial. It was like an older, cheaper version of New Salem. Still we had lots of fun hiking back to the ground where our greatest President once stood. It could not have been a prettier day.





We also visited Santa's Candy Castle. All the candy was locally made and delicious. (You can see our trip was guided by our stomachs.) By far our favorite thing there was the Iced Hot Chocolate. It was the perfect thing to sip in Santa's castle on a hot day. It inspired us to try to recreate it at home. We found a boxed set for making your own on our way home. I cannot wait to try it out!


*On a side note- In this Christmas-obsessed town, this was the only place that mentioned anything about Jesus. How about that?



Following this, I forgot to take pictures! I must tell you, though, about Buffalo Run. They raise buffalo and have a little restaurant/antique shop/ historical site. (Sound awesome? It is!) We ate Buffalo Burgers, and they were wonderful. Apparently, buffalo is much healthier than beef, pork, or chicken. It tasted just like beef, but less greasy.

The day at Holiday World was great too. The weather was perfect, the water was refreshing, and the lines for every ride and water slide were very short. My favorite part of the day was relaxing in the Lazy River with my man.

On the way home, we decided to take the scenic route through Evansville. What a great town! I didn't realize how nice it was. We enjoyed the scenery through Kentucky and Southeastern Illinois.

Now it is over and we have to go back to the daily grind, but we made so many wonderful memories. I hope that we can take another trip very soon!