Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Night The Lights Went Out...

So a couple of weeks ago the Husband decided that he wanted to get away for a night.  He didn't want to go far, he just wanted a night away.

So he planned a last minute get away for a Saturday night and decided that we would go to Merrillville, IN. Since we are still disgusted with Holiday Inn (see a previous post) we decided to use our points to stay at the Residence Inn, which had great reviews and was recently renovated at the beginning of this year. Of course his selection of the area and hotel had nothing to do with the fact that Portillo's is across the street.

So we took off on Saturday morning for our nice relaxing and romantic weekend.

We stopped in Lafayette on the way up.  First stop was Rural King, which we do not have near us anymore, since we have moved and this is the place that they sell the jeans at, that the Husband wears to work.  Lucky for us, it was buy two pairs, get one free.  We had to dig for his sizes to find the 2nd and then the 3rd pair but alas we were successful.  Our second stop was at Four Guns, a gun shop.  I had purchased a Deal Chicken for my husband to use there, on accessories, ect.  Honestly, I was kind of disappointed in the store, they did not have a lot of inventory.  So it is not somewhere you want to make a special trip to but he was able to use his coupon.  Third and final stop was at Game Stop, are you getting the picture yet that the Husband is spoiled?  Notice none of these stops were for me?  You would think that HE was an only child and not the other way around, where I am the only child.  I digress, so he had a couple of old games to trade in and you got more money towards a game for the weekend, plus he had received a coupon for his birthday.  I kept telling him that this was not an authorized purchase (smiling as I type this).  He said it was his birthday.  Dude your birthday was like three weeks ago! Anyways, he purchased a game and we were on our way.  Final destination, Merrillville, IN.

So we had arrived and upon check-in there were flowers waiting for me.  Isn't the Husband so sweet, maybe I should take back the spoiled comment.  Nah!  We went up to the room to relax for awhile.  Which by the way the room was super nice!  Upgrades/renovations they made were wonderful.

So around 4:30 p.m. we were getting ready to head over to Portillio's to grab some food to bring back to the room, then we thought that we might go for a swim and if it cooled off maybe miniature golfing.  THAT IS WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT.  A big storm and I mean big rolled through and we lost power, in fact much of Merrillville and Northern Indiana were without power.

Of course this happens to us.  We plan a night away and the power goes out!  It is always an adventure with us.  However, I was optimistic, maybe the power would be back on shortly, no reason to worry.  So we went downstairs to hang out, talk to some other guests and the hotel staff.  We finally decided to see if we could go and eat dinner somewhere, as we suspected that Portillo's had lost power as well.  We spoke with the manager and asked if we decided to leave would our points be refunded.  He said no problem, just let us know.

So off we went. We drove over to Portillio's and of course they were the only place without power right there.  Go figure!  One of the employees was outside though and told us that the Portillio's in Crestwood, IL had power and it was only about 45 min. away.  We thought why not?  Let's drive on over to Illinois.  $1.50 later we were over the border and had located Portillios, we enjoyed our dinner and then decided to head to Hammond, IN to Cabella's, again for the Husband, since he, nor I had been there before.  It was a neat store but I think Bass Pro is better.

Back at the hotel, the power was still off, it was around 10:00 p.m.  The manager called us over and told us that we could stay the night and he would refund our points.  I thought that was super nice of him since the storm was not his fault.  We will stay there again for sure!!!

The next morning the power had come back on.  We checked out and headed to Michigan City, to the outlets there.  I sure do love it there.  I like Edinburgh as well, in Columbus, IN.  I kind of like the Coach store better in Edinburgh but overall I like Michigan City better.  We will not discuss how much was spent there and do not fret ladies, of course I treated myself to a new Coach purse!  Now who is the spoiled one? Let's just say we were both happy with our purchases for the day.  The weather was also nice, so it was a great day to walk around.

It was time to leave.  Goodbye outlets, until next time.  We were headed back home and of course we had to stop in Merrillville on our way back home to eat at Portillo's again!  On our way back there, in Hobart, IN I made the mistake of pointing out a candy factory.  The Husband made a quick u-turn.  Was that legal?  And pulled in to the lot.  I had no idea that place was even there.  In case you are interested the name of it is Albanese and they have a HUGE candy store.  I made the mistake of walking away from the Husband when I was looking for some candy for my parents and he had a handful of chocolate candy, ect.  when I found him.  As we were checking out, I heard a mother telling her son only two items.  Next time I am going to tell this to the Husband.  <Sigh>

So it may not have been the romantic night we originally planned on but it was still romantic and it was an adventure, that is for sure!  It is one of those stories we will be telling in our old age, about the night the lights went out...So we are planning a new adventure somewhere else, to use our hotel points at.  Keep watching for that adventure and hopefully the lights will not go out!


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Indiana State Fair - $2 Tuesdays

Well, last the night the Husband and I went to $2.00 Tuesday at the State Fair.  Yep, you read that correctly, $2.00.  It was $2.00 to get in to the fair, with a coupon and many of the vendors had sample size food portions that were $2.00.

The Husband decided this was something he wanted to go and do.  He said he was going to eat his way through the fair and that is what he and I did.

At first I was not sure if I wanted to go, after all it was during the week and I was super tired by the end of the work day.  Usually, it is the other way around the Husband does not want to go out during the week since he has to be up very early for work.  However, I put my big girl panties on and agreed to go.

Boy am I glad we went!  We had a wonderful date night together, eating our way around the fair, as the Husband put it.  It was a beautiful night, with great weather, not something that happens often in Indiana in the middle of August.  Every time I have ever gone to the fair I remember it being hot!!!

In fact the Husband keeps asking if we can go back to the fair on Saturday for Mazda day.  I swear sometimes he acts like a five year old (I am typing this with affection).  I reminded him that it would not be $2 Tuesday and that we had other plans on Saturday, which include me taking the cat to get groomed (if the vet ever sends her records to me) and a wedding reception that night.

Unfortunately if you are looking for a deal at the State Fair this year, you have missed it.  There will be no more $2 Tuesdays, since it ends this weekend.  However, I believe that they do this every year, so you can catch it next time.

If you do go to the fair sometime this week or weekend just a reminder that they charge $5.00 for parking as well.

Keep on adventuring and enjoying life!