Happy Letterboxing Day!

Mike and I will celebrate our anniversary on Monday. Unfortunately, the kids need to be driven places during the day and evening, so celebrating Monday is out of the question. As our celebration, we spent the afternoon letterboxing in Indiana. We headed out right after church and managed to collect one indoor box before reaching Indiana. Mike loved the location and spent a lot of time browsing the merchandise inside the store.

We stopped for a quick lunch and then drove into South Bend (where Mike grew up) and were first finders for the box at Notre Dame. After driving into Mishawaka, we collected another box at the oldest park in the city. The park has a really cool band shelter and a rock garden. Everything was covered with snow, but I think it would be very pretty in the spring and summer.

Our next drive took us to Bremen, Indiana. This box was so much fun to collect. I was nervous after reading the clues, because it is located outside a lake home. No one was staying at the home, so my nervousness was unnecessary. The stamp was really detailed.

After driving through Bremen, we headed to LaPaz, Indiana for 3 more boxes. Two of the boxes were hidden in birdhouses and had combination locks for security. I laughed when we found the first one, because it was so unexpected. The other LaPaz box was buried underneath a sign about a building that was going to be built. It was hidden under snow, cement blocks, and water. My feet were drenched after gathering this box.

We drove into Plymouth to collect a large number of boxes. One box we couldn't find. Then we headed to the cemetery. Lightening and thunder began as we entered the cemetery. I climbed out of the vehicle and wandered around trying to read the words on the gravestones, while covering my head from the rain. After 20 minutes of searching, we threw in the towel. The rain was pouring, lightening was flashing, and every thunderbolt made me jump. We plan to return another day later in the spring.

My poor feet were dripping wet, so I dried my shoes and socks on the way back to Michigan. After returning to our small town, Mike took me out for a delicious dinner. When we arrived at home, the kids were all quietly playing and Steve had baked brownies. It was a great ending to a really wonderful day!