Serenity Tea Room

We had a groupon for Serenity Tea Room in Zionsville so Ashley made a reservation for all!

Ashley picked up Gran from HV and Emily met her there with Greg and the kids.

We had an 11:45 AM reservation for their brunch menu.

This is a prefix menu of a variety of plated breakfast items.

Ours included fresh fruit, a strawberry salad, tri-pepper fritatta, homestyle cubed potatoes, a raspberry crepe, a round of bacon and a chocolate scone.

Of course we had to pair it with pumpkin tea!

The children had grilled cheese and chicken strips.

We all had a good time listening to the children show off their skills and tell about their day.

Gran looked beautiful in her pink and white!

Ashley had on a lovely seer sucker dress!

Lenora's face when she looks at grandma Lois!

Then we headed outside and stopped by the God tree.

The owner told us all about the historic trees on the property.

Then we strolled down the brick sidewalk back to our cars.

We had a wonderful time just being together, sipping some tea and having a lazy Sunday visit.

The children were perfect.  Greg said, "a little TOO well behaved".

And gran seemed to enjoy the old house, the historic trees, and the little darlings.

Great twin tea time!

Indiana State Fair

On this Monday evening, we decided to check out the Indiana State Fair.

Gran didn't feel up to joining us, so we made our way there on a full price night anyway.

Our first moments through the gates were greeted by the sounds of the "Sidewalk Stompers".

This was a really rowdy, uniquely dressed marching band.

Perfect music to get you in a State Fair mood!

We walked past many food vendors and shops before deciding on some buffalo fries and fried pickles!

It was a great snack to get us ready for the beer and wine area.

The wine selections were very sparse.  We decided to try a glass of the two driest selections.

That was the Pinot Gris from Knobstone and the Chardonnay from Turkey Run.

They were terrible and the Chardonnay was dark and had lots of sediment.

Certainly not worth the price at $9/glass. 

The beer selections were much more varied, but Indiana just isn't great at wine.

We wondered around quite a bit since there was such a small crowd.

We perused the games, the rides and the Super City exhibit full of super heroes.

Then we topped it off with a ride on the historic gondolas!

"The twinkling lights, the whirl of machines, the smell of all things delicious, 

the call of game handlers at our backs and locusts in the distance, 

and the sights from high above the city in car 13."

The normally jam-packed midway was easy to navigate and the sounds of the night could still be heard.

The overcast evening stretched out before us providing a view of almost uninterrupted tree tops and bits of downtown buildings.

After a few spins around the giant wheel, we headed for the Elephant Ears.

We found a spot under a beautiful Tulip tree to share one massive treat!

We strolled through the quilts and paintings before taking a last look at the Midway.

Hamlet at Riverside Park

We attended another Shakespeare in the park event!

This year Indianapolis Shakespeare Company selected Hamlet as their presentation piece.

The event was moved to Riverside Park this year and will remain there.

After receiving a grant, they will now be able to create a permanent amphitheater with the Mayor Thomas Taggart Memorial.

(photos from Fox59 story)

It will be a perfect pairing as they are revitalizing this park with new life!

Our first stop was to one of the food trucks brought in for the event - J's Lobster truck!  

Ashley had been wanting to try something off this truck for quite some time!

We each had a lobster roll and they were AMAZING!

Fresh lobster coated in butter on a toasted roll with crispy lettuce!  Perfection!

We rounded it out with some sauvignon blanc!

The show began when it was still light out - 8 PM and had been condensed to a 2 hr run by our favorite - Ryan Artzberger!

As the sun set, we were impressed with some of the incredible performances! (we loved Hamlet and Horatio!)

Of course knowing pretty much everyone dies at the end helps you not get attached!

We had blackberry jam rolls for intermission in honor of Lammas.

Emily prepared them the morning of the event.

While this vantage point did not allow you to see the sun setting over White River, the river does snake through this park.

By the end of the play it was dark - and the mystery of the theatre had enshrouded us all.

We were transfixed by the illusions created on stage.

We especially liked the way they represented the suicide of Ophelia and how Horatio and the rest of the guard were women!

The evening was warm but the darkness brought a chill.

You could feel the magic of summer slipping into its final month.

We chanted with grain and a witches brew candle under a weeping tree that the seeds of change be planted.

And remembered - as Shakespeare wrote in tonight's play - "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Great twin night!