On the Road to Shipshewana

So, the first Mother’s Day Weekend in Daddyland was very interesting. Being the kind, caring and considerate husband that I am, I planned what I thought would be a nice, romantic dual purpose trip to Shipshewana, IN.

Why Shipshewana, IN you ask? Well, since Wifey’s parents live in Indianapolis, IN, we’ve decided to try to see them at least once per month, either we go there, they come up or what has been working recently is we find a place somewhere in the middle. This month’s middle of the road location was Shipshewana, IN. For those of you who don’t know, but Shipshewana is in the heart of Amish country.

Now that we had the local decided, I thought it would be nice to go down the day before and spend the weekend. So I started my research, I called the local Bed & Breakfasts in the area to let find out if they had rooms available for Wifey, Little E and myself. After some painstaking investigative work, I found the Village Garden B&B. It was located a block from downtown. It was perfect.

Friday arrives and we have the car packed, Little E in the car seat and we’re on the road to Shipshewana. As a family we do love a good road trip, we tend to do random things on our road trips. We stopped at Carver’s for a smoothie. We stopped at the Outlet Mall just over the Indiana border. Stuff like that, but who cares, it’s a road trip.

We arrived at 8pm in Shipshewana and pulled into a very cute B&B, grabbed Little E and went to the door. I had already called the B&B to let them know we’d be arriving later. The owner opened the door and we stepped into the foyer to check in. He excused himself for a minute and then when he came back he said, “Oh, I didn’t know you were bringing a baby.” I thought it was because maybe they didn’t have a crib, so I said, “Not a problem, we always bring his pack’n’play for him to sleep in.” To my surprise he said, “We are full of adults and children aren’t allowed.”

Interesting, because every B&B I called was told that I needed a room for my wife, our 2 month old son and myself. Not one had a problem with that, even the Village Garden. What happened next was completely out of left field. He walked over to his desk, grabbed a phone book and said, “I recommend the Farmstead Inn, would you like me to call and see if they have any rooms.”

WHAT?!? Were we being kicked out, because we had a baby? I stood there in utter disbelief that a business owner would turn away a paying guest with a reservation. Wifey was beside herself. Neither one of us could believe that the owner was actually suggesting that we leave and find somewhere else to stay. We had just driven 3 hours to a town that basically shuts down at 9 pm and it was 8:30 pm and we had no place to stay. I finally knew how Mary & Joseph felt when they were told there was no room in the inn.

Completely shell shocked we walked out of the Village Garden B&B, got in the car and began the mad dash to find somewhere to stay for the weekend. I re-called all the B&B’s I’d called before, most were either full or didn’t answer. We even called the Farmstead Inn, but couldn’t get a hold of anyone. Their phone lines were always busy. We decided to drive to the Farmstead Inn to see if we could get a room. This was totally messing up my nice, romantic weekend. If I had wanted to stay in a hotel and pay twice as much, I would have booked a hotel.

So come to find out, the Farmstead Inn had some sort of electrical issue that affected their computers and phones and that was why we couldn’t reach them by phone. The lady at the front desk was refreshingly pleasant and helpful. She couldn’t believe the ordeal that we went through and went out of her way to help us out.

We ended up taking one of their suites that had a Jacuzzi tub, which I knew Wifey would enjoy and hopefully would salvage some of the romantic weekend I had planned. So by the time we had checked in, got our luggage in the room, it was well past 9 pm and the only options we had for dinner was Subway (that was located in the gas station) or a pizza place. We decided on pizza.

Now after an exhausting day, all Wifey wanted to do was relax in the Jacuzzi tub with a nice glass of wine, but come to find out, Shipshewana is a dry town. Hello Insult. Hello Injury. Nice to meet the 2 of you.

I Have Great Life

Today is a day for celebration. Little E turned 2 months today and he gave us a great present…7 hours of sleep. Thank you Babywise.

It’s amazing to think that just 2 short months ago we were in the hospital waiting for him to show up. Wifey and I figured it out; she was in labor for 66 hours before they eventually did the C-section. That is not cool, but we’re so happy we have him.

He has changed so much in these 2 short months. He’s growing, gaining weight, smiling at us, discovering his feet, chittering (AKA – baby talk), etc. The list goes on and on. I sometimes wonder what goes on in his head. What is it like to discover something new all the time?

They, and by they I mean the people who know, say that his brain develops at an amazing rate during these first few years. How much does he comprehend? Does he think he’s got crazy parents because we sing him little songs? Or does he wonder why I make him into a little burrito every night I put him to sleep? Or does he realize that his pacifier will never give him milk, no matter how hard he sucks? Little things like that go through my head.

I’m so glad that we have him in our lives and I can’t wait until he’s up and around, talking, going to school, watching him at his sporting events, taking pictures at his graduation, helping him move into his first apartment, sitting at his wedding, in the hospital with him as his first child is born. But I’m also happy to be in this moment with Wifey and Little E.

I really do have a great life.