This weekend was a blur – we were on the move! We took a quick road trip to Indiana, with a special destination in mind – Wolf Park!

Our journey started though with a blur of farm country out the car window, as we hit the road and drove the four hours or so to where we were staying. However, we did make a stop halfway through our drive, in Fort Wayne.

My late stepfather was born and lived in Fort Wayne, and although he moved away to Michigan as a young boy, he was a Hoosier in his heart forever. His love for Indiana, his home state was deep and he loved going back to visit family and to explore his beloved Indiana. So our visit was special for me as well, like a connection to my stepdad.

We had planned to spend a little more time than we did in Fort Wayne, but ended up just hitting our main goal – to see the Johnny Appleseed gravesite. Our family holds John Chapman as one of our favorite historical heroes, for his way of life, respecting nature, making peace where there is war, sharing what you have. (although he did have some strange religious views that I discovered when researching him). So, when we learned we would be near where he is buried we thought we would make a stop.

It was quite a lovely and peaceful spot, on top of a hill by a park. The other side is a giant arena so maybe not so much when that is in use but time moves on I guess. But when we were there it was quiet and peaceful.

Then we got back in the car and made a choice – mess about in Ft Wayne a bit longer or get the rest of the drive over with. And we opted to get to our Airbnb, and get settled. So we hit the road, again! We arrived to our Airbnb about an hour and a half later. I love an Airbnb. I feel like it gives Wyatt a lot more freedom, with more space to move and get his energy out, especially after being cooped up in the car, and because he can be loud if he wants. That being said, you never know where you will end up sometimes, neighborhood-wise or city wise even at times, unless you know right where you are going. I tend to focus on what the house itself looks like in the photos, how it is set up, if it looks clean, and also I look at the reviews and rating. So the house we ended up at was super cute and clean and tidy and it appeared to be in a small town that was experiencing some revitalization which is awesome. The house we were at was completely refurbished and updated, comfortable, tidy, with seriously the most comfortable bed we have all laid in ever. And since it was vacation, we often chose to be super lazy and lay in bed and watch television instead of hanging out in the living space. Because why not?

The next day we had some different options for our day. We had our wolf howl in the evening and we had to be there by 6:45 and it was an hour from our rental, so we had to keep that in mind, that we had a two hour round trip drive in the evening. So did we want to spend the day driving to different places, or stay local and have a more chill day? We decided it would be best for Wyatt to have a chill day and not wear the kid out before the wolf howl, so we explored the local area and had a very relaxed and fun day.

It was free comic book day as well! We found a nearby comic book store that Wyatt could get his free comics, and then explored the rest of the city as well. We were in Kokomo, Indiana, and it was a cute little town with a quirky little vibe, with “Geek Street” and art alley. Geek Street was a fun stop. We stopped at the comic book store, Comics Cubed, picked up Wyatt’s free comic, and purchased their souvenir pin while we were there as well. Then we headed next door to Kokomo Toys and Collectibles, which is massive and if you are any kind of toy collector this would be a mecca to head to! SOOOOOOOO many Funko Pops! It was unreal. Mermaid Girl’s head would have exploded in there since she does like to collect them. And there were literally hundreds! Wyatt however, found a different something that he loved. A tiny collectible Bob Ross! He LOVES Bob Ross and that was his pick. I was happy we found that there, because we had considered heading to the Bob Ross Experience in Muncie, an hour south, to tour the Joy of Painting set but ruled it out due to the driving and Wyatt’s tolerance for being in the car another day all day, especially since we were going to be at least 5 hours in the car the next day. Maybe another trip to Indiana we can do that.

From there we headed to Chapter 2 Books, a simply beautiful used book store! It smelled good, like wood, and that is due to the fact that it is in fact, all designed from fresh wood. It was so pretty in there! The shop keeper was super nice, and… there was a store cat named Nancy Drew! She was beautiful as well. We ended up getting a book to read together later this year, in October, and the shopkeeper gave Wyatt a Pete the Cat pin as well, and some stickers from The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I certainly appreciated. LOL.

We continued to poke around, visiting a crystal shop where I picked up a strawberry quartz because I liked the name and it was pretty, and a jasper arrowhead for our nature cabinet. Then we grabbed a pizza from Pizza Co. to take back to the rental for a late lunch, early dinner. It was completely handmade, and it was delicious. We have a tradition of trying to find a non-chain pizza place to get a pizza from on vacations so this one was a happy find!

After our afternoon of exploring and pigging out on pizza, we took a quick little disco nap before we had to get ready for our wolf howl! Tomorrow, I will talk all about the wolves…. but let me tell you, it was awesome!