A Diamond in the Rough

A couple of months ago, Kenny and I stumbled upon a quaint little town that was buzzing with life. We were on a date. I was wearing a dress, and Kenny was looking handsome. This little town was full of life and radiated energy. There were two soccer fields right in town with games playing all night under the lights. The little town is right on a lake. There is a park where people were fishing, having picnics, catching up with old friends. All of the buildings were perfect. And there are drinking fountains in town that have 3 different levels. One for adults, one for kids, and one for dogs! Way exciting. The picture below is the entrance to a parking garage! It was all so beautiful. 

After visiting this magical place, we texted our best friends and told them we were going to take them on a date night and everything was going to be a surprise. I had a terrible time keeping this a secret, and we had to wait weeks because are schedules never seemed to line up on Friday nights. But finally, the day came and we took them on an adventure. They had just bought a grandpa car, so we drove them. We blindfolded them and told them to sit tight. I drove to the magical place, not wanting them to know where we were going, I took random turns and stops. Leslie grew up here so she was able to guess where we were most of the time, but at the end, she had no idea. On the ride there, I can't remember if it was Josh or Leslie, but one of them said, "Nicole, I would classify you as an aggressive driver." And I would agree. Not a mean driver. I just don't like to stop any longer than I have to, and if people aren't going the speed limit, I have no problem passing them : ) That may or may not be a good thing. **Note: I am 23 and have never been in an accident. Once we arrived, we took pictures and had a great time.

This place had fresh brewed tea. And if you can see the sidewalks in the background, they were all neat designs.

This was the meca of soda pop. Josh is covering a third of the options.

The same place that had the meca of soda pop, was also a chocolate shop. Leslie here is eating one of her truffles. They were AMAZING! They were also over $1 each. But man were they worth it.

We got take out at one of the local restaurants and had a picnic in the park. Kenny is enjoying his pasta : )

The clouds, need I say more!!!

Lots and lots of birds. This small town even has a yacht club. It is one of the nicer wealthier towns around here.

Me and My Best Friend in the Whole Wide World. I love this girl!

These would be our husbands. Josh and Kenny.

I love this picture of Josh because he is so meticulous about his games. Once Leslie said with dominion card in hand, "One of the meanest things I could do to Josh would be to bend one of the cards." Josh about had a heart attack. This is our new favorite game. DOMINION. We are dorky game lovers, and we wouldn't change it for the world. Some of our best memories revolve around us hanging out and playing games.

1. Mexico - we played hours of a stupid dice game. I say stupid because I never won, and we must have played dozens of games : ( 
2. Sardines - One of my first a favorite memories was under a bunk bed on a youth retreat with Leslie. We bonded to say the least.
3. Dominion, Ticket to Ride, Settlers, Killer Bunnies - All of our true colors shine when we play games. Leslie is always really nice, and the rest of us, we just want to win, so we may or may not offend people along the way. 

Josh and Leslie. 

Kenny and me

The best part of the game is that everyone thinks they are winning the whole game and I am not usually too disappointed when I lose. I played about 10 times before I actually won. After dinner and games in the park, we went to Derby Station for desert and drinks. Derby Station is a pub with lots of different beers.

They had really cool lamps and wooden tables and benches.

We had a lot of fun!

We brought Dominion in with us, but were having too much fun talking. And eating.

This was Kenny's beer. He likes beer. I like wine. And the ceilings in this place were high and open with exposed metal beams.

This was the sample beers. The light one in the middle was called chips and salsa. It tasted like chips and salsa, which was not a good thing. 

Best coasters I've ever seen.

Leslie running through the fountains. 

All in all, it was a magical night in a magical place.

Nicole