Pumpkin Carving 2017

Happy Halloween! Time for some pumpkin pictures. And y'all will have to decide which pumpkin wins this year because we honestly can't. Both of us are at the top of our pumpkin carving games, respectively, and these may be our best pumpkins yet. 

Colonel was totally over it this year. He came over before we got into things, sniffed around, then left the kitchen and just casually kept an eye on us from afar. Major, however, kept his sweet little head on my knee the entire time I was carving my pumpkin. He's just too much, you guys.

Our pumpkins had been sitting outside our front door and they were sunshiney warm when we started cutting into them. And let me just tell you, scooping pumpkin guts out of steamy pumpkins is substantially grosser than scooping pumpkin guts out of cool or room temperature pumpkins. I'm just sayin'. 

Yes. That is my husband using a drill to carve his pumpkin. #polkcountystyle

October 30, 2017

A Word for Wednesday

"What arrested him now as of value in life was less its beauty than its pathos...

Who was the moral man? Still more pertinently, who was the moral woman? 

The beauty or ugliness of a character lay not only in its achievements, but in its aims and impulses; its true history lay, not among things done, but among things willed."

~from Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy~

Indiana

Well, for all who were dying to know, the third state we checked off our Bucket List on our crazy roadtrip was Indiana. 

Obviously, we drove through several states on this trip (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois if you must know), but the only three we counted for our official goal to #SeeAll50 were Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. Remember, our parameter for this goal is to actually stop and do a specific activity unique to the state to be able to check it off the list. So in Indiana, we voluntarily spent the night in jail.

I kid you not. The Old Jail Inn served as Parke County, Indiana's jail and sheriff's office from 1879 to 1998 and was converted and opened as a Bed & Breakfast in 2010. The cells each have their own theme and we spent our night behind bars in the Bonnie and Clyde cell.

Not only is Parke County, Indiana home to the Old Jail Inn, it's the covered bridge capital of the world with a whopping 31 covered bridges so we spent the first day of October on a covered bridge scavenger hunt.

How sweet are these bridges?! We found 10 out of 31 and at our 10th covered bridge, we also visited the oldest continually operating sawmill west of the Alleghenies. They sell all sorts of yummy goods and I picked up a bag of fresh ground, whole grain pumpkin pancake mix.

These Parke County people know their market--we found the most adorable little antique shop called Lover's Lane Antiques. To get inside, you have to go through their own covered bridge. Come. On.

As fun as finding each lovely covered bridge was, my favorite part of our quest was driving down streets like this to find them:

Gravel roads, miles of undeveloped land, corn taller than my husband, windmills slowly turning in the sunset: I loved driving through Indiana.

And speaking of the drive, the real star of this insane 6-day, 2,800+ mile roadtrip was our Fit. This was the first big trip we took in our little car and we couldn't be prouder of our Honda. She handled the long days, gravel roads, and countless detours like a champ, and we're ready to take her back out whenever the travel bug bites us next.

Indiana : done.

5 down, 45 to go. And we even have our next trip planned out and ready to go. What are some things we can't miss as we visit the 45 remaining states on our list? Have you ever driven through a covered wooden bridge? Have you spent any memorable nights in jail, voluntarily or otherwise? Tell me all your stories.

A Word for Wednesday

"Yet it was in that vale that her sorrow had taken shape, and she did not love it as formerly. 

Beauty to her, as to all who have felt, lay not in the thing, but in what the thing symbolized."

~from Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy~

Happy Birthday to Me!

In exactly one month, I'll be turning 30 years old. I haven't been too happy about that. In fact, if you know me, you know I stopped having birthdays at 25.

But a few weeks ago, I got a birthday e-mail from Compassion asking if I'd be interested in pledging my birthday to give a child clean water.

What?! Of course I want to do that! 

Did you know there are more than 660 million people who don't have access to clean water? 

Did you know that a mere $79 will buy a family a water filter so that they can have clean water for the rest of their lives? 

This year, I'm celebrating my birthday, and it would make my year if you'd celebrate with me. Cody and I love Compassion, and I'm so psyched to be able to partner with them on this important project. My goal is to raise $2,370: enough water filters for 30 families. 

So tell everyone that Hannah Hancock is turning 30! Don't be shy about it. I would be honored if you would donate to this cause. Every single dollar makes a difference. You don't have to donate $79 to make my day—$1 would do it.

For the link to my fundraising page: click here. And feel free to share it! Everyone is welcome at this party. 

"And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."

~Matthew 10:42~

Cheers!

Michigan

After shoving off the shore of Wisconsin and sailing for 4 hours across Lake Michigan, we landed in Michigan the evening of September 29th.

We had a super-fun time on board the SS Badger, the only coal-fired steamship in operation in the United States. This ferry was first launched in 1952 and has been designated a national historic landmark. Definitely a must-do on our Bucket List, and I would highly recommend it if you're ever up that way.

We stumbled around the deck (record-breaking winds made for a rockin' trip--bless all the seasick people), shopped, napped, read, and played Yahtzee. There were plenty of things to do on board including a theater room (they showed Roman Holiday and Sully on our trip), a video game room, a museum, a gift shop, and a cafe. Once we landed in Ludington, we checked into Nader's Motel for the night. Five stars for Nader's. We loved it and wished we could have stayed more than 1 night--especially when we woke up to freezing temps in the morning! 

In the morning, we hit up the House of Flavors for breakfast and free ice cream cones (we got vouchers from Nader's--I told you we loved it there!). This was the cutest little 50s-style diner you ever did see and as it turns out, they hold a Guinness World Record for the longest ice cream sundae! 

After breakfast, we headed into Ludington State Park and made the 2-mile hike out to Big Sable Point Lighthouse ("sable" rhymes with "gobble"). We climbed the 130 steps to the top of the tower for gorgeous views across Lake Michigan. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was a clear, beautiful day and I could have hung out on the beach climbing the sand dunes for hours. But we had an itinerary to stick to so we kept moving on....

...to an elk ranch. You guys. This was really fun. We took a wagon ride through 100+ acres of an elk ranch and fed these sweet creatures by hand. 

We bought some antlers (not the one pictured!) to bring home to Colonel and Major (they love to chew on an antler) and then hit the road again. We stopped at Grandpa's Cider Mill to watch apples being pressed and pick up some fresh cider donuts and then kept beating it south. 

Michigan : done.

To find out the third and final state we checked off our Bucket List on this trip, come back next Monday! Have you ever fed an elk or some other unusual animal? What's the best view you've ever taken in from the top of something tall? Have you been to Lake Michigan or any of the other Great Lakes?