Playing Dumb In Big 10 College Towns

My heart - brings me to my knees
There's God: the forest for the trees
Move me, like the wind will stir the leaves
I give way to the mystery like the branches in the breeze.
David Wilcox, Into The Mystery

Celebrate we will
Because life is short but sweet for certain.
Dave Matthews Band, Two Step

Last week, we found ourselves doing rather odd things just a stone's throw from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. We posed semi-nude in front of Camp Randall, the home field of the Badgers:

And then we hit up the National Mustard Museum on our way out of town:

We took a long weekend to scout out Evanston, Illinois (the home of Northwestern University) and Ann Arbor, Michigan (U. of Mich), the two schools with quasi-legitimate claims to be "the Harvard of the Midwest."

Lindsay had a beautiful view of the Chicago skyline as she caught up on her tanning regimen:

And then she walked through a beautiful lily pond in Lincoln Park:

Meanwhile, Tom went for a walk around parts of the city and then settled into a little reading and mid-afternoon coffee:

We went for a run around Wrigley Field while the Cubs and Pirates battled inside:

On Sunday, we worshipped with the historic Reba Place Church, a Mennonite community started in the late 50s:

And then we were invited to lunch with the Reba Place Fellowship, a group of 12 folks who live in intentional community at a house called "The Clearing." They commit to an "open purse," which means that they pool all their income together and have a highly organized list of jobs around the house. They eat 19 meals a week together and read Scripture and pray together. Every Saturday night they have movie night. Reba Place has purchased a lot of property in the neighborhood and people from the church live in different buildings.

On Sunday afternoon, we drove 4 hours to Ann Arbor, Michigan to see our good friend Mike Smith (a man who has attended more than 75 Dave Matthews concerts...and counting) and his girlfriend Nurse Betsy. She has earned 2 degrees from the University of Michigan and is one more year away from finishing her masters in nursing. We really had a great time celebrating Life with this fine-looking couple. Here we are at Zingerman's bakery, a place that Obama demanded to stop at during his recent trip to Ann Arbor:

And we stayed up waaaaay tooooo late playing Mexican Train:

We finished our time with Mike and Nurse Betsy canoeing, jumping off bridges, and taking in all the beauty of the Huron River:

We left this portion of our trip Tuesday afternoon feeling enlivened by some epic stops overflowing with generous hospitality, stimulating conversation and new learnings, and adventurous antics with new and old friends.