Wonderful day

I woke up bright and early before 6:30 am on Saturday. I think I may have been a little excited because if you know me, you know getting up early is not my greatest strength. I got ready, hit the road, enjoyed a gorgeous drive through the country and got to NF's apartment by 8:30. We made sandwiches for our lunch, through in a few snacks and the fresh pineapple I brought, and started on our journey towards Independence.
First, we stopped in Elk Falls, Kansas. NF's grandparents had been teachers there and always drove across an old bridge to get to town. You can't drive across the bridge now, but we can still walk across it. I was a little freaked out but I did it! (although I'm not as scared of bridges as I used to be, they still make me a little nervous). There is a little waterfall on the river along with an old stone wall that used to be part of a mill. It was really neat to look at and see all the trees growing along the river. Across the bridge there were a bunch of wild tiger lilies growing. In fact in a lot of places all over town they were growing.
Also in Elk Falls (the main reason we were there) is a little pottery shop (Elk Falls Pottery). NF loves pottery and his church had ordered a special communion plate and chalice from the shop so he wanted to check it out. I loved it. The store was just this little rustic place set back from the road and the couple who ran it were so nice. The pottery was absolutely gorgeous. There were mugs, ornaments, pots, dishes, vases, pitchers and cup sets. . . .I ended up with a little vase that is truly unique. When they glazed and fired it, it was supposed to be this raspberry color but it ended up being a soft sage green color! I like that I picked the one that was still beautiful but didn't quite turn out as planned. I definitely have to go back and do some Christmas shopping. I had to use the restroom while I was there and the lady took me into their house (my favorite part about it was the fact it had all this old-fashioned furniture and two Apple computers!) and the bathroom was like an outhouse! In the house! And it didn't stink at all! It amazed me. And to think people were probably amazed at indoor plumbing.
We ended up spending about an hour at the shop then we continued on to the Little House on the Prairie. The Prairie Days celebration was going on, which isn't a huge thing but they had food, a few people selling some antiques and books, a character contest, and some entertainment. And fresh lemonade!!! It was SO good! They had a gift shop and we browsed around there. NF bought me a guidebook to all the Little House sites you can visit and a mug. And guess where the mug was made? That's right! Elk Falls Pottery! NF saw it and thought it looked familiar. After we looked around there, we of course, looked at the replica of the cabin. It is so tiny; it's hard to believe it probably was actually that small. I didn't think it was but when you think about the fact the trees were only a certain size and at one point the roof was just the wagon canvas top, it probably really was very small. Also on the site, is a turn-of-the-century post office (it was moved from its original location) and an old schoolhouse! I love old schoolhouses. On display in the schoolhouse was an original copy of the first publication of Little House on the Prairie and Farmer Boy. It made me think that I want to try to get my hands on an original copy of one of more of the books someday.
After we left, we went into Independence to see Dr. Tann's grave; he was a doctor that treated the Ingalls family when they were sick. After that we headed back to NF's apartment and just chilled out for a few hours and watched a movie. Then we went to see Pirates 3. I liked it a lot. I decided that I really like the theatre down near him even better than the ones up here based solely on the popcorn. The popcorn is so much better! :-)

After the movie we watched TV for a little bit before I left. It may have been because I was tired, but I didn't want to leave right away. I had such a great time. And it was this nice, quiet, relaxing day. And I like that we are both good with that. We don't have to do some super exciting fast-paced thing.

Tonight is Bible study. . .this afternoon I have my two interviews and then I'll give him a call and we're going to Chipotle. He suggested it last night, I love the way his mind works ;-)

I also got to thinking about some other stuff that I will write about later.