usa: indiana: kokomo

I always enjoy going to Kokomo, Indiana, even though I don't usually do very much while I'm there. Kokomo is Kelley's hometown, and as such, a second hometown for me. It's always two or three days of perfect relaxation, I love it.

During this visit Kelley and I realized we have been friends for 21 years. Awesome.

This past year Kelley's mom passed away, so this was my first visit to the house without Rhonda. It was very different, to say the least. Rhonda was an amazing woman, I miss her. There is no way to adequately describe her, to really show how amazing she was. All I know is that the world is a lesser place without her.

The drive from Chicagoland took a little over four hours, plus moving forward an hour in time. We picked up Portillo's for dinner from the branch in Merrilville, which is always tasty.

The next day consisted of almost nothing. I got to go to Mom's Homemade Pies, which is easily one of the best pie shops in the whole world. (Side note, it closed at the end of 2019, I was supremely disappointed.)

I don't know if anyone has ever said how many pies one 'should' have at one time, but I blew past whateva that limit would be. I bought four pies that morning. YUM. This place has a fantastic ratio of filling to crust, and the flavours are always perfect.

The next day we met up with Anita and Chris, Kelley's longtime friends. I met them during the Ireland trip, almost 10 years ago. The five of us spent the entire afternoon at the house of a friend of Chris, the house had a pool, and poolhouse.

It was a perfect day. The pool had a slide, and a fake palm tree, and the host had different floaties to play with in the water. So nice to just hang out and talk, play around in the water, and relax. At one point we ate a picnic lunch, then spent another hour or two in the water. Absolute perfection.

The next day we drove back to Chicagoland. I know I'll come back to Kokomo, as Kelley's house will always be a second home for me. One of these visits I'll actually see some of the 'tourist' sights of the city, hahahaha.