There’s something magical about Bloomington summers. I don’t know if it’s because the students are gone or if it’s because the weather’s perfect, but it truly turns into a different town for about three months. I try to soak up every single minute because the summer version of Bloomington is my absolute favorite.
I feel lucky to live in a town with so much going for it — plenty of entertainment, no shortage of amazing food and a great local-first attitude. It seems all of that really comes alive in the summer with nonstop events and promotions happening. It’s hard to keep up with everything that’s going on!
James and I finally got a chance to enjoy a wonderful weekend at home after a month of constant travel. And it was an absolute blast. We basically biked and ate our way through town — that all balances out, right?
We started our weekend with Food Truck Friday at the Chocolate Moose, which is always a good decision. We try to make it once or twice a month and love trying out new types of food. There’s great live music, which makes for a cheap and fun evening out. This week I sampled beer cheese nachos from The Gravy Train and they didn’t disappoint. We worked some of our meal off with a 15-mile bike ride and got home just as the sun started to set. After showering and letting our legs rest, we headed to The Back Door for a couple drinks and a drag show. It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend!
We hopped on our bikes again Saturday morning and rode down to the Farmers’ Market for breakfast. It’s so hard to choose what to sample because all of the local vendors are amazing. I went for a pretzel croissant from Muddy Fork Bakery and a raspberry-hibiscus soda from Piccoli Dolci.
James opted for breakfast pizza from Muddy Fork and cold brew from Ule Zing. We felt a little less guilty about our indulgent meals after biking home and spending Sunday swimming at Lake Monroe. The wonderful weekend made me want to come up with a bucket list for the rest of summer.
What’s on your summer bucket list?