FORT WAYNE, INDIANA!

In anticipation of the 2017 Oscars telecast, we decided to take a quick trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana in order to watch a movie. Everybody does this, right? We realized that we had seen every film that had been nominated for the major categories (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress) – with the exception of one. And that movie was “Elle.” Being a foreign release it didn’t get nearly the same theater exposure as some of the other films. It was actually playing in a couple of theaters in the Chicago area. But… we had already completed the state of Illinois (county-wise). But there were two counties in northeast Indiana that we had inexplicably missed. And those counties were 25 miles south of Fort Wayne. So it was perfect. No county left behind!

We braved a slight snowstorm and headed out on Saturday morning. We drove straight through to Fort Wayne and the Carmike 20 Theaters. The film started at 4:40. We arrived with about 15 minutes to spare. As blind luck would have it, our hotel (the Comfort Suites North) was a block away.

The movie ended around 7:00. Afterward we decided to go to dinner at Coney Island – the most popular restaurant in the city. It’s over 100 years old and serves hot dogs. And the line was out the door. So we decided to move on straight for the two counties we needed to hit.

We headed south of the city on HWY 1. About 20 miles later we entered Jay County. A few miles later we headed west on HWY 18 and entered Blackford County. Our goals for the weekend had been met! From there we turned back around and went straight to Red Robin for a late dinner.

The following morning we got up and headed straight to Coney Island. We were determined to try it. And even though we showed up 90 minutes after they opened (9:00 on Sunday morning) the place was already busy. And for the record, the hot dogs are quite tasty.

Upon leaving we headed straight home. It was a crazy weekend for only two bonus counties. But that’s what we do! So what’s next? Well we have a four-day weekend planned in Nashville over a long Easter weekend. So stay tuned!

                                                NEW COUNTIES - 2

                                                TOTAL COUNTIES FOR 2017 - 38

                                                ALL TIME COUNTY TOTAL - 1559


7/17/17 UPDATE: We recently realized that in putting our county list together, we had inadvertently failed to include two counties that we had previously entered. On a summer, 2014 road trip, we went to Disneyland in California (Orange County). And upon leaving Disneyland for Las Vegas, we entered Riverside County as well. So even though it says 1559 total counties in this post above, the actual number at the time was 1561.