Leigh & Jason
Things To Do
Bryan Park
One of our favorite parks! We've caught so many pokemon here and spent many hours walking the loop. This is the park where Jason proposed (and then Leigh proposed back). You can find the spot right by the tennis courts.
Switchyard Park
A fun park right by our apartment - great for long walks and for seeing cute dogs. Often the host of Bloomington Food Truck Friday.
B-Line Trail
Walk the B-Line to get a taste of Bloomington! Jason and Leigh have spent many hours walking the B-Line over the years. The B-Line Trail is an asphalt, multi-use trail that extends a total of 3.1 miles from the east side of Adams Street, through downtown, through Switchyard Park, to the north side of Country Club Drive.
Brown County State Park
A short drive from Bloomington, this is a great spot to visit for those who will be in town for a few extra days. Tons of great trails to hike and beautiful views all around.
Indiana University Bloomington
Swing by IU's campus while you're in town and see a little bit more of where Leigh works! Leigh's actual place of work is Collins Living-Learning Center, located at 541 N. Woodlawn Avenue - feel free to walk by or even stop in if you want. If you're looking for fun things to do on campus, stop by the The Eskenazi Museum of Art or the IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Or take a stroll through the arboretum (where the Little 500 used to be run many years ago), Dunn Meadow, or stop by to see the Rose Well House. Leigh's favorite spot on campus is the little cemetery by Beck Chapel, which is located right next to the Indiana Memorial Union.
Downtown Bloomington
If you have some free time, we would definitely recommend walking around the square in downtown Bloomington. There are tons of cute shops to pop into and great restaurants, bars, and coffee/tea places to visit. We've spent MANY hours walking around downtown! Some highlights are - Caveat Emptor Used Books, Goods for Cooks, Gather: Handmade Shoppe, Global Gifts, Landlocked Music, Vintage Phoenix Comic Books, all of 4th Street (lots of good restaurants here), The Owlery (vegetarian/vegan restaurant with amazing food), Function, Cup & Kettle, or if you're looking for bars - Video Saloon (mostly known as the Vid), Nick's, The Back Door, The Cade (arcade bar), The Root Cellar.
Mother Bear's Pizza - Campus
A famous Bloomington stop - great pizza (our favorite is Spinoccoli), great atmosphere. If you have the time to dine in, it's an awesome place to visit. If you decide to order delivery, we usually do the early bird special between 4pm-6pm to get a good discount.
Taste of India
One of our favorite restaurants in Bloomington. If you have time, definitely go for the lunch buffet and try everything! Jason's favorite dish to order (when we get delivery) is the Chicken Kadahi and Leigh's is the Nawrattan Korma. We also definitely recommend getting an order of vegetable pakora.
The Irish Lion Restaurant & Pub
One of our original date night pubs (get the blarney puffballs!!) and a great little restaurant to stop at if you're walking around downtown. Fun fact: a historic photo of the bar is featured in the opening credits of Cheers.
Soma Coffeehouse and Juice Bar
Soma was Leigh's original favorite place in Bloomington. She recommends the Peppermint Patty or the Razz-Ma-Tazz if you're looking for a fancy coffee drink while you're walking around downtown. Make sure to get some of their homemade whipped cream on your drink!
The Chocolate Moose
A great spot to grab some ice cream! This place has been around for YEARS. We best know it as a little walk-up stand but it has since been renovated into a larger building. Tons of homemade ice cream options and also chocolate covered frozen bananas - how can you go wrong?
Visit the Farmers Market
Bloomington has several farmers markets to check out, including one conveniently located at the wedding venue, Woolery Mill! Another market we would recommend stopping by is The People's Cooperative Market (https://www.peoplesmarketbtown.org/). If you're looking for something to do Saturday morning before the wedding, visiting a farmers market in Bloomington is a great choice.
Common Room Games
Why not visit our favorite game store while you're in town? We've spent way too many hours to count playing Magic the Gathering here.
Friendly Beasts Cider Company
Stop in to grab a cider (fermented and blended in Bloomington) from Friendly Beasts! They offer tastings, by-the-glass sales, and growler fills.
The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch
Looking for something to do on the morning before the wedding? Head to the Monroe County Courthouse Lawn for the 13th annual Great Glass Pumpkin Patch! Jason and Leigh love this annual event where you can pick out and purchase your very own handmade blown glass pumpkin made by the members of the Bloomington Creative Glass Center. The event goes from 10 AM - 3 PM (or until supplies run out) on Saturday, October 15th and there will be over 1000 glass pumpkins on display. There is always a line, so if you're going, go early! We can't wait to see which pumpkin you pick out!!