Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Adventureland
It's hard to believe, but I have never been to Adventureland
in Altoona, IA, so I was excited to join most of Austin's family for a
fun day. The weather was absolutely perfect. It took Emily a little
while to warm up and figure things out, but she had a great time. She
even went on the log ride and a lot of water slides! Lincoln talked big
about going on roller coasters, but stuck to the kiddie rides and the
lazy river with me. His favorite ride of the day was the bumper cars. A
huge thanks to Grandpa & Grandma Lorenzen for a fun day filled
with great memories!
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Chicago
We chose Chicago as the destination for our family trip this summer. Austin travels to Chicago quite a bit for work, so he's somewhat familiar with the city (although he doesn't go to the tourist attractions). The kids have never seen a big city or a large body of water like Lake Michigan. It had been 10 years since I had been to the Windy City.
We arrived Thursday night and checked into our hotel. Friday was the 4th of July. Our big activity of the day was Shedd Aquarium. Both kids loved the water show. They also got to touch several animals. The video of Lincoln pretending to be a penguin is in the July play list.
We enjoyed lunch on the terrace with a gorgeous view of the Chicago skyline.
After checking out the swimming pool at the hotel, we experienced Chicago-style pizza. It was late by the time we were done eating, so we sat down in Millennium Park to watch the fireworks display off Navy Pier through the trees. We were far enough away that we barely heard the booms, but it was just fine.
Before leaving the park we had to take a picture by "The Bean" (aka Cloud Gate).
It was a pretty short walk back to our hotel, although still very crowded. Let's just say the kids got a glimpse of mass humanity. :op
Our second day featured a trip to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). We took the subway to Shedd Aquarium, so today we took the "El". Lincoln was fascinated. Riding the "train" was the highlight of the trip for him, although he said he preferred the underground subway because it went faster. :o)
The wait time to get up to the Skydeck was almost 90 minutes, but the line continually moved and there were lots of displays and different things to look at along the way, so it didn't seem that long. We spent a long time enjoying the views of the city. Emily later said the Willis Tower was the highlight of the trip for her. Both kids were fearless on "The Ledge" which is a see-through plexiglass ledge that sticks out from the top floor.
Instead of taking the train again, we walked to the lakefront and took break by Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. Lincoln got a kick out of trying to feed the birds (see video in July play list).
Then we walked along the lakefront all the way to Navy Pier. It was quite a distance (which we heard about), and we had to take several breaks, but we made it! The pictures below are suppose to show how tired and miserable the kids were and then how happy they were to finally make it. Navy Pier itself was very crowded because of the holiday weekend. We just looked around a little before heading back to the hotel to go swimming. According to my new FitBit Flex, we walked 6.75 miles that day!
We got an incredible deal on our hotel thanks to a contact Austin had. We stayed at The Langham (the first 14 floors of the black building in background) downtown on the river right next to the Trump Tower. I didn't realize until we got there that it was the #1 rated 5-star hotel in Chicago on TripAdvisor. It was definitely the nicest hotel I've ever been in. This was the lobby overlooking the river.
The swimming pool was on the 4th floor. We spent a lot of time there. The kids even got in a hot tub for the first time!
The room was over the top. The kids got a real kick out of the turn-down service at night. They also loved flipping the switch for the privacy glass between the bathroom and sleeping area.
They also enjoyed the view out of our 8th floor window.
Despite the amazing accommodations, Emily's overall assessment was that she'd rather stay in a lower class hotel where we could eat [continental] breakfast. We packed our own breakfast food and gave strict instructions about not touching anything in the well stocked mini bar or food drawers. I think I might agree with her when it comes to family trips. However, I have to say the complimentary Nespresso was superb! ;o)
Our last morning was spent at the Adler Planetarium. I'm sad to say I wasn't terribly impressed. We did get to see the cool Destination Solar System show in the domed Grainger Sky Theater.
We had to stick our toes in Lake Michigan before leaving. It was COLD!
As we headed out of town, Austin showed us where the Concur offices are in Oak Brook, IL and the Marriott next door where he spends most of his time when he comes to Chicago. We also had to take part in the Portillos experience. It didn't disappoint! (Okay, so it didn't disappoint me. The chocolate cake was ahh-mazing. The kids weren't too excited about the poppy seed hot dog buns. Their loss.)
It was a fantastic trip. We had great weather and the kids did awesome. The highlight of the trip for me was seeing them experience so many things for the first time. Great memories were made--and that's what it's all about!
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| Ready to roll! |
We enjoyed lunch on the terrace with a gorgeous view of the Chicago skyline.
After checking out the swimming pool at the hotel, we experienced Chicago-style pizza. It was late by the time we were done eating, so we sat down in Millennium Park to watch the fireworks display off Navy Pier through the trees. We were far enough away that we barely heard the booms, but it was just fine.
Before leaving the park we had to take a picture by "The Bean" (aka Cloud Gate).
It was a pretty short walk back to our hotel, although still very crowded. Let's just say the kids got a glimpse of mass humanity. :op
Our second day featured a trip to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). We took the subway to Shedd Aquarium, so today we took the "El". Lincoln was fascinated. Riding the "train" was the highlight of the trip for him, although he said he preferred the underground subway because it went faster. :o)The wait time to get up to the Skydeck was almost 90 minutes, but the line continually moved and there were lots of displays and different things to look at along the way, so it didn't seem that long. We spent a long time enjoying the views of the city. Emily later said the Willis Tower was the highlight of the trip for her. Both kids were fearless on "The Ledge" which is a see-through plexiglass ledge that sticks out from the top floor.
Instead of taking the train again, we walked to the lakefront and took break by Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. Lincoln got a kick out of trying to feed the birds (see video in July play list).
Then we walked along the lakefront all the way to Navy Pier. It was quite a distance (which we heard about), and we had to take several breaks, but we made it! The pictures below are suppose to show how tired and miserable the kids were and then how happy they were to finally make it. Navy Pier itself was very crowded because of the holiday weekend. We just looked around a little before heading back to the hotel to go swimming. According to my new FitBit Flex, we walked 6.75 miles that day!
We got an incredible deal on our hotel thanks to a contact Austin had. We stayed at The Langham (the first 14 floors of the black building in background) downtown on the river right next to the Trump Tower. I didn't realize until we got there that it was the #1 rated 5-star hotel in Chicago on TripAdvisor. It was definitely the nicest hotel I've ever been in. This was the lobby overlooking the river.The swimming pool was on the 4th floor. We spent a lot of time there. The kids even got in a hot tub for the first time!
The room was over the top. The kids got a real kick out of the turn-down service at night. They also loved flipping the switch for the privacy glass between the bathroom and sleeping area.
Despite the amazing accommodations, Emily's overall assessment was that she'd rather stay in a lower class hotel where we could eat [continental] breakfast. We packed our own breakfast food and gave strict instructions about not touching anything in the well stocked mini bar or food drawers. I think I might agree with her when it comes to family trips. However, I have to say the complimentary Nespresso was superb! ;o)
Our last morning was spent at the Adler Planetarium. I'm sad to say I wasn't terribly impressed. We did get to see the cool Destination Solar System show in the domed Grainger Sky Theater.
We had to stick our toes in Lake Michigan before leaving. It was COLD!
As we headed out of town, Austin showed us where the Concur offices are in Oak Brook, IL and the Marriott next door where he spends most of his time when he comes to Chicago. We also had to take part in the Portillos experience. It didn't disappoint! (Okay, so it didn't disappoint me. The chocolate cake was ahh-mazing. The kids weren't too excited about the poppy seed hot dog buns. Their loss.)
It was a fantastic trip. We had great weather and the kids did awesome. The highlight of the trip for me was seeing them experience so many things for the first time. Great memories were made--and that's what it's all about!
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Village Creek Bible Camp
We carpooled after school on Friday with two other moms and daughters. We took a little side trip to Gunder, Iowa to experience a Gunderburger at The Irish Shanti. I couldn't even finish a half-size one. It is an experience.
It was almost dark by the time we arrived at the camp. After checking in and getting our stuff settled, we attended the opening session and had snacks afterwards. Then it was time to calm down three wound-up girls on bunk beds. We were fortunate to be put in a bunkhouse room with just our friends and our own private bathroom. The girls were all about the top bunks. The moms were happy being on the bottom. Emily was excited to journal all about her experience.
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| First attempt at archery |
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| Warriors |
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| First horse ride |
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| First horse ride in like 15 years. |
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| Selfie by the creek |
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| Bungee trampoline |
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| On top of Pulpit Rock |
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| It was quite the hike, and she had more energy than me! |
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| Tree climbing--with some gutsy perseverance she made it up over 20 feet. |
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| "I can't believe I just climbed that high!" |
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| Kayaking on the lake |
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| Beach watch |
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| How far can you throw a rock? |
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| That's a BIG chair! |
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| Helping out with praise & worship |
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| Camp friends |
We arrived home Sunday afternoon tired but happy. We're already looking forward to doing it again sometime! Below is the video I made of our weekend.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Washington, D.C.
I had the awesome opportunity to visit my dear friend, Angie Bakker, and her husband, Brian, in "The District" this weekend. They actually live in Silver Spring, MD (a.k.a. Montgomery County), but we spent a lot of time "playing in the city." :)
I arrived on a beautiful, hot Friday afternoon. After meeting me at Reagan Airport, Angie & I took the train to the National Mall to meet up with her husband. We dined at a nearby sports bar. This is about the extent of the traditional sight-seeing we did. Look east, see the Capitol (the mall was taped off and crawling with emergency vehicles because someone had apparently tried to set their self on fire). Look west, see the Washington Monument covered in scaffolding. Anything else I saw from the airplane window or a brief glimpse at an intersection. Because it was the middle of the government shutdown, almost nothing was open. However, I didn't come to sight-see (I did that with my family when I was in high school). I came to visit my friends!
The kids were jealous because I got to ride the Metro. I was just happy to follow someone who knew what they were doing and where they were going!
At our last stop I rode the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere out of Wheaton Station. It's 230 ft. long and rises 115 feet. It takes 2 min. 45 sec. to ride it if you don't walk up/down the steps, and you can't see the bottom when you get on at the top. It's not for the faint of heart!
Angie & Brian own a cute little colonial brick house in a neighborhood full of slightly different sizes and varying modifications to the same square red brick house. They have done a LOT of awesome improvements.
One of the great things about the weekend was not having to plan absolutely anything. I was totally on vacation. Angie & Brian run on a very different type of schedule than I normally do (like none at all). It was awesome to spend pretty much the entire Saturday morning chatting in our PJ's with coffee in hand in their screened-in porch. The government shut-down affected our spontaneous planning even more than we imagined it could. For instance, we thought about going kayaking on the Potomac River, but the rental places weren't open because the launch site was on federal property. Boo! So, our second plan was to go to the Newseum. Angie had been wanting to go, and she could get in free that day with her teacher ID. It was interesting, but reminded me why I rarely watch the news. It's too depressing and disturbing. The view from the 4th floor terrace was amazing. The Capitol was one direction. In the other direction was the bell tower where Brian proposed to Angie. :o)
Afterwards, Brian joined us for window shopping on M Street in Georgetown. We took funny pictures like the one below in a $2,400 chair.
I took pictures of other fun or funny things that you don't normally see in Iowa. From left to right starting at the top: A church service for pets, a heavenly chocolate-dipped cranberry coconut macaroon, a ridiculous sign offering free sandwiches to furloughed government workers, the swanky Dean & Deluca Gourmet Grocery, a selection of mushrooms at D&D, a $86 fur cape for your dog?!?, a pot of freshly caught blue crabs that will be someone's supper, a personalized dressing room at Anthropologie. It was a very fun evening capped off with a light supper at Chop't.
On Sunday, we dropped Brian off at church and headed north to Annapolis, MD. What is normally a quaint, seaside shopping area was crazy and overrun with people in town for the Army/Navy football game and the huge, annual yacht show. It was another gorgeous day, and we still enjoyed an amazing brunch overlooking the water and did some successful shopping. In the first picture below, the buildings across the harbor are part of the Naval Academy.
When we were tired of shopping and our parking time was about to expire (parking is the worst part of the city!), we headed to a gated community where Angie & Brian's friends live. They weren't home at the time, but Angie knows the code, so we enjoyed an hour on the community's beach with our feet in the water before Angie had to bring me to the airport. It was heavenly!
It was the absolute perfect vacation/getaway. It was so great to see Angie & Brian and encourage them after they have had a really rough year. I hope I can do it again sometime!
I arrived on a beautiful, hot Friday afternoon. After meeting me at Reagan Airport, Angie & I took the train to the National Mall to meet up with her husband. We dined at a nearby sports bar. This is about the extent of the traditional sight-seeing we did. Look east, see the Capitol (the mall was taped off and crawling with emergency vehicles because someone had apparently tried to set their self on fire). Look west, see the Washington Monument covered in scaffolding. Anything else I saw from the airplane window or a brief glimpse at an intersection. Because it was the middle of the government shutdown, almost nothing was open. However, I didn't come to sight-see (I did that with my family when I was in high school). I came to visit my friends!
The kids were jealous because I got to ride the Metro. I was just happy to follow someone who knew what they were doing and where they were going!
At our last stop I rode the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere out of Wheaton Station. It's 230 ft. long and rises 115 feet. It takes 2 min. 45 sec. to ride it if you don't walk up/down the steps, and you can't see the bottom when you get on at the top. It's not for the faint of heart!
Angie & Brian own a cute little colonial brick house in a neighborhood full of slightly different sizes and varying modifications to the same square red brick house. They have done a LOT of awesome improvements.
One of the great things about the weekend was not having to plan absolutely anything. I was totally on vacation. Angie & Brian run on a very different type of schedule than I normally do (like none at all). It was awesome to spend pretty much the entire Saturday morning chatting in our PJ's with coffee in hand in their screened-in porch. The government shut-down affected our spontaneous planning even more than we imagined it could. For instance, we thought about going kayaking on the Potomac River, but the rental places weren't open because the launch site was on federal property. Boo! So, our second plan was to go to the Newseum. Angie had been wanting to go, and she could get in free that day with her teacher ID. It was interesting, but reminded me why I rarely watch the news. It's too depressing and disturbing. The view from the 4th floor terrace was amazing. The Capitol was one direction. In the other direction was the bell tower where Brian proposed to Angie. :o)
Who wouldn't enjoy a mid-afternoon treat on a beautiful day with this beautiful soul? :o)
Afterwards, Brian joined us for window shopping on M Street in Georgetown. We took funny pictures like the one below in a $2,400 chair.
I took pictures of other fun or funny things that you don't normally see in Iowa. From left to right starting at the top: A church service for pets, a heavenly chocolate-dipped cranberry coconut macaroon, a ridiculous sign offering free sandwiches to furloughed government workers, the swanky Dean & Deluca Gourmet Grocery, a selection of mushrooms at D&D, a $86 fur cape for your dog?!?, a pot of freshly caught blue crabs that will be someone's supper, a personalized dressing room at Anthropologie. It was a very fun evening capped off with a light supper at Chop't.
Do I look like yacht material?!?
Panorama shot of the harbor from the restaurant.
When we were tired of shopping and our parking time was about to expire (parking is the worst part of the city!), we headed to a gated community where Angie & Brian's friends live. They weren't home at the time, but Angie knows the code, so we enjoyed an hour on the community's beach with our feet in the water before Angie had to bring me to the airport. It was heavenly!
It was the absolute perfect vacation/getaway. It was so great to see Angie & Brian and encourage them after they have had a really rough year. I hope I can do it again sometime!
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