Melissa's Idea Garden

Well things are winding down. It is hard to believe we have been gone from home for over 4 weeks. But it really doesn't seem like it has been so long. The time has been flying by.

We had a lovely flight from Invercargill to Christchurch and then onto Sydney. Customs wasn't so bad and we really are becoming pros at handling the massive amounts of luggage.

We are staying at the Hilton Sydney in an executive suite. The rooms and service are excellent, though the suites aren't really meant for family accomodations.

We are right across from Queen Victoria Building and in the basement there is a food court. It is nice because the kids can get things from McDonald's and Daniel and I can have food like sushi and Indian...

Unfortunately, I had a headache all day yesterday and didn't do much except lay around and nap. Finally, I made myself go outside with Katrina. We went in search first of the swimming pool, but it is part of a health club and while we can use it, when we went down, all the lanes were filled with lap swimmers. So we walked to Darling Harbor and found a little playground, but it was really more for toddlers. The walk out did us good though, as my headache finally began to drift away.

We played some cards and turned in early.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today was an awesome day! We checked out of our hotel around 9. Then we headed to the Te Anau Wildlife Center. We took a walk through the woods. We also learned about and photographed some of the local birds. Some pictures are below. For more, you can go to this Flickr link.

Unfortunately it was to cloudy to fully appreciate the beauty of Lake Te Anau, which is the largest lake on the South Island, but what we did see was beautiful and serene.

We grabbed brekky and lunch from the local supermarket and then drove to Invercargill. It was only a 2 hour drive and we saw sheep, cows, deer and a little rain. The land grew flatter and flatter.

We checked into our hotel and it was a welcome place to visit. We each had our own room. The way the hotel was set up was there was a main door, then off of that two doors each leading to a bedroom. Each bedroom had a bathroom, tv, tons of space, and some kitchen facilities. After all of our togetherness, you could practically hear the rejoicing as we each went into our own rooms...

As you can see Daniel was thrilled with the accomodations!

Continue reading "October 18, 2009 - Te Anau to Invercargill and Bluff" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today we got up slowly. Daniel was tired and had a few complaining muscles after yesterday's adventure. Katrina and I were ready first, so we even got to get in an extra game of pool. When I was growing up, we had a pool table in our basement and I would spend hours there. I am not as good as I was back then, but it was still a lot of fun to play.

We left Fox Glacier around 10:00 and began the long drive to Te Anau (without stops, it was a 6 hour drive). Along the way we stopped several times to take photographs of amazing views. It rained off and on in between bouts of sunshine.

We saw sheep, cows, deer. We walked along the Tasman Sea and found some beautiful rocks and loads of driftwood. We saw green fields, icy crags, and rolling hills/mountains covered with everything from Evergreens to tufts of grass. We drove through valleys, admired rivers, streams, and waterfalls, and saw a rainbow. And we took photos of rain in a valley below, then later drove through those patches of rain.

Continue reading "October 17, 2009 - Te Anau" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today we got up and guess what? It was raining! We had about a three hour drive from Greymouth to Fox Glacier. A couple of times we saw tops of snow covered mountains, the rest of the time we saw green, rain, fog, cows, and sheep.

We arrived in Fox Glacier before lunch. Daniel and Jack signed up to go on a 4 hour guided hike of Fox Glacier. Katrina and I stayed behind. We played a couple of games of pool at the hotel and then we went back to the room. Katrina watched TV and played Runescape. I got caught up on computer stuff.

The whole time Daniel and Jack were gone, it rained, and I am talking soaking, solid rain. They had been provided with rain gear and boots for the hike, but they still came home looking like drenched rats. They had an awesome time, however. They said they had to climb over 700 steps cut into the glacier and that their guide was from Iceland. Not sure if Daniel has posted the videos yet, but they took some videos and photos during their adventure.

As a side note, the constant rain caused Daniel's really nice camera to stop working. Fortunately, another hiker had the same camera and had had the same problem in the past - so he told Daniel to take the camera apart when he got back to the room and put it in a nice dry spot. Well, we had electric radiators and Daniel was able to create a nice warm environment for his camera and it is back to perfect working order (just something to remember should you ever run into that kind of problem).

We did one load of laundry - and it went smoothly! That was a nice change!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not too much to speak of on the 14th and 15th. We left Nelson amidst a rainstorm. We drove to Greymouth. It was late afternoon by the time we arrived and we just hung out. We decided to do laundry the next morning and that fiasco ended up taking us 5 hours to complete because of one bad dryer. I am really hating laundry on this trip!

So, after that, we took a walk along the wall which has been built between the river and the town to help prevent flooding. And that was about all we did the whole time we were in Greymouth. We were all feeling kind of grey...

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was a fun day. We got up early and headed to the Ferry Terminal. We needed to be ready to board at 7:40 a.m. and we were all good to go by 7 or so. The Interislander is the ferry we rode on and it was huge! There were 10 decks. There was a playground (think big McDonald's playground) on the second deck, along with two movie cinemas and a cafe. Cars, trucks, RVs, were parked on decks 3 and 5. On deck 7, there was a family room with a couple of tv screens (one news, one cartoons), some video games and a few toys, plus plenty of seating and big windows for looking out, a cafe, a reclining room (chairs like you would see on an airplane, but nicer), and a small store. Then on Deck 8, there was another reclining lounge, a food court, and a restaurant. On deck 9 there were passenger cabins. On Deck 10 there was an observation/sun deck. Quite nice! I had never been on such a large ship before. It was really cool and the three hours flew by!

We landed in Picton and picked up a new rental car and had lunch at the Dog and Frog (no kidding!). The food was great!. Picton is a quaint little seaside town and it looked a lot like Mayberry. Only about 12,000 inhabitants. The water was so beautiful - it was turquoise.

Here is a picture or two.

Continue reading "October 13, 2009 - Wellington by Ferry to Picton to Nelson" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, we left the hotel a little before 10:00. Our first stop was a nearby laundry business that the hotel directed us to. While they offer laundry service at the hotel, the cost is by piece of clothing (for example: $9/pair of pants). This was not going to work for us, so we looked for a place that charged by the load. Well, we plugged the address into our GPS, Golem. But Golem pulled one of his normal stunts and told us we were there, when in fact, we were about 1 mile from where we needed to be. I got out with the three bags of laundry, thinking it was just a little way to go, and I kept asking in stores and being told it was just over there, then I would keep going and before I knew it I had walked about a mile, my arms were breaking and for my troubles, I was told that the place I was looking for had closed last month!!! The lady that told me that, then got out the phonebook and found a couple of other addresses for me before I began my trek back. Fortunately, Daniel had come looking for me in the car, so I didn't have to walk all the way back. We decided the laundry could wait one more day.....

Next we headed to Central Park because Katrina and Jack were keen to show their dad the Flying Fox ride and Katrina was really wanting just some playtime. The Flying Fox is an awesome zipline and the kids had a blast on it. I have some video and when I have better internet, I'll try and post some of these videos I have made. I did get some pictures of the kids climbing around.

After that, we headed to the Sheepskin Warehouse. In Australia, Katrina and I got some opal jewelry, that was our 'big' souvenir from there. Then here, we wanted something made from sheep (since they are everywhere. Katrina got some lovely boots and I am happy with my slippers. Plus I got a sheep wool steering wool cover to keep my hands nice and toasty warm!

Continue reading "October 12, 2009 - Wellington, New Zealand" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today we set off on a tour that included Lord of The Ring(LOTR) filming sights, a seal colony, a winery and other opportunities to see the scenery and lay of the land. This ended up being about a 10 hour tour and is the last one we are signed up for during our big adventure. The tours have been great ways to learn a lot and to have someone else drive so we don't have to go through the headaches of driving and figuring out where stuff was. Our tour was a small one today, only 8 people.

In the morning we visited several sites where scenes from the various LOTR movies had been filmed. Of course, there is nothing left of the elaborate sets, but it was still kind of neat to see where things had been. We saw where Helms Deep had been built (at a quarry), where Rivendell had been built, where Legolas stood guard on the way into Rivendell, the tree that the Orcs danced around, the field that Gandalf took off through on his way to visit Saraman (sp?) and the pillars that they walked by during their talk, where Frodo, Sam, and the others hid from the Ring Wraith under the roots of a tree (the roots were built out of styrofoam, but the forest was real), and we saw the white cliffs that the Fellowship passes after putting their canoes in the water. Here are photos of what the places look like now:

Hiding from the Ring Wraith.

Rivendell was built just past the bend in the river under the electrical pole.

The area where Legolas stood guarding the way to Rivendell.

The white cliffs that you see behind the Fellowship of the Ring after they put their canoes into the water

Continue reading "October 11, 2009 - Wellington" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Only 13 more days left before we return to the U.S. That is so hard to believe.

We got checked out of the Chateau around 9:30, had breakfast, and then began the trek towards Wellington. It was a 4 1/2 hour drive. We were suprised to learn that roads to the east of the mountain were closed due to the snow. As we drove along, we saw rain, snow, sun and clouds. A little bit of everything! We arrived in Wellington and got checked into the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor. After getting settled, Katrina and I wandered around a bit looking in stores and scoping out the area restaurants. We ended up ordering Pizza from Pizza King (very good) and now we are watching a little TV before turning in. So far this evening, we have watched Spiderwick Chronicles, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, America's Funniest Home Videos, and Barnyard. Tomorrow we have a tour of some Lord of the Ring sites and a Seal Colony. Should be fun!

Here are a few photos from our drive today.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I took some pictures after we left Waiotapu and headed to Tongariro, but forgot to put them in the last post (which was long enough anywaye, so here are those photos!

So on to October 9th....

Continue reading "October 9, 2009 - Tongariro" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Woke up at 8:22 this morning, then showered. We headed down to the included breakfast buffet. It was awesome! A couple of interesting items, there was fried, battered fish on the buffet, cloudy apple juice (looks more like pear juice to me), and 'kidneys' which looked like mushrooms to me, but there were mushrooms in another container... And of course kiwi!

We packed up and left about 10:30. Before checking out, we looked at the sulphur flats/bird sanctuary behind our hotel:

Continue reading "October 8, 2009 - Rotorua, Waitapu, and Tongariro" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We arrived in New Zealand today. It was so nice that we didn't have to get up until 5:30...way better than 2 a.m. We arrived at the airport at 7:30 and then the going to another country ordeal - customs out of Australia, we were in lines for over an hour, then we had a hike to the gate, then we had about 30 minutes to find a place to eat. By the time we found a place, stood in line and got our food, we had 10 minutes to eat before going to the gate. Then the plane ended up boarding 20 minutes late! That will teach us to rush!

The plane was very plush! We had complimentary headsets, comfortable eats, had our own monitor and we could choose from movies, music, games, tv and learning about NZ. I watched 3 episodes of Boston Legal. The legal part is a bit of a stretch from what little I know, but I enjoyed watching William Shatner.

We were served lunch (with chocolate ice cream). there were pillows and a candy was handed out when we landed. Cupholders were on the seat in front of us next to the monitor, which made it way easier to hold onto your drink and not spill it. The only down side was the older gent sitting next to me who kept his elbow in my side pretty much the whole trip.

So we landed at the Auckland aiport at about 2:30:

Continue reading "October 7, 2009 - Auckland to Rotorua, New Zealand" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just wanted to chime in and say that we are doing well and are currently touching base in Sydney. Yesterday, we spent the day packing up (trying to rearrange luggage so it will be easier to sort as we are traveling through NZ. Most places we will only stay one night). We also had to get to bed early as we had to get up at 2 a.m. because we had a taxi coming at 3:30 a.m. to take us to the airport for a flight that left Cairns at 5:45 a.m. and arrived in Sydney at 9:45 a.m.

We are checked in here at Sydney and it is just another low key day. Some more rearranging of the luggage and we were able to leave two bags with the Hilton where we will be staying in two weeks when we return from NZ. That much less to lug around for the next couple of weeks:) YEAH!

Tomorrow, we have a 9:30 flight to NZ and will be there for 12 days. Not sure how much we will be online during that time. We will touch base when we can.

And I leave you with these pictures to show what happens when people start buying hats to protect themselves from the sun....

Jack models Daniel's two hats, my hat, Jack's two hats, and Katrina's hat.

Katrina models her hat, my hat, and Daniel's two hats.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was absolutely spectacular! We were up at 5 (today, Katrina was the one who was the hardest to get out of bed). In spite of the fact that we were ready to leave at 6:35 a.m., it was still 6:50 by the time we got downstairs to the vehicle and out of the building. It was like old home week when we got to the Tusa 5. There were several crew members there today who had been there on Friday and they were all pleased to see us back again. Considering the number of people that take their tours, it was nice to be remembered.

I just want to take a moment here and say that Australians are excellent at customer service and people back in the States should take some lessons. They make a real effort to learn the names of the people on the tours. We had a snack at a cafe after we got off of the boat and one of the ladies came and talked to us and asked us how our vacation was going, where we were from, what we had been up to and before we left she gave us a coupon for a complimentary drink with lunch should we come back. This is pretty indicative of the courtesy we have been extended everywhere in this country. It makes such a big difference to walk into a store, onto a tour, and have people treat you like you are more than just a customer. The funny thing is that here in Australia the minimum wage is twice what it is at home, and people here don't expect tips. But their service is so supreme, we have found ourselves giving tips on several occasions. I just can't stress enough what a wonderful experience it has been to be here and how wonderfully we have been treated.

Now, back to today. We knew our way around the ship today and it was nice to be able to help others when we saw them stuck or looking for something. We settled in and the ride today was calmer than Friday's. I didn't see anyone get sick.

We arrived at today's first spot on the reef and were given 2 hours to snorkel. It was absolutely amazing! We saw so many cool fish and other ocean life! I didn't want to get out at the end of two hours (but I was a little cold). Then we had lunch, a reef lesson, and we were off to another site where we got to snorkel and dive for an hour. If possible, it was more spectacular than the first site. There were these amazing canyons among the coral. I could have spent hours there, but we had to leave.

Continue reading "October 4, 2009 - Diving at The Great Barrier Reef" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On this trip, we have experienced pretty much every mode of transportation: cars, 4WD SUV, 4WD tourist coach, buses, subways/monorails, trains, planes, ships, sky cable cars, and trolleys. We could be in a remake of the movie classic Trains, Planes and Automobilles!

So today, we were off on a great tour! We were picked up at 7:45 and driven to the Fairweather Station. Once there, we were checked in and given our tickets for the train. We were in carriage 9, seats 45-48. The Kuranda Scenic Train was something that Australians we met in Alice Springs were telling us we really must do. And that was lucky for us as we had booked this trip months ago. The train ride took about 1 1/2 hours to take us from Freshwater Station to the village of Kuranda. We drove through rain forest (which was fun to drive though, but probably even prettier during the rainy season). Here are some photos from our train journey.

Melissa looking out of the train.

At one point, we were on Horse Shoe Bend. We could see the front of the train and the back of it! Note all of the people with their cameras out of the window taking pictures of other parts of the train!

This is one of the photos of Barren Falls. These falls are spectacular during the rainy season. But locals here say that this is the driest Dry they remember and there wasn't much water flowing today. But still it was spectacular.

The train track we followed had 15 tunnels that had been carved by hand 100 years ago. It was and is quite an achievement considering that it not only went through the mountains, but the jungles as well.

Continue reading "October 3, 2009 - Kuranda Train, Kuranda, SkyRail, and Tjupaki!" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What an amazing adventure! We were up at 5 am this morning because we needed to leave by 6:30 to drive to Cairns (we are staying a little way up the coast at Trinity Beach). Well, it was hard getting going. I won't mention any names, but one of us pretty much had to be pulled out of bed because she just couldn't wake up...must have been the motion sickness pills! Anyway, after a few false starts that included being slow moving, me being unable to find the room keys that had the remote for the garage and Daniel being unable to locate the dive papers, we actually left at 6:50. We got to Cairns and parked where we thought we were supposed to....only to find we were literally a mile from the boat...Fortunately, we had planned an extra hour into our travel this morning, so we were still on the boat in plenty of time.

This is a nice boat...here's a photo:

I just want to say that this experience was so, so, so very different than our experience in Myrtle Beach! And if you come to Cairns to dive, I highly recommend Tusa

First we got checked in and found a seat. We ended up at a table with two girls from San Francisco who were here in Cairns for a few days. Turns out one of them, Karen, actually lived in the same building Daniel lived in the last time he worked in San Francisco! Isn't that Incredible!

After we were checked in, we were encouraged to have a cookie and coffee or tea or water. This was morning tea. We were also warned that the trip out to the reef was going to be a bit bumpy and we should take some medicine if we had a history of being sea sick or if we had never been out on the ocean before. They offered either ginger tablets for free or two motion sickness pills for 1.00. I had taken another motion sickness pill before leaving the apartment, but decided that adding ginger to the mix would be a good idea. Especially since we were moving and I was already feeling a little queasy and we hadn't gotten out to the bumpy part yet.

Continue reading "October 2, 2009 - Snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was kind of a do nothing day. We slept in a bit and piddled around (translated, caught up on emails and blogged), then we went to lunch at Hungry Jack's. That was probably the most interesting part of the day. I ordered an Aussie hamburger. It came with a few unique extras: pickled beets, fried egg, and bacon. It tasted pretty good!

Then we went to a 24 hour medical center. Daniel and I needed to get Dive Medicals here in Australia in order to dive, even though we had gotten clearance back in the states. Daniel passed fine. I didn't because of a medication I am on. Apparently, it falls in a gray area of possibly causing problems when diving and the doctor was unwilling to sign off on me diving. But snorkeling was okayed.

We stopped by Woolworth's to get groceries, then got back to our apartment around 4:30. Daniel and Katrina went to the beach for a little while. Daniel said the water was a bit colder than he expected, the sand was coarser than we are used to and the shore drops off pretty quickly (meaning you don't have to walk 50 feet out to get wet above your waist. Then they came up to the pool and I went down to meet them. Daniel came up to the room and I stayed with Katrina for a bit.

Before going to bed, I took 2 motion sickness pills in an attempt to keep from getting sick during the boat ride out to the Great Barrier Reef. When at Myrtle Beach, one of the instructors tole me that I might want to try taking it the night before I go diving since taking it an hour before didn't help me. I went to sleep pretty quickly after that!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was kind of a do nothing day. We slept in a bit and piddled around (translated, caught up on emails and blogged), then we went to lunch at Hungry Jack's. That was probably the most interesting part of the day. I ordered an Aussie hamburger. It came with a few unique extras: pickled beets, fried egg, and bacon. It tasted pretty good!

Then we went to a 24 hour medical center. Daniel and I needed to get Dive Medicals here in Australia in order to dive, even though we had gotten clearance back in the states. Daniel passed fine. I didn't because of a medication I am on. Apparently, it falls in a gray area of possibly causing problems when diving and the doctor was unwilling to sign off on me diving. But snorkeling was okayed.

We stopped by Woolworth's to get groceries, then got back to our apartment around 4:30. Daniel and Katrina went to the beach for a little while. Daniel said the water was a bit colder than he expected, the sand was coarser than we are used to and the shore drops off pretty quickly (meaning you don't have to walk 50 feet out to get wet above your waist. Then they came up to the pool and I went down to meet them. Daniel came up to the room and I stayed with Katrina for a bit.

Before going to bed, I took 2 motion sickness pills in an attempt to keep from getting sick during the boat ride out to the Great Barrier Reef. When at Myrtle Beach, one of the instructors tole me that I might want to try taking it the night before I go diving since taking it an hour before didn't help me. I went to sleep pretty carefully after that!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let me preface this by saying that if you like animals and you are in Cairns, you really, really, really should make this event part of your trip here! We had so much fun!!!!!

So we arrived at the Cairns Night Zoo and were checked in. One of the first to greet us was Sam - the Sulpher-Crested Cockatoo (he liked being scratched behind his ears and told us so by saying 'scratch' and tilting his head to the side.

After we were checked in, we were allowed to grab a drink while we waited for our food to be served. We had water (we have been drinking tons of water here), but beer, wine, and sodas were all available as part of the evening's events. Next came a Swaggie with a Didgeridoo and gave everyone a lesson and a chance to play. Video will come at some point. Then the buffet was ready.

Freshly grilled steak, grilled chicken, Spanish mackerel, sausages, baked potatoes, the world's best cole slaw, pasta salad, green salad and crusty bread. Then the desserts came out. Pavlova with fresh fruit salad and lashings of whipped cream. I was too stuffed to try it, but Daniel said it was very good. Jack tried grilled chicken, a baked potato and the pavlova. He didn't like any of it, but at least he tried it!

While we ate, Dave sang us some songs. Our particular favorite was Country Roads! I feel sure he sang it for us (as he sang it when near our table), but later he seemed surprised to learn we were from Virginia. We bought his CD as we enjoyed his songs so much. Not so sure that Sam liked the music though, he got a bit agitated a couple of times, screeched and flared his crest!

Next we were given torches and a bit of a talk on what to expect and what we could and couldn't do and off we went.

Continue reading "September 30, 2009 - Cairns Night Zoo" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I got to talk to Dad and Dianne today and to Ashley and Therese. I tried calling mom, but I missed her and Jim.

Wow, what a day! Who knew how much we could see on a 10 hour tour! We got picked up at noon by David. I have to say up front that he was absolutely the best tour guide we have ever had. David was in charge of taking us on a tour of the highlights of Cairns. He was knowledgeable, personable, and had hands on manipulatives for the passengers to look at. He had photos of local wildlife taped about the bus. He had copies of major news stories - big fish to crocs to floods. He had a cane toad in a jar and some bugs in jars. And he was funny, warm, and friendly. He made it a point to get to know all of our names and where we were from. He was truly a wonderful guide!

First David dropped us off at St. Monica's Cathedral in Cairns to look at the Creation Story in Stained Glass and the Peace Windows. Please, take the time to click on the link and learn about both the Peace Windows and Creation Story Windows. I took some photos but they are no where as good what you will see on this website (though I did load them up to Flickr). I would have a hard time going to this church...I would be spending all of my time staring at the windows.

Next, David drove us about Cairns pointing out good hotels, shops, and restaurants. He told us about sugar cane and sugar production, about tourism, and he showed us a naval base and shipbuilding. During this part of the tour, he showed us a sign that I had to get a photo of:

What you can't quite see in my photo is that this sign is beside a roadway. However, in times past, when there has been flooding, boats have traversed the road and the warning has been so they will note the overhead wires.... We learned that growing sugar cane is a big source of income here in this part of Australia. We saw the fields and the buildings where it was processed. Bet they have a really high Orkin bill!

Next we drove to the local headquarters of the Flying Doctor Service. When we were in Alice Springs, we learned about Reverend Flynn when we visited his grave site. He was the force behind the beginning of the Flying Doctor Service which over the years has saved tens of thousands of people. Because of the Flying Doctor Service, medical help is available to those living in the rural areas of Australia. But, they don't just provide emergency medical service, they also provide medicine chests for these areas (so when people are sick or hurt, a designated person can call in, consult, and dispense the medications). They are providing wellness and immunization services as well. We watched a brief film, toured the museum, saw the inside of a retired medical plane and perused the gift shop.

Continue reading "September 30, 2009 - Cairns Botanical Garden" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, we were up at 7:30, but moving a bit slowly. It was 9:30 by the time we showered and packed and walked to Lasseter Casino Hotel for breakfast. Then it was back to the room to finish packing, checking out and heading on.

We went to visit Alice Springs Desert Park. This was a spot recommended by both of our tour guides while we are in Alice Springs and since we had been able to rearrange our flights from a mind-numbing 12 hours of flying and layovers to a mere 1 1/2 hours of flying, we had time on our hands to go visit it.

The bad thing is that in the end, we only had a couple of hours to visit and we could have easily spent four hours in this botanical garden/aviary/zoo. While there, we saw and learned about beautiful and useful desert plants from the sandy regions, woodland regions, and river regions.

They have a plant called a Desert Rose which looks a lot like our Rose of Sharon back home.

Then they have a Dogwood that looks nothing like our Dogwood tree!

We saw numerous birds and a few kangaroos. Many of the birds have iridescent wings or brilliant plumage, but they were hard to catch in photographs.

Continue reading "September 29, 2009 - Alice Springs Desert Park" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Daniel has a blog as well. He is not as long winded as I am either! You can check for more photos (and better ones as he has an awesome camera) at . Also, he has put some videos up on youtube. The name to look for is DanielBMarkham.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another long and exciting day today. We were up at 5:00 a.m. We had a tour to meet at 7:10 a.m. Phil, the tour guide, came to pick us up in a really cool 4-wheel drive shuttle. Check this thing out!

We picked up a few other people and away we went. After a quick stop at Dr. Flynn's grave, we headed to Hermannsburg. This was an 80 minute trip through the outback with Phil telling stories along the way. Hermannsburg is an Aboriginal settlement, and was started by a Lutheran Minister. We stopped here briefly for a comfort stop before heading off down the road to Palm Valley.

Phil warned us that the next hour or so would be bumpy, so we put on our seatbelts and prepared to be jolted. The first 20 kilometers wasn't so bad...it was like driving too fast down the road to our house at our home. Then we stopped for another comfort stop and morning tea (tea or coffee and cookies and fruit cake). Then he warned us the next 4 kilometers would be really bad (they would take as long to traverse as the last 20 kilometers). So we strapped in again, and this time the road was much more bumpy. It reminded me of the road up to my dad's cabin. The reason for the bumpy road is that we were riding along the Finke River Bed. It is the dry season here. The last time the Finke River flowed was in January of last year. And then it was 4 or 5 meters (12-15 feet deep). It stayed that way for about 5 days. It is just really hard to imagine and we would like to come back and see it when the river is running high.

Continue reading "September 28, 2009 Palm Valley Tour" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another busy day. We got up about 7 a.m. At 9, we walked down the block to the Alice Springs Lawn Sale at the Lasseter Casino Hotel. We were in search of hats to wear. Turns out for the tours here in the outback, hats were required (along with sunscreen, sturdy shoes and bottled water). We are told that is because the hole in the Ozone is right over Australia and the sun is really gnarly here. We figured if we could get some used hats, it would save us a bit. We did find one for Katrina and you will see a picture of it in a bit. Jack had already picked up a baseball cap and Daniel and I ended up purchasing hats at a nearby souvenir store.

After quickly perusing the lawn sale, we drove into Alice Springs to an area called Todd Mall. This is a bricked street (walking only) surrounded by shops, galleries, and cafes. Daniel and I got hats, we picked up another magnet (I am going to need a new fridge to put them on at this rate) and Jack and Daniel each got boomerangs. Daniel got a returning boomerang (which have only been around for a couple of hundred years) and Jack got a hunting boomerang.

After a bite of early lunch (we had skipped brekky), we headed back to the hotel. Katrina was supposed to meet with Paul, the owner of the Red Rock Opal store, and shape some opals. Well, we got there at 11:30 and he had a sign up that he was gone to lunch until 1. So we went back up to the room and goofed around while we waited.

Continue reading "September 27, 2009 - Alice Springs" »

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Today, we rested, mostly... I managed to sleep in until 7:30! WOW!!! We enjoyed the brekky buffet at nearby Lasseter Casino Hotel and along the way we got some photos which you will see below. Then Katrina and I spent about 90 minutes in the opal store in the lobby talking with the owner. He gave us a class on opals. 95% of the worlds opals come from Australia. There are three main types: white opal, black opal, and boulder opal. The black and boulder opals are only found in Australia. Beware when you are purchasing opals that you don't get the synthetic versions that are made in a laboratory in Japan (unless that's what you want). Back in the states though, the law are such that they don't have to tell you it is synthetic... Here is a link to the history of the opal. Fascinating reading! We also learned that the reason the colors shift in opal when you move it is that there is actually water in there and it is like a rainbow effect! This is the only gem in the world that has this!

In between our visits with Paul at the Red Rock Opal shop, I worked tirelessly on blogging...getting the videos and photos set up is what takes so long.

Continue reading "September 26, 2009 Alice Springs" »

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Friday, September 25, 2009. We got up at 5 so we could be ready to hop in our Maxi Taxi by 7 a.m. We had to get the Maxi Taxi so all of our luggage fit in (it is like a van). The gentleman who picked us up was very interesting and he and Daniel talked the whole way to the airport. Small wait at the airport as we once again had to get the special waiver for being international travelers so they wouldn't charge us an arm and a leg for our excess luggage.

Our flight from Perth to Ayers Rock was uneventful. They really do like to feed you on Qantas! On a 2 hour flight, we received pretzels, drinks, then a meal (pasta salad, roll, toberlone candy, cheese, crackers, tea or coffee and water). They also give you complimentary headsets and the tickets here are cheaper to fly about than at home...go figure that one out!

Anyway, we got to Ayers Rock and got our rental car all sorted out, filled it up with luggage, then headed to the ATM and grocery store. We picked up a bunch of water, some afternoon snacks/supper, and a map. We also added to our magnet collection!

Next we drove to Ayers Rock/Uluru. Uluru is the Aboriginal name and much like places in America that are sacred to the Native Americans, Uluru is sacred to the Aborigines. Our plan was to drive up, take a few photos, then head on to Alice Springs which was where we had rooms. This would give us a chance to drive through the Outback. We couldn't believe it when we arrived at Uluru and discovered it would cost us 50.00 to get in to see it up close! That's 25.00 per person over 16 years of age! So, we pulled out through the exit, Daniel took a couple of shots from afar and we rode on down the road.

Continue reading "September 25, 2009 - Perth to Ayers Rock to Alice Springs" »

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Today we were up at 4:00 a.m. Nothing new there, eh? Our taxi arrived to pick us up at 5:45 a.m. and took us to the Clarkson Train Station. We gave him the last of our cash and expected to get more money from the ATM at the Train Station, but alas, there was no ATM at the train station and the nearest was a 25 minute walk away. No worries, mate, we'll just use our debit cards to get tickets from the machine. Unfortunately, the one problem we have run into here is that while our cards will work fine if we use them with a signature, we cannot use them as debit cards except at an ATM. Very frustrating. The lady at the convenience store couldn't help us because she could only give us cash if we could use the debit card feature. The person who should have been at the ticket counter was off taking care of other business in the station. We had to get to Perth by 7 or we would miss our tour bus.

There was a button on the box next to the ticket machine that said press for information. It rang when I pushed it, but no one ever answered it. I tried pushing it three or four times. A lady walking by asked what our troubles were and we explained, she went on her way. Meanwhile athe ticket agent arrived. We explained our dilemma and told him we would need to buy our tickets directly from him. He went into his office and came out and handed us complimentary passes. We were not expecting that, but apparently, he wasn't set up to sell tickets there. Or at least couldn't do it with signature debit cards. We made it on the train with a couple of minutes to spare. As the ticket agent was signing our passes, the lady came back, she had taken money out using her debit card at the convenience store and was going to loan it to us! Can you believe that? We were astounded. We have been so amazed, time and time again on our trip here at how pleasant, helpful and accomodating Australians are. We took the train to Perth, and once we got off there, our lady friend showed us the correct direction to head in. We arrived at the tour bus pickup right at 7:00 a.m.

Then, it was on to the bus to Rockingham for the Swim with the Dolphins trip. This was something that Katrina had chosen for this trip that she really wanted to do. And she was very excited. During the 40 minute drive to Rockingham, the guide told us what would be happening during our time on the boat and what to expect when we were in the water. It was obvious that she and all of the others on the tour had a true love of the dolphins and what they were doing with these tours where people were allowed to see dolphins in their natural environment.

Continue reading "September 24, 2009 - Swimming with Dolphins and Saying Good-byes" »

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We loved our lovely 3 bedroom Mindarie Villa and we all would have liked to have stayed there longer. Katrina, who is practicing to be a real estate agent, sets you up with a walk through in this video.

We were up again at 4 a.m. That gave us some time to do odds and ends and shower and get ready for the day. The Bezants came by around 8:45 after dropping Charlotte off by school (she had a big test). Then we had a lovely breakfast at The Dome restaurant (an Australian chain). I tried vegiemite. I understand it is an acquired taste...since I can't get it back home, I don't think I will work too hard at acquiring it!

After brekky, our tour guides drove us into Perth. Steve was able to take the day off and it was delightful to have a running commentary from our friends as we saw some of the sights in this area. We visited Kings Park. We enjoyed some fantastic views of Perth and the Swan River. We also enjoyed seeing a variety of Australian flora. And we watched part of a rehearsal for a play called Wildflowers. There was to be a big wildflower festival this coming weekend.

Here is the video I took of parts of the rehearsal. Katrina and Alexis in particular enjoyed watching the flowers and the bee.

Continue reading "September 23, 2009 Mindarie, Kings Park, Perth, and the Bezants" »

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We were up at 4 am this morning (still don't have that time thing down right). At 6:30, we were packed and down in the lobby checking out to catch our airport shuttle. A couple of last thoughts from Bondi Beach.

First, not sure if they do this all over Australia or not, but there is a practice I would like to highly recommend to the American Hotels. In our room, we had small bottles of shampoo and conditioner (you know the ones that if you don't use you grab them all up and take them home with you?) And little bars of soap. They also had a bottle in the shower. (I am on Daniel's computer and cannot put pics in like I normally do, so you will need to click on the links). Anyway, this bottle is attached to the wall and would do no one any good to take with them. It can be used as a soap and a conditioning shampoo. The maids refilled it every day and it was big enough that everyone with you can wash properly and you don't have to waste those little bottles! Just think if every hotel went to this system and did away with the little soaps and bottles...think of all the plastic and trash that would be saved out of our landfills! And think of all the money hotels would save!

And, secondly, I figure you deserve to see the view from our hotel window in Bondi. It was not very pretty, so if you stay at Swiss Grand Resort and Spa, be sure to request an ocean front room.

Then we piled into a taxi. And I do mean piled. We were picked up in a shuttle that held 9 people! Unfortunately, they weren't anticipating our pile of luggage. By the time we had picked everyone up, there was luggage everywhere! I would have taken a picture, but I wasn't sure how everyone would feel about that.

We arrived at the airport and it was a pretty simple matter to get checked in. The one snag was the size of our luggage and the amount of it. It was going to end up costing us a few hundred dollars each leg of our trip to carry our luggage. Since we were international travelers, Qantas gave us a waiver for our journey (THANKS GUYS!!!).

The flight here was 5 hours long. The aircraft personnel were exceedingly friendly (joking around with the passengers). We were delighted with the real cloth coverings on the pillows, the real glass to drink out of, and the ice cream that we were served for a snack. We watched Angels and Demons and overall had a lovely flight.

We disembarked from the plane and Lizzie was there waiting for us! Here, they still let people come to the gates to greet passengers. I can't tell you how neat it was to see my long time friend in person and give her a hug. We chatted while Daniel and the kids snagged the luggage from the carousel. Then Lizzie called Steve and we went out to meet him. He had brought his work van to carry all of our baggage in and Daniel. Lizzie drove Jack, Katrina and I to the hotel and Daniel went with Steve.

Continue reading "September 22, 2009 - Leaving Sydney and Arriving in Perth" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is my video I put together from yesterday.

And here is Daniel's video he put together yesterday. Note the free advertising for Crabby Mike's in Myrtle Beach!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We were up and and about early this morning as our pickup for this tour was scheduled for 6:50 a.m. We were going on a Gray Line tour which encompassed first a tour by bus of Sydney and then a Harbor Luncheon Cruise. These tours weren't the most satisfactory tours in the world.

Unfortunately, on the bus tour, our guide was the driver was the guide. So this meant, that as he tried to negotiate city traffic, he threw in blurbs about Sydney. He didn't really share stories as much as facts and they were punctuated with the following: um, uh, long pauses, and "I'm turning right here," or "I'm turning left here." And then there were the frequent advertisements as he told us all the best shops and pubs to visit - made me wonder if some kind of kick back were involved. We usually learn a lot about a city on one of these tours, but this one wasn't as informative as we would have liked. I really blame the set-up more than the driver though. They should have had a separate guide so the guide could concentrate on speaking and the driver could concentrate on driving.

We did make three stops where we got to get out and take pictures and we enjoyed that very much (even though one of the stops was Bondi Beach and we already had plenty of pictures of that!). Then we went on the Harbor Cruise on a Majistic Ship. The lunch buffet was awesome. There was beef stroganoff, and wonderful fish, and a variety of veggies and rice and gruyere cheese and fruit and cheesecake. It was most excellent. The tour guide (I believe an automated recording) was also good and gave us lots of views of Sydney that you can only enjoy from the water and we learned a lot about the area around the Harbor. Being on the boat was awesome. My only two complaints were: 1) the cruise only lasted 90 minutes. I would have liked to been on the ship longer and 2) it turned out drinks weren't included in the price of the ticket. There were beverage menus on the table and there were prices besides them, but I figured the prices were for the cruises where they just went out for beverages. It was my fault for not asking, but they didn't volunteer the information either. And get this! A 10 ounce gingerale was 5.00!!!!! And we each had seconds and there weren't free refills! I threw a bit of a snit when we left (said the prices were insane) and she ended up only charging us for one drink each.

When we returned to the room, I took Katrina up to the rooftop pool so she could play a bit more there. We met a family visiting from Canaberra and enjoyed talking with them. Then after a bite of dinner, we packed up as we are leaving early tomorrow to catch a plane to Perth (5 hour flight).

So, here are the some photos from today. Only a couple of them are really good, but I thought they hit the hilights of what we saw today.

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I had a hard time getting this video uploaded last night, but it finally went through!

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Well, as I stated previously, we got an early start this morning. The kids and I were all awake at 3:45 a.m.

Around 8:30, we set off for our Sydney Aquarium adventure. Yesterday the concierege had told us we go around the corner and take bus number 380 to Market Street, then walk down to the Aquarium. Sounded easy enough.

We waited patiently for the bus to come. When it did, the bus driver informed me that he couldn't go to Market Street. He told me why, but his accent (not Australian) made it difficult for me to understand. So, I went back to the concierge. He said, I would need to take a bus to Bondi Junction, then take a train to Town Hall, then walk down Main Street to the Aquarium. So that's what we did. It was easy peasy. The train was really cool, it had three levels! You got on and could go down the steps to a lower level, or you could walk up the steps to a higher level. We tried the bottom and top levels. The top level was neatest. The train switched from underground to above ground on our journey.

The Aquarium was very nicely laid out. My favorite parts were the platypus exhibit as I had never seen a live platypus and the Little Penguin exhibit. Little Penguins are the only penguins in the world that breed in Australia. I had never seen or heard of them either. There was a wonderful Dugong exhibit and a wonderful Shark exhibit.

Here, for my friend, Carole, who loves turtles is a picture of a baby long-necked turtle and a picture of a huge green sea turtle (Jack Sparrow really could have ridden on a couple of these!).

For my other Sydney Aquarium photos, you can see them on Flickr

When we came back to the hotel, Katrina wanted to swim in the rooftop pool. We arrived there only to find, the pool was being used by children who were trying to qualify for a local swim team, so we would have to come back. On the bright side, we saw a beautiful rainbow over the Pacific.

Today's odd and ends impressions:

Several people were very kind to help direct us when we were a bit befuddled getting from Town Hall station to the Aquarium. And just as we are interested in learning more about the people of Australia, the people here are interested in learning about us. One lady seemed surprised yesterday that there wasn't Turkish Delight everywhere in the U.S. Today, I was being asked about the flight over from America and someone commented on my accent!

Just like home, prices are higher closer to the beach than when you get away from the beach. We heard more Australian accents today. The McDonalds has a really awesome sandwich available for breakfast (wonderful bread with eggs, two rashers of bacon, cheese and barbecue sauce) and the McDonalds here have McCafes, but they are very different from at home. People can get coffee served to them in a real mug. And they have some awesome looking treats to go with the coffee, but I haven't tried any yet. And the McDonalds we ate lunch at (I don't plan to always eat at McDonalds, but it has been an inexpensive option and the kids like the food)...anyway, the McDonalds had a second level! And red hair is very in here at Bondi Beach. We have seen several men and women sporting dyed red hair (I am not talking auburn, I am talking bright red or pink hair).

Oh, and one more thing, we knew the plugs would be different here, but we are very impressed with how the electric is handled at our hotel. When you come into the room, you use your card key to turn on the electricity for your room. If you don't put the card key in the slot, no power. Then when you leave, you take your card key out so that the power goes out again. A great way for saving electricity! And every plug in has a switch (like a light switch). It is not enough to plug into the wall, you have to turn the switch on too! Very cool!

Tomorrow we are taking the Grayline City Tour and Cruise. Should be awesome! 5 a.m. wake-up call, so early to bed tonight.

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My video of Bondi Beach

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Daniel compiled a video of our trip to Australia. It is unedited (what do you expect from people who have had no sleep?).

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The last two days have been a bit of a blur. We ran into last minute items Thursday morning. Then Mom and Jim came to get us and take us and all of our luggage to the airport. I think they are not sure whether we are crazy or brave and whether we packed too much or not. But when you are packing for five weeks for a family of four and you are going to be in a bunch of different climates, luggage will accumulate.

We managed to get us all in Mom and Jim's big Suburban (thank goodness) and we got to the airport in plenty of time. Just getting our boarding passes and the luggage through security took some patience and work. The weather in Lynchburg was overcast and cloudy, but the weather in Atlanta had been rough. We boarded the plane about 15 minutes after we were supposed to depart Lynchburg. Then we did the dreadful sitting in the plane on the tarmac for 45 minutes or so while we waited for clearance from Atlanta (who was having to shuffle in flights that weren't able to come in earlier). Nothing like spending an extra 45 minutes in a plane when you are already anticipating spending about 22 hours on a plane in the very near future.

We made it to Atlanta with time to spare. Had dinner and somewhere around 7 pm, we headed off for Los Angeles. (BTW, to my friends who live in Atlanta and L.A. - I saw you waving and hope you saw me waving back at you!) When we arrived in L.A., our bodies were saying it was 11:30 pm. We were tired, but it wasn't time to sleep yet. The two hours we were there went by quickly as we used the restrooms, picked up water for the long flight ahead and kept poking one another to keep ourselves awake.

Continue reading "September 17, 2009 Flying from Virginia to Sydney, Australia" »

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Well, it has taken awhile for me to write about the last two days of our trip, mainly because I have been busier than an ice cream man on a hot summer's day. But that's a different blog post...maybe;)

On our last day in Chicago, we (all four of us this time) grabbed a bus and headed to the Museum of Science and Industry. We had not been able to see this on our previous trip in Chicago and had heard it was definitely the place to visit. We were particularly interested in seeing the Harry Potter exhibit.

We left our room at about 9 and ate at Houlihan's for the breakfast buffet. Awesome omelets. By 10, we were on the bus. Unfortunately, our bus had a technical difficulty on the way there (some access panel on the side hadn't been locked down, so it was popped out and posed a hazard to driving. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a supervisor to come and lock the panel so we could continue on our way. At least it gave us a chance to chat with other passengers!

We decided to see Wild Oceans, the Omnimax presentation and got tickets for the Harry Potter exhibit. Now, let me tell you, we love Harry Potter, but we were not happy when we found out that the cost of the tickets just for that exhibit were between 15 and 18 dollars each! You already pay about 20.00 for entry to the museum, and then they have several other exhibits where you have to pay extra to see them (for instance, seeing inside of the U-505 or visiting the Smart House). But all complaining aside, we really enjoyed our visit and wished we could have stayed longer, but I developed a migraine headache in the afternoon and we had to go.

Continue reading "Chicago Trip 2009 Days 6 and 7 Words, Photos, and Video" »

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Well, today we slept in a little, then we headed out at about 11:00. First we ate lunch at McDonald's, then we headed for the subway/El. It was our first time ever riding it and we were excited and nervous.

After about an hour which included figuring out how to get our passes for the subway and the ride, we arrived at our transfer point - the Rosemont Station. Then we got on a bus and headed to Woodfield Mall. And lastly, we took a trolley and were delivered to the front door of LegoLand Chicago Discovery Center.

It was really cool and you see photos of the amazing sculptures we found there by visiting my flickr page.

We saw a miniature Chicago made with Legos:

We rode through a medieval castle in a dragon car:

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It was a cold and stormy day...well it was! Honest!

So, we survived the massive amounts of rain and enjoyed our time at the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum. The lake almost looked like an ocean yesterday as the waves were a bit on the high side. We did enjoy eating lunch at Galileo's Cafe in the Adler Planetarium and looking out over the lake. I am sure it is an absolutely gorgeous view on a clear day.

I only took a couple of photos yesterday and no video. So it is words only this go round. We enjoyed the telescope exhibit at Adler. I particularly enjoyed looking at the old books on display (where scientists had drawn pictures of their idea of the galaxy) and the lovely old telescopes. My favorite was one made out of ivory and if anyone wants to talk to the Planetarium and see if you can get it for me for Christmas.... haha...only kidding! We enjoyed seeing how old we would be and how much we would weigh if we were on other planets and we had a good time trying to make 6 planets orbit the sun for 20 seconds...not as easy as you would think. We watched two shows...one called Cosmic Collisions and the other was Skywatchers of Africa. Both were very good, though the one shown in the planetarium left me with neck strain.

Continue reading "Chicago Trip 2009 Day 4 Words" »

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Yesterday we went to visit Shedd Aquarium...in the rain. Yep, we have hit some major rain here in Chicago. In fact, looks like it will be raining again today...

But, since we drove and have the Xterra, we are prepared. I have rain ponchos stored in the back! After breakfast, we found our bus stop and headed to the Museum Campus. We were delighted to be riding on a Clean Air Hybrid Bus which was recently purchased by the city of Chicago with stimulus funds...our tax dollars at work! It should make a huge difference in the air quality here in Chicago as well.

We spent the day at the Shedd Aquarium enjoying the sights of the lovely fish.

Continue reading "Chicago Trip 2009 Day 3 Words, Photos, and Video" »

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It's always fun to see the videos and get moment by moment action...so here are three from yesterday! Enjoy!

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Well, we left Virginia yesterday before 8 a.m. We had a pretty uneventful drive. I drove in the morning and Daniel drove in the afternoon and evening. A highlight of the day was we took an exit looking for a promised BP station. We never did find the BP station, but we drove through a beautiful section of Kentucky and saw some amazing homes and beautiful horses. I don't believe I have ever seen such magnificent homes outside of Newport, Rhode Island.

We stopped in Indiana so Daniel could get a haircut (didn't want him looking shaggy for the conference) and we had dinner. We later stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and I tell you that staying there is a great deal for the money. Free internet. Free breakfast. Clean and comfy rooms.

Today we drove the rest of the way into Chicago. I was thinking about driving us around here for the places we are to visit. The drive in was enough to convince me to forget it. I am not qualified for city driving! After we got settled in, we are staying at the Hyatt Regency where the conference is, Daniel went to the conference, and we walked a bit south for a McDonald's (and found a food court). After lunch, the kids and I walked North up Michigan Avenue (also called the Mile with tons of great places to shop). We were headed to the Hancock Tower and saw many strange and wonderful things along the way.

I believe I enjoyed our time at the top of the Hancock building more than the Sears Tower last year. We enjoyed a complimentary cup of coffee (courtesy of our Chicago Passes) and we bought a couple of items in the gift shop and just really enjoyed learning about Chicago. We were up there for about 90 minutes, or maybe 2 hours, I wasn't really keeping track. It wasn't very crowded and the audio tour was awesome! I chose to listen to the kids version because kids' tours always give the best information.

While at the top of the Hancock Tower, we enjoyed looking at the beautiful Lake Michigan and it was neat how small Navy Pier looked from our vantage point.

Off to the left of Navy Pier and the filtration area, there was this roundish looking building. I wanted to know what it was, but it wasn't mentioned on the tour. I zoomed as much as I could, but couldn't really get a good picture. It looked to me like a Merry Go Round out in the middle of the lake (Katrina thought the same thing, separately from me). Finally I went up to the desk to ask because I just had to know...

It is a pumping station that goes with the water filtration area. It pumps water out of the lake for the people of Chicago to drink. I like my idea better. Wouldn't it be cool to have a Merry-Go-Round in the middle of the lake that you could only get to by boat???

As we were getting ready to leave, I couldn't find Katrina (this is a frequent happening) and I about had a heart attack when I did find her...

She kept pointing that it was a long way down as she worked hard to clean those windows!

We left there and stopped in Borders (it is the first time I have been in a Borders and I was really amazed!!!!!). We picked up the newest Daniel X book, then headed to Hershey's. Well, we had to go after we ran into the Kiss out on the Mile. Then we headed to the Chicago Tribune building.

We had learned while on our tour that reporters used to bring back pieces of places they had visited (i.e. a piece of the Great Wall of China, a piece of the Forbidden Temple in China, a piece of the Berlin Wall...). And these pieces are embedded in the outside of the building. It was really cool!

So, now we are back in the room and it is dinner time. More later...I have some videos to share too:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have to say that moving is way down on my list of things to do. I think I would much rather have a tooth drilled than move, really! After we left the fair on Wednesday, we headed to the U-Haul place, content that we had filled in all the info on line and it would be a snap. Well, it took about 20 minutes to do the paperwork at the store...get this... even though we filled out information on line about the kind of vehicle we were driving and all, I had to do it ALL AGAIN! Grr.... Then we went out to hook up. Based on when we reserved the u-haul, we thought they would be providing us with a ball. Nope...we had to have one...so the gal suggested going to a nearby automotive sales/repair place.

First I went to the Jeep place, he refused to work on my Nissan, but gave me directions to the Nissan place. They said they would be happy to put it in, but they don't carry balls in stock. So, then I had to drive to the automotive store (right next door to the place where I was to get the u-haul). First we had some miscommunication and he thought I wanted the receiver which he didn't have in stock, but then when we figured out what I was talking about, he had plenty balls in stock for minimal money. Back to the Nissan place and the kind guy there installed it. He had mentioned a bolt, so I figured tools would be involved...there was a pin and a cotter pin....I could have done that. I spent about an hour doing what I could have done in about 5 minutes had I known the proper place to go and how easy it would be to install...LET THAT BE A LESSON TO ALL WHO READ THIS.

Continue reading "Moving is a Pain!!!!" »

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Okay, the last four days, including today, have been busy, so I have fallen a wee bit behind. Time to catch you up.

Tuesday morning, the kids did some school work before we headed to the State Farm Water Park. Last year, we were given passes one day to the State Farm Water Park, it is for State Farm Employees, not contractors, and their guests. We were really tickled to get to go, but the day we ended up being able to go was so cold (last July) that I sat there under a towel most of the time. The kids of course were fine with the chilly, misty day, but it still dampened the experience. So we asked if we could try again this year. They were kind enough to extend us passes for one day, and we got to enjoy three hours of lovely warm water, before thunderstorms closed the park. The kids had fun with the two diving boards, two water slides, lazy river, splash area, and swimming areas. I played a lot with Katrina and I read some until we had to go.

Once we returned to the apartment, I did a little packing, then got showered and ready to go to Daniel's going away party. We left the children with strict instructions for them to spend the couple of hours in separate rooms and not bother each other (they have a terrible tendency to pick on one another and argue). We met at a local pool hall and about 10 people that Daniel has worked with came by for a couple of hours more or less. We played some pool, chatted, shared a couple of drinks and some food. Got home and did a little more packing.

Continue reading "Days 9 and 10 of Illinois Trip" »

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Well, yesterday was day 8 of our great Illinois adventure. On Thursday, we will be heading back home, but whe still have a lot to do yet.

I spent yesterday morning getting my webmail set up. I have been using Outlook for ages, but some times when we go out of town, Outlook doesn't want to work properly. The problem with that is that I never set my webmail page up with my contacts and since I don't have everyone's email memorized, it is a pain. Now my contacts are all imported into my webmail and I was able to set my spam settings on my webmail account to automatic delete. Now instead of getting 200 junk mails a day, I am down to 10. Thank goodness! While I played computer guru, the kids did school work, then we went to Anderson Aquatic Park in Normal yesterday. They have a huge little kid area with lots of splashy toys and a fun slide.

They have a life size chess board and Katrina and I enjoyed playing with that. I had a picture, but it was too fuzzy to share.

They have two large one slides, a diving board area, a 5 foot swim area, then a 3.6-5 foot swim area. I read most of the time we were there. After we were there for an hour, Jack was ready to leave (Xbox Live has been calling his name and he can't play it at our house). So I called Daniel who picked him up on his way home from work. Then Katrina and I stayed until 8. The last hour or so, I played in the pools with her. Afterwards, we had to stop and check out the nearby playground.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, the last three days have been pretty tame. Friday, the kids decided that they just wanted to hang out around the apartment. Daniel got home early. We did some packing. It's hard to do too much as a lot of the stuff he uses pretty regularly. He has an awesome keyboard out here and he played some and we sang with him. That was fun.

Saturday, Daniel and I watched movies. We watched an old Steve McQueen movie called Bullit. It was very good and even though an older movie, it was one that I didn't see the end coming. We also watched A Haunting in Connecticut. After seeing The Haunting of Molly Hartley (0 stars on that one), this was a definite improvement. Then we watched 12 rounds. It was also a tolerable movie to watch. Very fast paced, though one can't help but wonder if the hero of the story really could do all the things he did. Then we watched The Unborn. Another good movie. And we finished up by watching Coraline with Katrina. A bit of a dark tale, but we really enjoyed it! Hopefully, Katrina got the message that home isn't as bad as one might think;)

Yesterday we each kind of did our own thing. I am reading a really good book. Jack has been enjoying playing XBox Live here because our satellite connection just doesn't support it. Katrina was outside some, inside some watching some TV and playing with her Littlest Pet Shop Critters. Katrina and I did take a walk. She loves being outside. There is a pond here behind the apartments that is a bird refuge. There are tons of wonderful bushes, berries, flowers just right for birds. On this side of the pond there are bushes next to the pond that are loaded with red berries. If I was a bird, I would love it!

There are also all kinds of flowers:Queen Anne's Lace is the one I knew. Then there are blue flowers, purple flowers, morning glories (okay, I know another one) and lovely yellow flowers!

We stopped for awhile and threw bread to the fish. They were very happy to get the bread, and very skittish. They would eat any of the bread that floated, we had to squeeze it up so it would sink. We got video of this and when I figure out how to link to it, I will.

Then we walked around the other side of the pond. It is cool because on the pond side, there are tons of bushes and on the other side of the pathway, home owners or the city has planted cherry trees and what I think are juniper trees. It makes a lovely area to walk through!

During our visit, we have noticed a little baby bunny that frequently visits. Katrina caught a couple of shots of him yesterday. Isn't he cute and tiny???

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We spent yesterday morning doing school work. Then in the afternoon we went to Fairview Family Aquatic Center. This is a water park in Normal, IL. Unfortunately, they are in the midst of remodeling so the two giant water slides had been dismantled in preparation to be replaced. But the children still had a lovely time. There were slides, a diving board, two lap swimming lanes, and a zero depth pool with tons of fun children amusements. The kids liked the water slides and the diving board the best. And while there Jack taught himself how to dive. I got that on video and when I can figure out how to put it on you tube, I'll share the link.

Jack said this water slide was best
Katrina agreed.
Katrina made friends and they spent a bit of time playing with a water toy that enabled them to first stop, then pour a bunch of water onto the person waiting below. Katrina liked it when it was her turn to get water poured on her.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I spent most of my morning yesterday blogging while the children did some school work. After lunch, we went to the nearby pool for a couple of hours. There weren't very many people there and without a diving board, the kids lost interest quickly. We are going to be going to a water park today with a bit more going on.

After supper, Katrina wanted to go play at a nearby park playground area so we went for about an hour. Parks here in Bloomington are wonderful. There are multiple ponds and lakes, trails to walk on, picnic tables, benches, spectacular playgrounds, and geese. We are here during a cool summer (shhh...don't tell the global warming people...oh yeah, that's right, it's global climate change now...). So the weather has been spectacular just to be outside. Not humid, not hot, and a lovely breeze. The only reason that Katrina and I left after an hour was we had told the guys we would be home them. I should have called and prolonged our stay!

There are a lot of geese here and we enjoyed watching them wander around until one tried walking across the road, then we were hollering at him to go back. He almost became goose fricasee!
This piece of equipment is a balance beam and a see-saw all in one. You can sit on it and bounce one another up and down similar to a see-saw movement without the jarring. Or you can walk across. We did both.
She jumps and lands on her feet! Swings are probably one of my favorite pieces of playground equipment and Katrina agrees. And check out the stuff under her feet. I don't know exactly what it is, but it is very unlikely that a child could fall on it and get hurt. It is soooo comfortable to walk on!

One more time on the slide before we go...wheeeeee!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, July 20th, we were up at 5:30 a.m. We got ready to go and left Virginia around 6:30. Before we left, Daniel told me to drive safely...and what did I do, when backing out of the drive way, I backed into his car and knocked out his parking light (good thing I wasn't going fast)...geez!!!! I almost decided to stay at home at that point as it didn't seem like a good start to me.

As we headed towards Roanoke, I was dismayed to see ominous skies up ahead. By the time we reached Roanoke, we were in the midst of a good old-fashioned gullywasher during rush hour traffic. The rain was pouring down and up (the roads were flooded in places and when we drove through the enormous puddles, the rain came up as well as down). Had the windshield wipers on full blast and everyone was going 10-20 mph under the normal speed limit. Boy, was I glad when we drove out of that...and I was still debating the wisdom of this trip.

The rest of the drive was beautiful. We drove across West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and into Illinois without incident. We stopped every couple of hours either to eat or get gasoline or just to stretch our legs. We arrived in Bloomington at 9:30 EST. We got unloaded and of course Jack was busy trying to get his piece of home here...computer on, XBox working....you know the important things!

Continue reading "Day 1 and Day 2 of Illinois Trip" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, the SCUBA training definitely took a big chunk of our trip. We were originally signed up to participate in training Saturday afternoon and most of the day Sunday and more than 1/2 the day Monday. Well, we arrived on Saturday. First thing we had to do was pass our swim test. I was worried about that because of my knee. Last summer, I wasn't able to do much swimming. I was thrilled when I completed my five laps without any pain in my knee and then we had to do 10 minutes floating/treading. That was a piece of cake for me. I am an excellent floater.

Then the dive instructor came out and informed us that because Daniel had checked that he had had sinus surgery and I had checked about knee problems, we had to have written notice from our doctors to go further. WHAT!? We had both talked with our physicians and been cleared, but we had missed the part that the clearance had to be in writing. Of course the doctors weren't in the office on Saturday. Well, we were able to do a little of the pool work. I was having trouble with clearing my face mask (I kept trying to breathe through my nose the minute the mask was off) and I was having trouble controlling my flippers, they floated better than I did, plus they were bulky. That night, Jack and I mutinied and said we didn't want to go back, but Daniel talked us into it.

Then on Sunday, we completed three of the five chapters of the book work (review with the instructor). I also spoke to the instructor regarding my mask anxiety and she suggested that I practice wearing it around the house to get used to breathing in and out of my nose. She also recommended different flippers to try. I went through about five different kinds before I found ones I liked.

Monday, we didn't get to do anything. Daniel's doctor got back with him right away. Mine wasn't in the office on Monday. So, we made plans to return on Tuesday to finish up the book work and do more pool time, assuming the doctor's fax came. Well, it did and we did. As we entered into the deep part of the pool, Jack decided that was not for him and refused to come down. It was getting late, so we took a break. We also found that we wouldn't be able to go on the Wednesday dive because the boat was booked up, but that was just as well. Jack was definitely not ready, I still wanted to work on my mask clearing and Daniel had a couple of things he wanted to work on to.

Continue reading "SCUBA Diving" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, another beach trip under our belts. Boy, I had forgotten how crowded the beach becomes in the summer time. The last couple of years we went to Myrtle Beach, we went in late May. Which is great crowd wise, but the very last time, was a bit on the nippy side...

One of the things I have done over the years is to keep a daily record of trips. I have some trips written down in journals, some on my blogs and some I missed writing down for one reason or another. I didn't keep track of this trip daily. I was too worn out most of the time. So instead of a day by day journal, I am going to divide this entry up into sections of things done. Also, if you want to see photos of our trip, I have uploaded them to Flickr. That way I don't fill up my blog with a lot of photos and you get to see more!

Okay, beach time. We were gone for 9 days. We were split up a lot of the times doing different things. But actual on the beach time during that five days for the majority of us occured five times. Two sunrise walks on the beach and three playtimes for 2-3 hours each. Frisbee throwing, shell collecting, and playing in the waves were the preferred past times.

Continue reading "Myrtle Beach 2009" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Several years ago, when it became apparent to me that we would be traveling a lot, I bought a notebook and wrote down what we were doing during our trips so we would all remember later on. Then we entered the computer age and I started blogging about trips. At least I think I did...I have had a couple of blogs, so who knows where that information is. Sometimes, the problem with the computer is your stuff ends up in odd places or you forget about it and it gets lost during a computer crash. I can still walk into my bedroom and lay my hands on the two notebooks I have filled with information about our travels...

Oh well, that's another post;)

So last Thursday, I was up at 4 am (after not having slept well the night before because I was worried about oversleeping and missing the flight). The kids were up and we were on the road by 4:30 am. We had a fine flight from Lynchburg to Atlanta. We arrived, had breakfast and met Daniel who had flown to Atlanta from Bloomington. We toured the Crown Club Room and then caught our flight to Orlando. A bit bumpy due to the rain storms, but otherwise fine. I was a bit worried about how Jack would do since the last time we flew in 2004, he wasn't really crazy about it. But he did well. Once in Orlando, we spent 45 minutes getting from the gate to the luggage pickup to Hertz. Then we were on our way. We had a bite of lunch and arrived at Tess' house around 3 pm.

Continue reading "Florida Trip March 2009" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, the plans for our big trip this coming year are underway. We just purchased tickets for a five week trip to Australia! We will be leaving September 17th and returning October 23rd! We are very excited. We have some other travel plans for between now and then.

The end of March or beginning of April will see us going to Florida for a long weekend to visit Daniel's parents and maybe a day visit to Sea World or Disney World.

We will be in Illinois in June and August. And in June, we plan a trip to Myrtle Beach.... amazing times ahead!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Well, we are making travel plans for this coming year and it looks like some of the items on my list of 100 things to do will be checked off. Come back for an update. I am not saying where we are going until the tickets are actually purchased....

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You know, these flat states are very, very windy!!!! Doesn't matter what time of year it is, there always seems to be a nice breeze, or a steady wind blowing. Today in Bloomington, the winds are roaring through with gusts up to 40 mph! Katrina and I went out for a bit and a gust just about ripped the truck door out of my hands! We are expecting a wintry mix tonight (hey, we can get that at home in Virginia!), but they are calling for an inch of snow and maybe a couple of inches of snow on Tuesday. We head home on Thursday. I have asked Daniel to drive back with us. It is just such a long drive and I don't like driving in this wintery weather.

I am feeling better, though not 100%, but at least I do feel better. Almost human again! Must say the mochas from Starbucks really make my throat feel better!

Today, Katrina and I went out to get a few things. She was looking around on the internet and found a recipe for making some pet treats. So we picked up the ingredients for that. We also picked up her present for Santa as we had forgotten to get that when I took the kids Christmas shopping last week. She has bought a present each year for Santa for several years. An extra Santa hat and various Christmas ornaments. This year, she got five small ornaments that are from the characters in Rudolph-the Red Nosed Reindeer. Santa always leaves her a thank you note. The other thing we were looking for was a winter coat.

I was looking in Lynchburg before we came here to Bloomington. We didn't get a lot of time to look and only made it to Walmart. They had one, yes, one winter coat for girls!!!!! IOt was pink with "Virginia Tech" written on it! What in the world????? There were plenty of coats for young men and I had no problem getting a nice one for Jack. So Katrina and I figured there would be a better selection here in Illinois...and guess what!? We were right, there were rows and rows of coats and she found a very cute pink one that came with a brown scarf and mittens.

This afternoon we are going to go see Madagascar 2. I really want to go to see Australia, maybe sometime over the holidays when Daniel is home.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

When I was a child, my parents and I often took rides into the mountains of Bedford and Amherst County on Sunday afternoons. As impressive as the surroundings are, there was something that stood out...

The above photo is from this website.

This thing resembles a huge golf ball perched atop of Apple Orchard Mountain. But it is really a FAA Radar tower that used to be part of a military base. The other buildings that were part of what used to be a military base have been dismantled and only the radar dome remains.

The radar dome continues to be a draw to hikers. Here's a couple of hikers you might recognize checking out the top of Apple Orchard Mountain.

For more pictures that Daniel and Jack took during their hike to the Radar dome, visit Daniel's blog post.

For more photos taken by other hikers, go visit this photo page.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Oops....I forgot last week to do my weekly report and by the time I remembered, it was too late to get something put together and our first week of school was about to launch. Sorry about that!

Bedford County is in the Piedmont (foothills) of Virginia). And the peaks of Sharp Top and Flat Top dominate the horizon. These are twin peaks and called The Peaks of Otter. These are favorite destinations on the Blue Ridge Parkway, not just for locals, but for people visiting from around the country. Both mountains have a hiking trail to the top and Flat Top is actually the higher peak, though the pointy top of Sharp Top gives the illusion that it is the taller of the two.

Here are some quotes about the Peaks of Otter that date back to the days of Thomas Jefferson.

Continue reading "52 Weeks in Bedford County, Va: Week 4 The Peaks of Otter" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bedford County has many fun places to offer those who love the great outdoors. National Forest Land, the Blue Ridge Parkway, The Peaks of Otter and Smith Mountain Lake are just a few. Smith Mountain Lake is considered the Jewel of the Blue Ridge. Smith Mountain Lake is the most popular lake destination in the state of Virginia. It has over 500 miles of shoreline.

From Smith Mountain Lake.Com

Why is there a gorgeous, 40-mile long, 20,600 acre lake, with 500 miles of shoreline, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of rural southwestern Virginia? Because Smith Mountain Lake was created to generate electricity, and to help manage water flows downstream and nearby. The damming of the Blackwater and Roanoke Rivers formed Smith Mountain Lake in a filling process that began on September 24, 1963 -- and ended almost 2.5 years later on March 7, 1966.

Smith Mountain Lake's surface covers 32 square miles. Its highest normal water level ("full pond") is 795 feet above sea level. There is typically very little seasonal variation in the water level. The daily variation for electricity production is 12-24 inches. During severe drought conditions, including 2007, lake levels have fallen by five feet. Under extreme flood control conditions, the water level could reach the top of the Smith Mountain Dam -- 802 feet above sea level. (The US Army Corps of Engineers publishes a daily water level report that is also available graphically over time.)

Continue reading "52 Weeks in Bedford County, VA: Week 3 Smith Mountain Lake" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ever since we arrived back in May, Daniel has mentioned us going to State Farm Water Park. It never seemed to be in the cards though. Since he is a contractor, he is not included among those who get to take advantage of the very nice recreational area that State Farm has set up. But, his boss told him this week that she would get passes for the kids and me to go and we went today. It was 74, cloudy and started raining about 4. I was literally sitting with a towel wrapped around me while the wind blew. The kids weren't bothered by the cold and in fact told me I would get warm if I just got in the water. While the water was heated and it probably would have been warmer than sitting in the chair, I knew that getting in meant only one thing...getting back out and I just wasn't up for it.

Continue reading "State Farm Water Park" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, here we are back in Bloomington. One week from today we will be half way back to Virginia. We have had a wonderful couple of months and we are looking forward to going home.

So, for our last 36 hours in Michigan City, I am sure you are wondering what we did. Sunday we hung around the condo in the morning. Reading, playing DS and being lazy. In the afternoon we went to the beach. The kids and I played in the water. Daniel went out for a bit, but said it was a bit too cold. Katrina and I grabbed a raft and paddled and kicked through a deep area to a sandbar that was probably 100 yards from shore. It was neat being way out there and being able to stand. We played around for about an hour, then Katrina and I let the currents/waves take us back to shore.

While on shore, the kids decided one last great sand adventure must happen.

Continue reading "Michigan City, Days 4 and 5" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, we had another lovely day yesterday, although it was an inside day. We woke up to cloudy skies and pouring down rain. It finally stopped about 12, but everything was saturated, so we decided that yesterday would be a good day to do the one excursion we had planned while we were here. Before we went though, the kids spent the morning playing on their DS and I spent the morning reading.

Daniel has been interviewing some people for a project he is working on, so he wasn't done with that until about 2:30, then we all got dressed and headed for the car and New Buffalo, MI which is about 15 minutes away. For those of you counting...that means another state magnet for our refrigerator...yippee!

We were heading for Four Winds Casino and Kid's Quest. It took us almost as long to find a parking space as it did to drive to the Casino. The place was packed! The first thing we did upon arrival was check the kids into Kid's Quest (and think to ourselves that maybe we should stay there too.

Continue reading "Michigan City, Day 3" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I keep wanting to call Michigan City, Lake Michigan City....my apologies to anyone I may have confused. We are staying in Michigan City, Indiana which is situated on Lake Michigan and we are about 10 minutes from the state of Michigan....

So, what did we do yesterday? Well we read books in the morning. After lunch, we went to the beach and spent the afternoon. The kids did more digging, swimming and building. I spent some time in Lake Michigan too, it was very chilly at first, but once in, very relaxing. The advantage of a huge lake over an ocean is that you don't have those waves trying to knock you over all the time!

We came back, got all cleaned up and had dinner at Matey's Restaurant and Beer Garden. I enjoyed their seafood/prime rib buffet (it was all about the seafood for me). Jack and Katrina had some fantastic chicken and fries. Daniel had steak and crab cake dinner. They were hopping and the chef walked around in his chili pepper pants, greeting everyone and talking to them. It was obvious that this place was a favorite with locals because many people came in and greeted the chef personally.

The food was excellent, the atmosphere/ambience was friendly, and the service was fantastic. Right before we arrived, a group of about 20 came in. This tied up the staff for a bit and they kept apologizing to us for the delay, but let me tell you, they were on top of things, and the only delay I noticed was when we waited briefly to get our menus. One of my favorite moments was when the busboy came by and asked if my hubby was finished. Daniel had eaten his potato, his steak, his crab cake, but he hadn't eaten his veggies. The young man admonished Daniel for not eating his veggies and told him there would be no dessert for him tonight...it was funny!

We had to go by Meijer's to pick up a couple of things. Daniel neglected to pack his swimsuit and I forgot to buy ketchup (Jack can't live without ketchup for his chicken and fries). We also picked up two 1.00 rafts for the kids to play with in the pool and the lake. We came back and played in the pool for about an hour before heading in for the night to watch Stargate Atlantis...one of our favorite shows.

A very nice, relaxing and fun day!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daniel was done with work early yesterday and we were delighted to head off on our last big weekend excursion. We arrived at the condo at about 1:30 pm. It's very nice. we have a view of the harbor, we are a short walk from the beach (which is still a little long for my problem knee so we will be driving), and the kids love the spiral staircase that leads up to the loft (where they have a bedroom, bathroom and lounging area...)

The only drawback is we are on the third floor...my knee is definitely not happy about all of the steps.

Continue reading "Lake Michigan City, IN...Day 1" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday, Jack and Katrina and I visited Anderson Aquatic Park in Normal, IL.

For 13.00, we gained several hours of admittance into a lovely water park with two waterslides, a diving board, two pool areas, and a spray area (which was mostly populated by toddlers) and a reasonable concession stand.

Jack and Katrina really enjoyed diving in. Here are some pictures of them having fun.

Continue reading "Diving Champions...Jack and Katrina" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today, we went to meet a couple that Daniel knows from work and their family. Lisa and Ryan have four children ages 2-13. We met for a picnic lunch of gondolas, chips, fruit and cookies. Gondolas are a local treat made by Avantis. Yummy bread with salami, ham, lettuce and cheese. I went to Meijer's and found some wonderful fruit for us...we had cherries, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, bananas, and grapes...I love summer time!

The kids liked the spray park! I got a couple of good shots of Katrina at play.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When we booked our trip to Chicago, Daniel used Expedia. He wanted a top notch place to stay in the Windy City and let me tell you, he definitely found it.

The Sofitel Water Tower is located at 20 East Chestnut Street. Many wonderful things are within easy walking distance including: The Historic Chicago Water Tower, Water Tower Place, The Hancock Building, Navy Pier, Michigan Avenue (Magnificent Mile), and McDonalds (for those picky eaters).

The accomodations are luxurious. We had two rooms, one for the girls and one for the guys. Katrina and I had a king size bed with the softest mattress and pillows you could imagine. There was a desk and chair. And a bathroom with a shower and a bath. Instead of the tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner that one usually receives, there were larger containers that lasted our entire vacation. There was a mini bar/refrigerator, which we didn't make use of. A flat screen television. Robes to wear, a safe and plenty of closet and dresser space. There were magazines and information on places to see in the Windy City.

Daniel and Jack's room had a bath that was the same as ours. Daniel had a king size bed and his bedroom could be closed off by doors. Then there was a living room type area with television, sofa bed, computer table which we also used as a dining table, a coffee table and chairs. Plenty of space for us to spread out in, relax in and eat in.

Continue reading "A Review: Sofitel Water Tower - Chicago" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry that I didn't blog yesterday, but I was just too pooped to pop last night and I had a killer headache...but I am getting ahead of myself...

For those of you who want just the pictures, here's the link to the photos that I took yesterday. Enjoy!

Now on with the story...

Continue reading "Chicago...Days 4 and 5" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yep, folks, you heard it here first! NASA has announced the next astronauts that will be heading to the moon. You can see their picture here. NASA has decided that a family would be a great choice for the next mission and I am sure you will agree. Of course, the fact that the family had all recently gone on a shopping spree at the House of Blues was what clinched NASA's decision.

"This family is on a mission from God," one NASA spokesman reported.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today was long and busy and I am pooped.

I was up around 6:30. I showered and then read a bit before spending over 1/2 hour trying to wake up Katrina who was very, very tired... We went and had breakfast at Starbucks...just what I needed to jump start my day!

Then we got hooked up with the Gray Line On/Off Trolley/Double Decker tour. It is a two hour tour of the loop and we were tickled to be on the top of the bus...though Daniel now resembles a lobster due to his fair skin.

We had a great guide who told us all about the architecture of the area. We rode the whole tour without getting off, then we got off in the restaurant district and went to the House of Blues for lunch. It was neat being there and since we love the movie, The Blues Brothers, we went a little crazy in the souvenir shop...you'll be able to see what I mean tomorrow... Then we got back on the trolley (we were glad to be out of the sun). We went to the Field Museum. Way too much stuff to see in the 2 hours we had. We did make a point to see Sue, the T-rex, the Egyptian exhibit, and an exhibit where we were shrunk down to less than 1 inch in size. I loved the Egyptian section, particularly the mummies, the artifacts and the fact that part of the exhibit was made of actual stones from an actual 5000 year old tomb. That was absolutely amazing!!!!!! The art work on the walls....it was just incredible! Unfortunately, it was too dark for any of my photos to turn out.

Then we got a trolley back to the beginning and headed home. It is 9 pm and we are going to sleep and get ready for another busy day. You can check out photos from our Chicago Tour at my Flickr account.

And for all of you who are commenting, thanks so much. I spend time this morning answering, but then realized that even though I am on the internet, my emails are not going out of Outlook. Don't know why. Daniel is having the same problem. But never fear, all of those emails will get sent when we return to Bloomington! I am glad you are enjoying reading about our trip.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, we saw the fireworks. Actually, they were a bit disappointing. They started about 15 minutes early and lasted for about 10 minutes. As we were walking home, we saw other fireworks in the distance...maybe we attended the wrong show....

Because things had ended so early, we treated ourselves to a 30 minute horse carrige ride. It was absolutely wonderful and made Katrina's night.

For photos of our evening, you can check out my Fireworks Set on Flickr.

It is hard to take pictures of fireworks, but my camera has a fireworks setting, I had to try it out...It was fun and some of the effects were very cool!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

First a couple of moments I forgot to mention yesterday. We ordered Deep Dish Chicago pizza for supper! They sure make it different here...and one piece is a meal! I would never say that back home. A corn meal deep dish crust. Then comes a layer of cheese, then veggies or whatever toppings, then the sauce. It was about an inch thick and it was awesome!!!! Also, as it was our first night here at the Sofitel, we were surprised with trays of milk, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries and bottles of water from Norway. Very neat!

Last night Katrina, Jack and I watched the fireworks from our bedroom windows. It was cool, even though we couldn't see them completely for buildings. Tonight we are walking to Navy Pier to see the big firework show.

Today we got up a bit earlier than planned. I told Jack that we would try and leave by 9. Well, at 7, I was still in bed, thinking about getting up when a knock came at our door. Jack couldn't believe we were still in bed. He thought it was 9! He had just woke up, looked at the clock on his computer (which said 8 a.m. because it is on East Coast time). Instead of subtracting an hour, he added an hour and viola...it was 9!!!! He got up and dressed quickly, let me tell you.

We spent about an hour waking up, then headed to McDonald's for breakfast.

Continue reading "Chicago...Day 2" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Years ago, I started a tradition of keeping handwritten journals of our vacations. As I have said, we love to travel and it was a great way to keep up with fun things we did and have them to review later. Now, I can do the same on my blog and the whole world can have the joy of reading what we have been up to...

So for today... Katrina and I hit the Goodwill this morning. I had forgotten to pack her a jacket and the evening temperatures here are going to be a bit cool (plus, it is the windy city and we had some wind today). While at the Goodwill, I also found each of us a patriotic shirt to wear for tomorrow! I couldn't believe I was able to find one for each of us the day before the Fourth of July.

We left for Chicago around 12. I volunteered to drive in...whatever was I thinking? But our Garmin GPS directed us right where we needed to be. There was a bit of traffic of course, but we survived and I didn't cause any accidents:)

Our hotel is something else. The valet ran away with our car (which we are leaving parked for the duration). The bellboy helped get our luggage to our room. The concierge wasn't at her desk when we arrived, so she made a special trip upstairs to our room to introduce herself, give us some tips and give us four complimentary days worth of internet hookup....unfortunately, we had already paid to hook up by the time she came to see us...grrrr....

Continue reading "Chicago....Day 1" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

...and that is what has helped to make hanging out in Illinois so much fun for me. I am hoping some of Daniel's and my love for travel will rub off on them.

Tomorrow we will be leaving for Chicago, apparently along with 2,999,996 other people...oh well, at least there will be plenty of opportunities for 'socialization'!

While there, we will be staying at the Sofitel Water Tower. Daniel found this place through Expedia.com and chose it for location and rating. It looks very posh (I am always worried I will stand out in some way as not posh enough when Daniel picks places like this). We are hoping for a high up room with a great view of the fireworks (which if I have figured right, there will be fireworks Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night! The kids will be in heaven!

On Friday, the kids and I plan to spend the day at Shedd's Aquarium. Not sure if Daniel will join us as it isn't his thing, but we are very excited about going. And my favorite reptile will be there too! We purchased the Go Chicago Card and we will be using it to go to Shedd's Aquarium.

Continue reading "I Love to Travel..." »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, you may have noticed I didn't blog yesterday...I planned on it, but we got a wild hair and we drove until we got home. We were up in Bloomington at 5 a.m. (6 a.m. Virginia time), we left by 6 a.m. We drove for about 2 1/2 hours, then stopped for breakfast in Indiana. Then we drove for another 3 hours and stopped for lunch in Kentucky. Kentucky is a lovely state and I would love to go back and do some sight seeing there.

We drove for three more hours and stopped for a snack and gasoline...I think we were in West Virginia then. We reached the last mountain we had to cross, only to have to turn back because of a tractor trailer accident on the mountain road. That added about another hour to our trip because of the detour we had to make. So we arrived home at 9 p.m. We were soooo happy...and soooo tired. The cats were a little aloof at first. We let them stay inside last night. They kept waking me up last night wanting me to pet them....

Today we got some groceries and looked at some furniture (we need to replace our two sofas). Now Jack and Katrina have their best buds over. Katrina and Kayley are going to sleep in a tent outside tonight. And my neighbors are visiting and we are watching Rose Red.

The weather is cool and lovely...it's good to be home:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Yesterday was Father's Day. I had asked Daniel if there was anything in particular we could get him this year, but since we have been purchasing several items lately that we have been wanting, he said that we need not get him anything. He said for Father's Day he was going to sleep in, get up and go exercise, then come home and read a book. I thought that sounded like a great idea.

But...the best laid plans of mice and men...Daniel did sleep in and he did go and exercise. He ended up doing some other things besides reading a book. Then he wanted to go out to a local Italian restaurant he had been told about for 'lupper' around 3:30. We found Avanti's and had just finished figuring out what we were going to eat when the electricity went out! Needless to say, you can't cook a lot of food without electricity. We waited for about 20 minutes, but since Daniel wanted to eat relatively early so he could go to bed at an early hour, we had to go. Our waiter suggested we try Alexander's Steakhouse.

We typed the name into the GPS and away we went. Boy were we in for a surprise! In Alexander's Steakhouse the diner gets to choose their steak from a refrigerator and grill it to perfection. There are two grills set up in the restaurant and people were gathered around grilling steak and Texas toast. There were seasonings you could use and you chose the piece of steak you wanted. It was very cool! Daniel was thinking it would be a great experience for one of his coaches meetings.

Daniel received a text message from Charles in Roanoke. Jack and Katrina got him cards. His mother sent him a Father's Day card. And he was told Happy Father's Day by Katrina's best friend, Kaylie and by our neighbors in Virginia who are busy watching our house. Bruce, the oldest, forgot to call yesterday, but did call today. And he has a good reason for his forgetfulness...he gets it honest from his Dad:)

Continue reading "Father's Day Fun and Packing Again" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

As I said in my post yesterday, we wrapped up our St. Louis trip with time at Six Flags St. Louis. I took my camera in, but I only took two pictures. However, there were some interesting things to see there. Check it out....

Continue reading "Six Flags St. Louis" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday we didn't do much except watch movies in the hotel room and recouperate from our previous two days of adventures. We did try to go swimming at the hotel pool, but unfortunately it was closed. That did not go over well. We did watch three good movies on the Pay Per View Channel though. The Golden Compass, Spiderwick Chronicles and The WaterHorse. Jack liked The Golden Compass best. Katrina and I liked Spiderwick Chronicles the best.

Today we packed up, checked out and spent a few hours at Six Flags St. Louis. It is not a very large park and seems to be heavy on the rollercoaster and dare devil type rides.

We walked around looking for a ride to enjoy.

First we rode the Ferris Wheel, a nice easy ride (though for a son that doesn't like heights, even the Ferris Wheel has its problems). From there we spotted a couple of other interesting looking rides.

The second one we tried was Thunder River. Daniel had his cell phone. I had mine and my camera in a bag. The signs warned that we may get soaked. Daniel was saying...oh, it won't be that bad....

Continue reading "My St. Louis Zoo Pictures and Trip Wrap-Up" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday we had tickets to take a ride on the Gray Line. We got up, had breakfast and were ready at the busstop where the people at the front desk told us to go by 9:50. We waited and waited and waited. Daniel happened to look up to the front door and there the bus was...turns out that we were suppposed to wait inside the lobby. Oh well, at last we were on our way.

Ann was our driver for the day and she was very knowledgeable, fun and eager to suggest places that were child friendly for us. The first part of the tour was a drive through the downtown historical area along with running commentary on what was what. One of the things I thought most interesting was a water fountain that depicted a woman (the Missouri) and a man (the Missisippi).

And our driver took us to a neat picture spot. So here we are at the beginning of the day looking rather fresh and peppy:

Continue reading "St. Louis Gray Lines Tour" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Here is the first photo I took with my new camera!

Aren't those cute, cute, cute freckles!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When I left you yesterday, faithful reader, I was on my way out the door to run some errands.

First stop was the Krispy Kream Donut Shoppe I had been eyeing since our arrival...you know the ones...they have the little sign that when it is lit up means hot donuts being made inside? Well, it was everything my tastebuds had dreamed it would be. Those were some of the best tasting donuts I have ever had. Then we went to the Casual Male to pick up some shorts and a swimsuit for Daniel. But the store was closed and I couldn't see a time card for when they would open.

So we went next door to the Dollar Tree. Father's Day is coming up and that is the best place to buy cards (.50 each). So we bought Father's Day cards and birthday cards for three upcoming birthdays. We wandered around a bit, figuring the Casual Male would be open by 10:00. When we got there, I pulled on the door while also finally seeing the sign which said 11 was the opening time. At the same time the door came open. The shopkeeper invited us to come on in. Boy, was I glad because I had a lot to do. So we made our purchases and then headed towards the library to return books...but first we made a pitstop.

I did something that I rarely ever do, I made a big impulse buy. I think I have mentioned that I have been wanting a new camera for my birthday. Well, my birthday is coming up the end of July (me and Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling will all be having a party together). And I kept thinking about how many need photo possiblities would be coming up between now and then, so I decided to get my birthday present early.

We swung into Best Buy and I picked out a lovely Panasonic Luminix (that I am in love with), a case for it and some memory. The camera was 1/3 off because it was the display model! Katrina pointed out the video camera next to it (which was also 1/3 off). We haven't had a video camera (DVD) in years and I have missed it. So I did something else I never do, I bought something big without consulting Daniel. Usually he is in charge of the photographic equipment, but the price was excellent and I have missed being able to record things like recitals.

Continue reading "From Bloomington to Hotel Lumiere to the St. Louis Zoo...Exciting Times" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last night two tornados touched down in McLean County with minimal damage. A number of funnel clouds were seen, but that is not why we are packing up today!

We are heading to St. Louis for five days. We leave this afternoon when Daniel gets off work. We are very excited about it. The Zoo, the arch, a city tour and Six Flags are all on our list of things to do. Expect blog posts and pictures:)

Yesterday at about 2, the mother of a friend of Katrina's called and invited us to meet them at O'Neill Park pool. We had tried to get to this park a couple of times, but construction had made it just about impossible. We kept running into dead ends. She gave me directions and we found the pool easily.

There were two slides, two diving boards and the kids liked it okay, but I think they prefer the Holiday park pool better. After Katrina's friend left, we packed up and headed to Holiday Park and ran into a couple of Jack's friends and another one of Katrina's friends there. I also got to talking to a ocuple of different people. I made three new friends yesterday and all were kind, helpful and more than happy to give me advice about things to do.

Continue reading "Packing Up..." »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yesterday was a busy weather day here and at our home back in Virginia. We woke up to tornado watches and grey skies. I watched the radar which was showing a line of severe weather headed our way. I took some precautions...I showered, dressed and we each put on our shoes in case we had to head to the shelter. I kept watching the line of storms as they headed towards us. As they hit Bloomington, the reds began to fade into yellows and while we had some rain and thunder, it wasn't bad at all. I felt a little silly about being prepared, but I figure, better to feel a little silly and have nothing happen, than the opposite.

Since the weather was not cooperating for swimming, we decided to go see Prince Caspian. I just want to say the movie was well done and we all really enjoyed it! I wonder which movie they will do next.

Continue reading "Prince Caspian, Tornados and Lightning Shows" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

If you sit on our patio at the apartment, you will find the air is filled with the sounds of happy birds. You will look at the chain link fence about 15 feet away that is periodically dotted with bird feeders that the apartment dwellers have put out. Then you can look through the fence to a lush undergrowth that surrounds Angler's Lake.

This is a protected wildlife area. There are signs around it stating you are not to bother the vegetation. And the birds are very happy here. Water. Plenty of cover for their nests and humans willing to throw some extra food their way.

Yesterday, Katrina and I decided to take a walk around the lake and see what we could see. Why don't you come along with us...

Continue reading "A Walk Around Angler's Lake" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I was up at 5:15 this morning. What the heck is wrong with me? It is bright here very early and I don't sleep well once the sun comes up. And I didn't sleep well last night which didn't help either. It was one of those nights for restless tossing and turning. Hate that!

So anyway, got up, answered some emails, took a shower, and got the kids up. We left the apartment around 7:30. We wanted to be gone when the maids got here (they arrived at 8:30 last week). We planned to go to McDonald's for breakfast and play in the play place (Katrina picked it out as her choice for our breakfast out). Daniel called when we were there and told me Bloomington had been put under a tornado watch and for me to keep a lookout. He also said, I should try to get my running around done by 11-11:30.

We left McDonald's at 8:30 and drove to State Farm to meet Daniel for a tour. We toured around from about 8:45 to 10:00. The place is huge.

If you go to Google Maps, type in Ireland Grove, Bloomington, IL. You will see the number 28 and to the left of that you will see a body of water. That is the pond next to the State Farm complex. All the buildings to the left of the lake are part of the complex (there is another huge building a couple of miles down the road). Each building is four or five stories tall and several have a floor underground as well. NW, you will see Angler's lake. The apartments we are staying in are south of the lake. And you can zoom in for better views. Google maps is cool.

Continue reading "Tornados, State Farm, and Errands" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday was a hodgepodge of activity. I started out the day by watching Mary, Queen of the Scots. I have been enjoying watching a variety of movies about that time period in English history. The movie had lovely costumes and was well done. After that, the kids and I piddled around for awhile and they took care of their piano/typing practice and did their math. We went up to the Dollar Store and picked up goggles and pool toys.

Word of Advice...the goggles at the Dollar Tree are not worth the 1.00 that the Dollar Tree charges for them. I get lots of great stuff there, but the goggles were not great!

Then we headed to the pool for the afternoon. There's nothing better than getting into an 85 degree pool...until you step out into the 74 degree busy day! Something I thought really cool was the music they were playing at the pool. They were playing country music. People here are laid back, don't seem to be in a hurry, and are very friendly.

Still, we enjoyed our time at the pool and ran into our new friends from the previous day. We found out that it was going to storm on Friday. (BTW, I started this post early this morning, but things got in the way, so here it is 7:16 pm CST and I am finishing that post). Did I mention the pool is only a mile from our apartment? I soooo love that! I have to drive a mile to get to the hard surfaced road!

Continue reading "I Could Get Used to This" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday afternoon, we decided that it was time to explore some of the parks in the area. According to the Bloomington Parks and Recreation guide, there are over 40 parks! And that doesn't count those in Normal. We chose four parks to visit. Two because of their pools, one because of the fact that it has a zoo and one because it has a walking trail.

First we visited the one nearest (less than a mile). Holiday Park has a lovely pool, a very nice playground area and backs up to a lake where you can fish. Illinois has a state law that if the air temperature is below 70, public pools cannot be opened. At the time we stopped by, it was only 65. The water however was 85. We found that we could join the pool, which would give us swimming priviledges at both pools in Bloomington, for 90.00. To go one time would cost 10.00. Even if we only stay a month, I imagine we will go at least 2-3 times a week, so it was cheaper to go ahead and join up.

Next we visited Miller Park. Miller Park has a zoo. There is a lake nearby with paddle boats. And they are in the process of rebuilding a minature golf course and spray park and they have a huge new playground they are putting in. While there, we tested the older playground equipment.

Continue reading "Park Exploration" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

No, I am not referring to the group, Rolling Thunder, whose major function is educating Americans about MIA-POW issues. This group is also dedicated to helping all American war veterans. I am thankful that this group exists though.

And I am not referring to Garth Brooks' song Thunder Rolls.

But, I did think of Garth Brooks' song last night when I was awakened at 3 a.m. by the flash of lightning and the roar of thunder. I have always liked that song, but never understood how long thunder can roll until last night. At home, in our hilly world, thunder will rumble sometimes for 20 seconds. But last night, the roar of thunder lasted for a minute, I bet. I was pretty sleepy, so I wasn't actually counting. My hypothesis is because the land is flat here that the sound can travel longer without bumping into stuff and diminishing.

I admit to being a tad spooked. While I am not sitting around dwelling on it, the signs for tornado shelters abound here in Bloomington, and one cannot help but be aware.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today we got up, ready for our first sight-seeing adventure. First order of the day was breakfast. At home, we don't go out for breakfast very often because it just isn't practical. But with a Starbucks and a Panera Bread within a block of the apartment...a special Sunday breakfast was in order. Katrina and I went out to fetch our 'gourmet' breakfast and on the way saw the local residents out walking their children!

I wish I had a better camera so I could have zoomed in better. Maybe for my birthday in July...Anyway, we were very tickled to see the cute goslings and their parents.

Continue reading "Visit To Abraham Lincoln Museum" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We were up early this morning because we all went to bed early last night. I was dreading the fact that Daniel goes to bed so early (like 8 pm), but it hasn't been bad. We go to bed between 9 and 10 and then we are ready to wake up about the time he is heading out to work (around 6:30). Today it was raining, raining, raining and thundering. Jack is a bit concerned about the tornado potential here and when it was thundering this morning he looked a bit wide-eyed.

We got up, ate, got dressed and then were playing UNO while waiting for the maids to arrive. They arrived about 8:30, so we headed to the office. I found out last night that our garbage disposal unit doesn't work and we are having trouble with Jack and Katrina's beds rolling across the wood floor (the twin beds are on wheels. I am concerned about scratching the floor, plus the beds keep rolling in to the wall and thumping (not very quiet) when the kids move around in them. And I wanted to see if they would provide us with a DVD for the kid's room (we rented the apartment furnished.) I also needed to pick up a letter from them saying we lived here so that we could get a library card.

Well, got to the office and it was 8:32. The office doesn't open until 9. I decided to go on and go to the library. Of course part way there, I remembered I didn't have the letter I needed.... but I went on to make sure I could find the library. Of course, it didn't open until 9:00 either! (This getting up at the crack of dawn has its disadvantages).

Continue reading "Day 3 Bloomington Trip (apartment photos)" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked last night, but you know how it is when you get to a strange place...getting used to it takes some time.

This morning, the sunny skies woke me up(well, the second time. The first time, Daniel woke me up, but the sun wasn't up then), then Jack. I can't get how Katrina can sleep in front of a window with the sun streaming in. I have to have a dark room to sleep through that.

I did some more straightening up and finished up my shopping list and my 'complaint list for the office'. They had only given us one set of extra sheets for the kids room, but we needed two. Also, the phone in the MBR didn't work and the cable wasn't plugged up to the kid's tv. We took our lists and hit the road.

First we stopped by the office, filled out a work order and got the 25 cent tour. We oohed and ahhed at the pool and hot tub. We admired the pool table and checked out the exercise room. Then we headed off to breakfast at Denny's before tackling Walmart. Not only did we need groceries, but there were several housekeeping items we needed as well. I didn't think we would ever get away from Walmart...ever! We came home, put stuff away, had lunch and watched Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. We are all looking forward to seeing the new Indiana Jones movie this weekend.

Continue reading "Day 2 in Bloomington (with photos)" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, the kids and I slept like logs in those wonderful, fluffy, soft, comfy beds last night. I didn't think any of us would ever get up this morning! But we did, slowly. We had a lovely breakfast and I just want to say that if you are ever on 70W outside of Dayton in Englewood, be sure to stop and stay at the Hampton Inn Suites. It was a lovely hotel and the people were soooo very friendly and the beds...well, let's just say, if there had been room, I would have snuck one out to my Xterra:)

But the Xterra was full as you can see by this picture that Jack took:

Please note the legos which are a lovely, versatile toy for the kids to enjoy.

Continue reading "We Have Arrived At Our Destination!" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

We have had a good trip so far today. We got away later than we originally planned. Jack took pictures of the Xterra all loaded up. He sat up front with me and was navigator, CD changer and phone answerer and toll money gatherer. He did an awesome job. Also, that gave Katrina much of the back seat and kept the squabbling to a minimum.

We drove for three hours before stopping near Beckley, WV for gas fill up, bathroom break and lunch. The mountains of West Virginia are absolutely lovely. Such a beautiful place to drive through. On the way, we are listening to Harry Potter: The Half Blood Prince. Jack and I have read it, but we are enjoying the refresher, plus it will prep Katrina for the movie coming out this coming November.

We only had one close call on and it was on the first leg of our journey. A semi decided that he wanted to be in the same lane as me. I believe I had inadvertently driven into his blind spot. I slowed up, he came on over and all was fine.

After we left lunch, we continued through West Virginia and we marveled at the beautiful capital in Charleston. It has a lovely gold roof. We entered Ohio and spent the rest of the afternoon making our way across the state. We circled around Dayton about 6 and I decided that the 9 hours on the road was enough for all of us. We got a lovely room at a Hampton Inn. We had a very good meal at Perkins Restaurant and then the kids got to play in the hotel pool for about 1 1/2 hours.

These lovely, soft looking beds are calling my name. TTFN!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The clothes and toys and toiletries and books are packed. The laundry is all done, the pets are fed. We are finishing up with our computers, so we can pack the laptops to take with us.

I have a few dishes to wash, a shower to take and I need to gather up the trash (don't want that sitting here fermenting while we are gone....yuck!). Then we can get on the way.

We were supposed to leave at 8:00 a.m. But I didn't sleep very well last night (nerves? excitement? worried about forgotten items?) Who knows, but I think I got maybe 3 hours of sleep last night and my stomach has been feeling upset. So I am drinking some Sprite, ate a bite and hope my tummy will either calm down or I will just get sick and get it over with!

Sounds like a great way to start a trip, eh? Our new departure time is 9 a.m.

We will be traveling the next two days, but I will be blogging if the hotel tonight has wi-fi.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Sometimes I like to dream about where I would like to live if I could live anywhere I wanted to. Since we have travelled a bit, I have some ideas. One state that both my husband and I have enjoyed very much is Colorado. Particularly the western half with the beautiful mountains and the clear streams. The snow is another attracting feature. We love snow and don't get anywhere near as much as we would like here in Virginia.

So I have been looking around, just daydreaming and I came across Winter Park real estate. Just an hour from all of the conveniences of Denver and nestled in the beautiful Rocky mountains. Fishing, skiing, hiking, and mountain biking are just some of the activities you can enjoy in your own back yard. Sounds like the life to me! Alas, it looks like I would have to win the lottery in order to purchase a home there, but I can dream, can't I?

So, where would you like to live if you could live anyplace you wished?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My husband and I met in August of 1990. A year later, things were going well. We felt like we had the world by the tail. We were both working good full time jobs. We both were embarking on second jobs that we hoped to turn into our own businesses (he-computers, me- Tupperware). We had just purchased our first real computer and we had hopes that we would be able to buy our first home within the year

We decided a vacation was in order. We wanted to go to the beach, but we wanted to go to a beach that was a bit out of the ordinary We looked around and decided that Hilton Head South Carolina seemed like a perfect place to visit. It seemed a bit exotic...after all, it was an island and it was some place we had never been. We also made plans to visit nearby Savannah and Charleston.

It was an awesome vacation and one of the best we have had. Hilton Head Island is quiet It is known for its beautiful beaches, wonderful golf courses, and more serene setting We stood in the ocean and dug up sand dollars with our toes. We drove to Charleston for the day and enjoyed a lovely carriage ride and some sight seeing. We also took a day trip to Savannah. We took a ghost walk tour (that was fantastic!) And we ate at the Pirate House...that was awesome! We dined in wonderful restaurants, enjoyed lovely beaches, and drank yummy tropical drinks.

Hilton Head SCholds a special place in our memories because it was our virst vacation together.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Daniel spends a lot of time in airports and on airplanes as he travels back and forth between Illinois and Virginia. His laptop case had a shoulder strap and the weight of carrying it with two computers and other asundries tucked inside was getting to be too much for him. I lifted that case and it weighed a ton! Just imagine carrying that all over an airport...

So anyway, he got to looking over some luggage that would be more airport and travel friendly. One of the many choices to choose from was Briggs and Riley - the Work Collection. There are several pieces that can be chosen from depending on the needs of the traveler in your family. Daniel now has three pieces that work well together and help him carry all of his belongings back and forth without pulling his arm out of joint. Daniel's new luggage is well constructed and should last a long, long time.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For my 30th birthday, my husband surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas. We stayed at a lovely Las Vegas hotel named the Monte Carlo.

We had a wonderful time. We saw a magic show, enjoyed marvelous buffets, swam in the pool and gambled a bit. The buffets were amazing, inexpensive with lots of choices! The casinos make most of their money on the floor, so rooms, food and drinks are inexpensive. Of course, you have to be careful with the drinks, and you should go to Vegas with a plan and with an awareness.

Our plan was to limit our gambling money to 50.00 a day. And we stuck to that. Much like you would have a budget for entertainment on any trip. Be aware of how the surroundings are set up to pull you in and keep you there. Ladies and gents will come by and offer to bring you the beverage of your choice for free (alcoholic or not). Of course that keeps you at your spot until they come back with it because you are waiting for the drink to return. It also keeps you on the casino floor - you don't need to leave because you are thirsty. And if you take them up on the alcoholic drinks, your inhibitions lessen and before you know it, you are spending more and more and more.

Also, the casinos are set up in a way to keep you circling around. There is no clear cut way to the exits and this keeps you wandering around in the casino. And don't discount the hynoptic effect of the darkened room, the bright lights, the sounds of slot machines and the sounds of coins falling into the tray as people win. You can lose track of time and when you hear others win, you get to thinking that it is inevitable that it will happen to you too.

So, if you go with your head screwed on straight and a budget, you can have fun and enjoy the many things Las Vegas has to offer (great shows, amazing hotels, great food).

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We love to travel. It is one of our most favorite things in the world to do. And as we travel across this great country, we add magnets to our United States map.

As you can see, we have done a pretty good job of hitting the east coast (we have only missed out on Delaware and New Hampshire) and we have done a good job with the west coast. Our rule is that we both have to have been to a state in order to put the magnet up on the board. So while Daniel has been to a few states that I haven't due to his work, they don't get counted. We are planning on changing that this summer as we are going to go and spend it in Illinois with him. While there we have plans to visit some other nearby states. Because the midwest is sadly lacking representation on our map.

Continue reading "Traveling to Missouri? Have you checked into Branson?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For those of you who don't know, my hubby, Daniel, has been working in Bloomington Illinois since the beginning of December. He travels back and forth each week so we can be together as a family on weekends. This is not an easy row to hoe under the best of conditions and during the winter, the weather conditions are not the best. I think he has only had maybe a half dozen flights since December that went smoothly. When you figure he is on a plane two times a week and has done that for about 10 weeks now, that's 20 flights. Anyway, his adventures would put Steve Martin and John Candy (Planes, Trains and Automobiles) to shame...well, almost;)

Last Thursday, he went to the Bloomington airport at approximately 11:00, only to find the flight out of Bloomington was delayed by 4 hours due to weather in Bloomington. He was only a couple of hours by car from Chicago and Chicago was where he was supposed to be flying to. So, he and three other guys went in together and rented a car to go to Chicago. Daniel missed his flight by 10 minutes. Weather got worse and he ended up spending the night in Chicago. Friday morning he got on a flight to fly into Roanoke (about an hour from our house). The weather here was bad and icy and low clouds on Friday and he ended up getting rerouted to Charleston, WV for a few hours until the clouds lifted high enough for the planes to land. The drive home would have taken 11 hours. The flight home took about 36 from the time he started out in Bloomington to the time he walked in our front door.

Then yesterday evening we dropped him off at the Lynchburg airport (about 1/2 hour away - he flies from different airports depending on his schedule). We dropped him off around 3 and his flight left around 4:30. He flew to Atlanta, only to discover his flight leaving there was delayed due to dense fog in Illinois. It was eventually cancelled and he spent last night in Atlanta. His flight into Bloomington couldn't be rescheduled until today at 4 pm. This afternoon and tonight, there is going to be an ice storm in Bloomington. Every day he misses from work is no pay, plus it doesn't make the employer very happy when he isn't there either, plus there is the added expense of unexpected hotel stays. So, instead of waiting for the 4 pm flight, he is going to try and see if he can get an earlier flight into Chicago and then drive from Chicago to Bloomington...what a mess! Be sure to stay tuned for more traveling adventures!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Now that Daniel is working, we are beginning to think about vacation plans. We try to get to the beach once a year. In the past we have stayed in a variety of different hotels, but this year we are thinking we would prefer to rent a house a bit more off the beaten path (away from the Grand Strand at Myrtle Beach). We are just at that stage in our life where we are looking for at least one totally relaxed vacation a year (you know, not the kind where you feel like you have to do stuff all the time you are gone).

We are also talking a little about going to Disney World this year. My husband's mother and stepfather live in Florida and we have talked about going down there for years. With Jack 11 and Katrina about to be 8, it seems like this year would be a great time to go.

Another thing we have been tossing around is checking out one of the many cruises available. I think it would be on a ship, visiting exotic locales and having all the amenities floating along with us.

Where is your favorite place to vacation?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you or someone you know is in the military, you might want to check out GMAC Real Estate for military relocation assistance. Relocation to a new Permanent Duty Station generally occurs every three years.

Whether relocating stateside or overseas, there are some questions you should consider.

• Should I live on base or off base?
• Is buying or renting near post the best option?
• Will I or my family be a good fit for the military housing community?
• Does the civilian community welcome military families?
• What about schools, church, a job for my spouse?

GMAC has articles to help you research the answers to these questions and make the best choice for your next move. They also have professionals readily available to assist you in the process of relocating. Moving is stressful enough under normal situations, but when your job rquires it to be done frequently, the extra help is a blessing.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Back in 2001 and 2002, my husband was working in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We got to spend 2 weeks with him. We didn't do a lot of planning before we went. At that time, I hadn't really gotten the hang of using the internet to scope out my travel plans. There were a couple of places we wanted to see and fortunately some of his co-workers' families took us under their wings and showed us around to places we would otherwise have missed. And my husband had an apartment so we weren't in need of a Canada Hotel Guide because we had a place to stay.

Winnipeg is the only city in Canada that I have visited, but I would like to see more of that beautiful country. My in-laws have traveled around Canada and they have really enjoyed their visits to Newfoundland. I think that would be a neat place to check out.

St. Johns is the beautiful capital city of Newfoundland. The stunning waterfront attracts locals and tourists alike.

Continue reading "A Visit To Newfoundland...The City of Legends" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Right now, I, along with most of the people I know are busy dreaming of a White Christmas. We are looking for, praying for and hoping to have some of the white stuff float down from the sky so we can have our Norman Rockwell Christmas. I know there are some who are already dreading the first falling flake and are dreaming about sunny warm days to come in the months ahead. But for right now, I think most people are dreaming of snow.

However, human nature is a twisted thing. We want what we can't have. When it is summer, we dream of cooler days. When it is cold we long for sun and surf. So by January or February, many of those who were dreaming of snowy days in December will be turning their thoughts to summer vacations. Why wait until summer? Why not enjoy a lovely getaway this winter and take advantage of Amelia Island's Lodging Special. Currently, they are running a special at 12 participating hotels, bed and breakfasts and inns where if you purchase a two night stay, you can get a third night free. Reservations are required and black out dates apply, but you can only find those by checking out the lodging that appeals to you. This promotion is good from now until February 29, 2008.

Personally, I always like to do something special with my husband for Valentine's Day. Some years we have been able to arrange for the kids to be away and we just hung out at home in the peace and quiet. Some years, we have gone away for an overnight trip, just the two of us. I think it would be positively lovely for us to visit Amelia Island for a long weekend.

Continue reading "Amelia Island - One of the Top 10 Island Getaways in America" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time at all, you know that I love traveling and while I have been blessed to travel to many places, there are many more I want to visit, including Australia. So I am always on the look out for places to include in our future travel plans.

Today, I came across the Mudgee Region of Australia. It is located NW of Sydney. Mudgee is a small town (population 8200) and it is one of the oldest towns to the west of the Blue Mountains. It was laid out in 1838 according to the design of Robert Hoddle, who later planned Melbourne. Mudgee is nestled along the Cudgegong River. Many old buildings have been preserved in the town center (churches, railway station, Town Hall, Colonial Inn Museum, police station, post office). Not only is there a lovely, historical town to visit, but recreation opportunities abound.

Continue reading "Mudgee Region - Australia" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have you ever thought about how much fun it would be to go on a luxury skiing holiday? You know, you could stay luxury ski chalet, enjoy roaring fires, spectacular views and some of the finest ski slopes in the world.

Whether you want to stay in one of the luxury chalets in St Anton, Austria, Courchevel, France or Meribel, France, Supertravel has over 40 years of experience and is ready to help you plan out the luxury skiing holiday of your dreams!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am 41 1/2 years old. In that time, I daresay, I have received thousands of gifts. Many I probably don't remember unless you hypnotized me. But there are ones that over the years have stuck out for a variety of reasons. When I was five, my parents bought me a swing set. I loved my swing set for many years after that. One of the most remarkable things about that gift was my parents sent to friends the day before and they put it together, and then brought me home after dark. The next morning I followed a trail of notes until I located my birthday present. It was awesome! And I still remember it clearly! One year my mom got me a Princess Phone for my room. I had been begging for my own phone line (my parents didn't allow me to have long conversations because someone important might be trying to call), but that phone went in my room and I was allowed to have the longer conversations, even though I was still sharing the phone line with mom and dad.

My husband has given me some truly amazing gifts over the years. A trip to Vegas for my 30th birthday. The complete DVD collection of the Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman. A limousine for my 35th birthday and we had a night out on the town...having all of those people staring at our vehicle as we pulled up at the restaurant andlater the club was very cool! Weekend trips to Maine, Lake Tahoe, hiking and a bed and breakfast for birthdays and anniversaires. All of these gifts gave me wonderful memories to last a life time.

Continue reading "What Makes A Gift Memorable?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Back in 2002, Daniel was working in Canada. We got to go visit him for two weeks and we had a blast! We weren't thinking that while we were there someone could get sick or hurt. That was the last thing on our minds!

We went to visit a nature center with the wife and children of one of Daniel's co-workers. It was all going well until I heard a blood curdling scream that sounded a lot like my son! Jack was 5 at the time. He and another kid had been looking at one of those wheel exhibits. You know the kind where there is a window in a wheel and as you turn it the window passes over different pictures? Well, Jack's hand was stuck in that window/opening! Jack had pointed to the picture, the other kid was turning...and OUCH! When Jack pulled out his hand, it was red and 'crunched' looking.

It turns out that there was no plastic over that opening to keep just that sort of thing from happening and further more the bearing in the wheel was broken ( a repairman had been called) and it was allowing the wheel to be out further from the wall than it should have been (thereby allowing the insertion of the hand). They were kind and supplied us with ice. As I heard their apologies about the accident, I found myself explaining we were from out of country and would they be covering the cost of our impending E.R. trip? They looked at me as if I had lost my mind and said no! To them it was the same as if Jack had smashed his finger in the door. HMPH! Faulty exhibit is not the same as having your finger smashed in the door!

Continue reading "Travel Insurance - The Smart Choice" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have moved several times in my life. I can remember when I was a child and my parents were looking for their first home. They rented until I was 9 years old. We spent our weekends riding around with a real estate agent looking at home after home after home. I enjoyed it, but it seemed to create some tension for my folks. Not only were they trying to deal with all of the financial issues, but spending their Saturdays running all over town looking at house put them behind in their work at home (mowing, cleaning, etc).

Every place I have lived as an adult has been pretty much a situation of 'falling into it' so there wasn't a lot of driving around and seeing different homes and picking the one that suited me the most. But over the years, we have a couple of times thought about moving. Once locally, and once we looked at many properties in West Virginia. When we were looking in West Virginia, it entailed long drives, weekends spent perusing a dozen different homes. We finally did find a home, and we spent several weeks of driving back and forth looking, videotaping, photographing and in the end, we ended up having to pass on the home. We got approved for the loan on a 200 year old plantation, but the lead test results came back looking bad (and we had a new baby at the time.) We had fallen in love with this place and it was doubly hard having to walk away after putting all that time and effort into the purchase.

Continue reading "Moving? Need Help Finding Your Next Home? Read on...." »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is there anything that says 'America' more than baseball? This is a game that is played by all kinds of Americans at all ages and from a variety of walks of life. Whether it is children playing on a city street or children playing at a community ballpark, whether it is a family reunion game or a game that is being played under stadium lights, it is a game that calls out to all Americans. It is a game that has been played in America for over 140 years (though not always with the same rules).

As exciting as Major League games are, there are many fans who prefer to go to the Spring Training sessions. Spring Training is held in warm climates and most folks can go during their spring breaks (both from work and from school). Spring training typically lasts almost two months, starting in early February and running until just before the season opening day, traditionally the first week of April. Spring training baseball gives fans a chance to get up close and personal to their favorite players. Spring training baseball also offers fans a chance to see match-ups you normally wouldn't see during the regular season because teams play against other teams practicing in their areas, not necessarily in their league. The teams that are going through spring training in Florida are part of the 'Grapefruit League.' There are other teams that go through Spring Training in Arizona (the Cactus League).

Find out where your favorite team is playing and pick out your tickets and make your spring travel plans now. Enjoy the excitement of seeing veteran players alongside the rising heros of the decade to come. For me, I think it would be fun to peruse the Yankees Spring Training Schedule and purchase tickets for my dad. I believe he would enjoy opportunity to see his favorite team up close and in person!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It used to be my goal on vacations was to travel and see as much stuff as I could. I still like traveling for that purpose and I am looking forward to hopefully visiting Illinois in the spring as this is a state we have not yet visited in this great country of ours.

But as my life gets more and more hectic and more and more things seem to fill up my days, my ideal vacation is going someplace where we do nothing but read, play games and relax. I want solitude, not flashing lights. I want time spent one on one with my spouse and my kids...not being part of a throng in an amusement park. Don't get me wrong, those things have a time and a place, but right now, what I need in this season of my life is peace, quiet, and nature.

Continue reading "Want to Get Away From It All? Try Blueberry Lake Resort" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Who says that travelling has to be expensive? Do you want to see more of the world, but don't want to spend your life savings to do it? Or maybe you got a great Christmas bonus this year and you are itching to spend it on something memorable. You want to choose quickly because you know if you don't, you will end up spending that bonus on things like car repair bills. But as much as you would like to travel, your time off is fast approaching and you are afraid you can't get any last minute deals that won't cost an arm and a leg.

No worries! There are cheap flights to be had and they are available even if you are making last minute decisions! Spin the globe and see where your finger lands! Be adventurous! See new places! Immerse yourself in new cultures! Try new foods! Millions of bargain holidays to destinations worldwide are available at the click of a button! Book a last minute holiday bargain! Pack your bags, set the timer on the lights, get someone to feed the pets and head off onto a great adventure this holiday season! You won't regret it! Memories to last a lifetime are just a mouse click away!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are studying in The Story of The World and we are in ancient civilizations. Currently we are studying Greece. Every since I was a child Greece has called to me. I even wrote my own original myth in 8th grade. I was fascinated by the tales of the gods and their petty behavior. When I was in college, a girl with strong Greek heritage lived down the hall from me. She was fascinating and she went on to marry a good Greek husband. One day I hope to visit Greece. I could visit the Parthenon, the temple of Olympus, and the Acropolis. I could imagine where the Athenians met at the Forum to discuss the matters of the day and vote in the first democracy of the world.

I am sure there are fine Athens Hotels to lodge in while I step back in time and enjoy the mysteries of Greece. Once I leave the Athens area, I will tour the islands, visit more historical sites and enjoy walking the ground that Jason, Hercules and Odysseus once called home. There will never be a problem with finding reasonably priced Greece hotels during my travels.

Continue reading "History Brings Europe to Life" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My family is full of contradictions. We love watching movies and reading books and listening to music and attending concerts and plays. We don't watch much sports. Okay, we don't watch any sports except for the Superbowl and occasionally a college bowl if a local college is involved. We don't play any sports. I have dabbled in tennis in the past. My son has enjoyed playing soccer when we can fit it in and afford the gas. My daughter likes gymnastics, again when we can fit it in and afford the gas. But something we do love is hiking.

I spent a lot of time in the mountains as a child. My father is an outdoorsman. He hunts, fishes, owns a cabin and 51 acres against National Forest, and would rather be outside than do anything else. Mom, Dad and I would go riding in the mountains most every Sunday afternoon when I was a kid. We would explore, fish and find treasures (rocks, neat shaped wood, feathers). That ingrained in me the desire to be out in the woods.

Over the years my family has had bouts with hiking. We have hiked along the Appalachin trail near our home. We have hiked in the Rockies. My husband and two stepsons hiked around in the Grand Canyon (I drew the lijne on that one). Daniel and Jack have recently been doing a lot of hiking. It has been a great father son bonding time. And Daniel has taught Jack about map reading, what to do should a wild critter be encountered, photography, what to do if lost, and all kinds of other topics that I am sure I haven't been told about.

Continue reading "Hiking tips" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)