Up, Up, and Away

On Saturday, September 28, 2013, my brother, niece, and I participated in Museum Day, sponsored by Smithsonian magazine. On this day, you can download a free ticket for two persons to a huge variety of participating museums across the country. Our museum of choice was Conner Prairie Interactive History Park in Fishers, Indiana, about a two-hour drive from Cincinnati.

I had been to Conner Prairie several times before, but my brother and niece had not. We were a bit disappointed when we arrived and had to park in the grass. I figured it would be crowded since it was free to enter (it’s usually $15 for adults). Turns out it was still quite manageable because everyone was so spread out.

Since we saved $15 each on admission, we splurged and bought tickets for the 1859 Balloon Voyage, which is a trip pretty much straight up on a tethered helium balloon. This attraction was very crowded and had about an hour wait to get on, but we were so happy we did as it was a unique experience. We were lucky we were there on such a gorgeous day. The views were beautiful. The ride is usually $15 per person, but a lady standing in line behind us gave us a coupon for $5 off per person (thanks). I think it was worth the full price, so $10 was a steal!

Looking up at the balloon as we waited in line.

On the Holiday Road 2013: Las Vegas to Anaheim

July 13, 2013—Day 8

Our goal today was to meet up with the rest of the family in Anaheim, first stopping a few short miles away in Yorba Linda for a dead prez fix at the Nixon Museum and Presidential Library.

The ride itself was rather uneventful. We downloaded the Tina Fey movie, “Admission,” and watched that for part of the journey. Hmmm. Best part of this film: Paul Rudd, who is usually the best part of any film he’s in. I was hoping it would be funnier, but not so much.

We ate at our first In-N-Out burger somewhere near a strip mall. The place was packed! I can see why everyone raves about this restaurant—it’s tasty and cheap. And that chocolate shake lasted for many, many miles.

We spent a lot of time looking at the exhibits at the Nixon museum. I thought the part about Watergate was intriguing and pretty comprehensive. Kudos to this museum for not trying to cover it up. (Heh heh.) I think the museum did Nixon justice and painted a rounded portrait of him, not just focusing on the good, but also not showing only the crooky-ness.

On the Holiday Road 2013: Las Vegas

July 12, 2013—Day 7

Today’s plan had been to relax by the pool and see a show in the evening. HOWEVER, since our Santa Fe horseback riding adventure was cancelled, we were doing a make up ride this morning at 6:30 am. What the what??

Cowboy Trail Rides picked us up right on time for our Canyon Rim Ride. There were only four of us on the ride, plus our wrangler, Mikey. Yes, an adult who called himself Mikey. He was a good guy, though. My niece had the awesomely named horse, Diesel. I want to buy a horse just so I can name him Diesel. I was put on a mule named Mulla. Come on! I had Greg the horse at the Kentucky Horse Park in April, and now Mulla? (I loved Mulla, but this was the best name they could come up with?)

I think a mule was a brilliant choice for this ride. Mikey was on a mule, too.

On the Holiday Road 2013: Grand Canyon to Vegas

July 11, 2013—Day 6

We were up at around 4:00 am to head out for the sunrise. We drove to the visitor center at Mather Point (I think) and didn’t see one other car. We also had no idea how far it was to the rim from the visitor center. And, it was dark. My niece got a nosebleed. We decided to drive to the next lookout point, which was, I believe, Yavapai Point (or something like that). Still no cars to be seen. I volunteered to see how far the rim was from the parking lot. Armed with the tiniest flashlight ever, I cautiously started down a path. Something small, white-ish, and furry darted in front of me. I stood stone still, afraid that furry thing’s larger, ferocious mother might pounce on me. I thought about my dad’s sighting of a “panther.” Hmmm, was this really worth it?

After a few seconds, I sucked it up and walked a little way to find that we were at the EDGE! I went back to find the rest of my party, and we made our way to a seating area on the rim. We could see a faint orange glow in the distance, but for the most part, we were socked in with clouds and weren’t expecting too much. A few other people trickled in. It was cold and windy. But, we were loving it.

On the Holiday Road 2013: Santa Fe to Grand Canyon

Wednesday, July 10—Day 5

While we spent tons of time in the van, I think this was my favorite day of the trip. We drove through such changing terrains, all of it gorgeous. We also hit three national parks!

We left the Buffalo Thunder Resort early and grabbed breakfast at Arby’s (also our dinner choice the night before…it was the ONLY fast food we could find around the hotel, and we didn’t really want smoke-filled food from the casino snack bar or large meals in the casino restaurants. Voila: an Arby’s Junior!). We made a quick stop to snap some photos of Camel Rock, then we were off to Arizona.

Smooth

I’m All for Oddballs, but I Also Like My Phone

I attended the Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival in Detroit/Clarkston on September 1. While I was excited about the lineup (Kristen Schaal, Al Madigral, Hannibal Buress, Demetri Martin, Flight of the Conchords, and Dave Chappelle), this type of venue didn’t really seem conducive to a satisfying comedy experience. I had a good time, but it should have been a great time.

Michigan Seems Like a Dream to Me Now

I interrupt the California road trip report already in progress to recount my Labor Day weekend jaunt to Michigan. It started out as an overnighter to see the Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival in Clarkston but soon turned into a full-fledged girls road trip (you know the girls: my mom, my niece, me). I will discuss the festival in a separate post.

Day 1: We drove up the middle of Indiana to Michigan (listening to a lot of Jim Gaffigan along the way, which would explain our obsession with talking about bacon the whole weekend), making our first stop in Saugatuck. My niece and I were looking forward to an adventure with Saugatuck Dune Rides, and we were not disappointed.