Posted in: Exploring Illiniois, Food, Hiking, Museums & Tours, Sightseeing

Exploring Chicago: Day 3

I gave Nick three options for today: Art Institute, Lincoln Park Zoo, and Museum of Science and Industry. He chose the Museum of Science and Industry which featured The Art of the Brick ($71 total for admission).

I had eaten an omelet while Nick slept in. On our way to explore the museum, we stopped at Stan’s donuts to get Nick some breakfast and to check it off my list. The donuts were crazy, very thick and full of decadence; it was like biting into a doughy candy bar. Too much sugar for me, but Nick seemed to like it. With an iced coffee for me, the total came to $15. Nothing seems cheap these days.

A quick Uber ride later and we made it to the Museum. The museum was amazing. I had such a great time teaching and learning. There is a reason I am an engineer. The Art of the Brick was a great exhibit. I took a bunch of pictures because what this artist does is so remarkable. That being said, the $14/person adder cost was steep. One of the best parts of this exhibit was the interactive Lego build I did with Nick. It’s fun to just play with him.

The museum also had a farming exhibit. I loved getting into the tractor and combine. It is clear why these pieces of equipment are very, very expensive. From sailing, to bicycles, to U-boats, to genetics, to Lego art, to Outer Space, to Chemistry, to farming, and even the circus, this museum covered a lot of ground. We went from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM and were exhausted.

Lunch was disappointing as they are working on a new cafeteria space and only have vending.

We hit some peak Uber time on the way out of the museum, so I opted to try the Chicago bus. The native Chicagoans were very helpful in figuring out the route home. Although crowded and slow, the bus was a good experience for Nick and cut our travel cost from a $40 Uber ride to a $5 bus trip.

I had read about the Ventra card in preparation to take the L to Wrigley Field later in the night and opted to load $10 onto the new $5 card that I purchased ($15 total). This covered both trips. Based on the crowds, we wore masks on both the bus and the L.

Sarah helped us figure out that we couldn’t bring backpacks/bookbags into Wrigley Field, so we had a quick stop at the hotel to reorganize. We had bought Nick a Cubs jersey for the game that he needed to change into as well.

It was getting close to rush hour, so we decided to go early and make sure we got to the game in time. The L red line was close to the hotel and we got on with no problems. It was a fun experience to take the subway/elevated train.

We got to the stadium around 4:30 PM. The gates didn’t open until 5:00, so we grabbed some drinks from a close by 7-11, took the mandatory picture for 1st timers to Wrigley, and got in line.

It was free cowboy hat night for the first 10,000 attendees; since we were 2 hours early and likely the 20th attendee, we got a hat. It was sponsored by Jim Beam, so only ages 21+ received hats. Nick ended up wearing mine and looked great in it.

Our first stop in the stadium was for the Chicago dogs. This was not for the newbie as they gave you the basics and then had a fixings bar. If we hadn’t had one the day before and did our Chicago dog research, this would have been a disaster. As it was, it was just kind of a mess as both Nick and I went a little heavy on every possible topping, making these some sloppy dogs. Still delicious, but it required two fistfuls of napkins to manage and we still ended up having to hit the restroom to clean the mustard off Nick’s shorts. ($16 for two dogs). Side note: The bright green relish looked a little scary, but didn’t have much of a taste at all.

We found our way to our seats (2nd to the top row, along the 3rd base line). It didn’t seem like there was a bad seat in this ballpark. Our seats were under the cover/overhang, providing some nice shade and since we were up high, it also allowed for a nice cooling breeze.

After taking in the views, we decided it was too hot and not much action was happening yet. So, another trip to the food stand got Nick a baseball helmet ice cream and me a souvenir cup with Diet Pepsi.

We watched batting practice for a while and took in the sites. With my phone battery low, we tried out a phone charging station and walked the stadium. Along the way, we grabbed a soft pretzel and Nick found a pressed penny machine.

Unfortunately, the game was delayed due to inclement weather. We watched the grounds crew roll out the tarps, and collected my phone just in time to shelter in place for a Tornado warning. It was a little crazy with huge amounts of rain and 90 minutes of hanging out on the steps with our fellow Cubs fans.

The weather passed and the game restarted at 8:30 PM. Nick got Pizza and a Gatorade before returning to our seats. With the long delay, the stadium was only half full when the game restarted. We made it through about an inning before Nick was ready to go. To his credit, the first inning ended around 9 PM. We took an Uber back to the hotel, and while it seems like we shouldn’t be hungry at this point, we both were, so we stopped at Elephant & Castle to get Fish and Chips for me and a Burger for Nick before grabbing showers and crashing for the night.

Posted in: Exploring Ohio, Food, Sightseeing

Holtman’s Donuts: Loveland, Ohio Location

We like finding places that have unique donuts (or bagels), preferably not a chain. There is a local store, Holtman’s Donuts, that has a couple of locations around the greater Cincinnati area. The original store is located in Loveland, Ohio. My favorite part (besides the delicious donuts), is being able to watch as they make and decorate the donuts through their big viewing windows.

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They are known for their maple and bacon donut. The kids like the red velvet and cookie varieties. I like trying their crazier toppings like lemon meringue, apple, or the croissant donut.

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They even make a huge donut for celebration/birthday cakes! It is actually really tasty and you can customize your glaze, fillings, and toppings. We had it once for one of the kid’s birthday parties. Holtman’s is also part of the Butler County Donut Trail. Now that’s my kind of trail!

What’s your favorite type of donut?

Posted in: Exploring Ohio, Museums & Tours, National Park, National Parks, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Riding Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

For Father’s Day we took a train ride through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. We had heard it was a good way to see the park, but the only tickets available when I looked were the Donuts With Dad for Father’s Day.

We had a friend in town visiting, so I booked tickets for all of us. The ride was 2 hours long and everyone got a drink and a donut.

Masks were “required”, but it seemed like most of the passengers took them off as soon as they boarded the train.

The train was neat looking and had a variety of different seating arrangements based on the cars. We were in a table car, but I would have loved to have been in one of the other cars. I think it would have made the train ride more enjoyable. You can purchase an all-day pass to get on and off the train. There is also an app where you can track the train and listen to audio clips. When we tried it, it did track the train pretty well, but we could not get the audio tour to work. However, it was a free app, so we weren’t too disappointed. If you are a runner/biker/kayaker/hiker, you can purchase a one way Explorer Pass ($5/bike/hiker, $10/single kayak) and jump on at a stop.

There were several seat types: Coach (padded seats of 4 looking at each other), Table Top (4-seater table and chairs), and Executive Class (this one looked really nice, padded seats, more room). All seating was assigned.

The train also had a snack car that sold drinks (even some alcoholic drinks, but not on Sundays until after 1:00), bagged snacks, granola bars, candy, popcorn, hot dogs. The snack car also sold some souvenir type of items (key chains, shirts, train hats, train whistles, toys).

We did see some things along the way. We went by a state park, a neighborhood, a farm, parts of the National Park.

VIDEO: WALKING DOWN THE TRAIN

DETAILS:*

  • TICKETS: Prices vary based on ride and seat selection. Tickets start at $15/adult, $10/child. COVID Restrictions: Masks required.
  • HOURS: Vary based on ride schedule and pick-up location.
  • PARKING: Parking on street or nearby lots.
  • BATHROOM: Yes
  • TIME RECOMMENDED: 2-3.5 hours
  • *Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.
Posted in: Exploring Florida, Food, Sightseeing

Disney Springs: Everglazed Donuts

The boys and I headed back to Disney, this time to Disney Springs. There were parking garages, which were free. However, many of the entrances from the garages into the shopping area were closed. We parked in the Orange garage and there was only one entrance available. They had you go through a metal detector and temperature screening in order to go in. Masks were required and they had a disposable mask vending machine there as well ($2).

One of the reasons we went to Disney Springs, was for Everglazed Donuts. They had huge, crazy donuts for sale. They were not cheap. Even the purple glazed donut (which tasted like a regular glazed donut, just dyed purple) was $4.50. We got a Brooklyn Blackout, Cookies and Cream, Peanut Butter Explosion, Purple glazed, and an iced mocha drink. The donuts were delicious and very sweet. The drink was ok, but for the cost I would go to Starbucks next time instead.

We also wanted to check out the crazy cookies at Gideon’s Bakehouse. However, they had a huge line. We had at least a 70 minute wait, so we chose to skip it. Their cookies did look amazing though!

Disney Springs was huge and had lots of shopping and restaurants. It would probably be easy to spend at least half a day there.

Posted in: Exploring Nevada, Hotel, School, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Cabana and Pool Time, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

The boys and I still woke up early so that they could attend their “live” classes. We snacked on the donuts that we picked up yesterday from pinkbox. Everyone’s favorite was the DoughCro (a croissant/donut). Ben had taken a vacation day, so he finally got to sleep in.

Pretty good donuts. The pink one is funny, but it really is just a lot of icing piped on top of a regular donut with a glaze/shell over the whole thing.

Today was pool day! We were all excited to go swimming. The pool opened at 9:00 am and was operating at 50% capacity due to COVID restrictions. Once capacity was reached, there was a waiting line to get in. If you leave the pool area and it is at capacity, you would need to wait in the line to get back in. However, if you book a cabana, then you can come and go all day long. Masks were also required in the pool area unless in the pool, eating/drinking, or going directly into/out of the pool. There were staff members at exits with disposable masks for people as well. I did see a few stop people who were just walking around or sitting on chairs and give them masks to wear.

We had reserved a cabana for the day on the Mandalay Bay Beach lazy river. Ben had always wanted to try a cabana and it definitely helped with social distancing. The boys also still had school so it gave them a place to do their school work in the morning. Although we had prepaid, you still had to check into the cabana by 11:00am or give them a call to let them know you were going to be later. We packed up, checked out of the hotel room, and headed down to the pool area a little before 9:00. We brought the boys’ computers and the hotspot so they could continue with their classes.

We chose a cabana on the end to help with even more social distancing. The cabana had a loveseat, a table and two chairs, TV, towels, 2 inner tubes, a mini fridge with included Pepsi/Diet Pepsi/water/bucket of ice, 2 lounge chairs under an umbrella, and a safe. Food and beverage service was available for an extra charge.

Tipping and charges were a little different than what I was expecting. There was the cabana charge and the cabana host tipping option (they were the ones in the blue shirts). We didn’t really interact with them much. One person showed us to our cabana and another replaced the waters in the fridge towards the end of the day. The people in red were the food and beverage servers and were a separate charge and tip. We saw our server multiple times during the day, as she checked in on us quite frequently. She was very friendly. We ordered a frozen drink (Miami Vice 22 oz, souvenir plastic cup, $28) and an order of chips and guacamole ($11, way over priced for the amount we actually got). The drink was very tasty! The guacamole was good, a little spicy, but the chips seemed a little stale.

The main pool area had a walk up food/drink service as well, but it looked like the same menu.

There were a few restrooms around the different areas, but not specifically changing rooms that I could see. There was an outdoor shower area to rinse off the sand from the beach. The entry walkway also had a beach shop, but it had very limited gear. I had not not been paying attention when I packed my swimsuit and accidentally grabbed two bottoms. I stopped in the beach shop to see if they had any bathing suit tops. It only had tiny bikini tops and small one-piece suits, no larger swim tops/shirts. (Seriously, I tried on a top and there was no way I could swim and stay in it. I ended up just using my swim skirt bottoms with my bra and top.) Video: Walking Around The Mandalay Bay Beach pool area.

The lazy river was also operating at 50% capacity. When we got there in the morning, there wasn’t a line to get in, but towards the afternoon it got crowded and you did have to wait in line. There were times it was just a sea of people floating past us, so we took a dip in the Wave Pool to avoid any crowds. NOTE: You can also bring your own inner tubes for the lazy river as long as they are round, no rafts. There is a fill up station near the lazy river entrance. Video: Traveling Along The Mandalay Bay Beach Lazy River.

The lazy river was a decent temperature. It was a little cool when you first got in, but I quickly adjusted so it wasn’t bad at all. The Wave Pool was freezing. It would have been really funny to watch everyone’s faces as they got in the water, but I’m pretty sure I had the same “Holy Cow, this is cold” look on my face.

NOTE: The walkways are very slippery if they are wet or even just walking with wet feet! Go slow. The Wave Pool also goes off every 90 seconds, I believe.

Posted in: Exploring Utah, Food, Sightseeing

Trying Local Bakeries

Friday the boys did not have live school sessions, so we ran moved back the start of school by an hour and ran into Moab to try some of the local bakeries. They were usually open from 7:00 am until 12 or 2pm. It hadn’t worked out yet to try them with school hours.

We found a parking spot near our first stop, Red Rock Bakery. We grabbed a plain and an everything bagel with cream cheese. They were delicious! It is a really cute bakery.

We walked over to Doughbird. It is a super cute donut shop. They also sell chicken at 11:00, but we were too early for that. Nick was very disappointed. We got an Oreo Cheesecake, a Caramel Apple Pie, and Raspberry Delight donuts. These looked like more artisan type of donuts.

Next stop was just for me…coffee! It was a very nice mocha, which I really enjoyed. We also got a cinnamon roll there.

Our final stop was at The Donut Shop. This shop had more traditional donuts. We bought a few donut holes, a Bavarian Cream with chocolate icing (like a Boston Cream), a raised glaze, and a Raspberry Bismark (filled).

Donuts were definitely more expensive in Moab than at home. A glaze was $1 and the other donuts were $2 to $3 per donut.

We brought our goodies home and cut them up so everyone could experience each one.

The Raspberry Delight and Raspberry Bismark were everyone’s favorites for the donuts.

After breakfast, the boys worked on homework. When they were done with school for the day, I took them to the pool and worked on laundry.

It was the night before we left for our next stop, so we also started getting ready and packing up. It was a pretty good day.

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Colorado, Injuries, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Pikes Peak Adventures

We woke up a little early so we could drive up to Pikes Peak. I still felt dehydrated from yesterday.

Ben and Nick packed a lunch for us and we were off.

There was construction at the peak, so you can drive to mile marker 13 or 16, park and then take a shuttle up to the top.

I drove on the way up. There are some amazing views! It’s beautiful. (Ben drove on the way down so I could take pictures! 🙂 ). There is a video of the drive up on the You Tube Channel. Right now I can only post 15 minute videos, so I tried to grab the best parts of the drives up and down the mountain. (I had 2 hours of footage!) There are a few things to see besides the mountains in the video, so I have a Video Scavenger Hunt if you want to try it: Bigfoot/Sasquatch Crossing, Scariest Portalet, Tutus, Marmot Sunning, Overheated Car, Injured Biker, Race Cars, Santa.

On the way up, we saw several groups of bicyclers and also a lot of trucks with trailers. Apparently on 8/30, there is a race to the top of Pikes Peak (the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb) and the cars were doing test runs that morning. We saw all kinds of cars coming down the mountain! That must be one scary race. There were no guard rails on a lot of the edges!

We parked at mile marker 16. Parking was frustrating. The two attendants didn’t communicate very well. The one had me turn down a lane that was full. The other attendant told me to wait and then forgot about me for 10 minutes. When I finally started backing up, then he directed me to a new parking area.

We got in line for the shuttles. The upper restrooms were locked, but the lower ones were open. The line moved relatively quickly thanks to all the shuttle buses they had working.

We caught a shuttle up to the top and walked to the visitor center/gift shop. We wandered around looking at the items. Ben and Will headed out and Nick and I got in line for donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate. We all walked over to the rocky area near the end of Devil’s Playground trail (aka Crags Trail). We walked/climbed towards the middle to enjoy our treats. When we were done eating, we moved closer to the edge. The views were incredible. We saw a plane flying by and we were higher than the plane!

The normal viewing platforms were closed, as was the train. I would definitely recommend walking towards Devil’s Playground trail area for better views. It was hazy (later heard it was due to wild fire smoke from our bus driver down), and you couldn’t see much of anything besides construction equipment at the viewing area in the back of the gift shop area. It is a bit of a climb and harder to get to, but the views are definitely worth it near the rocky area.

We saw a few marmots on our drive up and back. They were sunning on the rocks. There were a few birds around as well. Unfortunately, we did not see any of the Big Horn Sheep. Our driver down said she normally sees them on her trips, but hadn’t yet today. She thought maybe the test driving scared them away this morning. She did have a tip though for spotting them, as they blend in with the rocks. Look for white moving objects. It will be their tail end, but she said it’s the easiest way to spot them. Also on the way back down, she pointed out Cheyenne Mountain and NORAD.

After getting back into our truck, we headed back down. (You need to use lower gear to drive down and Ben took advantage of the truck’s awesome exhaust brake.) We had a couple of stops on the way to the bottom. They stop you at mile 13 to do a brake temperature check. If your brakes are too warm, they make you park and let them cool off for 30-45 minutes. Our first stop was the Halfway Picnic area. We found a table in the shade with some nice views. We saw a ground squirrel sunning on a rock nearby.

It’s been a few days, maybe even a week, since an injury! Our streak came to an end when Nick decided to take a “short-cut” over a drainage ditch and didn’t quite make it. Now, it wasn’t a large dip, just very rocky. He scrapped his leg up pretty good. I didn’t have any of the really large band-aids, so used gauze instead.

After lunch and a little first aid, we continued our descent and stopped at the Crystal Reservoir. There was a wood statue of Bigfoot, a gift shop, and nice views of the reservoir.

Toward the bottom of the mountain is the North Pole. It’s a Christmas themed amusement park. Admission is free, although it does cost money to ride the rides. There were only 3 or 4 rides running when we were there (not sure if due to social distancing restrictions or not) and the wrist band costs $10. We didn’t ride any rides, but did enjoy walking around and shopping. It was a cute area with several neat little shops. We picked up a couple of things for Christmas. It’s a cute place, especially with free admission, so don’t pass it up on your way down from Pike’s Peak!

Once home, Ben made us breakfast for dinner with the new double sided cast iron griddle we bought at Cabela’s. It was the first time we had used it, but it worked amazingly with the bacon. It is the Chef Camp Reversible Cast Iron Griddle*. We found the 14″ at Cabela’s and Amazon has the 16″.

We decided to drive back to Garden of the Gods. Not for hiking, nope not ready for that again. I am still thirsty from yesterday. This time we just drove through and enjoyed the sunset. The landscape and the colors changed in the setting sun. The sunset behind the rocks was amazing. The sunset also brought out several mule deer in the park.

*Affiliate link

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