Local cheese--need we say more?? We visited Brennan's in Oconomowoc. A huge variety of local fruit, cheese, and microbrews. Lunch today! Yesterday we spent the day at Noah's Ark, "the largest water park in America" followed by traditional Wisconsin grub at Sprecher's. A great time!
We hit a lot of the tourist spots in Chicago. The morning began walking around and taking in the flavor of the city. We made our way to the incredible Millennium Park where we played with the aforementioned Bean. But we also took in the head sculptures by Crown Fountain and were treated to an open rehearsal of the Grant Park Orchestra! We made our way down to the Navy Pier. It is under construction now and according to a local, lacking a bit in ambience. We had cheezborgers there, played mini golf, rode the ferris wheel et cetera until our architectural boat ride later in the afternoon. That worked for everyone--speed boat ride on the lake and building/city facts on the river. We were surprised to go through a lock to enter the city. We learned that way back the direction of the river was reversed so as not to pollute the drinking supply from the lake. We were hoping to find Chicago style pizza for dinner but were too tired to either seek out a restaurant or do the long Friday wait. Next time!
A tour guide today informed us that no one would care about us telling them about The Bean, but it was really so cool!! Read the Field Trip note about it in the previous post. Previous to Cedar Point actually. We got a little out of order but the Cloud Gate moment just took over this morning. More about our day in the windy city later.
http://fieldtripper.com/c/_oufbi4oUUU/anish-kapoors-cloud-gate
I thought you might find this interesting, too.
*It's your world, explore it.*: http://fieldtripper.com
What a fun afternoon we had in Parkman, Ohio! We played lawn darts (now illegal in 50 states according to some sources!) and enjoyed some exciting fireworks! Great company, good food, and cute dogs. Thank you Renee and Matt for such a welcome and for a memorable day!!
Consensus: "Good." Period.
Heading westward through New York and Pennsylvania and passing fields of grapes upon grapes upon grapes...
While traveling along the Mohawk River and being tantalized by these glimpses of perpendicular fingers or feeders, we decided to stop and find out about the Erie Canal. We stopped in Little Falls at Lock 17. Of the 57 locks in the canal, this one has the the highest vertical rise of 40.5 feet. A canal journey could be a cool vacation on its own!
A generous sampler at the Empire Brewing Co. in Syracuse. The highlights were the grape based and coffee based beers.
Back at the hotel the kids were thrilled to have a gazillion more cable stations only to find there was nothing worthwhile to watch! Love it! Perhaps Settlers of Catan in the lobby may be just the thing tomorrow night!
Onward to Wisconsin and Deavenland!!
Quips Miss A. as we lay in the tent listening to them sprinkle down onto the tent. Sadly, this was the harbinger of the rain that has chased us home yet again from Acadia. At least it wasn't a hurricane this time! Thankfully we were able to get in a late afternoon hike up Dorr Mountain. We saw some great cloud formations over the porcupine islands but the view really was better as we gained altitude. The highway and the industrial buildings definitely distracted on the climb up. We had a fun night at the campground with the traditional campfire eats. And no kid squabbling! With the boys away, Adelaide gets to try on the only child hat for a week. Homeward bound...
She only called it a day after 5 jumps! She was the family record holder today. Summer is now in full swing with the abovementioned Magnolia Pier Jumping, bocce at the Boulevard, a double feature at the Milford Drive-in, Fiesta fun and naturally the beach. May the days pass slowly and the summer seem endless!
We're ready for summer and started it off by heading down to Providence RI for the waterfire. For those of you not familiar with this, cauldrons are lit along the Providence River for a night. Music is piped in and gondolas slide by silently. It is quite a mysterious and haunting experience.
We arrived before dusk and already people were strolling along the water or just sitting enjoying the late afternoon sunshine and warmth. The volunteers, who are all dressed in black and restock the cauldrons during the course of the evening, were at that time still in the process of setting up the wood in each one. A few of us spectators were voyeurs to a couple being serenaded under a bridge by their gondolier. Great acoustics and great voice! We headed over to the Union Station Brewery for a sampling of their beer and a leisurely meal with trivia thanks to a Heinz ketchup bottle. Who knew! The beer selection was small but interesting. Their brown IPA was confusing-- think stout-ish with a hoppy finish. The summer IPA was just right for this kick off to summer. Afterwards, we joined in with the strollers. I waxed fanciful about sparks from the flames until Adelaide told me to stop because I was being too poetic. Is there a compliment in there somewhere?? The rest of the night we soaked in the ambience--the courtyard filled with luminaries, the unnervingly still and sometimes scary looking street statues, and of course--the draw of the flames.
