WHAT?!? I had to read it twice before I busted out laughing. I had no idea that one could do such a thing and was equally shocked, excited and amused. Chuck really surprised me with this one.
It took us 1:30 to drive to Tank Town and we arrived right before 2pm. We met with the owner who had us fill out the required waivers and then we were ready to go.
I headed into the driver’s seat while Chuck took the seat up top. After a very brief explanation of how to drive the tank, off we went. The instructor stayed near my ear to tell me where to go and took me all around the course. It takes a little getting used to driving and how fast to go, but is pretty easy and a whole lot of fun.
After about 15 minutes of driving, we switched up and Chuck got to drive. I must say I really enjoyed being in the passenger seat up top. I’m also happy it had a seat belt as I surely would’ve been thrown off the top without it!
After we each got a turn driving the tank around the course, we got to choose our car to destroy, then spray-paint it. Of course, we had to take that opportunity to write Mara and Beckett’s names on there.
Then it was time to CRUSH IT! I took the first couple passes over the car, first head-on, then across the rear. Chuck then drove over the midsection a couple of times before driving up the front and parking on top of the car!
Oh, was this parking spot already taken? My bad!
Finally, we got to take a sledgehammer and take a few whacks at the car. I think this was Chuck’s favorite part and he was quite determined to hammer the mirror off the side.
It was a really fantastic, visceral experience! Definitely worth doing if you don’t mind shelling out the money.
Logistics: We did this at Tank Town USA near Blue Ridge, GA about 1:30 north of Atlanta.
For my birthday this year, Chuck surprised me with an Amazing Race inspired birthday adventure. I received a vague email a few weeks before my birthday telling me that we were going away from Friday to Monday and a later email said we were doing an Amazing Race. The afternoon before we left, I received one more email that said we were flying and to pack light. And that’s it, that’s all I knew.
On Friday afternoon around 2pm, I received my first clue:
First stop: Memphis!
After arriving at our hotel in Memphis, I received my next clue:
BEALE STREET! YAY! I’d driven by Memphis about 20 years ago but never drove into the city, so I was pretty excited to finally explore Beale Street. Plus a night out with BBQ, booze and Blues sounded awesome!
After a couple of block walk, we arrived at Beale Street and headed to BB King’s Blues Club for dinner. I had some yummy BBQ and Chuck enjoyed the ribs while we listened to a band playing all sorts of Memphis blues. After dinner, we wandered around Beale Street and stopped into an outdoor venue with a really good band. We had such a great time drinking cocktails and listening to live music under the night sky.
Saturday morning started with receiving my next clue:
Arkansas?!? To a Truck stop? I was thoroughly confused at this point and not exactly super happy to be going to a truck stop in Arkansas but I knew it had to be good. Turns out, Chuck has never been to Arkansas before so this was a way for him to get there. Love it.
At the truck stop, I got my next clue: another Road Block that said we were going to an Escape Room in Memphis. Fun! I didn’t know much about these except you have to solve a lot of puzzles and many people don’t escape.
Ours was called the Atlas 8 and was a spaced themed room. Along with another family of 5, we had 1 hour to solve the puzzles and get out. They basically put you in an sparse room without any clues and you have to figure it out from there. It was definitely not easy, BUT we managed to escape with about 6 minutes left.
Once we escaped, I got my first detour: Graceland or Continue on. Of course I chose Graceland!
I’m not a huge Elvis fan, but it was still very cool to see where he lived and to see all of his gold records, his awards and other artifacts from his life.
After Graceland, I found out we were going to Mississippi! I was quite happy as I’m trying to get to all 50 states (I was at 43) and Mississippi was one of my missing states.
We drove about 2 hours to Tupelo, Mississippi and saw Elvis’s birthplace.
We also stopped for a snack as I then found out my next clue: Drive 2 more hours to Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama was another of my missing states, so I got to cross off 2 states in 1 day.
I was so relieved as we approached Birmingham as it was getting late and we also started having some horrible storms. I was also done with being in a car and wanted dinner and a bed. Imagine my surprise when I was handed my next clue that said we were headed another 2 hours to Atlanta! ATLANTA?!?! Huh? I knew why were headed to Mississippi and Alabama, but couldn’t fathom why we were going there. Unfortunately our tire pressure light came on (still no idea why) and it kept raining so we didn’t roll into our hotel till after 11pm. Chuck had meant for us to go out to dinner – he gave me a choice of Italian, Mexican or German – but all the restaurants were closed by then. But we found an open pizza joint and then headed to bed. All told, we spent at least 8 hours and 400 miles driving and were in 5 states in one day. Phew!
Sunday morning, I got my last Road Block clue: Drive to Tank Town and Crush a car! You can read about that experience here.
After driving the tank, my last clue said to return to the hotel as the final pit stop for our race. For dinner, we went to the German restaurant we didn’t get to on Saturday and enjoyed some delicious jagerschnitzel and German beer.
Monday morning, my actual birthday, had us taking an early morning flight back home.
I must say, I can’t believe the trip Chuck put together for me. Not only did he get me to 2 new states, but he planned all these activities along the way. I can’t imagine the planning that went into this or how hard it was to keep quiet. I was completely blown away by the entire weekend and felt so loved. Thanks Chuck!
We went out to Oregon for over a week to visit with Chuck’s brother and his parents. We stayed busy but had a great time.
The first day we went to a nearby farm and had fun visiting the animals and letting the kids play.
The next day, we headed to the Oregon Coast and went on a dune buggy tour before meeting up with the rest of the family at our rented beach house.
The following day, some of the family went for a walk on the beach.
Later, the 3 of us went out on the boat while Mara enjoyed some time (and licorice ice cream!) with Grandma and Grandpa.
Later, we went to Pacific City, Oregon to let the kids play on the massive sand hill. This thing is ginormous! Chuck and the kids went up (Beckett ran up and down it 3 times) and had a blast running down.
The next day it was time to learn to hang glide and then back to Chuck’s brother’s house.
Chuck’s brother is a firefighter and works on a fire boat. We were lucky enough to meet him at work and get to take the fire boat out. Each of us got to drive it and the kids got to shoot the water cannons. Very cool.
We even visited the fire house where the kids got to slide down the fire pole! Beckett couldn’t resist doing it over and over.
Later in the week, the kids went out blueberry picking. They came home with 25lbs of blueberries plus marionberries and more! Most of them were eaten within a few days! In fact, I think that’s what the kids ate for lunch the one day.
On our last full day, the adults went out wine tasting in the Willamette Valley. We went to 3 different vineyards and had some really good wine (and the BEST cheese!). It was a beautiful day and really nice to spend with family.
Sadly then our trip was over and it was time to say goodbye and head home. Hopefully we’ll get to see each other soon!
They say they best way to have a boat is to know someone who owns a boat. We took advantage of that during our Oregon trip by taking my brother Dave’s boat out a couple times.
When we stayed on the Oregon coast, we took the boat out onto the Siletz River to do some crabbing. Mara didn’t want to go but Beckett did and had a blast. Dave showed Beckett how to bait the crab cages with raw chicken and then Beckett threw them overboard.
We set out 3 crab cages and then tooled around for a bit. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time just riding around the river and out towards the ocean. We even saw a ton of sea lions basking and swimming around.
After letting the crab cages sit for a while, Beckett pulled them up and we checked our loot. We caught a lot of crabs, but sadly they were all too small so we released them back into the water.
Beckett then helped drive the boat back to the dock which he loved!
A few days later, we all took the boat out to Detroit Lake about an hour away. It was gorgeous there. The kids were able to knee board for a bit because the water was so calm…
…at least for the first 30 minutes! And then it got really choppy so we motored into some inlets where it was a lot calmer. Here we were able to get onto shore for a bit and the kids could play around.
On the way back, the kids were able to take turns being pulled behind the boat in an inner tube and even Chuck took a turn!
After giving skydiving and paragliding a try, I thought we should give hang gliding a go, too. Unlike those, where we were passengers with a guide, we would actually do the flying of the gliders ourselves.
It didn’t take any convincing for the kids to say “I’m in!”.
We were originally scheduled for one day but the weather was bad so we rescheduled and ended up with a perfect day.
The class consisted of the 4 of us and an instructor. We spent the first hour or so learning about the history of the sport and basic flying information. Then it was time to practice getting into the glider and our stance on a stationary frame.
After we each had a couple of turns, we went to the dunes and helped build the glider. We all pitched in to help build it and I have to say the thing was HUGE!
After carrying it up to the top of the dune, it was time to fly! Each of us took a turn getting into position, running partly down the hill and getting a feel for the glider. The first run we stopped before we got to lift off, but on the next turn we each started to fly! And every turn after that we got better and better and flew further and further.
The feeling of lift off is amazing. You feel the glider start to float and pick up speed and then you get the whole sensation of flying! As soon as we all got in the air, we were hooked!
We each got about 7 runs before our time was over. I was exhausted from carrying the glider back up the hill, but I think the kids could’ve kept going all day.
This was definitely a highlight and fun to do as a family. It was also neat to get a sense for doing the flying instead of just going along for the ride. As a bonus, learning on the dunes beside the ocean was an incredible experience and a great way to spend a day!
I’ve wanted to see massive sand dunes and go dune buggy riding for a while, so I was really excited when I found out Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area was close to where we were staying on the Oregon coast. We debated whether we should rent some and drive ourselves or go on a tour and leave the driving to an expert. We opted for the second option because we knew they’d really give us the dune buggy adventure we were looking for.
There were a total of 6 of us plus a driver in our sandrail (buggy). The kids sat up front with the driver, Chuck and I were in the middle seats and another couple was in back. We started off slowly driving through some forest and then we got to the dunes. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was nothing but sand dunes stretching out in front of us! It was incredible!
The driver then took off and we went flying over the dunes. He knew exactly how to come over the ridge and barrel down the other side before flying up another dune. And he would go onto the side of the dune and bank the buggy so you felt like you might flip before he’d barrel down again. It was a complete thrill! The only downside is that the sand flying into your face and mouth HURTS when you’re going that fast! Luckily I was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and closed myself up so I looked like the sand people in Star Wars but Chuck and the kids had to stick it out.
Our 1/2 hour was up way too fast and we were all a bit sad as we headed out of the dunes. I have to say this experience exceeded my expectations. I’m so glad we went with the expert driver as he gave us such a thrilling ride!
Video of the tour:
Logistics: We booked with Sandland Adventures and did the 1/2 hour Sandrail tour. Definitely wear long pants, sneakers and a hooded sweatshirt to protect yourself from the sand!
We never went to Sea World while we were living in San Diego despite being a few miles away and hearing their fireworks show every night during the summer. I wanted to take the kids but with all the controversy about killer whales in captivity, I decided to stay away.
However, I had always wanted to take the kids since I remember going as a kid and remember what a big impression it made on me and how it gave me a love of the ocean as a young kid.
The kids and I watched “Black Fish” together and talked about whether it was right or wrong to keep animals in captivity and decided not to go. So we were delighted to hear that Sea World was going to phase out keeping their orcas in captivity and decided that now we felt right about visiting the park.
We started off by visiting the orca and dolphin show that was happening right after we entered the park. The orcas are such magnificent creatures and I was taken by their power and size.
Then we went to watch the orcas swim. This was a really cool experience as some of them came right up to the glass over and over. The kids seemed to love seeing them up close.
From there, we went to a Sea Lion and Otter show. We LOVE otters in our house so there was no way we were going to miss seeing one. He was adorable and the sea lions were great too.
Then we wandered around the park and rode some rides. We also found a spot where the kids could feed and pet sting rays which they loved.
Then we wandered over to the penguins because Mara loves penguins!
From there, we wandered to the arctic exhibit to see the polar bears and beluga whales. Mara fell in love with the beluga whales! We spent a long time at tank level watching them swim.
We also met a walrus that kept swimming up to the glass and flipping right in front of the kids.
All in all it was a great day at the park and I was glad that the kids could fall in love with the ocean animals.
Once we decided to go to Oregon and San Diego for our summer vacation, I started pushing to go to Universal Studios in LA. Beckett and I had just started reading the Harry Potter books in the spring and I was completely sucked into the Harry Potter world (Chuck and Mara had already read them). I think I was more excited than any of us to go and soak up all things Harry Potter.
We had early access (7am) to the park, but given our late night arrival, we didn’t get to the park till 8am. No worries though as it was still pretty empty. We made a bee line for Hogsmeade and to the 3D ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I was pretty nervous riding this as I’ve repeatedly heard how nauseous people get on it, and given how motion sick Mara and I get, I thought it could be a very bad idea. However, we really wanted to go, so I sucked down some ginger candies and hoped for the best.
The entrance to the ride takes you into Hogwarts and it’s AMAZING. You see the house point containers, a golden Griffin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, a portrait gallery (with walking, talking portraits that were amazing), the Gryffindor common room, the Fat Lady portrait which talks to you, Dumbledore’s office, the Sorting Hat, and more. It was incredible. It was also incredibly dark so my pictures didn’t turn out.
The ride itself was one of the best rides I’ve ever gone on. It’s part rollercoaster and part 3D ride. At a few points we were “flying” all around Hogwarts and in another we flew into a game of Quidditch (and almost caught the Golden Snitch). At other points, we were in parts of Hogwarts and almost got pummeled by the Whomping Willow and attacked by dementors.
Unfortunately, halfway through the ride, it came to abrupt stop with warning messages sounding. We just sat there in our car waiting to see what happened and after a few minutes, the ride started back up and we were back on our way.
When it was over, it was hard to process what had just happened. We had just flown! And played Quidditch! And soared over Hogwarts! It was SO COOL!
However, we all felt a bit nauseous afterwards and needed to get our bearings again. So we headed to Ollivander’s Wand Shop for the wand choosing ceremony. There was a 45 minute line so I offered to stand in line while Chuck took the kids on the other Harry Potter rollercoaster, Flight of the Hippogriff.
None of us were picked for the wand choosing ceremony but it was still really neat to see. I’m so glad I stood in line for it. After the ceremony, we went into Ollivander’s to pick out our wand. We had agreed to get 1 wand and share it, but both kids picked out different wands so we bought one for each of them. Mara picked out her own wand made of vine and Beckett picked out Dumbledore’s wand. Once bought, it was time to go outside and try casting some spells!
At the wand choosing ceremony in Ollivanders
Description of Mara’s wand
Different character’s wands – really neat to see what they all looked likeMy 2 wizards with their new wandsExpecto Patronum!
There are about 12 different spots around Hogsmeade where you can try out spells with your wand. If you do them correctly, something happens. Of course the kids and I tried every spot and LOVED when the various spells worked! Such a neat feeling!
Let’s see if they work!They work!
After trying out our wands, it was time for lunch at the Three Broomsticks! This place was so cool and it felt like stepping right into the movies. I kept expecting to see Snape come down the steps or Harry to walk in.
The Three Broomsticks
We ordered a Butterbeer with lunch and the kids went nuts for it. It reminded me of very sweet cream soda but was good. The kids could barely suck it down fast enough.
Butterbeer gets a Thumbs Up from Beckett
After lunch it was time to wander around Hogsmeade. First stop, Honeydukes! Man is this place a feast for the eyes. Beckett wasn’t nearly as interested in the candy as Mara was, and he made a beeline for the Pygmy Puffs in the adjacent Zonko’s.
HoneydukesPlease can I have the ginormous pygmy puff?!? Please?!?
From there, we took our time in Hogsmeade just wandering into the various shops, casting spells at the different locations and soaking up the wizarding world.
Hogwarts ExpressOwl post
Once we covered everything in Harry Potter world, we left to explore the rest of Universal Studios park. First stop, Lard Lad Donuts for the giant Homer donut! We got the pink Homer donut and a giant chocolate one. Quite tasty!
Then we popped into a special effects presentation, wandered through Springfield (Simpson world), did the Movie Studio tour, popped over to the Despicable Me world, and took in the Waterworld stunt show.
KrustyThe purple minion kept chasing Beckett around – it was hysterical
As the day was winding down, we headed back to Hogsmeade. We rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey again, this time it didn’t glitch, and thoroughly enjoyed it the 2nd time around too. Then we picked up a ton of souvenirs before reluctantly returning to the muggle world.
Beckett and his Pygmy Puff
The entire Harry Potter experience could not have been better. I was blown away by how realistic everything was from the shops and souvenirs to the moving portraits to the wands casting spells to the town. And ride was just incredible – I really felt like I got to fly and play Quidditch and I swear I touched the Golden Snitch. We all really felt like wizards for the day.
I now really want to take the kids to the one in Florida!
I knew about triathlons especially since my best friend competed in them. But it was never on my radar as something I wanted to do, largely due to my limitations in the past with biking and running.
That all changed when we moved to Kona and got to watch the Ironman World Championships in 2011 and 2012. I was so inspired by the event and watching people with far more physical restrictions than I, complete that race. I have never been so inspired in my entire life yet I still didn’t know how it could ever happen for me. Chuck was equally inspired – so much so that he completed the Ironman Honu 70.3 in Hawaii in 2013. It was incredible to cheer him on, yet it still left me on the sidelines.
That is until we realized that you can compete in some Ironman races as a relay team. This changed everything! I now had the chance to participate in a triathlon. But not just any triathlon, an Ironman! Team Trifecta was born: I would be the swimmer, Chuck would bike (his favorite of the 3 sports), and a friend of his, Dean, would run.
The first step? Learning to swim distances. I started swimming laps while living in Kona and even took some masters swim classes by a world class coach there. But I still had never swam very far or had my technique correct.
My first session I made it about 400 yards (with many breaks). My race distance was 1.2 miles or 2100 yards so I had quite a ways to go. I found a swim plan to follow and loosely followed it to keep me on track. However, there were some glitches along the way that kept me out of the water sometimes for weeks at a time, the worst being my left shoulder seizing up and preventing me from swimming. Because of that, I put in the bare minimum amount of training. To say I was undertrained and nervous come race day would be an understatement.
To add to that, I got a nasty cold leading up to the race and was so sick the day before I wasn’t sure if I could even compete. Chuck called Dean to see if he could swim in my place, but Dean wasn’t ready to swim 1.2 miles and neither was Chuck. So with our fingers crossed, we headed to the race and hoped I would feel good enough the next day.
If I couldn’t swim, Chuck and Dean wouldn’t get to compete at all. I would be taking all their training, and hard work away without letting them even participate. The pressure on me felt enormous.
The night before the race I was still quite sick, but at this point, the race hinged on me just doing it regardless of how I felt. My shoulder was still quite bad so that was a huge wildcard as well.
Race Day
The Swim – 1.2 miles – by Kirsten
Race morning we were up around 4am. We headed the 45 minutes to Dean’s rental house where he made us breakfast. The house was about 5-6 blocks from the race start, so we walked there around 6am. After getting body marked, I ventured out into the water for a warm up swim. The water was cold enough to make the race wetsuit legal (yay!), yet it wasn’t as cold as I feared.
The swim course – see the yellow buoys way out there?!?Team Trifecta
Then it was time to wait. The pros started then the amateur competitors started in waves. I was in the last wave so I had to wait around for about an hour.
Getting some pre-race love from my girlTrying to think positiveThe kids giving me some encouragement!SCARED!I can do this… maybe???
At last it was time. We walked down the boat ramp, lined up behind the start buoys, and waited for the starting horn. Then we were off!
Swim startGet Ready…And we’re off!
I stayed towards the back, which still didn’t help me from being run over by one of the swimmers and getting caught under the boat he was tugging. After the initial flurry, I found myself alone in the back. I knew I had 1 swimmer behind me, but I think that was it. And given that we were the last wave, I think I was the 2nd to last person out there on the course.
My biggest concern was making the cut off time of 1:10. I was pretty sure I could do the distance as long as my shoulder held up, but I wasn’t sure how fast I could swim given the conditions and how sick I was. And I didn’t have a lot of buffer time as I’m not a very fast swimmer.
Beckett watching the swim course
I got maybe 200 yards (out of 2100) and realized I was exhausted. I was just completely spent. If I didn’t have Chuck and Dean’s race hinging on my swim, I would’ve quit then. And anyone that knows me, knows that I never quit anything unless I have no choice. But frankly, I felt I had no choice but to keep on swimming. Dory’s “keep on swimming” line kept going thru my head over and over.
To make matters worse, my goggles fogged up instantly so I couldn’t see. I also pretty quickly realized how bad I was at spotting the buoys so I was swimming pretty blind. I even started closing my eyes because it didn’t make any difference. Of course this caused me to go completely off course the entire way – I kept getting near the water patrol and they’d send me back towards the course over and over again.
There were buoys every 100 yards so I would take a few second break at every buoy to clear my goggles, check my time, and take a break. Of course, every time I did, the current would push me backwards and off course so I’d have to re-swim the distance back.
The good news was when I realized a few hundred yards in that I was on record pace (for me!). I was swimming faster than usual so I as long as I could keep it up, I was in no danger from getting picked up or missing the cut off. This took a HUGE load off my mind so then I could just focus on swimming.
Once I hit the first turn, everything got worse: the current picked up and pushed me even further out into the river and I was exhausted beyond all belief. Luckily since I was the 2nd to last swimmer, the water patrol and boaters were all cheering me on, telling me how much time I had, and helping me stay on course. A woman in a kayak came up and offered to let me hold on to take a break – at first I declined, but finally gave in and held on for about a minute to catch my breath. In the Ironman, you’re allowed to hold on to the water patrol, you just can’t use them to make forward progress.
I owe the rest of my race to this lady. She stuck with me the rest of the race and became my eyes, time keeper, and cheerleader all in one.
Once I got to the turn for home – with about 700 yards left – I had plenty of time, but I was cooked. Plus, the wind picked up and kept blowing me off course. But with this kayaker beside me, I was able to spot off of her and she kept me from going all over the place. She also kept me abreast of the time and distance I had left and I knew I would make it if I just kept going even though every part of me wanted to quit.
Eventually I made it to the end of the course and, after thanking my kayak angel, I ran up the ramp and across the timing mat! 1:03:25! I DID IT!
I DID IT!!!!
I heard the kids ringing their cowbells and cheering for me, but I still had to run thru the chute to the relay tent to tag Chuck for the bike. He gave me the best hug and said he knew I could do it, grabbed the timing chip from my ankle, and took off for the bike.
I then found the kids who gave me big hugs. And Mara took my victory picture above.
The Bike – 56 miles – by Chuck
The bike started off well, as I was reasonably trained and the course was very flat, allowing me to get into the groove. Heading out on the bike loop, the wind was in my face and I raced a bit hard, trying to set a good pace. That worked for a while, but I bonked about 20 miles in, causing me to get faint and spend a few minutes alongside the road recharging and hydrating.
Down the road a few minutes, my energy recovered, but then I started with cramps in my right foot, causing me to get off the bike for a bit every few miles. All else was good, but it added up to a slow race when I had hoped to be sub-3:30.
Nice course and day, but I was just happy to be done! Time: 3:44:46
The Run
Once Chuck racked his bike, he tagged Dean who went off on his 13.1 mile run. It was about 1pm at this point and brutally hot. Many of the competitors coming in looked so haggard from the sun and heat, so we really felt for Dean.
While he was out there running, Chuck, the kids, and I found some shade to relax in and took advantage of the free food for the athletes. Chuck and I finally were able to relax at this point as our part was done and we’d both finished.
As it got to Dean’s estimated finish time, we headed over to the finish so we could cheer him home. It was so great hearing our team name announced as he crossed the finishing mat! Team Trifecta Finish Time: 7:45:25. And 23rd out of 26 teams!
Team Trifecta Finished!
We met him at the end of the finish chute where he had each of our medals and a hat.
Team Trifecta
Wrap Up
Once the race was over, we all left pretty quickly so we could get home at a decent hour as the kids had school the next day and Chuck had to go into work.
I was elated the entire day and evening from the experience. Unfortunately, I got even more sick on the way home and was even worse the days that followed. But that didn’t damper my excitement over having competed in an Ironman and finishing! I’m still so proud of my (our) accomplishment and know that I’m even tougher than I thought.
The kids received a gift certificate for indoor skydiving for Christmas. However, they had to wait for the place to open a few months later. We finally took them in April and they LOVED it.
They each said it was the coolest thing they’ve ever done and are already begging us to go back.
After a 15-20 min of classroom training, they each did 2 1-minute sessions. It doesn’t sound like a lot of time but it lasts longer than you’d expect. They had an option to add an additional 1-minute flight at the end. Both kids were begging to do it again and of course we said yes. By the third flight they were getting pretty good at it!
Beckett’s Videos:
Mara’s Videos:
Their instructor’s sick moves:
Update: We all went as a family in April 2017. Here are Chuck and my flights.
For my birthday I wanted to go to New York City so we drove up on Friday and stayed till Sunday. It was a five hour drive each way but it was worth the drive!
One of the things I wanted to do in New York City, was go up the Empire State Building. Why I wanted to go up the Empire State Building is because I read the Percy Jackson series and the Empire State Building is featured in the books. Also, I wanted to face my fear of heights. So on Saturday morning, we ate breakfast and then walked to it. I was nervous at first but faced my fear and went the whole way up to the 102nd floor! It had a breathtaking view! I loved it!
After that, we stopped to get lunch and then walked to Mood. Mood is a fabric store that they use in Project Runway. It was way bigger than I expected and has a crazy amount of fabrics and other materials.
After all of this, we rested at the hotel and went down to the tip of Manhattan to see the Statue of Liberty. After that, we went to Little Italy and got some of the best cannolis that I’ve ever had.
The next day, we went to Central Park and my brother and I were climbing all over the rocks there. Then we went to Dylan’s Candy Bar. It had a lot of selections. Yum!
Then we went to Max Brenner’s for lunch and chocolate. Beckett and I split this crazy sundae and mom and dad split this chocolate fondue trio. It was gooooood.
After all of this, we went back to the hotel, packed up and drove back home.
For my 45th birthday, Chuck surprised me with a reservation to scuba dive in the main tank at the Baltimore Aquarium. If you’ve ever been to the Baltimore Aquarium, this is the monster tank that you walk down and around at the end. I used to visit this aquarium as a kid and loved visiting this tank at the end of our visit, so I was really excited to be able to get in the tank and swim around!
You arrive a couple of hours before your dive for an educational class about the aquarium and the work they’re doing there. They also go over the dive plan and tell us where certain animals like to hang out, certain areas not to disturb and other information. After the education, we were taken on a tour of the aquarium and learn about some of the other creatures. And after that, it was time to suit up.
We then headed up to the top of the tank, got our dive equipment on and in we went!
We had about 50 minutes in the tank to swim around and interact with the fish. My favorite things to do were picking up the gravel from the bottom and letting it slowly slip out of my fingers. The fish LOVE this and would come swarming around the gravel.
My other favorite thing to do was to interact with the kids that were watching. The kids there were so intrigued and amused watching us divers in the tank and would High Five the glass to us.
Overall, it was pretty cool thing to do. It wasn’t the most exciting dive I’ve done, but since I grew up loving the Baltimore Aquarium and especially that huge tank, it was a thrill to get inside of it for an afternoon.
In the spring of 2015 (4th grade), Mara became a Taylor Swift fan. She liked the song “Style” but TS’s song “Bad Blood” really pushed her into huge fandom. Chuck saw that Taylor Swift was coming to DC a couple of weeks after we arrived back east and there were still tickets so he surprised her with 2 tickets to the show. Strangely enough, one of Mara’s best friends from San Diego, Cypress, was coming out east and had tickets to the same show! We met up with them for dinner before the concert (which had the worst chicken nuggets ever!) and then headed to our seats for the opening bands.
Joni, Cypress, Mara and I
At first, Mara was disappointed with our seats and worried she wouldn’t see anything. But once the opening bands started, she started to realize this was going to be pretty cool. There were only 2 opening bands that night as there was a nasty storm on the way and Taylor wanted to get started in case we got rained out.
Taylor came out to the song “Welcome to New York” and Mara got so excited she couldn’t decide whether to jump up and down or cry so she kind of did both. As her mom, it was awesome to watch her daughter’s excitement and I felt privileged to be there with her.
Opening Song: Welcome to New York
The concert was AMAZING! I’ve been to many concerts but I have to say this was the most impressive and one of my favorites and I’m not even a TS fan. Well, I am now after that concert! TS really knows how to connect to an audience and made all of us feel like we were sharing some intimate moment with her. You also really get to see how amazingly talented she is. She came out with just her guitar for “Love Story” and played piano in another song. Just her, her music and her fans.
One of the coolest things about the concert was that everyone got a wristband when we entered. They were programmed to different colors and beats so the whole stadium lit up and pulsed along to the songs. They all turned pink for “Love Story”, all turned blue for another song, and would sometimes just randomly light in time to the music. TS said she loved this because it meant she could see every single fan out there even the ones way up high in the back.
TS did every song off her album and some of her old songs too. She even had Jason Derulo come on stage to perform his hit “Want To Want Me“.
She saved “Shake It Off” for last which was incredible. She was standing on this massive rotating stage that flew over the crowd while fireworks went off and the whole stadium was erupting in song. It was a pretty cool finale.
Last song: Shake it Off
After the concert, we met up with Mara’s friend Cypress again to say goodbye before heading home.
I’m so thankful I went to this concert and got to be the one to take Mara and share in her excitement. I don’t think it’s an experience either of us will ever forget.
From Mara: This was my first ever concert and I loved it! I loved how she talked to the audience as if it was one on one. And it was so much fun with all the different lights in the stadium from the bracelets that they handed out. It was truly incredible. I loved every second of it. I wish I could go again.
We were lucky enough to go to Legoland 3 different times while we lived in San Diego.
The first time we went for Beckett’s birthday. The kids had a blast driving the cars, riding “The Dragon”, trying the Apple fries, riding the “Technic”, wandering around Miniland, and more. We even got to meet Wyldstyle from the Lego Movie!
The next time we went to Legoland was for the kids to do the Kids Marathon Mile race. It’s a 1 mile race through the theme park with tickets to the park after the race. The kids loved participating and we had yet another great day enjoying the park.
The 3rd time we went, only Beckett and I went as it was part of his 3rd grade class field trip. The class did an engineering with legos class and then had the rest of the day to run around the park. Beckett had a blast running around with friends and riding rides with me. At the end of the day he met up with some classmates at the water park where they got soaked. What a fun day and great way to wrap up his 3rd grade experience!
For Mother’s Day, Chuck surprised me with tickets for all of us to go Go-Kart racing. Definitely an out of the box Mother’s Day adventure!
Strangely, the place was pretty darn empty on Mother’s Day. Shocking, I know! Within 15 minutes of arriving, Chuck and I were up. After a pretty quick overview on the rules and how to drive the cars, we got all strapped in and shortly it was our turn. Our race was only the 2 of us. Let’s just say that Chuck got comfortable driving the karts faster than I did but at the end of our 12 laps, his best lap time only beat mine by well under 1 second.
Right after we were done, the kids were up. Their race had about 6 kids in it and it looked like some of the kids had done this before. There were a couple of kids that were a bit aggressive and thought it was a bit like bumper cars (it’s not!). Beckett was a little reckless out there too taking the corners too fast and having a few issues.
Right after their race, it was my turn again. Chuck had asked for us to be separate (I think he was scared to race me again, ha!) so he could take pictures. Due to someone not showing, I got to race myself. Yep, only me on the track. The guys running the place seemed to think I was really lucky as it’s rare to get the track to yourself. At first I was bummed to not have anyone to race against, but once I got going, I was glad to not have to dodge anyone. They have a screen that shows your best lap so I’d check it after every lap and set some goals for myself so every lap I got faster and faster.
She’s going the distance… she’s going for speed
Chuck was up next in a race against about 7 or 8 people that kind of looked like mayhem, but he did pretty well. Then the kids did a final race and we were all done.
We were there over 2 hours but that was partly due to a scheduling snafu with the kids. But we all had a blast. It does take a bit of getting used to but all of us got faster and faster with every lap. We also all left wanting more and Beckett keeps asking to go back.
Definitely another great family adventure!
Oh, and Chuck did do more for Mother’s Day than just this. He got up early to take Beckett to hockey so I could sleep and came home with flowers. And he also took us to a fantastic Moroccan restaurant for dinner where we indulged in chicken tagine, beef kabobs, cous cous and mint tea! Brought back great memories of our trip to Marrakesh last year.
Despite our travels in 2013 and 2014, we hadn’t had an adults-only vacation for about 2 years. Luckily Chuck’s mom Carla came to the rescue, and flew down to babysit the kids while we went to Sonoma and Napa for 4 nights.
Our first night was spent with Chuck’s friend Bonny in Santa Rosa. In the morning we had a great breakfast then got a tour of Bonny’s property including her 2.5 acres of grapes. Then it was off for some wine tasting!
We dropped our car off at Coppola then drove to Stonestreet Winery which is owned by Jackson Family Wineries. Bonny has been here multiple times and knows one of the executives so we got VIP (free!) tastings. We sat outside looking at a gorgeous view as we were treated to both the white and red wines. I’m not usually a big white wine drinker but the one Chardonnay was the best Chardonnay I’ve ever had (I think it was the 2012 Cougar Ridge Chardonnay).
Then it was on to tasting the reds. These were some of the best red wines I’ve ever had. I think it was the 2012 Cougar Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon that was amazing. Smooth, balanced, with many subtle flavors all blending together in perfect harmony. They also brought out a few of the high end “back room” wines. Once again, the red wine, 2010 Christopher’s Cabernet Sauvignon, was beyond words and Chuck and I “fought” over each sip.
The two of us with Bonny at Stonestreet. Wonderful place to relax and enjoy wine!
After our time at Stonestreet, we made a quick stop for lunch and then drove back to Coppola. The best thing about being here was the grounds and all the movie memorabilia. We even got to see his Oscars which was pretty cool. Once again Bonny hooked us up with a free tasting although I didn’t really enjoy any of the wines.
View from CoppolaOscars!
Bonny had to leave us at this point but suggested DaVero which is a small farm and winery. Not only did they have pretty good wine, but they had delicious jam and olive oil. They also had the cutest little piglets we got to see.
We were pretty full of wine at this point (well I was, Chuck was driving), so we headed to Healdsburg for dinner. After a fine dinner at Healdsburg Bar & Grill, we headed to our hotel, the Hampton Inn Windsor, checked in and went to bed pretty early.
On Friday, it was off to Napa! First we drove to Calistoga and had some BBQ before another free tasting (thanks again Bonny!) at Freemark Abbey. The wines were pretty good but since we’d been spoiled at Stonestreet, they didn’t seem like anything to write home about.
Then we drove to Yountville to pick up pastries and bread at Bouchon Bakery. The macarons were a close second to the ones at Ladurée in Paris. So good!
Next up was Cakebread. I had the highest hopes for this winery and paid extra for the special red wine tasting. The wines sounded so good so I figured this was the place to blow the budget. Turns out we were the only ones that signed up for this particular time so we had our own private tasting! Score!
The bad part was that we didn’t like the wines that much. They were good but young (so the guy told us but now I know what a young wine tastes like). They were pleasant but lacked depth and character. They’d probably be delicious aged for a few years but I wasn’t going to buy any at their prices and risk it.
Last on the agenda was a tasting at Domaine Carneros. I picked this place because of the photos – it looked incredible. They also mostly serve sparkling wines, and even though I’m not much a fan of sparkling wine, I thought it would be nice to try something different and mix things up. Actually I should say that I didn’t used to be a fan of sparkling wine until my visit here. They completely changed my mind.
Panorama of the view at Domaine Carneros
Our tasting consisted of 4 sparkling wines – 2 bruts, 1 rose and 1 demi-sec – although we were treated to an extra one. They were delicious. Interesting, balanced, well rounded and with bubbles. Our favorite was the Blanc de Noir which is made from Pinot Noir grapes. This stuff was so good that we enjoyed another glass AND bought our first bottle of wine to take home. The grounds are beautiful and it was such a wonderful place to sit and enjoy a glass of bubbly while watching the world go by.
4 glasses of happy at Domaine Carneros
After our bubbly, it was off to dinner at Ristorante Allegria in downtown Napa. Chuck and I had eaten here once before on our first trip to Napa and it was an amazing meal – one of those meals of a lifetime. We had no delusions that it would be as remarkable the 2nd time but still knew we’d have a very good meal. Boy were we both wrong. We both ordered the same thing as last time, Wild Mushroom Ravioli for me and Gnocchi al Pesto for Chuck, and they were every bit as good as our first trip. I think I spent the entire meal with my eyes closed savoring every single bite and making mmmmm noises. It was that good.
On Saturday, it was Sonoma day. We first headed to Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve to see some redwoods. There was a redwood tree there that was 310′ tall and another was 1400 years old! Incredible. It was such a treat to visit this park and surround ourselves in old redwood trees. Quite amazing.
Colonel Armstrong – 308′ tall and 1400 years oldSee the tiny speck that is Chuck?
Next we headed to downtown Sonoma to check it out. Mara had just been studying the missions of California and her assigned mission was Mission San Francisco Solano which happened to be in Sonoma, CA. So Chuck and I stopped by to take a tour and some pictures to share with Mara.
Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma, CA
Then it was time for some more wine! First stop was Imagery which we enjoyed. They had a White Burgundy that I’m still thinking about and now I wish I’d bought a bottle. I did enjoy a nice glass of it while basking in the sun. They also had a couple of other wines I’ve never had before which is always fun.
We had time to squeeze in one more winery, so we hightailed it to Benziger. I really enjoyed their wines as well, especially their Pinot Noir and their Gewürztraminer. In fact, I enjoyed them so much that I had a glass of Pinot Noir while at the vineyard and brought a bottle of the 2013 Gewürztraminer home.
Benziger
Chuck found us a great, little Indian restaurant so we loaded up on Indian food for dinner and headed back to our hotel.
The next morning, it was time to head to airport and head home. After 4 nights away it was definitely good to be back home and with our kids again. But I’m already dreaming of my return to wine country some day.
When we moved to San Diego, we rented a house for a couple of weeks in Mira Mesa. The backyard opened onto a canyon that turned out to be one of the main flight paths of the Marine’s F/A-18 Hornets so we’d hear them and see them flying every day, and every time we’d go up to Mira Mesa after we moved.
I was thrilled to find out that they do an air show every year at the base. Not only is this the base where they filmed “Top Gun” (how cool!) but it’s also the largest military show in the country. The fact that it was about 20 minutes from home made it a no-brainer to go see.
The show opened with an Osprey and some helicopters.
Then we saw the Marine’s hornets, US Army Golden Knights parachute team, and much more.
Then we got to see Sean D. Tucker perform in a biplane. He was extraordinary! I couldn’t believe the tricks he was able to do and he left us all mesmerized.
Next up was seeing a Harrier! We got to see it make a vertical lift off, hover in place, and fly around as well. What an incredible machine! After that , there were other aircraft that performed.
Finally, the Blue Angels were up and they did not disappoint. They flew right in front of the crowd with their wings almost touching and performed so many aerial tricks. Definitely a privilege to see them fly right before our eyes.
In addition to the performers, they had military planes and trucks that we could explore. The kids had a great time seeing the jets up close, going inside an carrier, and checking out the cockpits.
Once the sun set, there was a performance by the Shockwave Jet Truck which runs over 300mph and races the airplanes.
The show finished with a wall of fire which we ended up mostly missing as we left a few minutes early. It was brutally hot that day and we were all wilting after the long day standing in the sun. Unfortunately, we saw part of the wall of fire once we were outside and it looked INCREDIBLE so we were all bummed we missed it.
Kirsten saw a blog post this summer where someone had done a jetpack experience in the ocean, so she said “get me some of that!”
Unfortunately she didn’t get quite that, as I booked her onto something called the Jetovator, which is ridden kind of like a jet ski, but still turned out to be quite fun. She took the plunge at Glorietta Bay in Coronado.
The Jetovator is attached via a hose to a jet ski trailing her in the water. The guide controls the thrust power, while Kirsten managed all the controls.
She found it to be fun, but tiring and her legs were pretty shot after about a half hour of doing this.
For my birthday, Kirsten booked me into a jetpack experience at Mission Bay. The setup was similar in that I got some on-land training, then headed into the water, with my pack being powered by a water hose attached to a jet ski.
I had a great time doing the jetpack. One thing not shown in the pictures was when I got to “submarine”. I just tilted the jetpack forward and dove under the water like a dolphin, leaning back up 2-3 seconds later.
Between the two, it seems as though the jetpack was easier and it’s what we’d recommend if you’re looking for a water adventure!
Sand sculpting has always fascinated me and I’ve always wanted to see cool sculptures in person. So I was super excited when I found out the US Sand Sculpting Challenge and 3D Art Expo was being held in San Diego on the cruise ship pier.
We took the trolley from near our house to downtown and then walked a few blocks to the pier.
The sculptures were amazing! The level of detail was incredible and I have no idea how they defy gravity like that. It was a real treat to watch them work and see the art.
For Beckett’s 8th birthday, he wanted a little adventure. Kirsten found a Trapeze deal on Groupon that cost about $70 for 2 people to have an introductory lesson. Mara doesn’t dig heights, so Beckett and I gave it a shot.
They start with a 10 minute safety and commands briefing, then do a brief on-ground lesson on how to leave the platform, then off we go to the real thing!
Beckett’s Lesson
He was quite fearless in climbing the little ladder that took him up to the platform (about 20 feet high), and didn’t show any reservations when it was time to take off, either.
First off, we just learned to swing properly and dismount. Beckett did great!
The next time around, he hooked his legs up over the bar and swung upside down.
Chuck’s Lesson
My experience started the same as Beckett, with the on-ground lesson, basic swinging, and learning to swing by my legs.
After mastering that, I got the chance to swing and be caught by someone on the other trapeze. I’d have never guessed when we showed up that I could do that within the hour, but it worked the first time!
Nailed it!
This was really a thrill to do. It looked really difficult and I was proud to be able to do something like this quickly. All the other adults did it, as well, so I had no special talent. But it looks hard, and I was really stoked to complete the catch. I felt sore in odd spots for a couple days, but otherwise had no ill effects. So if you get the chance, give it a shot!
