Shedd Aquarium with a Tiny Tot in Tow

For our first family road trip - we traveled over the course of two days up to Chicago. Breaking up the trip to visit family in between because our little one has a history of not so-much enjoying car rides. She completely blew us away though! Did so well! But, we have gotten a little smarter and have figured out her nap times and traveled during those times only. Helped a ton!



One stop included the Shedd Aquarium - which I remember doing once or twice at least growing up myself. Funny how things are a little different when you go back as an adult. Everything seems so much smaller - I kept looking for these huge tanks where I swear you could see whales...lol. Must be the childhood memories making everything gigantic.

It was a fabulous time, though a little rough with a little one who isn't walking yet but who WANT to get down and crawl on her own (though we saw a few couples there with babies only a few weeks/months old (no other kiddos with them). We brought both the stroller and my new Munchkin wrap. There wasn't much space for her to just move about on her own. The one place zone was awashed in crazy older kiddos practically climbing the walls - definitely not the safest place for a crawling wee one. So we had a grumpy gus partway throughout the visit...she finally conked out but was awoken a lot by yelling adults and loud kids. Sigh. No quiet area anywhere to be found. We resorted to just going outside a few times - to nurse in relative and to just let her get down and crawl for a little bit without the throngs of people and strollers etc.

 (notice us sitting by the elevators on the floor - trying to give her a chance to be active while out of the way - oy! by this point she didn't in the stroller at all or carried at all - she wanted DOWN)

I think we are a little (ok - a lot) accustomed to all the small-child friendly facilities at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Complete with a large, comfortable, clean and quiet family room where you can nurse or nap in a fair amount of peace. And their age supervised play zones for little ones 2 and under - they monitor how many people go in at a time - limiting it so that the little ones are not overwhelmed. LOVE IT! Not to mention that almost every exhibit is pretty baby (crawling and learning to walk) friendly. Each one has interactive areas that are low to the ground that a baby can crawl over or touch etc. Very nice.

She did love taking it all in though - the kid watching at the huge tanks where she could get up close and see right her face - big fish etc! So cool on that aspect. Will definitely have to go back when she is older!

Seashells Down by the Sea Shore

Here's a few glimpses of some of the seashells, rocks and coral bits we collected on our cruise. Beach combing is one of of my favorite things to do on vacation. I love taking the time to drink in the gorgeous views, the sand beneath my feet, the tide lapping my ankles - and the surprise and thrill at finding a shell or something special in the sand.

Colorful Cozumel

Going a little out of order in my vacation tales here, but bear with me! The second stop on our cruise was the little island of Cozumel, Mexico. This is my second visit to this locale and who-knows-how-many for my hubby.



What stands out for me at this port the most are the colors. Brightly colored hammocks swing from the trees, beautifully tiled fountains trinkle in the background, brightly painted shoppes boast wares of intricately painted maracas, woven blankets, and more. Not to mention the splendidly blue skies and tantalizing hues of the ocean - bright florals and luscious greens of swaying palms and other tropical foliage.



My husband and I did a little shopping right off the boat, found myself a t-shirt to ward off an already sore sunburn and we mapped out what we would buy before we had to be back on board (a new Mexican blanket and some hot sauce).

Then we hailed a cab ($7) to Dzul-Hal and snorkeled the reef there as well as dined on an authentic (obviously) meal of beef tacos with guacamole - not to mention a little pina-colada and beer to keep us cool.






We walked the beach and snorkeled again - then hailed another cab to go a few more miles down the road past Chakanab to Corona Beach for more snorkeling and another meal of nachos with salsa and guacamole.

This last beach is where my hubby got bit by a parrot fish - lol! No harm done - but kinda funny none the less! Don't get the in way of their food! :) The fish were all really friendly and would follow you around as you snorkeled. Our server at the last restaurant walked to the end of the pier and threw out pieces of soft tortilla shells out to the fish and wow! were they fans of that! :) He said they there Mexican fish because they liked tortillas. :)



One thing that is noticeable in Cozumel is hurricane damage - in the last few years they have really gotten hit. This pic is a pier that got ripped off in a hurricane and now provides a cool hang out for the local fishies. :) The other end is still above water and looks a little jagged and crazy.

We're Back!

(Tabyana Beach at Isla Roatan - Honduras)

The hardest part of vacation is coming back. I feel a little like I'm in a daze. Everything went by so quick that it is hard to fathom that it even happened at all.

Did we really snorkel a shipwreck and see a sea turtle? Did I really get stung by baby jelly fish? Did we really watch the sunset while the ship left port at Cozumel? Did we really spend a week in the sunny Caribbean?

Ach! How is it over??!?!

While I'm processing reality you can check out all our fab vacation photos! :)

Flying In & Embarkation - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173113&id=27310459&l=fca5ad7676

Fun Day at Sea 1 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173116&id=27310459&l=3270884931

Grand Cayman - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173119&id=27310459&l=72f4836207

Cozumel - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173233&id=27310459&l=bbcf05ba53

Belize - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173234&id=27310459&l=579b2faea9

Isla Roatan - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173235&id=27310459&l=8f8a4cccbb

Fun Day at Sea 2 & Debarkation - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173237&id=27310459&l=7151387750

You'll be in good hands!

I'll be unplugged here for a few days - but I'm leaving you all in good hands, dear readers, so don't you worry! My dear friend and fellow blogger, Alli from Hooray Design, will be joining us for a few days as a guest blogger to keep you all occupied until I get back!

Reminiscing About National Parks

Watching a WFYI special tonight - The National Parks: America's Best Idea got me reminiscing. We took many family road trips to several different national parks all across the United States growing up. We'd pack up our van with plenty of clothes, shoes, snacks and books and take a few weeks during the summer months to travel across the US. We moseyed through many grand places like The Grand Canyon, Arches National Park in Utah, The Badlands of South Dakota, Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, Georgia and all the places in between!

At the time I may have been an moody teenager/child/young adult, sick of hours cramped in a vehicle and quarreling with my siblings, rolling my eyes and huffing at anything that annoyed me - but those trips with my family really did mold me. I hold those memories near and dear to my heart and hope to give my children the same experiences one day - eye rolling and all! :)

Here's a few snapshots I recently came across and scanned from some of those very trips! So many great memories!


My little brother and I in Washington - Olympic Park I think. Pulled over on the side of the road for this pic!


My father, sister, brother and I at Badlands National Park - South Dakota.



My sister and I at a state park in either Oregon or northern California.


My sister, brother and I at Arches National Park, Utah.


My dad's hand showing how big the slugs were at the redwood rainforest in either Washington or California.



My sister, brother, mother, father and I at the Chandelier Tree in California.

North Carolina's Pirate Lore & More!

One of the exciting things I learned about North Carolina while out jolly-banting about on my recent trip was it's rich history of pirate lore - including none-other than Blackbeard the Pirate!

We stayed in Morehead City and drove through Beaufort where Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was said to be recently found in 1996 sunken in 20 feet of water. Blackbeard rode the ship ashore on purpose - some long lengthy tale about keeping more treasure for himself - quite a piratey thing to do.

Along the narrow barrier islands of Cape Hatteras National Seashore - was one of Blackbeard's favorite hangouts - Ocracoke Island - accessible by only water or air (we ferried across). This area is also where Blackbeard lost his life to the hands of the Royal Navy.




My husband loves pirate lore (as the above photo can attest - as does his good friend [also named Matt] - pictured next to him) and I am quite a fan myself - and am looking forward to going out to the North Carolina coast again sometime soon to further explore and learn more! There is so much to do there: marvelous shelling opportunities, gorgeous beaches to walk, maritime museums, scuba and snorkeling adventures, lots of rich history - it is quite amazing and I am shocked we didn't know much about this amazing travel destination till now.

Here is a short list no-where-near exhaustive of some of the things I want to go back and do in NC:

• Snorkel and/or scuba along North Carolina's Crystal Coast - also called the Graveyard of the Atlantic because of the over 2,000 sunken ships in the coastal waters
  www.discoverydiving.com
  
  
• Visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort to check out artifacts recovered from Blackbeard's famous ship the Queen Anne's Revenge

• Watch the "The Lost Colony Pageant" given daily throughout the summer months on Roanoke Island in the famous "Outer Banks" area. It tells the thrilling story of the Lost Colony and presents a vivid account of what may have happened
  www.thelostcolony.org
  
  
• Visit the Cape Lookout National Seashore and walk the beaches and look for seashells