Here are some photos of our recent trip. No music, sorry. If you want to, sing Cheryl Crow's "Soak Up the Sun" and you will have what I wanted to do, but Photoshow wouldn't let me!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Day 11 – Thursday June 26, 2008
Last day. We headed for home just after 11am. Arrived around 1pm. Glad to be home, but it's back to reality. We have rented the camper out through GetRV.com so we now have to get it ready for that. My family room in completely covered in laundry and bedding and things in the camper that we won't leave for the renters. It was a great vacation. I love that our children are getting better at hiking and more adventurous. Our next adventure will be to Indiana Beach in mid July. This is a small amusement park and beach on Lake Shaffer. We will see how that goes. We get free camping from the RV dealer we purchased the camper from otherwise we probably would not go.
Last day. We headed for home just after 11am. Arrived around 1pm. Glad to be home, but it's back to reality. We have rented the camper out through GetRV.com so we now have to get it ready for that. My family room in completely covered in laundry and bedding and things in the camper that we won't leave for the renters. It was a great vacation. I love that our children are getting better at hiking and more adventurous. Our next adventure will be to Indiana Beach in mid July. This is a small amusement park and beach on Lake Shaffer. We will see how that goes. We get free camping from the RV dealer we purchased the camper from otherwise we probably would not go.
Day 10 – Wednesday June 25, 2008
Because of the rain on Tuesday, there was not much we could do today because of the mud and bugs. We are adventurous, just not that adventurous. We decided to bike ride around the campground. We also rode to the nature center. This took about an hour or so total. After lunch we hung out in the camper and watched movies and played games. We couldn't stay in the camper anymore. We decided to head back to Nashville for dinner, but then decided on Columbus instead. This is about 30 minutes east of where we were. After getting lost we were able to find some chain restaurants, one being Red Lobster. This sounded just fine. After dinner we went back to camp and chilled watching movies and reading.
Because of the rain on Tuesday, there was not much we could do today because of the mud and bugs. We are adventurous, just not that adventurous. We decided to bike ride around the campground. We also rode to the nature center. This took about an hour or so total. After lunch we hung out in the camper and watched movies and played games. We couldn't stay in the camper anymore. We decided to head back to Nashville for dinner, but then decided on Columbus instead. This is about 30 minutes east of where we were. After getting lost we were able to find some chain restaurants, one being Red Lobster. This sounded just fine. After dinner we went back to camp and chilled watching movies and reading.
Day 9 – Tuesday June 24, 2008
Today we decided to do some biking. BIG MISTAKE. Their “easy” trail is not easy unless you are a new mountain biker. We even asked some bikers if our kids could do it and they said it should be okay. HA! We got about 100 feet in and had to turn around. It was narrow, steep, and scary for the girls, not to mention Layla kept falling down. Tony and I would have had a blast, but not this trip. We decided to do a 3 mile trail by our campsite. This trail is marked rugged. It's basically flat until you get about 2/3 through. Then it goes up hill with plenty of twists and turns, oh and bugs! We were near water so the bugs where thick and curious! About ½ mile from the end we surprised a wild turkey just off the path that scared us out of our hiking boots. He flapped his wings and gobbled. Those things are huge! Tony had his hiking stick ready! This is bobcat country and before we knew what it was making all the racked we wanted to be ready!
After the trail we headed to the pool only to be run out by a nasty storm. Of course, our towels were wet and buggy. After dinner, we just hung out. Not a whole lot to do really.
Today we decided to do some biking. BIG MISTAKE. Their “easy” trail is not easy unless you are a new mountain biker. We even asked some bikers if our kids could do it and they said it should be okay. HA! We got about 100 feet in and had to turn around. It was narrow, steep, and scary for the girls, not to mention Layla kept falling down. Tony and I would have had a blast, but not this trip. We decided to do a 3 mile trail by our campsite. This trail is marked rugged. It's basically flat until you get about 2/3 through. Then it goes up hill with plenty of twists and turns, oh and bugs! We were near water so the bugs where thick and curious! About ½ mile from the end we surprised a wild turkey just off the path that scared us out of our hiking boots. He flapped his wings and gobbled. Those things are huge! Tony had his hiking stick ready! This is bobcat country and before we knew what it was making all the racked we wanted to be ready!
After the trail we headed to the pool only to be run out by a nasty storm. Of course, our towels were wet and buggy. After dinner, we just hung out. Not a whole lot to do really.
Day 8 – Monday June 23, 2008
We got up early and headed back to the tunnel for some more exploration. Pretty much the same. We then headed to the creek and this time NOT in the wrong direction. We stayed in the same area to look at fossils and stomp in the water. We were short on time. We had to be out of our camping spot by 2pm. After about an hour we headed back. Went into Madison to do some laundry and get lunch, then back to the camper to pack up and head to Brown County State Park.
We arrived at our site about 5pm. Brown county is the largest of Indiana's State parks at just under 16,000 acres. Our camp site took up at least 10 minutes to get to from our check in. We are way back. Good and bad. Good because it's very quiet, bad because there is no security and it's very dense. Bugs galore. Bugs don't bother us, but they can get annoying and the spiders love their new neighbors! The tree and grass spiders have made our tires their new home!
We decided to go into Nashville Indiana for dinner only to find Nashville shuts down at around 6pm during the week. We found one restaurant open. It was good, but over priced. Then back to the camper and to bed. But before that we watched the wildlife – a few deer and a curious racoon! They are so cute!
We got up early and headed back to the tunnel for some more exploration. Pretty much the same. We then headed to the creek and this time NOT in the wrong direction. We stayed in the same area to look at fossils and stomp in the water. We were short on time. We had to be out of our camping spot by 2pm. After about an hour we headed back. Went into Madison to do some laundry and get lunch, then back to the camper to pack up and head to Brown County State Park.
We arrived at our site about 5pm. Brown county is the largest of Indiana's State parks at just under 16,000 acres. Our camp site took up at least 10 minutes to get to from our check in. We are way back. Good and bad. Good because it's very quiet, bad because there is no security and it's very dense. Bugs galore. Bugs don't bother us, but they can get annoying and the spiders love their new neighbors! The tree and grass spiders have made our tires their new home!
We decided to go into Nashville Indiana for dinner only to find Nashville shuts down at around 6pm during the week. We found one restaurant open. It was good, but over priced. Then back to the camper and to bed. But before that we watched the wildlife – a few deer and a curious racoon! They are so cute!
Day 7– Sunday June 22, 2008
We took this day as a day off from hiking! We slept till about 10, then had lunch and then to the pool. This pool had a great slide for the kids oh and Tony. I decided to finish a book and the water was too cold for me anyway. Only real event was the pool shut down do to pop up thunder storms. That night after dinner, Tony was wanting to get out and do something so he and the girls went to the local playground. There was a tire swing. I went to join them a few minutes later only to find them coming back and both girls were green at the gills. Daddy had swung them in circles at about a 1000 MPH! Not good on a full belly!
We took this day as a day off from hiking! We slept till about 10, then had lunch and then to the pool. This pool had a great slide for the kids oh and Tony. I decided to finish a book and the water was too cold for me anyway. Only real event was the pool shut down do to pop up thunder storms. That night after dinner, Tony was wanting to get out and do something so he and the girls went to the local playground. There was a tire swing. I went to join them a few minutes later only to find them coming back and both girls were green at the gills. Daddy had swung them in circles at about a 1000 MPH! Not good on a full belly!
Day 6 – Saturday, June 21, 2008
First full day at Clifty Falls. We headed straight for our favorite trail and the Tunnel. This is a man-made cave in Clifty Falls State Park. At about 600 feet long it's not too hard to negotiate, but it is completely dark and wet. There is at about 100 feet in an opening above you that goes up about 100 feet. We usually see bats in here but not this time. About ½ way in was a natural spring and pool. Very small but here we saw cave spiders and salamanders. We have yet to identify these. As soon as we get back to Internet access and or a library we will have names for you. Also among the reptilians where tadpoles. We didn't come across any snakes, but we did find a sole to a dress shoe and socks.
Saturday also gave us a great deal of fun. After the tunnel, we continued our trek to the infamous Trail 2. This trail goes along a creek, sorry, don't know the name right now. This is where we find more fossils than you can imagine. You are not allowed to take them out of the park, but to just look is amazing. To think about this park at one point was part of the ocean just boggles the mind. As we ventured south about 2 miles we came upon trail 8. What is the significance of this trail you may ask, well nothing really, except it was 2 miles in the wrong direction. Now, I can't blame this on Tony, but it he was the map reader and I didn't second guess him even though I wanted to. I figured he knew, right? So we found a trail, that of course, half way through was closed due to land slides. We maneuvered around it and headed toward the road, only to find we were over 2 miles from our car. At this point we had been hiking for about 3 hours. We came to a playground. Tony left us there and went to retrieve the car. What a trooper! He ran about 2/3 of the way back – 1.4 miles at this point, to get the truck and pick us up! 20 minutes later, we were on our way back to our camper. We decided to shower, change, and head into Madison for pizza and ice cream. Pizza was at a mom & pop pizza place that was very good. We then went to the famous Mundtz Candies and Ice cream only to find it closed for remodeling. What? This place has been here since 1857. What remodeling? We love this place so much we would drive from Fishers to Madison, Indiana just for the ice cream. It's been featured on the food network many times. How dare they close! Didn't they know we were coming? Oh well. A few blocks down is Kalidescoop. We had our fix and headed back to the camper!
First full day at Clifty Falls. We headed straight for our favorite trail and the Tunnel. This is a man-made cave in Clifty Falls State Park. At about 600 feet long it's not too hard to negotiate, but it is completely dark and wet. There is at about 100 feet in an opening above you that goes up about 100 feet. We usually see bats in here but not this time. About ½ way in was a natural spring and pool. Very small but here we saw cave spiders and salamanders. We have yet to identify these. As soon as we get back to Internet access and or a library we will have names for you. Also among the reptilians where tadpoles. We didn't come across any snakes, but we did find a sole to a dress shoe and socks.
Saturday also gave us a great deal of fun. After the tunnel, we continued our trek to the infamous Trail 2. This trail goes along a creek, sorry, don't know the name right now. This is where we find more fossils than you can imagine. You are not allowed to take them out of the park, but to just look is amazing. To think about this park at one point was part of the ocean just boggles the mind. As we ventured south about 2 miles we came upon trail 8. What is the significance of this trail you may ask, well nothing really, except it was 2 miles in the wrong direction. Now, I can't blame this on Tony, but it he was the map reader and I didn't second guess him even though I wanted to. I figured he knew, right? So we found a trail, that of course, half way through was closed due to land slides. We maneuvered around it and headed toward the road, only to find we were over 2 miles from our car. At this point we had been hiking for about 3 hours. We came to a playground. Tony left us there and went to retrieve the car. What a trooper! He ran about 2/3 of the way back – 1.4 miles at this point, to get the truck and pick us up! 20 minutes later, we were on our way back to our camper. We decided to shower, change, and head into Madison for pizza and ice cream. Pizza was at a mom & pop pizza place that was very good. We then went to the famous Mundtz Candies and Ice cream only to find it closed for remodeling. What? This place has been here since 1857. What remodeling? We love this place so much we would drive from Fishers to Madison, Indiana just for the ice cream. It's been featured on the food network many times. How dare they close! Didn't they know we were coming? Oh well. A few blocks down is Kalidescoop. We had our fix and headed back to the camper!
Day 5 – Friday, June 20, 2008
So my cell phone, I thought, was set to 6:45am to alarm us to wake up. OOPS! At 7am is rang. HMMMM! Okay, so the day didn't start off great and you know what that means, not a great morning. Actually it wasn't bad, until we tried to get to the Zoo. OMG – what a mess. I won't go into detail, but we had a hard time finding it because of all the construction, then parking wasn't what it was supposed to be. After deciding to just park (with the camper,) we headed off to the Zoo on foot. Turns out it was free day! Great you might think, but no, not great, it was packed! It's a good zoo, but I like Indianapolis's zoo much better. We hurried through, and left only to find our camper & truck completely blocked in by cars. Some people just don't think. We got out, but barely and not without some colorful, but not dirty, words from Tony and I. We kept those words to ourselves. With construction, getting out was no fun, but we did it. The girls had fun and that's what matters.
We then headed to Clifty. After check-in and set up, we had dinner – hot dogs – oooo yum (not really!) I would love a steak right now! This has really been the best. We had dinner, played some trak ball – a must for all – then sat around the campfire and made S'mores. We then read books while the girls' rode bikes. This campground is great for that. No traffic, lots of kids, and quiet! We all went for a ride, then came back to play Zingo – a family favorite. Now – at 10pm- the kids are playing with our “neighbor” kids catching lightning bugs (not killing them – right Mom?), doing ring around the rosey and chasing each other. It is the best thing in the world to witness. It's cheesy, but I'm sort of getting choked up just watching them. We haven't watched any TV today. I love it. We picked a campsite that has a green space next to it. It's great! We have our own “back yard!” Tomorrow we will chill, possibly swim and do some hiking. I need a rest day!
Edit: at about 10pm we watched 2 small bats have an all you can eat buffet with the bugs. It was great!
So my cell phone, I thought, was set to 6:45am to alarm us to wake up. OOPS! At 7am is rang. HMMMM! Okay, so the day didn't start off great and you know what that means, not a great morning. Actually it wasn't bad, until we tried to get to the Zoo. OMG – what a mess. I won't go into detail, but we had a hard time finding it because of all the construction, then parking wasn't what it was supposed to be. After deciding to just park (with the camper,) we headed off to the Zoo on foot. Turns out it was free day! Great you might think, but no, not great, it was packed! It's a good zoo, but I like Indianapolis's zoo much better. We hurried through, and left only to find our camper & truck completely blocked in by cars. Some people just don't think. We got out, but barely and not without some colorful, but not dirty, words from Tony and I. We kept those words to ourselves. With construction, getting out was no fun, but we did it. The girls had fun and that's what matters.
We then headed to Clifty. After check-in and set up, we had dinner – hot dogs – oooo yum (not really!) I would love a steak right now! This has really been the best. We had dinner, played some trak ball – a must for all – then sat around the campfire and made S'mores. We then read books while the girls' rode bikes. This campground is great for that. No traffic, lots of kids, and quiet! We all went for a ride, then came back to play Zingo – a family favorite. Now – at 10pm- the kids are playing with our “neighbor” kids catching lightning bugs (not killing them – right Mom?), doing ring around the rosey and chasing each other. It is the best thing in the world to witness. It's cheesy, but I'm sort of getting choked up just watching them. We haven't watched any TV today. I love it. We picked a campsite that has a green space next to it. It's great! We have our own “back yard!” Tomorrow we will chill, possibly swim and do some hiking. I need a rest day!
Edit: at about 10pm we watched 2 small bats have an all you can eat buffet with the bugs. It was great!
Day 4 – Thursday, June 19, 2008
Today we got up at 8am to be at KI by 10am. That was a little hard, but after coffee and breakfast, we were ready to roll. It was a perfect day. 80Ish degrees with a cloudless sky. I vowed to not get wet today and that was A-Okay with me (Rene.) By 1 we were bored and tired and ready to go. We decided to surprise the girls and take them to the water park (originally planned but scrapped because the weather was not going to cooperate.) Tony found me a beach chair under a cabana. I slept, and they played. I was just totally beat! I don't sleep well and being in the camper makes it harder to sleep. Thank goodness Tony is a very understanding guy – plus – I was not wearing a swim suit and it was just way to cold for me. It has to be hotter than 90 for me to do the water parks. After about 3 hours we went back t camp, did dinner, then cleaned up. We decided Friday would be a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo on our way to Clifty Falls State Park in Madison Indiana! Early to bed, early to rise.........HA!
Today we got up at 8am to be at KI by 10am. That was a little hard, but after coffee and breakfast, we were ready to roll. It was a perfect day. 80Ish degrees with a cloudless sky. I vowed to not get wet today and that was A-Okay with me (Rene.) By 1 we were bored and tired and ready to go. We decided to surprise the girls and take them to the water park (originally planned but scrapped because the weather was not going to cooperate.) Tony found me a beach chair under a cabana. I slept, and they played. I was just totally beat! I don't sleep well and being in the camper makes it harder to sleep. Thank goodness Tony is a very understanding guy – plus – I was not wearing a swim suit and it was just way to cold for me. It has to be hotter than 90 for me to do the water parks. After about 3 hours we went back t camp, did dinner, then cleaned up. We decided Friday would be a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo on our way to Clifty Falls State Park in Madison Indiana! Early to bed, early to rise.........HA!
Day 3 – Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Again slept until 9ish. After coffee and breakfast we hung out until lunch, then we headed into Waynesville. There is a bike path that runs the length of the Little Miami River. 78 miles of path to be exact. We only conquered oh, about 5 miles. It was great, but boring. We couldn't see the river, which was why we went this way. So we decided to go to Corwin Peddler's, a small bistro in an old Victorian, for some ice cream. BUT, they happened to only be open Thursday through Monday and of course, this was Wednesday. Tony talked to a local and directed us into downtown Waynesville. Very cool! Mainstreet was all antique shops and one happened to be an ice cream parlor with great service, prices and fantastic ice cream. We sat outside, then walked Main to peruse the shoppes! After deciding that little people have no business in antique shops we headed back to camp. Our plan was to trek to KI again, but my (Rene) feet were very tired. We took the kids to the pool with the water as cold as ice, but they didn't seem to mind. I read a book and Tony kept me company. Dinner was cheeseburgers and potato salad and then some chocolate for dessert!
Again slept until 9ish. After coffee and breakfast we hung out until lunch, then we headed into Waynesville. There is a bike path that runs the length of the Little Miami River. 78 miles of path to be exact. We only conquered oh, about 5 miles. It was great, but boring. We couldn't see the river, which was why we went this way. So we decided to go to Corwin Peddler's, a small bistro in an old Victorian, for some ice cream. BUT, they happened to only be open Thursday through Monday and of course, this was Wednesday. Tony talked to a local and directed us into downtown Waynesville. Very cool! Mainstreet was all antique shops and one happened to be an ice cream parlor with great service, prices and fantastic ice cream. We sat outside, then walked Main to peruse the shoppes! After deciding that little people have no business in antique shops we headed back to camp. Our plan was to trek to KI again, but my (Rene) feet were very tired. We took the kids to the pool with the water as cold as ice, but they didn't seem to mind. I read a book and Tony kept me company. Dinner was cheeseburgers and potato salad and then some chocolate for dessert!
Day 2 – Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Slept until 9ish. Not a common thing for us Keatons. After coffee and breakfast we hung out, got in showers and lunch and then headed to KI around 2pm to find the parking lot full. We decided to turn around and head to the movie theater. Kung Fu Panda was the pick of the afternoon and not bad if you are a Jack Black fan! I still have a hard time with how much it costs to go to a movie these days. With tickets, popcorn, and one drink - $40+. Kind of makes the movie hard to enjoy, but we did our best and the girls liked it and that is what counts! After the movie we then decided to give KI another try. Still pretty busy, but not as busy. It was two for Tuesday's, where if you are a Gold Pass holder, you can ride 2x without getting off the ride. It's been our experience that you can actually ride more time by getting off and then getting back on, then waiting for your turn to ride 2x. This also made for longer lines than before. Still, a good time was had by all.
Slept until 9ish. Not a common thing for us Keatons. After coffee and breakfast we hung out, got in showers and lunch and then headed to KI around 2pm to find the parking lot full. We decided to turn around and head to the movie theater. Kung Fu Panda was the pick of the afternoon and not bad if you are a Jack Black fan! I still have a hard time with how much it costs to go to a movie these days. With tickets, popcorn, and one drink - $40+. Kind of makes the movie hard to enjoy, but we did our best and the girls liked it and that is what counts! After the movie we then decided to give KI another try. Still pretty busy, but not as busy. It was two for Tuesday's, where if you are a Gold Pass holder, you can ride 2x without getting off the ride. It's been our experience that you can actually ride more time by getting off and then getting back on, then waiting for your turn to ride 2x. This also made for longer lines than before. Still, a good time was had by all.
June 2008 Vacation
Day 1 – Monday, June 16, 2008
Arrive at Cedarbrook Campground around noon. Set up and headed straight for the pool. The water was, well, not warm! We swam or a few hours, had dinner and then headed to Kings Island around 6pm. This was a great time to go! No crowds, weather was good, and we were able to ride many rides without a wait. We watched the fireworks at 10pm from the parking lot, then headed back to camp. One thing we learned is this is the year for the Cincinnati cicada. They are every where and loud. We didn't have any in Fishers, or at least where I lived in 2004 when our cicadas came out. Our girls have never seen or heard them. It was quite an experience for them. One woman said that riding in the front seat of the Beast was less jerky, but you had to worry about getting pelted by cicadas. That's my fav ride, but no thanks.
Arrive at Cedarbrook Campground around noon. Set up and headed straight for the pool. The water was, well, not warm! We swam or a few hours, had dinner and then headed to Kings Island around 6pm. This was a great time to go! No crowds, weather was good, and we were able to ride many rides without a wait. We watched the fireworks at 10pm from the parking lot, then headed back to camp. One thing we learned is this is the year for the Cincinnati cicada. They are every where and loud. We didn't have any in Fishers, or at least where I lived in 2004 when our cicadas came out. Our girls have never seen or heard them. It was quite an experience for them. One woman said that riding in the front seat of the Beast was less jerky, but you had to worry about getting pelted by cicadas. That's my fav ride, but no thanks.
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