Farming

We plowed through a long drive on the way home from vacation and made it all in one day.  It was a very long day.  However, as a result of making it home in one day, we were able to attend the dairy farm visit that I had scheduled for the next day.  The boys milked a cow, tasted all kinds of awesome milk and cheese, saw the inner workings of the milking machines and saw the bottling process.  Such a great tour!!

Scenery

The last day's hike was breathtaking.  This was our view for the first two miles up...

 After the first two miles it was much more like this...

After the turnaround, my view from the rear of the boys heading back.

Hike 2

After a such a steep uphill climb on our first hike we decided to choose smoother sailing for day two so that hike didn't become an evil word.  We hiked a flat trail that was along the river and had lots of fun things to look at along the way.  Not to mention throwing rocks into the creek/river... always a favorite.

 Pretending to be beavers after we saw a beaver dam

Fountains

We played in the fountains one late afternoon and this time we actually put on their suits so they could enjoy it a little bit more.  The water was quite cold!

The Real Deal

Though the little things about a vacation take it from good to great, it's the outdoor hiking and biking fun that are the real deal for us on a vacation.  We have some friends that laugh when they talk about our vacations because they would not find our style relaxing at all.  Hiking and biking relax us.  So here goes... First hike was a long trek up a mountain that had a gondola ride back down.  The gondola proved to be a good motivator as the jaunt was nearly four miles up and it was rather steep in lots of places.  Caleb kept saying: "I can hardly wait to ride that gondola and have some lunch up there."

This is in a little clearing about half way up.  I have a photo of Jamie and I in that same clearing two years ago when we came here for our tenth anniversary.

Vacation. The Little Things

    Sometimes it's the little things about a vacation that make it stand out.  That make it truly relaxing.  Jamie and I love vacation, and I would argue that we are a much healthier couple because we have learned how to rest and have retreat from the daily grind.  We've had these little people for a while now, and we really like to vacation with them.  However, it's the little things that we've learned about vacationing with them that made this trip one of our best.  

Ready?  Here goes: 1. Drive minimally once you finally arrive at your destination.  We parked our car, unloaded the bikes and from that point on, we only really drove to one trailhead.  The rest of the places and hikes, we walked to or biked. 2. Have good choices for free late afternoon activity that doesn't involve a lot of planning.  Our destination had three large parks, at least 6 fountains that kiddos can play in, and an amazing children's garden with little educational tours and activities.  3. The money spent on a little bigger place is worth it for us to be able to have a place to read for a couple of hours after the boys went to bed.  We've all stayed in one hotel room for an entire vacation, and though doable, the slightly larger place made it much more relaxing.

The boys, ready for a morning bike ride.

One of the amazing playgrounds 

A life sized lego car

Guild Museum of Contemporary Art

I like art.  I am not an expert on anything about it... I just like it.  The boys and I visited the Contemporary Art Museum here a few months ago when they had an AMAZING maps exhibit there, and since that time they have been asking to please paint and do art ("not just crafts" in Jonathan's words).  We painted five canvases for our "art museum" that is opening in the basement.