Kennedy Family Travels

So with some big trips looming on the horizon, we decided to keep it simple this year. Stanley Cup game in Vegas to kick off summer, and now a quick adventure into history with exploring Gettysburg and Washington DC!

Starting out early on Sunday, we jumped into the Acura and headed east towards Pennsylvania and the battlefield of Gettysburg. Overall the drive wasn’t too bad, but lots of construction in PA. As is now custom, we stopped in West Virginia at Cabela’s to stretch our legs and grab a quick photo.

We hit the road again to get to Gettysburg by 3:00 and our bus tour. Driving into Gettysburg we traversed a lot of back roads, but it wasn’t too bad except the windy mountains! As you drive in, the battlefields and markers showing people involved first greeted us as we came into the town. The town itself was bustling and filled with cute little ice cream shops and historic buildings. It was busy but we made it through to the park pretty quickly.

Our 3:00 bus tour was waiting and we jumped right in to learn. Now, hindsight being 20/20, I would recommend doing the auto tour on your own. We learned quite a few things on the tour, but it would be to my liking to take time and explore more than the tour allows. We did learn that Jenni Wade was the only civilian killed during the war; she was accidentally shot while baking in the kitchen.

The whole tour was about 2 hours long and we visited most of the battle sites. The final stop was an overlook memorial of the final day of fighting when Lee retreated and General Meade proclaimed victory. Meade had only been appointed 3 days before the battle. We also learned about Senator Sickles who lost his leg to a cannon and then had the men grab his leg and send it to Washington. It is still on display in Fredrick, Maryland today!

After the tour we headed over to the cemetery where President Lincoln delivered his “Gettysburg Address “ speech following the battle. It’s a very moving place to be especially when you considered some of the battles happened here on Cemetery Ridge. Lots of Buckeye trees were placed around the fences as we found the Ohio memorial.

Next we were off to Frederick, Maryland to rest up before heading into Washington DC tomorrow. Dinner was a local place called Oscar’s Alehouse west and the food was great! Once our bellies were full, it was off to bed!

Oh I forgot! No trip is complete without a WalMart trip for Seamus. So yes, we did take care of that!!

Well, it happened again. The Knights made it to the Stanley Cup, and yep, once again, we made the trek out to watch a game. This time it was game 2 against the Florida Panthers at TMobile Arena. This was a really quick trip out and back as everyone had to work! Max is now employed at Kings Island, Joe was preparing for interviews with Miami, Seamus was working for Grandma and Grandpa, and I had to work at the Casual Pint! So, quick trip to Vegas it is!

We started out getting to the airport with PLENTY of time as our flight was delayed by 45 minutes as we were en route. Due to needing to come back on Tuesday, it was easiest for us to use Frontier Airlines this time out; lesson learned. That is one airline I will not be using again; it’s not worth my time. We were literally on the flight for 6 hours; easily a flight to Reyhkavik, Iceland by the time we landed. The airline literally kicked 10 people off the flight due to weight issues in the front and a mechanical issue. Yeah, we were a bit nervous to say the least. Max did his best to find a comfortable position once everyone moved around and Joe found himself in an empty row! Seamus jumped over and we all stretched out for the flight!

On the flight and ready to roll

Max getting in a nap on the plane

Finally we made it to Vegas, only about 2 hours later than expected. We tried a new hotel this time around: The Nomad, which is on the top floors of Park MGM. We liked it and found it quite perfect for our needs this trip out!

Vegas from Nomad entrance

After checking in we headed to New York New York to hit our favorite restaurant Nine Fine Irishmen. Before our table was ready Max tried a cookies and cream milkshake from the Hershey store.

Day Two- It’s Game Day!!

As is our tradition, Joe and I woke early and headed down the Strip for our morning walk while the boys slept. We love being on the Strip when most of Vegas is sleeping; plus, with it being a fast trip, I wanted to see as much as possible!

Vegas is preparing for the big upcoming Formula One race that will happen in November. They are currently repaving all the roads and tearing up the Strip. I’m intrigued to see the progress as the time draws closer.

Next it was time to get the boys and head to our favorite breakfast spot: Hash House AGogo at The Linq. You can’t go wrong with this as a choice. After we finished eating the boys played at the Arcade at Horseshoe before it’s time to head to T-Mobile!

After walking back to the hotel, it was time to get ready for the big game. Joe and I headed to the Armory for a bit to check out the game pucks and to check out the celebrations in front of TMobile. There were free Knights’ tattoos, marriage renewals, drink booths and entertainment. Vegas knows how to host a Stanley Cup game for sure. Now, each day we also had Max calling in to Kings Island to call off work as he needs 3 week’s advance notice to call off work. He spent lots of time with the automated system but it all worked out fine!

Another successful trip in the books! Go Knights Go!

I forgot to write this post. So, it’s summer, why not now? Let’s hope my memory holds up!

Universal Studios. I was most excited about this day because of Harry Potter world. Our hotel was close by and offered a shuttle. Yeah. That didn’t work out so well. Who cares? We can drive and be on our own schedule. First stop was VooDoo Donuts until we saw the hour wait. So, Auntie Annie’s pretzels for us!

So we headed in to the park. Ok these lines were long! We used the app and found our feet. The park was at capacity for the day; that had just started back up the week we arrived!! We tried to wait for the Shrek Show but the line was crazy so we headed to ET!

So clearly I didn’t take as many pictures here because I was enjoying the rides! But we got as many rides in as we could. Hot both parks and the Harry Potter ride and ran like crazy. Longest line was for King Kong. It was ok. Not great. Seamus and I have decided we need to go back!

On our way to the other park!

So we didn’t get to ride Hogwarts Express this time but found it easy to go back and forth between the parks. For lunch we had burgers and fries. You had to order through the app like Disney, but Universal did deliver the food!

We ended our day with literally walking on to the Transformers ride! Because it was SO cold and windy! Seamus had two sweatshirts on to cut the cold that night! Now, it was warmer than Ohio, but still! The shoppes on the way out received some love from us and we were ready to head for home! The drive through Atlanta was terrible! We pulled into an outlet mall to try to pass some of the time but still sat for several hours trying to get back! We had a great time but were ready to get home for Easter!!

Day Two led us down the strip after donuts from Krispy Kreme for the boys! We stopped by the Bellagio garden to see their latest creation and I was so excited to see the foxgloves and calla lilies they had included in their gardens! We saw some fun sights along the way as well! We even found a place that I think is Seamus’ namesake: Milk. We didn’t stop in to eat as it wasn’t open when we walked by in the Cosmopolitan; actually, many places had reduced hours due to lack of staffing brought on by Covid. The poor guy at Krispy Kreme literally had to run down to the docking area to pick up his donut orders, run back up to the Food Court in Excalibur, and then deal with the huge line snaking around the seating area there. This has been really tough on the service industry and I hope it can make a recovery soon!

On our way to the escape room we found some delicious looking food too!

We finally reached Caesar’s Palace to complete our first Escape Room: Prison Break. Seamus and I were in one room and Joe and Max in the other. We had to work together to find our way out of the cell and eventually the prison room. Seamus and I rocked it, but Joe couldn’t understand my directions to follow a maze in the “window” in the room. He’s still complaining about it🤣🤣. Eventually we worked our way out and escaped with 1 minute and 20 seconds left! Victory!!

Next we drove to Summerlin to skate at City Arena where the Knights practice. Joe and the boys hit the ice while I tried out my new camera! Lots of skaters so it was hard to have much room!

We ended the day by hitting Lucille’s BBQ at Red Rock Casino. The food was amazing! Max loved the biscuits and Seamus enjoyed the pulled pork. Joe and I shared the pulled pork, brisket and beef ribs. We were stuffed and headed back to the Strip to get some sleep!

Now it’s time to prepare for the Gold Mine Tour!!

Today was THE day; the reason this trip came into being. We headed out of Cocoa Beach bright and early after the rainstorms and air conditioning replacement at the hotel before finally getting some sleep! The boys were ready to build-although at this point in the day we had no idea if that would actually happen!

When we arrived we were the 10th car in line to get into the parking lot. Waiting went pretty quickly and we followed the parade into the lot.

Heading into the park the mask police we’re in full force, and they were all day. We literally watched a work person jump a table to yell at people who were trying to take a picture without the masks! It. Was. Nuts. “Cover your nose and mouth” could be heard all day from every corner. A bit over the top.

Once in (which NO ONE checked any bag at all going in; I was shocked) we headed straight back toward Galaxy’s Edge. Trucking through the mostly empty park was pretty easy and the boys arrived at Savi’s Workshop in no time. They were motivated to get there! From my observation they were second to arrive and put their names on a wait list to make their own light sabers! The waiting game begins!

While waiting and since it was pretty empty still, we headed to the Millennium Falcon ride, Smuggler’s Run, to ride! Now virtual queues were the thing, and we NEVER were able to get in one for Rise of the Resistance. I wasn’t impressed with this aspect at all. But the details and creativity that went into creating this place was off the charts! Details were amazing! It was quite the visual feast for the eyes!!

One of the must haves for the trip was trying Blue milk and green milk like Luke Skywalker drank in the movie. Now, it’s not actually milk, but a fruity drink. Max described it as berry like but not bad. Seamus said it tastes like berries and good. Max also tried green milk was more tropical tasting but he definitely liked blue milk better. Seamus stuck with the blue!

So eating was interesting. You could have your masks off while stationary and actively eating. You ordered on the app, picked up and then found a place to sit. Joe had a meal from the ABC Commissary while the boys had Star Wars foods! I had a pretzel and finished off Seamus’ food too. Because the boy hardly eats!! Then back out to find rides!

While waiting for our callback to Savi’s we ventured out to the Toy Story area of the park for some rides. It was fun to hear what the kids remembered from our first trip; honestly it wasn’t much!!!

Once that text came in, Joe and I could not keep up with the boys heading back to Galaxy’s Edge🤷‍♀️🤣. It’s the fastest I’ve ever watched them move outside of skating. We were able to get a 4:05 build time and they were so excited!

Once there they picked out their designs and waited to be called back. This process was a lot like the Ollivander’s Wand Experience at Universal; it was definitely a production. Savi and his helpers come in and talk the builders through the process. It was really cool watching this all happen and the excitement on the faces of everyone in there. I may have gotten yelled at for not staying on my dot; however I didn’t hear them so I just continued taking pictures!!

It was done! We decided to do one more round of blue and green milk and another ride on the Falcon.

It was time to head back because we were exhausted! 20,000 steps for the day. We ended with a trip to see Woody and Buzz one more time! A great day!! We tried to have dinner at Disney Springs and the Irish pub but it was such a disaster we gave up; even with reservations it was a HUGE wait and already 9:30. We were done and headed to the hotel to rest up! One more day to go!

We quickly headed out of Valdosta bright and early (like before 6 am) to get on the road and start our Kennedy Space Center adventure. After 4 more hours of driving on 900 toll roads we made it to Cape Canaveral and the rockets! Although it was warm this morning, the sun was a much needed site as we made our way through the space voyages and seeing the Atlantis shuttle! It was very moving to see the Hall of Remembrance and those who died. The boys enjoyed their adventure trying to endure what the astronauts went through with lift off was an adventure too. We enjoyed lunch at the Orbit Cafe and helped Seamus keep from overheating!!

Next we were off to Cocoa Beach so Joe can teach his class!! Of course storms rolled in and the boys and I were soaked while heading back from the beach!

We started out bright and early this morning heading to Atlanta for our 1:30 reservations at the Georgia Aquarium. Luckily the boys and I slept while Joe rolled.

Finally we pulled into Atlanta; traffic wasn’t bad for most of the trip down. Although we had 1:30 reservations for the GA, they allowed us to go in early and we picked up lunch while there too. Seamus was absolutely smitten by Tank the sea turtle that we’ve watched on the Aquarium show lately. Max’s favorite exhibit was the sharks while Joe liked the whale sharks. I was enamored by the beluga whales who were chowing down while we were there. Joe likes the sharks too! It wasn’t very crowded and Seamus loved taking pictures all day! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!!

Continue reading “Spring Break 2021”

Holy Moly! I almost forgot about the last day of sightseeing while out West!  After a quick breakfast (well, somewhat of a breakfast, due to Covid, there were very limited supplies!) at Starbucks, we headed up the mountain a bit to see the grave sites of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.  Even though the two were just friends, she had asked to be buried next to him there.  Sheriff Bullock was buried there as well, but 725 feet up the mountain, and we did not make the climb up to see his grave, but I’m sure he has an amazing view of the gulch and the city of Deadwood.  Mt. Moriah Cemetery was much busier than I expected for sure, but very peaceful!

Statue of Wild Bill in Deadwood.

Wild Bill’s view and the river beside the town.

Graves and views from Mt. Moriah Cemetery. This is Calamity Jane’s grave.

No laughing but this was my first trip to Badlands National Park when I’m guessing I was about 11 and Jill would have been 8ish?  And yes, that’s a camera in my hand!

After leaving Deadwood, we headed east towards home.  We made our first stop at Badlands National Park; I had forgotten how beautiful it was.  The first time I visited I remembered lots of little flies everywhere; we did not see those on this trip!  It was hot as Hades and we hiked a short hike where Max and Joe climbed everywhere.  The strangest part of these formations was that they felt like mud.  Hard to climb; I was most worried about finding a snake!  Thankfully we did not:)  Here are some of the photos of this gorgeous area!

The boys loved climbing!

 Next we headed back over the highway to the Minute Man National Historic Site. We missed the silo tour this trip so that’s a must-see next time. We were short on time but were able to see a few cool things from the Cold War!

Finally we were homeward bound. In Iowa after heading through Minnesota this time we stopped at the world’s largest truck stop! It was huge with about 8 fast food places inside and tons of kitschy shopping too! The boys were ready to get home and see their puppies though so it was a fast stop!

Spoiled!!!

Until our next adventure!!!

Boy was today warm! 94 degrees! We spent the night in Keystone with our amazing view of Rocky.

After sleeping in a bit we headed the whole one mile to see Mt. Rushmore. Now driving there was interesting because not only are there tons of cars and rvs ( ok tons is exaggerating a bit due to Covid, there were like 10 cars heading in with us) but 4 wheelers and Razers driving all around too!

Scoring covered parking was a great way to start the day! We sunscreened up and walked in to the park. Unfortunately it is under construction, but we were able to see it clearly and the work being done there. Workers were also hauling up large amounts of fireworks for next weekend’s Fourth of July celebrations with Trump coming to visit. We did a little hiking but we were cut short because the Presidential Trail was closed. I guess we just have to head back! Seamus tried out Thomas Jefferson’s original vanilla ice cream recipe which tasted just like my great grandma used to make too!

After leaving we headed down 16a highway to see Crazy Horse. Now they’re still working on this but it’s way more complete compared to when I was there in the 80s. The Native American education pieces there were beautiful and we learned a lot! We enjoyed lunch at the Laughing Water cafe outside while watching a native dance and storytelling event with a local native couple. Her dress was amazing. We walked and learned before heading back out again. I

Next we headed down the road toward Rapid City to Reptile World so Seamus could see some turtles. We ended up staying for three hours!!

After seeing tons of animals we headed back to Deadwood for the night. The process of getting a room about put Joe and me over the edge, so we were happy with the room and view!

The first thing we did was to head down into Deadwood to watch a re-enactment of a shoot out from a stagecoach robbery. The actors did a great job of sharing the history of Deadwood too!

After the shoot-out we headed down to Saloon #10 where we watched the re-enactment of the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok, Deadwood’s most famous resident. Max volunteered to be a part of the show, and ended up being the bartender! He did a great job and shocked us all. He loved it!

After a delicious dinner at Mustang Sally’s where Max finally had his fish and chips, we headed back to the room to relax!