Wisconsin is truly my home away from home. My parents moved back to their hometown in Wisconsin when Jones was a baby. Since then, I've been coming home 2-3 times a year with the kids. Each time we come up, there are always a few things we repeat, but I try to find a couple of new stuff to try. Go to the zoo - There are quite a few zoos in Wisconsin, plus it's possible to make a weekend trip to Chicago or Minneapolis. Jones' favorite is the Milwaukee Zoo, but the Henry Villas Zoo in Madison is free and it's just enough to entertain for a morning or afternoon. (Perfect if one of your kids is not as big a fan as the other. Fly at the EEA Aventure in Oshkosh - My parents took the boys here while Beer Geek and I were having fun at … [Read more...]
Visiting Skellig Michael
Update: Apparently this won't be off the beaten path for long. Rumor has it that they will be filming part of the Star Wars movie here. Beer Geek tends to like to do things that are a bit off the beaten path. When he heard about Skellig Michael, he let me know that it was one of the top things on his "to do" list in Ireland. Skellig Michael is an island about 8 miles off the coast of Ireland. It was once an active monastery, but now is just ruins. You can only visit Skellig Michael via boat and only 12-13 boats with 12 passengers each are allowed out each day. Because it is completely unprotected from the elements, it is often impossible to visit because boats are not allowed to dock due to waves or climbing is not safe due to … [Read more...]
Tourists in our own town: National Aquarium
This past weekend, I mostly unplugged. Admittedly, I deleted all the unimportant emails I got (probably 90% of those I received, sigh) and spent a few minutes on Facebook after my kids went to bed, but I was barely on electronics and most of the time I was, I was reading the second two books from "The Evil Trilogy". Surprisingly, I didn't miss my usual time on the computer. Maybe I need to do that more often... Anyways, week before last, the boys and I went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It's only an hour away if you leave after rush hour and return by 3:00. It seems so much further away, but really it's pretty close. (The problem with DC is that a small accident or poorly timed departure can turn an hour drive into multiple … [Read more...]
