I haven’t written nearly as many blog posts this summer as I did last year. And that’s fine by me. Here are ten things that I did instead of working on my blog:
1. Explored a ghost town: We drove up to the ghost town of Rhyolite, located near the small town of Beatty, with some friends earlier this summer. Not only did we get to stroll through an old mining town, but we also had the opportunity to explore the Goldwell Open Air Museum, which features several outdoor, large-scale sculptures.
2. Went to the beach and splashed in both the Atlantic and the Pacific: Our summer started with a Disney cruise to the Bahamas, which meant lots of beach time and splashing around in the Atlantic Ocean. We also took two day trips that involved the Pacific: one to Huntington Beach and the other to Malibu.
3. Relived our trip to San Francisco: I wrote about the perfect way to spend three days in San Francisco for the June issue of Diamond Cake magazine.
4. Visited a national park or two: This summer we visited Zion National Park in Utah. We also braved the heat and visited Red Rock Canyon twice. Remember to be careful when it comes to hiking in hot weather. Bring plenty of water, let someone know where you’re headed and try to go out in the morning before temperatures get too out-of-control.
5. Crawled through a giant colon (the body part, not the punctuation) : We visited the Las Vegas Natural History Museum for the first time last week. We loved the dinosaur exhibit and the Ancient Egypt room, but the highlight for us was the travelling exhibit called “Eww! What’s eating you?” We crawled through a giant colon, watched a video in which Carrot Top taught us all about elephantiasis, and learned a thing or two about mosquitos.
6. Examined some dinosaur tracks: We took a day trip to St. George, Utah where we checked out some dinosaur tracks and other prehistoric artifacts. The museum only took about an hour to explore, but we enjoyed our time there and our afternoon drive back to Las Vegas.
7. Toured Wrigley Field in Chicago: On our recent trip back to the Midwest, we took a guided tour of Wrigley Field. How many five-year-olds can say they’ve sat in the Cubs dugout?! It was a memorable experience.
8. Learned about railroad history in Boulder City: The Nevada Southern Railway offers visitors a chance to take a 45-minute train ride and explore other historic rail cars. This would be a great activity to combine with a trip to nearby Hoover Dam.
9. Swam with a dolphin: During out Disney cruise, we stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, where we were able to swim with a dolphin. Sure, we’d visited Sea World and fed the dolphins before, but it’s a totally different experience to be in the water with a huge, squeaking mammal.
10. Westin Lake Las Vegas staycation: Stop by Wandering Off next week to read about our staycation at this lovely hotel in Henderson. I’m sure it will be a great way for our family to spend some time together before the hectic school year begins in a few weeks.
There you have it…another busy, wonderful summer. I hope yours was happy, healthy, and adventure-filled.
