gettin’ the heck out of dodge
In August 2017, when Connor was about to start first grade, he and I spent a few days in Dayton to visit my late grandparents and my BFF, Amy.
This past week, he and Aaron and I all spent a few days in Dayton to visit Amy. Of course, I took the opportunity to capture a then-and-now photo at JD’s Custard.
When my mom suggested we go somewhere for a short trip this summer, the things most on her mind were 1.) a swimming pool and 2.) waterfalls. The waterfall requirement was the main reason that Cedar Falls was the first stop on our Hocking Hills nature adventure, despite me having already researched the local attractions and having decided that Conkle’s Hollow and Ash Cave would be our best bets for truly accessible hiking.
Pro tip: if your knees can’t tolerate stairs, hiking Cedar Falls may not be in your best interest.
Rather than trying to find things to do around my Mom’s place this summer, she suggested that the three of us — she and Connor and myself — go on a trip and see some nature. I suggested Hocking Hills, since it’s only a few hours’ drive, and I decided to take a chance on romance and book an Airbnb for the first time. The Chalets in Hocking Hills were more expensive than a hotel would have been, but having an A-frame to ourselves was totally worth it.
We visited Cedar Falls and Conkle’s Hollow, enjoyed some local restaurants, and did a lot of driving. More photos to come, but for now I’ll sum up the trip by saying that we’ve already decided that this needs to be an annual tradition from now on.
Yesterday morning, we got out and about much earlier than usual for a Saturday. We hadn’t been to the Ann Arbor Art Fairs in years, and we were itching to get out of town and do something different — or, at least, Aaron and I were. Connor was just along for the ride.
Continue reading
We went on our first city vacation as a family this year, and we managed to get Connor sold on the idea of city vacations being a thing in the future.
For Connor’s first foray into the world of freeform roll-your-own city vacationing, we spent three nights in Chicago. Aaron and I hadn’t been to Chicago since our first visit some 14 years ago, and that was a couple years before Connor came on the scene. This time around, our only real agenda items were 1.) taking a hop-on, hop-off bus tour, 2.) eating at Ann Sather’s again, and 3.) trying Italian beef, all of which we successfully crossed off the list.
The gallery above features highlights from our arrival on Sunday, including deep dish Chicago pizza at Giordano’s; and our initial explorations on Monday, including our Big Bus Tour, a trip up the Willis (Sears) Tower, lunch at Luke’s Italian Beef, a brief (cold and windy) stop at Navy Pier, an afternoon shopping excursion, warming up inside the Apple Store, dinner at Shang Noodle, and dessert at Ghirardelli.