Pokagon State Park

This summer we went to Pokagon State Park over our 15Th wedding anniversary. We have revisited the park each summer. It has become a family favorite destination. We always stay in the newest part of the hotel but they also offer cabins, and camping sites.

They have horse trail riding, boats, nature walks, swimming, and bike riding, just to name a few. We have a tradition of renting a paddle boat and seeing the lake as we paddle. The boys tell me I can sit back and relax as they chauffeur me around the lake. This usually means Luke and Phil get us out and Phil and I get us back in : )

We do not have cable TV at home, due to our dear sweet son has the hardest time leaving Cartoon Network! The hotel has cable, so he is never in a hurry to leave the room in the morning and is always ready for bed in the evenings!

While we were there, for our anniversary, my sweet husband gave me an afternoon at the spa. I was completely relaxed! I gave Phil the complete collection of all the seasons, movie, interviews, and etc... of the M.A.S.H. TV series. He has wanted that for years, and I mean years. I found the complete series at Target 11 months earlier. I wrapped it up, and hid it, so he couldn't find it, and I wouldn't be tempted to give it to him early! Since our trip, we found out we have a 3rd fan of M.A.S.H. in our house, Luke!

At Christmas time Grandma and Grandpa gave Luke the game "Are You Smarter Than a 5Th Grader." We went to the hotel's library and played the game one evening. Not a one of us was smarter than a 5Th grader! We are as smart as 4Th graders though. Luke, in a voice filled with laughter, said, "I haven't been a 5Th grader yet, what's your excuse?"

We always put together puzzles while we are there. It's fun to begin a puzzle and you leave it on a table in the big gathering room. The next day when come back, others have worked on your puzzle too. You just pick up where they left off.

Luke has slowly become comfortable with swimming. With his Aspergers, he has to try things at his own pace. He was a quite a young man filled with confidence this time around. He used to do one cannon ball after another, now he is willing to try swimming. If there were a category in the Olympics for floating, he would have taken gold!

While we were there, my family sent us a striking arrangement of flowers and had a Congratulations announcement put up on the daily board. They made another wonderful memory for us. We couldn't have asked for any more gorgeous weather for our anniversary trip!

We traveled back home to my parents over the weekend. It was a quick stay due to my father-in-law being in the hospital. It was just wonderful just being home, back on the farm.

Day 4

The 4th day of our trip we went to Bull Run. The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassass, was the first major land battle of the American Civil War. It was fought on July 21, 1861.

Later that day we swam in the pool and then had a cook out. We were all pretty happy just chilling and eating grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, watermelon, chips, and strawberry pretzel salad, Yumm! Yum!

Washington Day 3

We had a lot of fun touring on a bus from monument to monument and getting off and on the bus when we felt like it. Our feet and legs needed to see hope/relief from the prior’s day walking in the heat.

We thought Union Station was impressive. We ate at a great pizza place there. The architecture was just beautiful, just like all of Washington D.C. They had a replica of the Liberty Bell, minus the crack in it.

We saw a great deal of monuments but decided to see Lincoln memorial, the Vietnam Vet. Memorial Wall, the Korean Vet Memorial, the WWII Memorial, and had fun with the Washington Monument. When we got to the WWII Memorial there were a ton of people there with their feet in the water getting relief from the heat. We followed suit and felt like we were in heaven. The cool water couldn't of come at a better time.

We weren’t able to visit the White House this trip, but we at least viewed it from afar. Phil and I saw it back in college and someday want our son to see it too. Security was everywhere in Washington. It takes a bit of getting used to seeing men with really big guns.

That night we took Christi and Hunter out to eat for her birthday. If you ever get a chance to eat at Sweetwater Tavern, you must! It was by far one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Yum!

Washington, day 2

I know how sad it is that it's taken me days to write from day 1 to day 2 of our trip, so sorry.

We were all about finding a parking spot. There are a million rules to parking in D.C. Your best bet is going through a ton of security and finding a parking garage.

We decided due to the extreme heat, we'd do the museum scene 1st. We went to The National Gallery of Art, The National Museum of Natural History, The Capital, and The Library of Congress. We began our touring at 10 a.m. and all the museums closed by 5 p.m. We were all ready to fall over by 5 anyway. By far, we all agreed having the Congressman Mike Pence and his staff giving us The Capital Tour was our favorite part in the day.

We bought our son a book a couple of years back and it's pretty cool, "101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12." While we were in Washington he was able to check off: A Space Place, an Art Museum, a Battlefield, a Sculpture Park, an Insectorium, Your Elected Official's Office, a Dinosaur Site, an Airplane Hangar or Collection, and so on... Of course I didn't mind seeing the Hope Diamond which happens to be 45.52 carats and it is surrounded by 16 white diamonds, and it's chain holds 45 more white diamonds!

Oh how we wish we could of had more time to soak up all the museums, but you'd have to live there to begin that journey. Washington is an amazing place!