Traveling with kids?

Yes, it's possible.

We drove 16 hours with 2 children. One is under 5 years, one is under 10 years. In addition to games, dvd players and children dvd, snacks, drinks, stuffed animals, cooler is one essential item. A frequent stop at rest area is also essential. It's a good time for them to run and drain those energy and wash up.

We choose to stop by grocery stores and buy subs and fruits instead of going to fast food restaurants. We use cooler for the kids milk and sometimes for our breakfast or left over.

Instead of dealing with, "are we there yet", we include our older child in checking out the maps and look at GPS. We do carry extra maps so the younger one didn't feel left out.

When we did some hiking, I learned that map still works best for hiking. Most of the time, our GPS did not work due to out service area. If you haven't done your homework, visitors centers are best to get local info.

So yes... do travel with kids... they are fun...

I'm on Etsy treasury

In case you're wondering, Etsy treasury is hand pick items by a curator based on a theme. It is very competitive to get in to treasury.
My piece was picked for "First star I see tonight..."
It's an honor to be part of Etsy Treasury.

Midsummer Night's Dream at Summer Stage

Looking for family event during summer? Try Summer Stage in Delafield.
They have outdoor performances including play, dance, etc.

This coming weekend, Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare is playing at Summer Stage. Tickets available online or at the door. Brats, burgers also available.

Don't forget to bring blankets, lawn chair, bug repellent. It's a fun event for the whole family...

Live@The Lakefront.

In case you are looking for things to do in Milwaukee, try Live@the Lakefront. Free music in the rotunda Discovery World every Wednesday evenings. Reasonable priced food available.

Last Wednesday, we went to see Bahia. Awesome music, people were dancing...
They got brat, burger for $3. Chips and other desserts $2. Drinks (cocktails, beer or wine) also available for purchase.

While the weather is nice, the days is long, it's fun to sit listen to the music with lake in the background. Enjoy summer...

Omaha before home

From Denver, we drove about 10 hours to Omaha. With the time change and few stops at the rest area, we arrived in Lincoln during dinner time. We had dinner at Beacon Hills in Lincoln. The food are OK, I'm not too crazy with it. But I do like the decor, especially a table filled with rocks.

We stayed at Premier Suites, in Omaha. It doesn't feel like the "regular" rectangular hotel designs. It has cluster of buildings with 4 suites in each buildings. The room is roomy, but I think the bed needs replacing.
Breakfast was great... It offers eggs and sausage... yum... It has woken me up that morning with bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to drive to Wisconsin.

We stoped at Lewis and Clark park in Omaha. There is a bridge that crosses Missouri River and take you to Council Bluff, IA.
The kids was surprise to see how can they be in two states at the same time.

We had lunch at Council Bluff Hy-Vee... They had outdoor grilling service. We just have to order one... We then heads back to Wisconsin.

I felt that we are just a tiny specs in this grand country. We experienced from flat land and mountains in just hours. Weather changes rapidly.

With driving on average 70 miles/hour, I felt like seeing a movie from our car window. And yes, there will be more long distance drivings to come...

Lake Country Art Festival

It happened July 10, 2010.

It's my first show at Lake Country Art Festival and I was having a blast... The weather was great, the wind was blowing just as needed. Yes, a bit hot, but I'd rather hot and dry then wet and windy.

Early morning was just great. Not too many customers yet, so I got a chance to take some pictures. Then it gets busier and warmer. During the day, it's like a hide and seek game with the sun as I'm looking to place my chair in the shades.

Other than that, the music was great. Kudos to Kettle Moraine Middle School band. You rocks.
The best part is I met new friends, new customers and had a great sales.

It was truly a great weekend for me. I hope you had a great weekend too...

Last stop, Denver

Breakfast at Summerfield was great. It offers hot breakfast including egg, sausage, bagel, toast, fruits. Most people needs coffee to wake up. I really need eggs and sausages to wake me up. So, I started the day with bright eyes and bushy tailed.

Denver has a good public transportation. They called it light rail, a.k.a RTD.
We lived about 5 minutes from the RTD station. We drove to Arapahoe Village stop, parked and rode the train. You need to pay $2 for parking your car. The machine doesn't give change. Hubby bought the parking ticket and not realizing the machine didn't give change. He paid $8 too much.

RTD costs $3.5/ person as we were in the zone C. Children 3 and under is free. We decided to buy round trip ticket to get to downtown Denver.
We rode F Lincoln train, and stop at 16th and California stop. Only few steps from the train stop, you'll find Denver visitor center.

What is the likely hood for a person, who came from WI, and met someone in Denver, and we were wearing the same style watch from The Metropolitan Museum? I thought it's one in a million chance. But that one in a million chance do happen.

We met Linda, who helped us locate place to eat, to go, to visit. She brought to my attention that she had the similar watch like mine... oh wow...
We took a picture with all of us showing the watch.


We bought sandwich at Susy Q and sushi at Sushi Han for lunch. We walked through Millenium bridge, stop by … park and had lunch. It was really scorching hot, but I thought it was worthed as we could see a bunch of people learning kayaking in front of REI building.

We rode the free ride to the other end of 16 mile mall and went to Denver mint. They do have a tour, but it's fully booked. So, next time, should we come to Denver again, we will definitely book a tour. They have gift shops.., and of course, I got to buy something there.

We then continue walking to Denver Art Museum, Capital, Convention Center (where they have blue bear) and stop by the frozen yogurt place. It's not as I expected frozen yogurt I know in WI. It's very light and soft yogurt.

We then rode the RTD back to Arapahoe Village Stop. We went to Jaya grill for dinner. They provide south east Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesian) menu. It was good. But I got headache due to the scorching heat in Denver today.

We are heading back to Wisconsin tomorrow... As always, travel feels too short.

Happy Fourth of July....

It has become a custom that we would watch fireworks to celebrate Fourth of July. This year is no exception. We drove to lakefront at around 5 pm and brought our bikes. We parked in the Discovery World and rode our bike to get dinner.

We had dinner at Comet. It's has the best Artichoke melt subs and Mexican cup cake ( chocolate cup cake with a kick of cayenne pepper). When we rode back to Discovery museum, the lake front drive was closed for cars. We were riding our bikes in a empty two lane street... Wow.. what an experience. We plan to do it again next year.

Regardless how you celebrate it, happy Fourth of July everyone...

Royal Gorge, Pikes Peak Colorado Springs.

We went to Royal Gorge, the highest suspension bridge. I'm not very keen being in a high place. But I think it worth to be there. The tram ride was scary at first, but then the breathtaking view took it away. We also rode the incline ride. We drove the car over the wooden suspension bridge. It's a bit scary for me. Luckily, hubby was the one who drove the car, so I can close my eyes when I feel like it.

On the other side of the bridge, they have a small wildlife area where we saw rams and buffalo and kids rides. It was scorching hot and the rams and buffaloes seems to be cooling down under the trees.

TIPS: I learned that if you spend only 1 hour at the location, they will give you $7/adult. The ticket is $25. If you come at an quiet day or the line look short, you can make about 15 minutes aerial tram ( they run every 30 minutes. A round trip ride is about 15 minutes), 15 minutes incline ride, 30 minutes walk on the bridge. If you want to spend longer, try finding a coupon. I got mine $2 off at the Garden of the Gods Trading Post.

Did I tell you cooler is the most useful item we brought? We had our left over from dinner for lunch. Because it was hot and sunny, hubby decided to put our lunch on the windshield for 5 min to heat them up. Perhaps, not a very good idea but it works...

Then we drove to Pikes Peak, where we drove up 14100 ft elevation to the summit. If you don't feel like driving, there is a cog's train that would bring you up.

Up in the summit, you will find spectacular view, gift shop, cafe. It was 70F in the base, 37F in the summit. It was cold. Luckily, we were prepared for that.

I got mountain sickness again. I felt light headed and was breathing hard. Hot cocoa helps a bit, Of course, I just have to buy some souvenirs from pikes' peak.

Down close to the base, you can find Santa's workshop in North Pole, Colorado.


We had dinner at Everest, Longmont,CO. It was an interesting food. I ordered Mango Lassi for the drink, Samosa, Chicken Curry, Nan bread. The waitress helps recommend food to order. I really like the bread. It's soft and fluffy and best eaten with Curry.



That night, we stayed in Englewood, Denver, Summefield Suite by Hyatt. It was the most impressive lodging for our trip. It has one bedroom, complete with kitchen, living room ( with sofa bed ). It's very spacious, modern decor.

When we were there, the Denver Broncos' stayed on the same floor. It made me feel important...
The bed was very nice. I had one of the best sleeps during the trip.