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Mainlining it to Maine

After our exhausting trip with Alyson’s family to four fabulous Hawai’ian islands, which we thankfully left prior to the wildfires, you might think that we’d be ready to relax, and you would be right. It was not to be, for less than a month later, we set off with the extended side of my family for a trip to another of the country’s least visited states, Maine.

Getting to and from Maine is no easy task, especially the part to which we were headed, Acadia. We actually ended up flying in and out of Providence late on a Saturday, where we spent the night. We woke early the next morning, and added about an hours drive to our trips by driving into Putnam, CT, where we got breakfast The Painted Baker.

You might ask yourself, was this detour really worth it, considering one could just fly into Portland, ME? Well, much like Obi-wan’s explanation for the existence of Luke’s father, it depends on your point of view. Certainly this took us longer, although it was cheaper, but it also allowed us to visit Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. While I had already been through all of the Northeast, not everyone else in my family was in the same boat, and checking off New England is no easy task. Not for nothing, the breakfast at the Painted Baker was pretty fantastic.

The rest of the day found us in the car making our way to Acadia National Park, and our VRBO in Northeast Harbor. The house we got was perfectly acceptable, aside from the live mouse we found in a mousetrap, but I should warn that recently, almost every house we’ve gotten hasn’t quite lived up to the pictures on the internet. Be sure to read the comments thoroughly and temper your expectations.

My entire immediate family was presents, so our plans had to be catered to many different age and ability levels. We have come to the conclusion that on these types of vacations, the thing to do is make your own plans for the day, and then all get together for dinner at night. Everything we did, we invited whomever was interested, and sometimes we have company, sometimes we didn’t. This way, we didn’t miss out on anything we wanted to do, and weren’t always on our own, but had plenty of time to hit all of our highlights.

For the purposes of this blog and readability, I am going to try a different format, listing the things we did, the places we went, and how we felt about them, instead of going in a more narrate format. Let’s see how it goes:

Hikes:

Great Head Trail: This 1.4 mile loop, I believe, was my favorite of the trip. There are two different trail heads, one with a parking lot and another at the Sand Beach. Frankly, it was not all that easy to find, but once we found it, it was worthwhile. I recommend going clockwise from the beach, and about halfway through, making your way down to a large stone outcropping at the beach. We were completely alone for about half an hour watch the waves crash in. You have to figure this part out for yourself, as it is slightly off trail, but it is very much worth it.

Duck Harbor Trail: This trail is on Isle au Haut, a much less visited portion of the park. I suggest you make time to get over there. We took the ferry and exited at the Town Landing, where there is a ranger station and shop. The whole family made this trek, about 4 miles in all, down to Duck Harbor, where the ferry picked us back up. Be sure you come prepared with water and food, as there is little development here. And be sure to plan it for a whole day, as getting back and forth is reliant upon the boat schedule. This hike is not super strenuous in terms of elevation, but it is a solid trek, so be prepared with older or younger participants.

Beehive Trail: Certainly, when researching Acadia, you will come across this trail, as well as the Precipice Trail (which was closed during our visit due to falcon nesting). This is a can’t miss, but definitely requires some level of physical fitness. It includes a lot of climbing and rock scrambling. We left the younger kids with the grandparents, none of whom would have done too well. We went early, as this trail gets crowded, and their was still a back-up a the top, primarily due to an overweight, older human overestimating his abilities. This is an incredible hike, a ton of fun, and must do. Our 11 year old had no difficulty.

Ship Harbor Trail: This trail, on the west side of the park, in Southwest Harbor, was a lot of fun. It was a little rocky, but flat throughout. My 70 year old parents joined us on this hike, and while they were a bit slower, they managed without difficulty. This is less than 2 miles round trip, offers great rocky ocean expanses and plenty of opportunities to explore multiple, colorful tide pools. The kids also discovered several inland areas perfect for skipping rocks, something that has evidently become one of their favorite past times.

The Bubble: The North and South Bubbles trails overlook Acadia and Jordan Pond, and are definitely worth your time. Both Bubbles can be approached from the same trailhead, and if you go left to being with, you will summit the South Bubble and end at Bubble Rock, which is pretty impressive. Do not fear, an entire football team tried to push this rock over, but it won’t budge. If you don’t mind back tracking, you can then find the approach up the North Bubble, which leads to a beautiful view of the park. We stopped at the peak, which made the trail about 1.5 miles, but it goes on for quite some time.

Raven’s Nest: This is one of the hidden gems in Acadia, and hard to even find information about online. It’s a great stop along the road around the Schoodic Peninsula. In order to find it, you have to park in the third pull off on the left, once you’ve started the drive. To be clear, it is not the third pull off overall, but the third one on the left side of this one way road. Once you park, take the unmarked trail across the road down to the coast, where you’ll find incredible views and amazing sites. It’s hard to find, but don’t skip this.

Restaurants:

Side Street Cafe: This adorable, quintessential Maine cafe is, as you would expect, off the beaten path in Bar Harbor. We sat outside, with a nice view of the area, and had a terrific meal. There was something for everyone, including a lobster roll, a lobster mac and a lobster melt. Prepare yourself that everything in Maine is expensive, but this was a great option and very kid friendly. The waiter was also very helpful in providing us with several viable hiking options.

Bar Harbor Beer Works: This was actually a harbor of last resort for us. We were wandering around Bar Harbor on a Friday, and the city was packed. Every place we checked out had an hour+ wait, but the Beer Works didn’t open until noon, and as we were the first ones in, there was no wait. The fare was classic beer/bar food, with a pretzel for JR, fish and chips for me, etc. We ate there with my parents, and while it wasn’t the best meal I had on vacation, it was a great stop for what we were doing.

Colonel’s Restaurant and Bakery: Some member of my family ate at this establishment at least once/day. It was within walking distance to our VRBO and serves all four meals, plus a bar. The breakfast is great; bagel sandwiches, donuts, etc. They have wonderful pizzas, salads and sandwiches, and the full bar was a lot of fun on Friday night.

Bunker’s Seafood and Spirits: Bunker’s (who doesn’t have a website) is a nice little waterfront restaurant at the end of the Schoodic Island road. This little visited part of the park is beautiful and remote, and this restaurant with standard (expensive) fare, is a perfect way to cap off your trip.

Fish Net: This adorable little lobster pound really hit the spot on our way back from Isle Haut. For those not familiar, the term ‘pound’ simply means shack or shop or house; basically, a place to get lobsters. There was plenty of outdoor seating, and plenty of good food. I recommend hitting as many pounds, and adding as many pounds, as you can.

Excursions:

Bar Harbor: No trip to Acadia would be complete without a visit to Bar Harbor. On the Northeast side of the main island, this area is touristy, but offers a lot. There are many interesting looking restausrants, shops and tour groups. It is definitely worth your time, but for me, not that much of it.

Sea Prince Boat Tour: There are multiple different boat tour options around Acadia that offer varying experiences. You should definitely do some research beforehand to find the one that best serves your group. We found one that left near our house, and that was less than two hours, which was perfect for the kids. It took us out on the water where got to see porpoises and seals, and learn a lot about the history, and the present, of the area.

Carriages of Acadia: There is a stable within the park that offers carriage rides along the carriage roads. This honestly wasn’t the most exciting part of our trip, but it is a fun way to see the interior of the park and learn a lot about its history.

Cadillac Mountain: You can hike this mountain, if you like, or drive to the summit. Driving requires reservations during peak season, which can only be obtained at certain times in advance on reservations.gov. We got a pass for a sunrise drive, which required getting up at about 4 am. Eileen loves a sunrise though, so we couldn’t miss it. Cadillac Mountain’s claim to fame is that it’s the first sunrise in the continental US, which is pretty cool. Unfortunately, it was super overcast during our visit, so the sunrise wasn’t all that spectacular, but I am still glad that we went.

Thunder Hole: This is an interesting and always crowded part of Acadia NP. It’s basically a narrow inlet into which the tide crashes in, creating a thunderous sound. The best time to visit is 2 hours prior to high tide, but it is always pretty cool. When we were there, we never heard anything that I would equate to thunder, but the spray from the surf was pretty epic at times. It is very crowded, and along a path that leads to other interesting areas, but it’s also basically just a sidewalk. I recommend trying for a spot in the parking lot, as the rest of it might not be super worth it.

Jordan Pool House: It was hard to decide whether this is a trail, a restaurant or an excursion, but it is worth your time. I suggest calling ahead and making a reservation for early afternoon. We arrived at around 2 pm and walked the loop around Jordan Pond, about 3 miles. While there are few elevation changes, this trail is still strenuous, but very rewarding. Afterwards, we grabbed our table at the Pool House for popovers (the kids’ were covered with ice cream) and a few beers. It was a great way to spend an afternoon.

Our trip, which last most of a week, was a lot of fun. We could have filled two or three more days without repeating anything. The few must do’s are the Beehive and a boat tour. If at all possible, I strongly recommend getting to both Isle au Haut and Schoodic, which are far less crowded as the main island a quite beautiful. Next up for us, as far as I know, is our yearly Labor Day trip to Gulf Shores.

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Hawai’i and The Pride of America

Our last day was spent in Honolulu, a place that I hope to never visit again. Our hotel, the Hilton Hawai’ian Garden was great, but it could have been anywhere. We did drive to the Northshore, which was pretty, but this was mostly throw away time.

I just want to leave our four loyal readers with a few afterthoughts based upon our trip in general. Given the opportunity, I would take this cruise again, and given the opportunity, I would visit Hawai’i again. That said, I do not think either are trips that I would plan myself. We all had great experiences, but it wasn’t amazing to the point that I am jonesing to go back.

If you are taking this boat specifically, I would recommend not spending the extra money on the upgraded dining experiences. The food was good, but not that much better than the free options. I would recommend upgrading to include the alcohol package. You have to drink a lot each day to make it worthwhile, but it was so much easier to not have to worry about how much we were spending. And, the package included gratuity.

If possible, I would recommend not staying on the 8th floor. There was nothing wrong with our rooms, but the view is obscured a bit by the emergency rafts. I would also recommend bringing magnetic hooks. The bathrooms have very few, but these hooks will stick to the door and make it a lot easier to dry your towels and swimming suits.

I think my single biggest take away would be to recommend skipping any of the included excursions, if at all possible. The much better option for us was renting a car at each port and creating the experiences for yourself. Every rental car pick-up spot was less than a 20 dollar cab ride from the port, and if there are several of you, this is a far more affordable option. We had much more fun driving around ourselves than we did on any of the planned trips.

If you’re on the fence about to see Hawai’i, this cruise is a great option. It certainly isn’t perfect, but there aren’t many better ways to get to all four islands. Everyone was very friendly, everything was very clean and everyone in our group had a great time.

Next up, we have a very brief break before heading up to Maine and Acadia.

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Nawiliwili for the Win – Days 7 and 8

On Day 7, we woke up at a port on Kauia called Nawiliwili and stayed there for two days. This was an amazing part of our trip, with lots a cool sites and some of my favorite experiences. We initially planned a hiking excursion through the boat, but they had to cancel it, so we went out on our own.

We rented a car, for two days this time, and headed out onto the island. Our first stop was a bucket list item for Eileen, to take surfing lessons. We found local guides who offered lessons outside of a great beach near a Sheraton, of all places, that guaranteed that the kids would get up on the board.

This was a great experience, and the guides did not disappoint. Both of the kids got up on their first try, and while it was a lot of work, especially for JR, they both had a great time. We tooled around the beach for a while, then headed back the direction that we’d come. We took the scenic route on the way back, and if you have your own car, this is something I highly recommend. The unplanned parts of the adventure are often the best parts of the trip.

That night, we went to a luau put on the by Norwegian Cruise lines. They roasted a whole pig, had all sorts of performers and put on a fine show. That said, this was probably my least favorite part of the whole trip. I get that a luau is something you ‘have to do’ in Hawai’i, and it is interesting, but I feel like our time could have been much better spent doing almost anything else. Oh, and it was expensive as shit…

The next day, we met up with a company called, Smith’s, that offers multiple Hawai’i-specific adventures (including a luau), for a trip upriver to fern grotto. This grotto is pretty remarkable, with overhanging walls that feature ferns that grow upside down. We enjoyed this tour, and I would definitely do it again, but of the things we did, I wouldn’t put it in my top 10.

That afternoon, we drove up to the Napoli Coast, which is a must see along the coast of Kauai. It is beautiful, and extraordinarily unique to this island. If you have the time, don’t skip out on this.

Nawiliwili was our last stop before heading back to Honolulu, so the best part of our trip had unfortunately come to an end. It was a great trip, and I would recommend it. Stay tuned for one more post about Hawai’i, and what you can do to maximize your stay on this specific boat.

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Maui Wowie – Days 3 and 4

We actually arrived early in Kahalui due to a minor medical emergency involving a member of the crew. It was nothing too serious, and this actually worked out in our best interest, as we were able to leave the boat early.

Rather than go to the buffet, the family and I sat down for a quick breakfast at the Cadillac Diner. If you are on this exact same boat, this is a great option, 24 hours/day. The menu is limited, but the food is good, comes out quickly, and it is rarely crowded.

Prior to embarking on this cruise, we did as much research as we could, and rather than pay $200/person for the Road to Hana excursion, we decided to rent a car ourselves and plunge into the journey. Most of the port stops were only a $20 cab ride to the nearest airport, and Kahalui was no exception. We picked up a rental car ourselves and set out upon one of the country’s most beautiful drives.

The road to Hana is over 40 miles but takes almost two hours one-way, due to how winding and narrow it is, often times going down to one lane. There are dozens of stops that one could make along the way, so you have to decide what are your priorities. For us, we decided to drive all the way to the end, past Hana, where you meet the Haleakala National Park. We did this first because this portion of the park has an amazing 4 mile out-and-back trail called Pipiwai, just adjacent to the Oheo Pools, two of the parks more incredible features.

This trail is mostly uphill on the way out, and more than a bit strenuous, but if you have the opportunity, it is a can’t-miss. After you pass through an eerie bamboo forest that feels alive, you’ll get an incredible view of a waterfall that reaches up to the sky. The Road to Hana is littered with waterfalls, but for me, the one at the end of the Pipiwai is number one.

As we started our way back down the Hana road, we stopped at the Hana Ranch Restaurant. Maui is very proud of their beef, and after two hours of hiking, this really hit the spot. It’s expensive, but the view alone is worth the price.

Our next stop on the way back to the boat was Waiʻānapanapa State Park, which features a unique lava tube and an amazing black sand beach. This was the highlight for the bigger kids. The black sand beach is a nice, protected little cove, but it features really large waves. Getting into the park requires a reservation ahead of time ($30), and sine we were certain of our timing, we actually booked two different slots. My favorite stop along Hana was definitely the hike, but for JR and Eileen, it was this beach.

We made two additional stops on the way back: Twin Falls and Ho’okipa Beach. Twin Falls is an impressive tiered waterfall that offers a great place to cliff dive. Ho’okipa is a red sand beach that was littered with snoozing sea turtles. Both, to me, are must-sees, and both were spots that the whole family enjoyed.

All said, the Road to Hana was one of our favorite parts of the trip. The drive alone through the amazing foliage is worthwhile and there are countless places to stop. The four we made were right up our alley, but if we went back and did it again, I feel like we could fill the ride with a completely different set of sights.

The day had been a long one, so we returned the car, ate at the Alamo Cafe (the buffet on the Pride of America) and went to be in preparation for Day 4.

The next day brought a return trip to the Haleakala National Park, provided by Norwegian Cruise Lines. We boarded a bus with about 20 other people at 8 am and started up the mountain. Our tour guide was nice and well-intentioned, but was a bit too much for me. I am a less-is-more type of person, and prefer to let the majesty of the sights speak for themselves.

Tours like this only hit the broadest highlights of big parks like Haleakala, which is unfortunate, but the payoff at the top was amazing. The view into the crater, looking at several smaller, collapsed craters, is surreal, and as the wind howls and whips everything around, it feels like you are standing on another planet. Regardless of how you get there, getting to the top of the crater is a must.

The rest of that day was spent tooling around the boat, swimming, eating, etc., as the boat prepared for a 6 pm departure for the Big Island and the city of Hilo.

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50/50 – Hawai’i or Bust (Days 1 and 2)

One of the goals of my life has to been to visit all 50 of the great United States. My younger brother Jim has already accomplished this feat, and my father and other two brothers have both hit 48/50. This June, I joined Jim by finally making it to the wonderful island paradise of Hawai’i.

The family and I set out at 5 am from New Orleans, stopped in Denver, stopped in Oakland, and finally made it to Honolulu. For the purposes of readability, I am going to break this vacation into several posts so that I don’t leave anything out.

Getting to Honolulu is no small adventure, and our flights got changed around several times. We finally settled on a Southwest journey that was actually three flights, with a 5+ hour layover in Oakland. While this sounds awful, since we had checked all of our bags through to HNL, we were afforded the opportunity to rent a car and take a quick tour of the bay area.

Our first stop was at a breakfast restaurant in view of the bay called Town’s End Brunch. This, evidently, is a local favorite, and for good reason. Alyson and I both felt that we could have eaten there five or six days in a row and eaten five or six different things. It was great for the kids, the service was fantastic, and the food was wonderful. It was a great way to break up the 17 hour trip.

We completed the circle around the bay by stopping at the Golden Gate Bridge National Recreation Area. We actually visited this locale in an RV a few years ago, but failed to stop at the Visitors Center and stamp our books. We easily rectified that this time around, and the drive across the bridge was clear and beautiful.

The flight from Oakland to Hawai’i was a rough one, but only because it had been such a long day. Due to the time changes, we arrived at 5:30 pm local time and made our way to the Hilton Hawaiian Village. I feel like my least favorite parts of this whole trip were Honolulu and this hotel. There’s nothing wrong with either of them, but it felt like we could have been anywhere. The resort was really nice, but given the choice, I’d skip Honolulu again in the future.

Now, the main reason that I would be willing to skip it is because on Day 2, we were able to visit Pearl Harbor National Memorial. We were lucky enough to get to visit the USS Arizona and the Valor Memorial, which requires tickets that, at times, can be hard to get. That said, we were able to book through the hotel, which while more expensive, guaranteed our spots. I am aware that I just trashed the hotel and Honolulu itself, but there are certainly worthwhile things to do and see.

From here, we boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line ship, Pride of America, and set sail for the rest of the islands. This ship is older and a bit small for a major cruise line, but is the only one that hits the four major islands. The amenities are fine, but the reason to take this cruise is for your time off the boat, not to hang out on board. We ate that night at one of the included restaurants, Liberty, and bedded down as we set sail for Kahalui, Maui.

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It’s Pronounced Missouri, not Misery

This year has been filled with a lot of traveling for the Igoes, and our next big plan was (and is) Hawaii, but in the meantime, we decided to sneak in a quick Memorial Day jaunt. None of the Igoes, save yours truly, has ever visited the great state of Kansas, so we tried to come up with a reason to go.

Those who follow closely are aware that my parents live in St. Louis, which is only a four hour drive from Kansas City. You are probably also aware of our proclivity to attend baseball games. What you may not be aware of is that in addition to the Cardinals and Blues, St. Louis has a new Major League Soccer team, St. Louis City SC.

After very little thought, we bought tickets to St. Louis and home from Kansas City, along with tickets to the City game and Royals game. We woke up early on Saturday morning, hopped on a plane and made our way to St. Louis.

The City SC game was that night, so we had about 8 hours to kill prior to kickoff. One of the landmarks of St. Louis is Union Station. Originally an actual train depot, it has gone through many evolutions, but it seems that the current iteration might actually stick.

The old station now has multiple restaurants, mini-golf, a London Eye-style wheel, ropes course, mirror maze and interactive aquarium, amongst other things. We had done a bit in the past, so this time we decided to ride the wheel and play mini-golf. The wheel is pretty cool, and seats up to 8, but the grand view is primarily of nothing. It is fun, and only about 15 minutes, but it doesn’t compare to looking out over the city of London. The mini-golf was also nothing special, but was a fine, albeit expensive, way to spend the morning.

We got the timing just right, and headed down to our favorite area to get lunch in St. Louis, The Hill. This is an old Italian neighborhood with a restaurant on almost every corner. It is great for dinner, but the Italian lunch sandwiches are one of my favorite things about St. Louis.

This go around, we ate at Adriana’s, which was packed. It was my first time there, and while I don’t think it is my favorite spot on The Hill, I would gladly go back five days in a row and enjoy five different sandwiches.

We hung around my parents’ house for a few hours whilst the baby napped, went to Saturday afternoon church at my high school, and headed downtown. If you are going to an SC game, I definitely suggest getting there early. The game didn’t start until 7:30 but the festivities kicked off at 4 pm, which made parking quite difficult.

It probably took us 20 minutes to find a spot, and it was still a solid 15 minute walk to the field. Next time, we would go on ezpass.com and reserve parking ahead of time. The field, City Park, was amazing. It was at capacity, as usual for this inaugural season; a solid 22,000 people.

It doesn’t hurt that the team is brand new and in first place, and the city of St. Louis has gone crazy for them. I say this having attended multiple sporting events, playoff games, championships; this soccer game was the most vibrant environment in which I have seen a game. The entire congregation was on their feet, singing and screaming, for 90 minutes. Again, I am sure it helped that City won the game, but the atmosphere was insane. That said, the prices were also insane, so come prepared, but if you have a chance to catch a game in a place like City Park, I suggest you take it.

The next morning, we left the house before 8 am and headed for Kansas City. It is about a 4 hour drive, and just outside the city itself is Independence, Missouri, home to President Harry Truman. We stopped at the Harry S Truman National Historic Site, which includes a Visitors Center with a nice video and his house, which you can tour. We didn’t actually do the tour, but the video is interesting, and we got another stamp for the kids’ passport books.

The Royals’ game was a 1:10 pm start, so we ate lunch at Kauffman Stadium. If you have never been, Kauffman is pretty cool. Unlike a lot of newer stadiums, Kauffman is outside of the main urban area, but is done really well. It has a lot of amenities, and everyone was quite friendly. We actually got see the Royals hit a walk-off, which was cool, and that puts me up to 11 home stadiums.

Before we ended the day with dinner, we raced over to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which may well be the best thing in Kansas City. It is small but packed with great features and information, and fantastic video narrated by James Earl Jones. In terms of a can’t-miss experience, this is at the top of the list.

That night, we ate at the Beer Kitchen, which is exactly what it sounds like, a restaurant with beers. It was quite delicious, kid-friendly and had a great atmosphere.

Now at this point, it might have crossed your mind that as of yet, we still had not actually visited the state of Kansas, as the majority of the experiences in KC reside on the Missouri side. So the morning of Memorial Day, we woke up, crossed the river and drove to Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant. This is a cute little diner with a solid breakfast that is actually delivered by toy trains. It is nothing out of the ordinary, but if you happen to be in the state of Kansas, it is a place to eat.

Our flight home wasn’t until the early afternoon, and we struggled to find something to do with the rest of our day. Kansas City has several waterfalls, but most are not super impressive during this time of year. There is a lot of cool stuff to do in Kansas, but most of it was too far from where we were. We ended up settling upon the St. Rose Phillipine Duchesne Memorial Park and Shrine.

If you are not Catholic, and even then, are not well-acquainted with the Sacred Heart community, this is probably not a good use of your time. That said, my daughters both go to a Sacred Heart institution, and my wife teaches there, so for some of us, this was pretty interesting.

On our way back to Kansas City for our flight home, we stopped at Betty Rae’s Ice Cream, which is just a classic, great place to get a frozen treat. We made it home that day without any difficulty, capping off a great Memorial Day trip.

It was nice for the kids and my wife to cross Kansas off the list, and it was nice to get out of New Orleans for a bit. Next up, the big trip to number five-O, Hawaii.

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I Call It ‘Johio’

We decided to follow a similar script as last year for Easter and center our journey around seeing a baseball game. The Cardinals were playing in Milwaukee, and having already visited that unimpressive stadium, we decided to look elsewhere. I was hoping that both the Red Sox and Yankees had home series, but that also was not meant to be.

So where did that leave us? Cleveland…

Cleveland, you say? According to Mark Twain, America has only three great cities: New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.

While it is hard to disagree with America’s greatest novelist, there are actually reasons to visit Ohio’s second largest metropolis, which I shall proceed to detail below.

As in recent years, our eldest ditched us for a Spring Break in Seaside, where one of her drunk friends proceeded to haver at for evidently no reason. My hope is that this experience will lead her to joining us again next year, but we shall see.

So the remaining four us set off for Cleveland on Satuday morning, and arrived just after noon. We were hoping to try Slyman’s Deli, but it is closed on the weekends. Instead, we settled for a wonderful Michael Simon BBQ restaurant called Mabel’s. It’s in a really interesting, revitalized area of downtown, and the food is excellent. At the waitress’s suggestion, we just ordered one large plate of meats and two sides, which was more than enough for our family to share. As far as I can recall, this was my first time eating at the restaurant of an Iron Chef.

In the early afternoon, we drove up to Lake Eerie, the third Great Lake I have seen, and spent about two hours at arguably Cleveland’s most iconic attraction, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Located by the football stadium on the shores of the lake, this is an impressive building slightly reminiscent of the Louvre.

We purchased tickets ahead of time, and made our way down to the first of six floors. Every leve has its own experiences, from exhibits specific to The Beatles and The Who to the Wall of Plaques to a Pink Floyd’s The Wall theater to a live band karaoke experience.

JR and I agreed that our favorite part was the Hall of Plaques that featured every band or individual inducted, starting in 1986. It actually came as a surprise to both of us that the first class was so recent, but it was very cool to see. My son was disappointed at the lack of Fall Out Boy representation (a feeling I shared in reference to the Gin Blossoms), but eligibility begins 25 years after an artists initial commercial release, so Pete still has a few years to go.

After checking into our hotel, we headed out to Progressive Stadium to watch the Guardians eventually lose to the Brewers. This was the 10th home stadium in which I have seen a game, and I have really enjoyed expanding my baseball horizons. That said, from the outside, the Guardian’s stadium is one of the most unimpressive and downright ugly ballparks I have ever seen.

Fortunately, this was just a poor first impression, because from the inside, the open air complex is quite lovely, a fine place to catch a game. If you are going to see an outdoor game in early April, please prepare appropriately. We all had several lays, including doubled up socks, and hand warmers to get us through 2 and half hours of 40 degree baseball. We were all very thankful for the next accelerated pace of play, as it got us in and out much more efficiently than in years past.

We woke early the next morning for a hotel room Easter celebration and drove over to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist for an 8 am service. This building is everything you’d want from a grand cathedral: beautiful high vaulted ceilings, multiple side chapels and wonderful artwork throughout. Some of our past Easter experiences in terms of the service itself have been mediocre, but that was not the case this Sunday. The priest did a fine job of letting the gravity of the day speak for itself instead of adding a whole bunch of unneeded nonsense during the homily.

After finishing up just under an hour, we headed over to Betts for an Easter brunch. Betts is nothing too fancy, or too expensive, but it offers a round menu, and the food was excellent. It was exactly what was needed prior to beginning the second leg of our Ohio trip which would take us into Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

CVNP is perhaps the most uniquely positioned National Park of the current 63. The Arch is directly in the middle of downtown St. Louis, Hot Springs is basically a city in-and-of itself, Saguaro encircles Tucson, but Cuyahoga is by far the most suburban national park that we have visited.

The borders meander, and you’ll find that some of the most interesting sites in the park are within a hundred yards of an interstate or a Pure Barre. If you love the secluded, lost wilderness of the big parks out West, you might not enjoy Cuyahoga, but it is super-accessible and offers some breathtaking experiences, even if you’re only a short walk from the nearest fro-yo stand.

The park is a refuge for native plants and wildlife, and winds along the Cuyahoga River, giving way to deep forests, rolling hills and open farmlands. Our first stop was at the Boston Mills Visitors center to get the lay of the land and get our passport book stamped. At this stage, we were heading into the early afternoon, so our plan was to do just one solid hike before getting dinner.

The first trek we endeavored was the Brandywine Falls Trail, one of the most popular trails in the park. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the paths were unsurprisingly crowded, but there are a few notes to help amplify your experience. For one, you don’t actually have to do the hike to see the falls. The falls are located at the end of the loop, which basically starts and ends in the parking lot. If you are not much a hiker, this is a great park, as there are many attractions that can basically be driven to without having to endure the cheap showiness of nature

However, we decided to trek the 1.5 mile trail, which was quite lovely and not particularly strenuous. If you also make this decision, I highly recommend taking the trail in the clockwise direction. This way, you finish with the boardwalks that lead to this amazing waterfall, instead of seeing the payout at the beginning.

The fall itself is quite wonderful, albeit right next to the road, and the system of boardwalks set up around it offer visitors the chance to see the falls from multiple different angles. I think for most folk, if you were just going to do one thing in Cuyahoga, Brandywine Falls would be it.

Before dinner, we had about two hours to kill, so we made use of some of the other sights in Cuyahoga that are not far off the road. The first of which was the Everett Covered Bridge. The area is calm and quiet, and the old fashioned covered bridge is certainly quite quaint.

Another great feature of Cuyahoga, which can include a long walk or a short one from a nearby parking lot, is Deer Lick Cave. This is really more of an overhang than a legit cave, but it is a very impressive feature of this park. We didn’t do the actual hike, but the short version leads to a creek with several small cascades and multiple small alcoves that the kids can explore. It was a great way to end our day in the park.

We struggled that evening finding a place to eat, as most of the restaurants we had researched were closed for Easter. We settled on the Ohio Brewing Company and were not disappointed. Very family friendly, this brew pub offers your standard brewery foods: pretzels, burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc. The food was solid, and the beers were excellent, good enough to bring a couple back to the hotel with us.

That night, we stayed in a Holiday Inn Express in the city of Richfield, one of the suburbs that borders CVNP. The hotel was fine, and there are limited lodging accommodations in the park itself. There is the Brandywine Inn, which looks nice but inexplicably won’t allow visitors under 5 years of age, and the Stanford House, which would have required us to book the entire 9 bedroom building, a bit more than we needed. There are plenty of nearby hotels, and while they don’t offer the experience of actually staying the park, they get the job done.

Our flight home on Monday wasn’t until the evening, and park is less than half an hour from the airport, so we attempted to see as much of the rest of the park as possible. There is a train that can take one throughout the Cuyahoga Valley area, but it was out of service during our stay, so we stuck with the rental car.

Our second day in the park started out back at the Boston Mills Visitors Center, a location which also includes the Blue Hen Falls trail head. This trail is about a 3 mile out and back, relatively strenuous hike. It starts with an arduous ascent up several stairs leading away from the Visitors Center, and included three separate up and downs.

It is a challenging hike, and is often in very close proximity to several main roads, but the payoff is absolutely worth it. As you approach the falls, the traffic noises fade away, and you will find yourself encountering one of the parks wonderfully secluded gems. We started this trek early, so had the run of the falls.

There is a scenic overlook, but if you are adventuresome (and willing to stray a bit off the trail), you can get right to mouth of the falls. This was my favorite part of the trip, and I think JR and Clara spent about half an hour hanging around on the cataract, trying to skip rocks.

We had one more hike that we wanted to attempt, and decided to take only a short break between the two. There was one other brewery that we hoped to sample, and figured that if we knocked out both hikes before 2 pm, we could grab a beer with a late lunch.

The Ledges is the last of the major attractions in Cuyahoga, and is definitely one that you won’t want to miss. This is basically a 2.5 mile lollipop loop from a centrally located parking lot. I strongly recommend taking the loop clockwise as, again, this leaves the most impressive parts of the trail for the end.

The Ledges is a series of interconnecting trails that take hikers up and around a plateau and series of, well, ledges that are quite impressive. Whilst on this trail, be sure that you take the path that goes around the outside of the stone features, called the Octagon. If you stay on top of the plateau, you miss out on a lot of the most interesting features, and have to be below the ledges at the end to experience the Ice Box.

Our last stop in Ohio, aside from the airport, was a brew pub in Peninsula, OH, call the Winking Lizard. This is a cute little brewery in a cute little town that has solid food, good beer and a great atmosphere. It was really a nice way to put an end to our trip.

We really enjoyed Cuyahoga Valley and the Cleveland area. We were in Ohio for less than 72 hours, and this felt like the appropriate amount of time. If we wanted to spend more time in the National Park, it is possible to rent kayaks or horses, but we couldn’t find any guided tours. Given the amount of time we had, I feel like we really maximized our experience.

The Igoes don’t have anything on tap for May, except perhaps visiting a few friends in Fairhope over Memorial Day. The next big ticket on our docket is a late June cruise with Alyson’s family in Hawaii. Stayed tuned as we look to knock out two more National Parks and my fiftieth state.

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The Dry Tortugas

This year, we decided to use our Mardi Gras break for a slightly more relaxing experience than an RV trip across the Southwest. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like an RV trip is in our cards for 2023, but we will make the best of what is available to us.

After spending the week prior watching parades and Mardi Gras day in the quarter, we jumped on a plane late Tuesday evening and flew to Fort Lauderdale. We picked up our rental car, a sweet minivan that reminded me of my formative driving years, and stayed at a nearby Hilton Garden.

This ended up being a mistake for two reasons. First, this hotel was garbage. I travel a lot for work, and always stay at one of the Hilton brands, and this was by far the worst at which I have stayed. The room was small, with double beds instead of queens, the parking lot was gated, but the gates didn’t work, and the unintelligent set of nincompoops working the front desk refused us a pack ‘n play. Thankfully, it was just one night of sleeping with my wife and Clara in a double bed, but it was a rough night.

Second, we should have driven further south when we arrived. Heading from FLL to the Keys includes passing through both Fort Lauderdale and Miami, and we failed to take into account the morning traffic. If we were doing the same trip again in the future, I would certainly drive an hour or so further south instead of staying so close to the airport.

Now with that behind us, we headed south to make our first stop at Key Largo. We had originally intended to snorkel with a local company, but got a message the night before that due to high seas, they could not take us out. Instead, we booked a glass bottom boat tour aboard the Key Largo Princess.

This was about a two hour out and back tour to a nearby reef, and was actually a lot of fun. I would say the activity is geared more towards younger kids, but the whole family enjoyed it, and we were able to see a lot of interesting things beneath the boat. That said, if you are a diver, this type of excursion is no substitute for actually being under the water.

We ate lunch that day at the Key Largo Fisheries Backyard Cafe. This is a great local fish market with a restaurant attached to the back of it, so all the food is incredibly fresh. It is a bit pricey, as is everything in the Keys, but sitting by the water, eating something that was caught less than 24 hours prior was quite pleasant.

From there, we drove deeper into the Keys to the Islander Resort on Islamorada. Islamorada is the second of the major Keys, and is relatively centrally located, so where we decided to stay. The Islander Resort was great. The room was clean with a great screened-in porch, and the amenities were wonderful. The resort has a great pool and bar, and private beach access, and contracts with a local company to offer all sorts of excursion. One thing to remember about any beachfront resort is that due to the salt and humidity, nothing stays in mint condition for long, but when it comes to our stay, I have no complaints

We spent that afternoon hanging out in the pool, and hopped two blocks over to the Islamorada Brewery for dinner. This was by far my favorite meal of the trip. The brewery itself offers about 15 different beers for all tastes, and the permanent food truck has a great menu. We spent about two hours hanging out, eating, drinking, playing the bar games and listening to a talented local musician who, evidently, specializes in Bob Seger covers.

The next morning, we had to get up quite early to make the almost two hour drive from Islamorada to Key West in order to catch the boat to the Dry Tortugas. Mostly due to its proximity, Dry Tortugas is one of the country’s least visited National Parks, but also one of the most awe-inspiring.

This island sits right along the jet stream, so was frequented by sailors during the time of colonial expansion. It was so named due to the large number of turtles found, as well as a lack of fresh water. In the mid-1800s, the US began construction of Fort Jefferson as part of a vast coastal defense network. The fort was never completed, however, due to advances in sea warfare technology that made it obsolete.

While it is difficult to get to, it is worth the trek. Aside from seaplane, the only way to get to the island park is by taking the Yankee Freedom Ferry out of Key West. This 2+ hour ferry ride provided us with a bagel and a lot of information about Dry Tortugas along the way. The views throughout the journey are pretty majestic, but it is not for the faint of stomach.

For me, the best part of the whole trip was the arrival at Fort Jefferson. The pictures online don’t do it justice. This stone fortress stuck on top of this tropic paradise is pretty breathtaking. The contrast between the red bricks, the green grass and the jewel-tones of the water is something to behold.

Once we reached the Park, we listened to a ranger-led history, and then set off on our own to explore. There are no hand-rails or banisters to keep one from falling over the edge, so care is needed with little ones, but the view from the top level of the Fort is worth it.

After eating the provided Jersey Mike’s sandwiches from the ferry, we grabbed the provided snorkeling gear and set off to the South Beach. The Dry Tortugas offer several unique snorkeling opportunities, with a myriad of fishes and multiple areas where corals have developed.

Alyson and Clara stayed on the beach while Eileen, JR and I optimistically attempted to snorkel around the Fort from the South Beach to the North Beach. This is an extremely labor-intensive task, and we made it, but it was no small feet, and not for those who don’t consider themselves strong swimmers.

As we primarily stayed along the outer moat wall of the Fort, we were never in any real peril, but at one point, Alyson came along the wall and threw a PFD to JR, which made it a lot less nerve racking. If you have the ability, I strongly recommend this snorkel, and recommend taking special care around the breach in the wall, as this area is really impressive.

Beyond snorkeling and touring Fort Jefferson, there isn’t a ton to do at Dry Tortugas. If you are a camper, you can spend the night, and the starscape appears incredible, but for the average NP-goer, this is a one-day experience. We reloaded the ferry and made the 2+ hour trek back to Key West. Thankfully, starting at 1:30 pm, the ferry bar opens, so the trip back was rather pleasant.

We landed back in Key West and searched around for a place to eat. Some strangers at an airport bar in Indianapolis suggested we try Blue Heaven, and since we had not other options, we figured why not?

When we arrived, we were told it would be a 45 minute wait (actually over an hour), so after putting our name on the list, we walked to down to the Southernmost Point of the continental US for the obligatory picture.

We made our way back to Blue Heaven for dinner, and much of the family really enjoyed it. Personally, I thought the menu was too limited and significantly overpriced, but in the Keys, you don’t have many choices. If we were to ever visit Key West again, I would look for another option.

The next morning, Friday, we grabbed breakfast at Midway Cafe. This is one of the musts on Islamorada. When you go, don’t be daunted by the long line; it moves quite briskly, and they offer a menu full of great options.

After breakfast, we went down to Robbie’s, which is sort of a one-stop shop for everything Keys related. It has souvenirs, a restaurant and bar, you can rent kayaks, jet skis, snorkel, pretty much whatever you are looking for. At this exact moment, we didn’t really know what we were looking for, so we payed a few dollars for a bucket of fish and went to feed the tarpons.

Feed the tarpons? What the hell are you talking about? you may ask. Well, allow me to enlighten you. Somehow, Robbie’s has managed to attract a large school of tarpons that feed at the docks. You can dangle a fish over several dozen of them, and they will jump and take the fish directly from your hand. You have to be sure, however, not to feed the pelicans or manatees, as they will become dependent. Why this doesn’t apply to the tarpons is still unclear to me. If you’re looking for a few minutes of excitement, this is a way to go. It is fun and a little heart-pounding all at the same time.

After this bit of excitement, we decided that renting kayaks was the way to go. We headed back to the Islander and let the kids eat and play in the pools, while I booked a guided eco tour with Key Kayak. This group offers several guided kayak tour options throughout the Keys, including one out of Marathon. We had yet done anything off of this Key, so decided it was the way to go.

We rented two kayaks and stuck Clara in between Eileen and I. The trip was great, and going through the mangrove tunnels was one of my favorite parts of our vacation. That said, I always forget how physically demanding is kayaking until I am about two minutes in. It is a lot of fun, but it sure is a lot of work.

That night, we grabbed dinner at a place on the water in Islamorada called Lazy Days. It is a really cool location, and the food is solid, albeit overpriced of course, but it does have the feeling of an old-person’s restaurant. I’m not sure if it was the old school menu books or all the mounted fish on the wall, but something made Alyson and I both think of place that gets busy at around 4:30 pm. Nonetheless, we enjoyed it, and I would gladly eat there again, especially during sunset.

The next morning, on our way back to Fort Lauderdale, we stopped at a Cuban restaurant called Padrino’s. We were looking for a place with authentic south Florida food, and while the Cubano sandwich I got was fine, it was nothing special. I actually think I have gotten a better Cuban in New Orleans, but we had to eat somewhere.

This was a great, albeit short trip, and Dry Tortugas was awesome. I can’t say that I have any desire to visit the Keys again. If someone else wanted to go, I would, but I do not think

we will ever plan a trip to the southernmost point in the continental US again. Next up, we are still trying to decide if we are going somewhere for Easter. Probably, but if not, our next big adventure will be to Hawaii in June. Talk to y’all then…

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Keep Kalahari Weird

Last Thanksgiving, we met my parents in Gatlinburg and had the pleasure of exploring the city and Smokies over the holiday. Generally speaking, we spend Thanksgiving with one side of our family and Christmas with the other. After last year’s trip, we decided to not-so-subtly suggest that instead of spending Thanksgiving sitting in one of our parents’ houses for four days, we spend the time doing something new and fun.

Alyson’s mom/family were agreeable to this, so instead of another late November stay in San Antonio, Alyson’s mom booked a suite at a resort called Kalahari, just northeast of Austin. If you are not familiar with Kalahari, it is very similar to a Great Wolf Lodge. If you are not familiar with a Great Wolf Lodge, it is kind of like a stationary cruise ship.

Kalarahi has multiple restaurants, shops, an arcade, indoor rides and an indoor water park. It also has several outdoor pools and bars, none of which were open at this time of year. The kids were really excited to go, although Alyson and I were a bit more hesitant. It didn’t seem like the type of trip that would offer a whole lot of traditional Thanksgiving options, but we agreed that anything would be better than spending another four days sitting around doing nothing.

Our check-in was early afternoon on Wednesday, so we left New Orleans late on Tuesday night, picked up a rental car (not from Budget) and stayed at a near-by Hampton Inn. Since we got there early, we decided to use the time explore some of the sites in the greater Austin area.

Our first stop was at a waterhole called Hamilton Pool. This natural wonder was created when the dome of an underwater river collapsed thousands of years ago. Reservations are required, and from the parking lot, it is about a quarter of a mile trek down to the pool. During warmer months, people lay out, picnic and swim, but at this time of year, it was a bit too cold. It is also possible to traverse the inner rim of the pool underneath the overhang, but since the deep freeze in Texas in 2020, the area has been somewhat geologically unstable, so has been roped off.

That said, even without being able to swim or explore the entire area, I still highly recommend this impressive site. There are a lot of natural watering holes in Texas, but this one is pretty unique, quite secluded and absolutely beautiful. If you have the time, it is a can’t miss.

Afterwards, we also tried to visit Jacob’s Well, a similar natural feature not too far away, but much to our chagrin, it was closed for the entire duration of our visit, due to the holiday. It is not clear to me how a watering hole celebrates Thanksgiving, but for whatever reason, we were unable to visit.

We met Alyson’s mom in the early afternoon at the Salt Lick. If you’ve ever been to this barbecue heaven, no more need be said, but since this a blog, I will elaborate. Aside from the live music, the rustic atmosphere and the great service, the BBQ at the Salt Lick is legendary. This is a must-visit spot for anyone from Texas, anyone visiting Texas or anyone who has ever heard of Texas. The food is great, affordable, and extraordinarily representative of the barbecue culture in Texas.

At this point, we had killed enough time that we could check into our hotel, so we made our way to the resort in Round Rock. Giving credit where credit is due, check-in and unloading were extremely easy, and we found no need to valet park for, at this time of year at least, there were plenty of available, nearby self-park spots.

Every member of the party received wrist bands, which were used to activate a lot of the rides, and could be used to charge just about anything to our room. In a lot of ways, this was super convenient, but conversely, it required all of us to wear a plastic wrist band for four days.

Added to our package was what Kalahari calls Tom Foolery. The Tom Foolery area is a set of indoor activities that includes a roller coast, ropes coarse, miniature golf, a mirror maze and multiple climbing walls. It was worth adding this for about $30/person for the whole trip, as the rest of the arcade games are not included in the standard package. That evening, we ate at the internal pizza restaurant, which was perfectly acceptable, and the kids sampled all of the rides and games.

The one negative we experienced in the Tom Foolery area is that Clara, at only two, was too young to ride any of the included rides. Having taken her to several amusement parks before, there was no clear reason for this, as none of the kiddie rides would have posed her any kind of threat. Having to regularly steer her away from these areas was a pain and kind of pointless.

We woke the next morning, Thanksgiving, and headed for the water park, which is included in everyone’s package. The water park was pretty great with over a dozen slides for the big kids, a pretty impressive tree house/splash pad area for younger kids and two toddler areas for Clara. It also has its own restaurant, bar and a surfing simulator.

We spent about three hours in this area, mostly with the kids riding on their own and Alyson and I corralling Clara. She wore herself out around noon, and since we had ‘Thanksgiving dinner’ schedule for 2 pm, it felt like the right time to put her to bed.

Once Clara was down for her nap, I took JR and Eileen back down to the arcade and bought them game cards. The arcade is pretty similar to a Dave & Busters, and has multiple games that award the kids points which they can use to buy crap in the gift store. The kids loved this part, and it is a lot of fun, but $140 worth of gaming cards doesn’t last very long.

Our Thanksgiving meal was served buffet-style in one of the convention rooms. I understand that hearing this might make some of you cringe, but it was actually pretty decent. The spread was quite vast, so while some of the food was less impressive than others, a bit of searching delivered several great options.

The turkey and potatoes were great, and the kids loved the mac ‘n cheese. I found the stuffing to be a bit lacking, which is disappointing since you really only eat it once a year, but in general, this was a meal that I enjoyed.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the hotel suite, watching football and letting the kids mellow out. Once the Cowboys had won, and Clara had been put to bed, I took the older two back to the water park, which at this time of night, was much less crowded.

It gave Eileen and I the opportunity to ride some of the bigger, multi-person slides without having to wait half-an-hour, and they both got the chance to try the surfing simulator.

The next day, we did pretty much the same thing, minus the Thanksgiving smorgasbord, and herein lies my biggest issue with Kalahari. In the morning, we went to the water park, then got lunch at one of the resort’s restaurants. The kids went back to the arcade while Clara slept (spending another 100 bucks), and we all ate together at a different burger place. We took the kids back to the water park, and that was about it.

In terms of pure enjoyment, the kids were ecstatic on day one but by the end of day two, it had all become a bit monotonous. Water slides are fun, but once you’ve done each one five or six times, the novelty wears off. Same goes for the indoor rides and games, to the point that we actually ended up giving most of this kids’ earned points away.

The experience was great, and we all had a lot of fun, but I think one night, two tops is really the sweet spot. Beyond that, it felt like we started to run out of ways to spend our time..

With that in mind, we did try to add a few things in on the Saturday morning before we left. The resort has two escape rooms and a bowling alley. We hadn’t really thought about the escape rooms until the night before, and by the time we did, they were already booked up, but were able to get in two rounds of 10 pin before we left for the airport. Perhaps had we planned better, we might have more successfully optimized our time, but I am still convinced that one less day would have been better.

One our way to the airport, we stopped at an wonderful restaurant that offers all three sittings each day, called Walton’s Fancy & Staple. This gem on 6th street had something for everyone, and was just what we needed before flying home. We learned later that it is actually owned by Oscar winner and occasional New Orleanian, Sandra Bullock.

Our Thanksgiving trip was a lot of fun, and while as with every trip, it was not perfect, it was a lot better than sitting in a house doing very little for 72 hours. Christmas is a bit different, as a location is needed for Santa, presents, church, etc., but I feel like as a family, we are at the point where we want to maximize the value of our limited time off.

Next up, we are heading to St. Louis to meet my family for Christmas, and I doubt we will post on it. Following that, we’ve got a Mardi Gras trip in the works for the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas, so we’ve got a lot coming up for which to look forward.

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In the Land of a Thousand Saguaro’s

This year, for fall break, we had initially planned to visit Boston. The last few years, we have enjoyed touring some of the great cities of the U.S., Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, and had intended to continue that tradition.

However, since the kids’ break fell after the end of baseball season, we decided to hold off on Boston for now and revisit the idea when we can see a game at Fenway. Instead, we found a place where we could easily fly and visit a National Park. The winner was Phoenix, which is about an hour north of Tucson, which is smack dab in the middle of Saguaro National Park.

To begin with, it is pronounced ‘sa-war-oh’ which I feel a little stupid saying, and is named for a pretty spectacular cactus that kind of reminds me a live oak with needles. This symbol of the American west is only found is small areas of the country and can be seen en masse in this unique National Park.

We flew out after school on Friday evening and landed in Phoenix, where we picked up a car from Budget. Total side note, if you have the opportunity to rent from Budget, I suggest that you might just be better off walking, no matter how far you have to go. No matter what the circumstances, it always takes at least 45 minutes to get your car from Budget, which is even more frustrating if you have ever rented from Hertz, National or Enterprise. I digress, but let me just close the book on this by saying that Budget sucks.

We drove about 15 minutes south and spent that night in a Hampton Inn in Chandler, AZ. I have stayed in many Hampton Inns before, and this one was underwhelming, but I can say that it was a better experience than I had with Budget.

That Friday day and night was basically a travel day, so we got up early, stopped at McDonald’s and headed south. We made a quick stop at the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. It is believed that this complex was a meeting place for the Sonoran people, but the actual purpose of the large house is relatively unknown. It was a cool stop and another place to get the passport books stamped.

We probably stayed less than an hour, then made our way onto the main attraction. An interesting aspect of Saguaro is that it is split in two, with Tucson directly in the middle. The two halves are both pretty cool but are both quite distinct.

After getting our books stamped, we took the Bajada Loop drive, which is about an 8 mile excursion with multiple interesting places to stop. Our first stop was the Valley View Overlook, which takes you out into the desert to a great view of thousands of Saguaro cacti. It is less than a mile in-and-out and is a great introduction to the park.

Our next stop was at the Signal Hill petroglyphs, where indigenous artwork from hundreds of years prior can be experienced up close. I strongly recommend this drive and both of these stops. It is a great way to dive into Saguaro, and great way to experience the identity of the western half of the park.

Saguaro’s is interesting in that the east and western sides are actually quite different. Whilst both prominently feature the saguaro, the western half is far more of a flat desert, whereas the eastern side has vast changes in elevation, and is far more mountainous. If you are ambitious, both sides can probably be seen in one day, but we decided to break it up into a Saturday and Sunday.

For the rest of that Saturday, we tried to find something a bit less rugged for the kids to do, so we drove south for about an hour and a half to the frontier town of Tombstone. If you’ve never seen the movie, you should; it’s awesome. And honestly, the town did not disappoint.

We had not real plans going in, but ended up eating at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. Kate was Doc Holiday’s girlfriend, and her saloon is built on top of an actual bar that Doc and the Earp brothers frequented. It is certainly kitschy, but the food was good and the atmosphere is unique. The kids really enjoyed it, and the sell big ass beers, so that’s something.

After lunch, we took the kids over to Outlaw Ziplines, which only offers one zip, but there are several targets along the way that you can shoot with a laser gun. It is not a classic outdoor, awe-inspiring ride, but shooting the ‘bandits’ is a lot of fun, and it would be harder to find people working anywhere that are nicer than the staff.

Afterwards, on our way out of town, we swung through the Boothill Graveyard to check out the tombstones of the Clanton’s and McLaury’s, men killed during that shootout at the OK Corral. I really enjoyed our short stint in this old timey town. We only spent a few hours, but you could easily make a multi-day experience of it. There are several cool restaurants, tourist experiences and museums, and if I had the chance, I would definitely go back.

Our lunch in Tombstone was a late one, so we checked into the hotel and hung out there for the night. The place that we stayed, the Hotel McCoy, was a really interesting place. We discovered a website called Hip Lodge that helps travelers find old roadside motels that have been refurbished and converted into modern lodging. Hotel McCoy is really cool. It’s got a great atmosphere, a great pool and a cool lobby and bar. Staying at a place like this really helps to make the trip more fun than staying in a typical Holiday or Hampton Inn.

The next morning we woke and drove around the perimeter of the east side of the park to a trailhead of the Douglas Spring Trail. This trail is over 16 miles one way, but there is an interesting stopping point about 3 miles in called Bridal Wreath Falls.

Without telling the kids the length, we set off on this trek that is relatively strenuous and has a serious elevation change. It is a beautiful hike and extremely worthwhile. That said, at this time of year, the waterfall was little more than a trickle, and the pool at the bottom was nonexistent. This was a great way to spend the morning, and knocking out a 6 mile hike feels quite satisfying, but it would have been better if the fall had been flowing.

Afterwards, we gave the kids a break and went to eat at El Guero Canelo. This is a local chain, but it is very unique, and the food is great. On the ‘must-try’ list for Tucson is the Sonoran hotdog. This is a hotdog, wrapped in bacon, covered with a whole bunch of crazy crap, and it is delicious. We all got one to varying degrees, and we were all quite pleased.

We spent that early afternoon in the hotel pool, relaxing until about 4:30 pm, when we made our way back to the eastern part of Saguaro. We stopped at the Rincon Mountain Visitors Center (which is nothing special) and made our way onto the Cactus Forest Drive, which takes tourists through the mountainous half of the park.

We planned it so that we would arrive at a specific stop, the Javelina Rocks Overlook, in time for the sunset. This stop has some really large boulders that are perfect for climbing, and we got there in plenty of time to see the sun drop over the horizon. It was a little cloudy, so the view wasn’t quite as inspiring as the sunset we watched in White Sands, but it was still pretty breathe taking.

That night, we ate at an authentic Mexican cafe called El Charro. The place was slammed, especially for a Sunday night, but the food was good, and the atmosphere was great. It was a nice way to cap off what felt like a perfect vacation day.

The following morning, we checked out and went to get breakfast tacos at a local hole called Maicos. The food was really high quality, and again, the people who served us were as fantastic. Since our flight did not leave until the late afternoon, we made a slight detour to another National Park site.

The Tonto National Monument protects two cliff dwellings dating back hundreds of years. The higher dwelling requires advanced reservations and is about a four hour round trip. The lower dwelling can be toured at anytime, and is only about a steep, half-mile walk. My wife and I love these dwellings. They are so unique and fun to tour, but almost more fun to look at from a distance. Tonto is great place to visit, and another great place to get your passport book stamped.

We made our way back to Phoenix, drove the rental car into a ditch and got on plane home. Saguaro is a really unique park with lots to see. It does not require multiple days and frankly, is unlikely to blow your mind, but it is worth seeing and good way to spend your time in southern Arizona.