Diva of Dare - Day 7

Once again, please read this as if it was written last Friday.

This morning started very early for us. You would have thought we all would have been rested after our lazy day yesterday. Apparently that wasn't the case for everyone.

Our destination today was Busch Gardens.

As soon as we arrived we laid the law down for the kids. Don't worry, we eventually let them out to enjoy some ride time of their own.

What is a visit to Busch Gardens without a meet and greet with a Clydesdale?

Something tells me this little group is ready to enjoy the rides.

We did in fact enjoy the rides. There are 5 big roller coasters at the park along with the other typical amusements. Tony, Sis, and I rode all of the coasters except the Loch Ness Monster twice. Nessy was actually our first coaster of the day and quite frankly the mildest. She just didn't sound all that thrilling to wait in line for again at the end of the day.

We had lunch in the German area of the park. They were celebrating Oktoberfest a bit early. I enjoyed watching the show while we ate. I had a delicious lunch consisting of 3 different sausages (a brat, kielbasa, and something else), sauerkraut, red cabbage, warm German potato salad, and side dish of slight heartburn the rest of the day. This would have been a prime time for me to sample a nice cold draft fresh from the brewery next door. Alas, it was too hot and I had too much heartburn to consider it at that time. In fact, I didn't even sample at all while we were there.

Today Sis and I were the Divas of Dare. We enjoyed the coasters and even managed to coax Bug onto one. He didn't like this one though because the hill was too steep for his liking. Now he has decided that we forced him on it. Funny, I seem to remember more bargaining than forcing. I did promise him that I would ride anything of his choosing with him if he rode with us. My bad. I really thought he would enjoy it as much as the coasters earlier in the week.

My favorite coaster of the day was the Griffin. It is made up of three tiered rows of nine seats each. Every row is like sitting in the front row. The car stops 250 feet up in the air and pauses for almost 30 seconds before plunging 205 feet down catapulting it into two loops. I couldn't look down, of course, with my fear of heights, but my second time on I was able to look out to my left and see the beautiful bay a mile away teaming with sailboats and fishing vessels.

Two wolves in the Jack Hanna nature preserve. This was a beautiful area of Busch Gardens.

It was right after this photo that I realized my camera was acting up again. I sure hope it straightens out again before the beach tomorrow.

Day 6 - Ho Humm

Read this as if it was written last Thursday.

The plan was to hit the beach today. That plan didn't follow through too well. We awoke this morning to heavy low rain clouds hovering like a bad omen. Thunderstorms were forecast for the entire afternoon.

It was at this point that our plan adapted to the weather.

There didn't seem to be much point in fighting traffic just to be rained out and forced home again. So instead Cousin Tony, Uncle Russ, Sis, & I decided to have a little shopping spree. We needed to hit the grocery store anyway.

Sis and I had been talking for quite awhile about how neither of us had workable bikes. We decided that the beautiful Virginia trails were prime inspiration for bike shopping. We selected these two beauties.

Debra's proud purchase only in red.
my purple peddler.

I treated everyone to my favorite to cook, lime chicken & fettuccine, with side salad and homemade garlic bread. It was hard to find room for the Snicker salad that Sis and Ashley made for desert.

It was getting a little too dark after dinner to hit the wooded trails. Tony and I still wanted to feel the wind in our hair though, so we took off on a short ride racing through the neighborhood. I should have thought ahead and changed my shoes as I was losing a flip flop every two or three blocks. I was giggling too hard to catch my breath about my wayward footwear when we finally pulled back into the drive.

The downside of today is that I seem to be having an issue with the new camera I bought in Oskaloosa last weekend. It seems to be getting stuck in video mode when I want to take pictures and occasionally remaining on when I have turned it off. I really hope I don't have to try to return it out here.

A little behind

I fell behind on the vacation blogs. I have all of the photos loaded on my computer now, so hopefully tomorrow night I can continue describing our trip.

We arrived home at 3:15 this morning. It was a 21 1/2 hour drive, and I stubbornly drove it all yesterday. Needless to say, I'm in need of a little rest before I return to work tomorrow.

Dominating the Dominion - Day 5

Day 5 already? Wow. Time is really flying. Today we ventured up to King's Dominion in Doswell. King's Dominion is an amusement park with a ton of roller coasters. I didn't get very many pictures today since I decided to leave my camera in the van. I did manage to get a few shots with my phone when I remembered to though.

This is the Volcano. It is a suspended roller coaster that shoots you out the top of the volcano.

This is the Anaconda. It kind of reminded me of a longer version of the Dragon at Adventureland.


Our large group split up for most of the day with the younger ones accompanied by Uncle Russ. That left me, Sis, and Dear Cousin Tony free to pursue our quest to ride every ride that was labeled a level 5 thrill ride. Sis dubbed us the Ride Warriors for the day.

We started with the Dominator, a 4210 ft floor less coaster. I thought at first that it would easily be my favorite coaster of the day. Next we tried the Anaconda (see above). The Anaconda was the first looping coaster to feature an underwater tunnel. From there we sampled the Volcano, which is one of the fastest suspended coasters in the world, moving at speeds upwards of 60 mph. I really enjoyed that one but not the long wait.


We met the rest of the gang on the White Water Canyon, a Raging River type ride. Nobody escaped less than drenched.


We took a short break from the coasters to try the Crypt and the Avalanche. The Crypt is pretty much the twin of the Splash Over in Adventureland, flipping you forward then back while suspended by water. The Avalanche is one of a kind. It resembles a bobsled run and doesn't seem to actually have a track. The sleds move pretty quickly with just gravity to gain speed.

After a lunch break with the rest of the gang we tried out the Shockwave (a stand-up coaster), the Backlot Stunt Coaster (complete with tunnels and explosions), Flight of Fear (explained in greater detail below), and 3 wooden coasters (Rebel Yell, Grizzley, and the Hurler).

Today I discovered my new favorite coaster the Flight of Fear. The entire roller coaster is inside a very dark building. One has no clue if they are upside down, sideways, or right side up. They state that the ride only gets up to 60 mph. Maybe it was just the pitch black of the building playing tricks on me but it sure seemed at some points to reach closer to 90 mph.

Sis & I, hot, sweaty, & windblown

An old car sitting outside the 50's dinner.

I am sure there are other rides that seated our behinds today, but I am so tired right now that I can't think of any.

I was also very impressed with Bug today. He rode the Backlot Stunt coaster with us and enjoyed it so much that he wanted to do it again.

Tomorrow a little rest & relaxation on the shores of Virginia Beach

Adventure Day 4 - USS Wisconsin

We consider today as our first official day of vacation. Today we played tourists. I slept in a little bit later than everyone else this morning. I came down the stairs, still in my sweats & sleep in my eyes, to a cheerful greeting from my cousin Ben. I haven't seen Ben since he was very young. He was probably somewhere around the age of 5 or 6 the last time I saw him, if I remember right.

After I had a quick shower the 8 of us (me, Bug, Sis, Dear Cousin Tony, Ashley, Jayson, Uncle Russ, and Ben) headed for breakfast at Ihop. Corny Sis was happy to proclaim that she hopped in Ihop after jumping around on one leg. With full stomachs we headed to see the USS Wisconsin and museum.

Sis and Bug listening to audios about naval uniforms.

USS Wisconsin

The size of these chains amazed me

The turrets

Some sort of ceremony at the next pier

The shells that are shot from the turrets

Ashley, Jayson, & Bug investigating the ship

A Blue Angel display on the way out

I enjoyed the beauty of this fountain and sculpture. Do you think it would fit in my backyard?

I took a photo of this mural for the enjoyment of my artistic friends out there.


We had a very nice day. I learned that the Wisconsin is an Iowa class battleship. Which means that it is one of four battleships that were built with the same specifications, with the USS Iowa built first. Thus all four ships are considered Iowa Class.

Looking over the ship's deck we were able to watch several jellyfish and a few sting rays swim around. I tried to take pictures, but the water was too dark and we were too far away.

This Iowa girl did learn one important lesson today, shorts are a must out here for me. I made the mistake of wearing jeans today. The temperature was only 89 but the humidity about killed me being fully dressed. Tomorrow is definitely a shorts and tank top day for me!

Tonight the kids are stretched out across the living room watching a movie. We plan to rise early and head to King's Dominion for a fun day of riding roller coasters.

Sis became rather bored on the second leg of our journey. So I had her take a few snapshots of the scenery.

We left the hotel in Kentucky around 10:00 (our time) this morning. It was nice to see the forests in the daylight.

About an hour later we entered West Virginia. I, at first, marveled at how beautiful the state was. I still think it's a beautiful state. For the record though, this little Iowa town girl is not a big fan of racing 70 mph down curvy mountain interstates. Nope, give me flat ole Iowa farmland and I'm a happy camper. (yes, Jay, you are right, Iowa is still my top pick).

I was very happy when we entered Virginia and the terrain became slightly flatter again.

For the most part our travels today were uneventful. Bug & Sis slept most of the day while I flipped from one radio station to the next. I did get stuck, and I mean stuck, in rush hour traffic in Richmond. Wow, I thought Des Moines was slow and aggravating during rush hour, but I actually sat in the same spot on the interstate for almost 10 minutes!

We met up with my cousin, his kids, and my uncle around 6 p.m. (once again our time). We joined them for supper at the Golden Corral. Sis was a little bit intimidated by the number of people dining. I was impressed by the number of food choices compared to our locally owned version.

Now the kids are bunked up in the bedrooms with their cousins and I'm ready to call it a night. Tomorrow we head to Norfolk to check out the naval ships and a battleship museum. I am very ready to be impressed as Dear Cousin says I will be. And I am also excited to see the ocean for the very first time in my life.

From the road - our adventure days 1 & 2

I'm going to take a break from the "dream adventures" and bring you little snippets of our current "real" adventure.

Friday afternoon we locked up the house, dropped the dog off at a friend's, gave the house key to another friend to tend to the cats, and took off for Southern Iowa. It was time for Sis's annual show of hard work. It was time for the All Star state softball tournament.

I can't say that the games went quite as expected. Boone lost both games, the first to Monroe County (12-1), the second to Grandview (12-6). What I can say is that the girls played very well and I am very proud of the whole team. I can only remember 2 errors by our girls all day and only one that contributed to a run. Sis played great! She hit every time she was up to bat, earning several rbi's and one run. In a change of pace she played catcher for this team. She caught for both games with only a one hour break in between.

Needless to say, she is quite still today and nursing welts from the straps on the back of both knees. She is also sporting a colorful bruise on her thigh from stopping a wild low pitch that was supposed to be a high ball. She, of course, is quite proud to show it off.

Sis had one amazing play where she dropped to her knees to catch a ball (thrown by the 2nd baseman) between 3rd and home, reaching up to tag the runner as she tried to steal.

This is a picture of Bug occupying himself during the games

This morning we left the hotel and headed out on the rest of our adventure. We are headed to Virginia to visit my Dear Cousin. i write to you tonight from the Daniel Boone National Forrest in Kentucky. I can't wait to see our surroundings in the morning light! Such a beautiful state so far!

For the monsters under my bed - Adventure #1

"Do it for the living and do it for the dead, do it for the monsters under your bed"

That line is from Loose Lips, one of my favorite songs from Kimya Dawson. For some reason whenever I think about this particular adventure on my dream list this line pops into my head.

Heights are the monster under my bed. Which is probably why so many of you are going to find my first listed adventure unbelievable. I do want to try it though!

Just once.

With a guide.

And those security cables.

And maybe a parachute just in case.

And maybe one of my left over Xanax for good measure.

Yes, I want to try rock climbing. I want to confront that monster under my bed and I want the feeling of accomplishment. I want to push my limits. This is will probably be the most personally challenging adventure on my list.

I've been sitting here trying to imagine how I would feel clinging to a wall of rock searching for my next purchase. Trying hard to look only up, not down. Knowing that one false move will leave me dangling in the air by a (hopefully) secured cable.

I'm going to be terrified. I will probably have tears streaming down my face. That isn't going to stop me though. Someday I will have the opportunity and I will take/face it.

Relaxation

(The geese that Uncle has been feeding)

I meant to start on my Adventure blogs over the holiday weekend. I had everything (or so I thought)packed up in my truck for a weekend get-a-way to Auntie's. Darn, if I didn't leave my laptop and phone charger laying on my bed when I left.

I drove for three hours up to the lake before I remembered them.

Oh well.

Sometimes we just need to unwind, unplug, and relax a little.

(Auntie's from scratch margaritas... wow!)

I survived the weekend without. I sat back, read a book, and enjoyed great company. I took the opportunity to relax and look at some issues that had been weighing on my mind from a distance.

My own little Independence, if you will.

I enjoyed margaritas on the deck, Auntie's homemade quacomole dip, watching Uncle feed the geese, and the neighbor's fireworks display off the docks.

I think everyone needs their own little private refuge just like Auntie's house is for me.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe weekend. I promise to blog about the dream adventures or my current home improvement projects soon!

A New Adventure

It's almost Independence Day! I am so looking forward to a fun weekend kicking it back at the lake with my Aunt, sans kids! We are toying with the possibility of catching a concert before the fireworks Saturday night. It would be the highlight of my get away if we did as I think the opening singer, Bonne Finken, is phenomenal. And, well, you can't really go wrong with the Nadas either, can you?

I am hoping that this little get away will help me clear my head. I've been mulling over some pretty heavy thoughts lately. specifically, what do I want to do with my life before I lose my youth? You see, I've always been one of those people that accepts what life hands me. Although I was quite a risk taker in school, I have kept my adventures pretty low key since having my children. Life hands you kids and you are bound to be responsible and set good examples. And I have enjoyed that responsibility very much.

Recently I started following the blog of Roz Savage. She is an amazing British woman that is rowing solo across the Pacific. A very inspiring woman, if you ask me. Don't worry, I realize I'm not in a position where I can give up everything to trek across the world. I'm not really sure I would have the guts or ambition to either. Since I started following Roz's blog I've also had many discussions with several friends that are going through life limiting issues. One friend has a herniated disc in his back, another had surgery that will probably result with her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life, and yet another friend has been dealing with MS for many years now (and she has an amazing attitude about it). Combine all those factors with the realization that my mother more than likely had cancer at my age (she passed shortly after turning 40).

All these factors together cause this little voice inside me to start screaming... I'm not done living yet!! Heck, I've hardly begun!!

As a result, I've started compiling a little list of the top ten adventures that I dream about. My bucket list, of sorts, if you will. I thought over the next few weeks I might share some, or even all, of my list with you. As long as you don't hold me to accomplishing all of them or you help inspire me to achieve some of them if you can.

And I'm curious... what are the adventures you dream about the most?