Rock Hiking?

Do you like to hike?  Do you like to go rock climbing?  Looking for a pretty good outdoor workout?  If yes, great!  Maybe you'd want to to try rock hiking!

This is what I've named our little "hiking" excursion we took the morning after we arrived at our sister's house (Sunday).  It wasn't really hiking, but it wasn't really rock climbing either.  It consisted of mostly giant steps, jumps, balance tests, and "strategizing."  (i.e. Well, we've made it to the top, now how are we going to get back down?)  

Sound like fun to you?  It was!  

The "mountain" we conquered! (It looks bigger in real life! ;)  )

Here's a quick recap for the rest of the last couple days:


Yesterday, we started our day with a nice, brisk walk around the reservoir, where we saw a mama duck and her ducklings riding the waves!

Poor little guys...

Which happened to remind me of this little video:

At least they were all okay! :)


Today, we decided to walk the path at a golf course close by, which apparently came with many hazards to watch out for:

What's a Mississippi kite?

It's a bird...Emily said she saw someone get attacked by one of them, so we took the sign seriously...


After our walk we went to the pool and spent the afternoon poolside. What a beautiful summer day!


Off to start my contribution to dinner! ;) Have a great evening!

Southwest Travel Adventure

As my lovely Nonna would say, "Oooooklahoma where the sun comes shining through the clouds la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la PLAIN!"  We have arrived!

My sister Emily and her husband live in Oklahoma, and we (my other sister and I) decided to visit her.  

However, we live about a 20-hour drive away in good ol' central Ohio, and we were having trouble deciding what the most cost-effective way of getting to Oklahoma would be. Flying all the way became less of an option as we saw the prices of a simple one-way ticket, and we weren't sure if we wanted to drive ourselves all the way. (i.e. Would we make it without hurting each other?...just kidding!) 

So what did we come up with? We decided to make it a bit of an adventure. 

Our Route

It was still a lot of driving time, but we ended up taking the Megabus (a first for both of us) to Chicago, where we had to catch a different bus (still Megabus), that took us to St. Louis. From there, we took a train to the airport and flew into Oklahoma City, where Emily and her husband picked us up and drove us the couple hours to the town in the middle of nowhere in which they live.

After 24 hours of travel, we finally arrived at our destination! Hmm, bus, train, plane. I would have to say that's an expert utilization of public transportation! ;)

On the top level of the double decker Megabus

We had several hours to kill in Chicago, so we decided to put our bags in lockers at Union Station and walk to the lake to eat breakfast. We stopped in Millenium Park and saw a group of people doing tai chi. There was even a woman on a stage with a mic leading them. 

After our tai chi excursion, we walked along the lake to the Field Museum. We had heard that it was free on the weekends, so we decided to see if it still was. It didn't open until 9, so we had about an hour to find something to do. 

And what did we do? We played BananaGrams, of course! (Warning: If you like Scrabble, you may become VERY addicted to this game.)

BananaGrams!

When the museum opened, we waited in line for several minutes before indecision kicked in. The aquarium was just next door! Unfortunately, when we walked over, we saw a pretty long line already. 

Looking at the time, we realized we probably wouldn't have time to wait in line and explore the aquarium, so we walked back to Union Station and had just enough time for lunch (which consisted of some yummy Chinese for me) before we had to hop on the bus again.

We didn't have as much time in St. Louis so we just went straight to the airport. It wasn't a long flight and we were in Oklahoma City in no time! Travel to Oklahoma = Successful!

I'm really curious to see how popular the Megabus is. I had never heard of it until my sister suggested we take it. Have you ever ridden it? How many modes of transportation have you taken in one day/what's your craziest travel adventure?