Tag: explore

Oxnard road road trip August 2025

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! I’m excited to share another post about my summer adventures with you. In early August I went on a road trip to Oxnard to go to the Dallas Cowboys training camp. I also went on other adventures during my road trip so with all that being said let’s get to it.

August 3rd 2025 – This was the day that our road trip started . We made a stop in Solvang on the way to our hotel. We ate here and did a little bit of shopping. It is super cute town and I would love to go back sometime to explore it more.

August 4th 2025 – On this day we to the Ronald Reagan presidential library. It is on my bucket list to visit every presidential library and this was the 2nd one that I got to visit. While we were there was an exhibit on the dead see scrolls and it was truly amazing . I got to see some of the scrolls including part of the book of Psalms. After seeing the exhibit on the dead sea scrolls. We went to see the presidential library. I had so much fun looking around the library. My favorite part was getting to explore the airplane . I also enjoyed taking pictures here. There were so many great displays I recommend going here if you ever the chance. This was not our only adventure on the day we also did some exploring in Ventura , went shopping at Hobby Lobby and went to the beach. That night I went swimming in the hotel pool it was the perfect way to end this day of vacation.

August 5th – This was the day that we went to the Dallas Cowboys training camp. my mom and I were in a VIP area where we got a good view of the practice . I liked shopping at the store they have there. I got a set of stickers and a pin. There were snacks and drinks in the VIP area so that was really nice. There was even sugar free soda. I enjoyed watching practice and I’m glad I got to got this year.

August 6th – On this day we drove back home. I was sad that my vacation was over but I was happy to see my cat.

Thank you for reading about this road trip adventure.

Love, Christina Epperly

July 2025 road trip adventure part 4

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! It is time for the last post about my Northern California road trip. This road trip was a lot of fun and I’ve enjoyed writing about it. In this post I will write about visiting the Trees of mystery and camping and more. Now Let’s get to it!

July 17th – This was the last full day of our trip before driving home the next day. Our day started off with a boat tour. During the boat tour we got to see a lot of birds. I enjoyed this fun adventure and I’m we did this activity. Our next activity was the Trees of Mystery and it was one of my favorite activities that we did on our road trip. There is a lot to see at the Trees of Mystery including fun statues. I really liked the large squirrel statue. There were also some bouncy bridges that I got to walk across. There were so many fun sculptures and displays to see here. I also loved the Bear sculpture! Also there is really nice gift shop here where I got some fun souvenirs. This such a fun place to explore I highly recommend visiting The Trees of Mystery . After going to the Trees of Mystery we got lunch and then we went on another hike and saw more beautiful views of the ocean. After our walk we went to a Walmart. since we were staying in a camping trailer that night we needed to get some food to have for dinner that night. While at Walmart I got some stickers and some animal shaped erasers. That night we took a walk around the campground. I had not gone camping in a long time so it was nice to spend a night at a campground. It was a good place to spend our last night of vacation.

July 18th – This was the day that we drove back home. We woke up, packed up, and got on the road. We went on one more walk in the Redwoods before we stopped in Ferndale for coffee and a visit to the general store where I got a post card and a magnet that is shaped like a cow. Ferndale is a very cute town and I hope that I get to go back there someday when I have more time to explore. After that we made the long drive back home. It was a wonderful summer road trip and I’m so glad to that got to see some amazing places in Northern California.

Thanks for reading !

Love, Christina Epperly

My Death Valley adventure

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I recently returned from a wonderful vacation to Death Valley National Park. It was my first time going there, and I highly recommend going if you get the chance.

Death Valley Day one – My mom and I started our vacation with an eight hour drive. On the way there, we stopped in this small town called Trona. They had a really good gas station store with good prices. That is where I got my first souvenirs of this vacation. When we arrived in the park, we made a stop at the sand dunes. The dunes were like being in an endless sandbox with hills. It was an interesting place to explore. After exploring the sand dunes, we went to the visitor center. The visitor center is on the smaller size, but it has a good selection of items for sale as well as some informative displays. After the sand dunes and the visitor center we got to our hotel. We stayed at the ranch in Death Valley. I loved staying there. They have a lot of things to do at the ranch. They have a cute general store, a huge pool , and an outdoor museum, just to name a few. The first night that we were there, I walked to the general store, and I got some postcards. It was a great first day of vacation.

Death Valley day two – Our first adventure of day two was going to Golden Canyon. This is a very beautiful hike, and the canyon is something I think everyone should see if they get the chance. This place is similar to what someone may picture a different planet would look like. This is a great spot for pictures. After that, we went to a spot known as artists Palette. This is also a great place to take pictures. The view here is beautiful. Another place we went to on this day was Harmony Borax works. We learned a lot about the borax industry here, but my favorite part was walking on the crunchy salt. Our last big adventure of this day was going to see Ubehebe crater. It was so windy it was hard to stand up straight, but the crater was truly amazing to see. We didn’t stay long due to the wind but I’m glad we went to see it.

Death Valley day three – Our first adventure of this day was going to visit Bad Water basin. Bad Water Basin is known for having the lowest elevation in North America. The basin has changed due storms, and there is now a lake that is not usually there. This is an interesting place to visit, especially right now, and I’m glad I got to see it. On this day we also went on a tour where we went to see some places that our car could not drive to. One of the things that I saw on the tour that stood out to me was a big tear shaped hole in a rock formation. I got some good pictures of that. After the tour, we explored the outdoor museum at our hotel. I also got ice cream at the ice cream shop at our hotel, and it was amazing. This was the first night that we went swimming in the large pool at the hotel. It was another great day of vacation.

Death Valley day four – This was our last full day of vacation before we went back home. We went to another viewpoint and of course it was beautiful. Another person that was at the same spot took some pictures of my mom and I, and they look great! After that we went to the visitor center again. I got a pressed penny and a bookmark. We had lunch at our hotel and it was really good. later that day we went out again but this time I brought a friend with me my Squishmallow raven named Ronald. Ronald has his own instagram page. ( ronaldtheraven ) I took Ronald with us so that he could get some pictures for his instagram page. We went to some of the places that we had already visited, and Ronald loved taking pictures, and of course, the pictures turned out great. That night we went swimming again. It was the perfect way to wrap up our vacation.

Thanks for reading about this adventure! Love – Christina Epperly

Road trip adventure fall 2023

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends. I recently got back from a little road trip! It was good to get away for a little while, and I can’t wait to give you the highlights, so let’s get to it.

September 29th – This was the day the road trip started. After work, my mom and I headed to the first hotel of our trip. On the way, we stopped at a good will that I had never been to before. There were not many books there, but all the books were only 0.25 each, so I got a few of them. I also got a plush Coca-Cola penguin. After that we went to eat before driving the rest of the way to our hotel for the night.

September 30th – On this day, we had a lot planned. We started with coffee, and after we packed up and loaded up the car, we were on the way to our first big adventure of the trip, Columbia State historic park. There was a lot to see and to here here. We went on a stage coach ride, went to a candy store, shopped for souvenirs, explored a museum, and more! I also got to make a pressed penny here. Our next stop was Rail Town 1897 state historic park. This is a very interesting place that I recommend checking out if you get the chance to. I enjoyed going to a train ride here. We also went on a walking tour here as well. After our train ride, we went on a hike. Our hike led us to a really beautiful cave. I love the pictures that I took in there. After all that adventure, we checked in to our hotel at the Black Oak casino. We ate at a restaurant that was in the casino. After dinner, we went and played in the arcade. There was this really cool piano game that I enjoyed playing. I got some prizes after playing in the arcade. We did one last thing before getting some sleep. we went and enjoyed the hot tub.

October 1st – This day started off with a trip to Starbucks. Then we went on our first adventure of the day,a tour of the Moaning caverns. I had explored other caverns before, and I enjoyed them. This one was no different it was truly amazing. I loved looking at the caverns. After our tour I bought some souvenirs and then we went to go get some lunch. Before going to lunch, we stopped at an antique store, and I got a TY Beanie Baby cat. Then it was on to lunch. After we ate we wanted to go on one more adventure. After looking at some options, we decided to visit the Mark Twain cabin. It was interesting to look at, and I’m glad we decided to look at it. We made a stop at a gas station store by our hotel before going back to our room for the night.

Thanks for reading about my road trip fun – Christina Epperly

My weekend fun, including Savers and Point Lobos!

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! This is another weekend blog post, but I did some really fun things this weekend that I’m excited to tell you about, so let’s get to it!

Friday – The big highlight of this day was going to Savers! This was my first thrift shopping trip of 2023 . I was super excited to go to Savers and see what I could find. However, before we went to Savers, we went to Starbucks. I found some really great items to add to my collection. Two of my favorite items that I got were a Barbie doll and a Barbie book that had a picture of the doll that got on the cover. I didn’t realize that until I got home. It was a pleasant surprise. Some other items I got were an Equestria girls doll, a Barbie matching game, a Ty beanie Boo and My Little Pony party invitations. It was a great thrift shopping trip to start the year with. After thrift shopping, I went to Safeway. I go this really amazing cupcake with two rings on it. Friday was a pretty awesome day.

Saturday – Just like Friday, Saturday was a really great day! My mom and I went to Point Lobos. It is a truly beautiful place. The water was such a beautiful color, and the Cypress trees were very interesting to look at. I had a wonderful time hiking and taking in the beautiful views. I also got some fun souvenirs at this cart that was located by the trail head to the Cypress trail. Point Lobos is definitely worth going to if you get the chance. It was so amazingly gorgeous that it was had to believe that it was actually real at times. I highly recommend adding this location to your bucket list. I wish I had had this location on my bucket list because it was so interesting and beautiful. After exploring Point Lobos, we went to Monterey. In Monterey, we got coffee at a place called Tidal Coffee. The coffee was really good here, and so was the veggie burrito. We also got some fancy soaps at a store on Cannery Row. The soap I got has a unicorn toy in it. Then we met my dad for dinner before driving back home. It was a really wonderful day.

Sunday – This day started off with a walk. We got to see my some of my favorite animal friends on our walk. After our walk, we went into town and we went to Petco, got coffee at Starbucks, walked in the park, and I went to two different grocery stores and CVS. At Safeway, I got this plastic egg that has a surprise toy inside. I also want to add that I went down one of the slides at the park. The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home. It was a great way to end the weekend.

Thanks for reading about my fun filled weekend!

Rock On- Christina Epperly

An Idaho adventure plus exploring craters of the moon

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! I’m very happy to say that I made it to Idaho three times this year to visit family. I had a good time like I usually do but I also went on a really fun day trip that I’m very excited to tell you all about. If you want to go right to the part about my adventure at craters of the moon go to the paragraph labeled Monday. Now let’s get to it!

Friday – This was the day we left for Idaho we took an earlier flight then we normally do. I was very happy about that because we had more time in Idaho. I was also very happy because we got Starbucks at the airport. Our plane landed earlier then we thought it was going to so we had some time to go to my favorite store in the airport. I got some Idaho souvenirs and a snack at the store. Yes, I have a lot of souvenirs from Idaho but I still like collecting them. After my grandparents picked us up from the airport we went to lunch before going to their house. I was very happy to see Jewels (their dog) and she was very happy to see me. That evening we went to Walmart I was very happy to see that they had a lot of Christmas items out already. I got a Christmas ornament as well as some other fun things including a Barbie and some Barbie pets blind bag toys. It was a relaxing and fun first day of the trip.

Saturday – On the first full day of this trip we started the day by going to breakfast. It was pretty good but after breakfast we had to get a new car battery. It was a little stressful but it all worked out. After dealing with the battery problem it was time to go thrift shopping. At the first thrift store we went to I found a few things such as two TY Beanie Babies, a 101 Dalmatians toys and a large Barbie book that still had one of the toys that came with it. However I was really hopping to find more things to add to my collection so we went to the Goodwill. I really like the Goodwill that we went to. I’ve gotten some really cool things at that location before so I was excited to see what I would find this time. I’m happy to say that I got a bunch of fun items including some TY Beanie Babies, a Barbie doll, My Little Pony toys and a Starbucks hat. After thrift shopping we went to Starbucks and no, I did not wear my new hat. Our next adventure of the day was going to get pumpkins to decorate my Grandparent’s porch with. The first pumpkin patch that we went to didn’t have what we were looking for but there were some really cool planes flying overhead and I some good pictures of them. The next place that we went to was more like a roadside fruit stand then a pumpkin patch. However they had a pretty good selection of pumpkins and we got what we needed for decorating the porch. After all of that adventure we went back to my grandparents house and relaxed for a while. We also had some time to visit with other family members before we went on a nighttime adventure to Fred Myer. I wanted to get bath bombs and I was happy to see the large selection of bombs they had. I’m happy to say that I got bath bombs that had prizes in them. I also got a Barbie doll here. Then I took a bath with bath bombs sometime after midnight.

Sunday – We started our Sunday with a trip to Starbucks after that we went to lunch at my one of grandparents favorite restaurants. If you ask me Starbucks and Mexican food are a good way to start the day. I got veggies fajitas and they were amazing! We spent a good part of this day at a family member’s farm. I loved seeing the baby pigs and the other animals. I very was happy to see one of my favorite horses again! However I was not happy that I got stung by a yellow jacket. So after we left the farm we had to stop by Walmart to get some cream for my sting. Of course that’s not all I got. I also got some fun things including more Barbie pets blind bag toys and another Christmas ornament. I also took at bath that night with bath bombs.

Monday- This was our last full day in Idaho plus it was also Halloween. It turns out that Halloween is a good day to vist a national monument. After about a three hour drive we arrived at Craters of the moon national monument. When we arrived at the visitor center I was happy to see that there were not many people here today. I guess most people’s Halloween plans do not involve a trip to craters of the moon. I enjoyed the visitor center there were some good displays there as well as a gift shop. We got some souvenires at the gift shop but my mom and I also got free bat buttons. It was a good way to start our adventure at the national monument. After The visitor center we paid the entrance fee to the park and then went exploring. There are a lot of amazing things to see at craters of the moon. I don’t know if the pictures I took accurately depict the beauty of this place. However I really enjoyed the views, the hikes we went on, and the unique look of this amazing place.There is something so special and unique about being surrounded by volcanic rock. It truly feels like you are on another planet. I don’t think I will ever forget what it felt like to climb to the top of a black hill. At the top it was windy but so uniquely beautiful. I highly recommend adding this place to your bucket list. I wish that I would have had it on mine because it was definitely deserving of a spot. After a truly breath taking adventure we made the trip back to my grandparents house where I spent the evening passing out Halloween candy. It was a wonderful way to wrap up this trip to Idaho.

Thank you for reading about my latest adventures in Idaho

Rock On – Christina Epperly

My 32nd birthday weekend!

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello,my bucket list friends! On Friday I turned 32! I did a lot to celebrate and I can’t wait to tell you about it. I started my celebration by staying up so I could have a drink at midnight. It is kind of a tradition of mine. After a quick drink I went to sleep. I started off the morning like I always do by going to Starbucks. I had on a 90s Barbie party hat that I got from Poshmark. I go to that Starbucks all the time so when the employees saw my party hat they wished me a happy birthday. At work the kids were so nice. They wished me happy birthday many times during the day. They even gave me artwork as birthday gifts. I also got a card, flowers and cake from my boss and coworkers. I brought cookies to share with everyone. After work my mom picked me up and we went to Savers. As always when I go thrift shopping, I hoped I would find a cart full of treasures. However, I didn’t find that much this time. I am happy with the things I did find though. I got two Barbie dolls, four Beanie Babies a Barbie bag, a shirt and a good amount of books. After thrift shopping and a quick stop at home we went to dinner. I decided to go to a place that has arcade games. I love playing the claw game here because I usually win a prize. This time was no different I won two squishy toys. It was a pretty good birthday. The next day it was time for my birthday weekend adventure to start. My mom and I left that morning and headed to Piont Reys. We did have some stops along the way including Starbucks and Goodwill. At this Goodwill I got three things. A Melissa and Doug craft kit, a bead kit from the 90s, and a little carousel horse. Our first adventure in the Point Reys area was to check out the shipwreck in Inverness. This shipwreck is how Point Reys got its name because that was the name of the ship. It was a very interesting thing to see. I got a lot of great pictures. I’m glad I went to see it. The next stop was the Point Reyes lighthouse. This place turned out to be very crowded. The light house was cute but it was going to close soon. It’s a long way down to the lighthouse and it is pretty difficult to climb back up to the top. I was going back up as fast as I could so I could get to the visitor center before it closed. I got to the visitor center just as the looked the door. I was very disappointed. However, even though I didn’t know it yet things were about to turn around. We decided to had to Drakes beach next. I knew that they had a visitor center but they also have a store there as well. There was a sign said that their store was already closed but it turned out that it was open. The visitor closed while I was in the store but I was happy to get some souvenires and explore the beach. I  also got a map of Point Reys. I had fun exploring the beautiful beach and as a bonus it was not  crowded at all. After spending sometime at a beautiful beach my mood had completely turned around. After the beach we went to explore the cypress tree tunnel. This is a beautiful place to take pictures. At the end of the tunnel you will find a building that is home to a radio station. I really liked exploring this area. Near the building we found a fallen tree and you could see the roots. After a day full of exploring we checked in our hotel that was located in San Rafael. The next morning we met my sister for breakfast. After a very good breakfast we walked around a little bit and visited a book store. It was a pretty great birthday weekend.

Rock On- Christina Epperly

A fun filled day in Monterey!

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello,my bucket list friends! On Saturday I went on a day trip to Monterey. My mom and I started our day by getting a tour of the Monterey state historic park. The tour started at the custom house that is located right next to old fishermen’s wharf. My mom and I were the the only people who showed up for the tour so it ended up being a private tour. The tour was very informative about the history of Monterey. My favorite part of the tour was the beautiful gardens we got to vist. One of gardens had Koi fish. I loved watching them swim around. The tour ended at the Pacific house. The thing I loved about this place the most was that it had a free museum. There were several interesting exhibits to see here. There is also a gift shop. I got some souvenires here. There is also a gift shop at the custom house. After exploring the museum we went back down to the wharf. There were a bunch of sea lions hanging out near the wharf. I got some really good pictures of them. I have visited the wharf before and I have a favorite gift shop and a favorite candy store there. I went to both. I got some great souvenires at the gift shop including a new snow globe for my collection! At the candy store I got a bunch of taffy! I love getting taffy at this candy store. The have barrels full of it and there are so many flavors to choose from. After shopping we walked a little bit on a path near the wharf. We did walk very far because we were in a two hour parking spot and we needed to move. After our adventures at the wharf we went to meet my dad for lunch. We went to a restaurant called Tarpy’s Roadhouse. The food was great and so was the location. There was a pond here that had lots of turtles in it. I had a great day in Monterey!

Thank you for reading!

Rock On – Christina Epperly

A Tuesday evening at the beach

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello,my bucket list friends! I live pretty close to the beach but I don’t go very often.  However for the second time this summer I made it to the beach. After work on Tuesday my mom and I went to the beach and we brought Axle (a very cute dog ) with us. We went to the same beach that we went to last time. This time when we arrived there were a few parking places to choose from. I went to the store first because I was pretty hungry after work. This time we decided to walk on the beach in the other direction then we had last time. I enjoyed walking on the beach and putting my feet in the water. This part of the beach had a lot of rocks that made it hard to walk close to the water. However, it was fun to look at the rocks and shells on the beach. I also had a fun time taking pictures. I love taking selfies but there is something especially fun about taking selfies at the beach. The weather was comfortable and Axle had a great time as always. He was very happy that I got some cheese at the store. After walking on the rocky part of the beach we went back and walked the other way for a little while. Going to the beach was a great way to wrap up a weekday. Thanks for reading!

Rock On- Christina Epperly

Colorado adventure June 2022 part 3

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends!! It’s time for another post about my fun filled vacation to Colorado! In this post we continue our adventures outside of Denver. We explore some caves and ride a train plus a lot more. Let’s get to it.

Colorado day five – on the 5th day of our Colorado vacation we went on a drive to a very fun and interesting place called Glenwood Caverns adventure park! Our main reason for going here was to take a tour of the caves. There are two different caves you can tour here and they are both truly amazing. These caves are so beautiful and interesting. I really enjoyed looking at the caves. If you are ever near this place it is definitely worth checking out. There are also some rides here but we didn’t go on them. The way up to this amusement park is also a lot of fun because you take a gondola to the top of the mountain. I also went to the gift shop here. When we were ready to leave we had a little trouble because of winds we couldn’t take the gondola back down. So we had to wait a little bit. While waiting I got some ice cream. After a little bit of a wait it was time to ride the gondola back down the mountain and drive to out next adventure. We stopped at Starbucks on the way to see something really fun. The next thing I’m gonna tell you about became one of my favorite things I did in Colorado. My mom and I went to visit Isak Heartstone. Isak is a very large and very cute troll sculpture made from wood. Isak lives at the end of his own trail in Breckenridge Colorado. I had so much fun going to see this impressive sculpture. I just love the pictures I took there. This sculpture is so cute and impressive. I highly recommend going to see Isak Heartstone if you are ever in Breckenridge.

Colorado day six – this was our last full day in Colorado. Our adventure for this day was to ride the Cog railway up to Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak is a very well known attraction in Colorado you can drive or even hike there but for us the train seemed like the best option. It takes over an hour for the tain the get to Pikes Peak but it is worth it. There are some beautiful views from the train on the way up. There is a gift shop at the train station but I used the pressed penny machine at the station to make souvenires. Once we got up to Pikes Peak there was a good amount of snow up there. The views here are pretty amazing. However be prepared because there is a chance of altitude sickness when visiting Pikes Peak. There are some displays inside here as well as a gift shop where I got some postcards that you can color. I’m glad we went to vist Pikes Peak I got some wonderful pictures here. It was a great way to spend the last full day of vacation.

Rock On – Christina Epperly