Tag: summer vacation

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

July 2025 road trip adventure part 3

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends. I’ve enjoyed remembering my July road trip as I write each blog post about it However, I’m very excited to write this blog post because I will get to write about going to the zoo. I love getting to explore different zoos and On this road trip I got to go the Sequoia Park Zoo.  It was a truly wonderful zoo and I can’t wait to tell you more about it so let’s get to it!

July 16, 2025

The sequoia park zoo was our first adventure on this day. This zoo was in a really great location right next to a very cute park. When we entered the zoo, the first animal we saw were flamingos. I love flamingos. They are so fun to watch and  they are truly beautiful animals. I also got to see an owl , a bear , other birds,  some barnyard animals and more. My favorite thing here was the red wood skywalk. The skywalk is a  walkway that includes bridges. This is a great place to take pictures and get a good view of the beautiful redwoods. There was also a gift shop here where I got a plush flamingo and some other fun zoo souvenirs as well. After the zoo I went to the park where I got to go down a slide. And I took a picture
With a banana slug statue. After our zoo adventure, we went to the Dick Taylor chocolate factory. I really enjoyed going to this chocolate factory. There was a great selection of lots of yummy treats you could buy. I bought some treats of course and some souvenirs. But my favorite thing here was the peppermint tea Latte. It was one of the most amazing drinks. I have ever had in my life. Obviously I highly recommend visiting this chocolate factory. After our visit to the chocolate factory, we went on two more beautiful hikes . One hike that we went on gave us beautiful views of the ocean. On the other hike that we went on was the lady bird Johnson grove trail. There were many beautiful trees on this trail and I remember it being pretty easy overall. I highly recommend this trail for it’s beautiful scenery. this day was a wonderful summer day filled with adventure.

Thank you for reading !

Love Christina Epperly

Las Vegas adventure June 2025 part 2

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I’m excited to write this 2nd post about my Las Vegas vacation. I had a wonderful time, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it, so let’s get to it

June 11th – On this day, we went on a tour of the Hoover Dam. I booked our tour with Comedy on Deck tours and I’m happy to say I made a good choice because the tour was wonderful and it was a very reasonable price. We got picked up at a hotel that was close to ours . Before going to the Dam, we stopped at the famous Las Vegas sign. This is a great place to take pictures. A good photo tip is to stand to the side of the sign to take your photo so you don’t have to wait in any line that may form at the front of the sign. After taking photos at the sign, we were on the way to the Hoover Dam. Our first stop was at a bridge where we could get a view of the Hoover Dam. A cool thing about this bridge is that it crosses over into Arizona. I had a good time taking pictures at this location, but it was very windy, so watch your hats if you go here. The next part of the tour was a guided tour of the Hoover Dam. It was fun to go underground and learn about the dam. I also enjoyed the visitor’s center and the gift shop, of course. Lunch is included in this tour, so on the way back, we stopped at a restaurant. You put your order in while you’re on the bus so your food is ready when you arrive. When we got back to Las Vegas, we went to the Flamingo Hotel to see the flamingos that live there. I love Flamingos, and it is so cool that you can just go and see them in Las Vegas. After going to see the flamingos, I got a Flamingo shaped pen at the gift shop. We also went and got some much needed healthy food that night. It was an adventure packed day of vacation.

June 12th – This was our last day of vacation before going home on the next day. I had two big things that I wanted to do before saying goodbye to Las Vegas. The first thing that we did on this day was to go get coffee. After that, we went to see The Seven Magic Mountains. This was one of the two things that I really wanted to do before going back home. I had seen pictures of this art exhibit, and I loved how colorful it was. I really wanted to go here. It is a little bit of a drive from the Las Vegas strip, but it was so worth it, in my opinion. I got some great pictures here. I loved seeing the huge and very colorful rock towers. This unique art exhibit felt like a once in a life time experience. After seeing the beautiful seven magic mountains, we went back to the Las Vegas strip. Before doing the 2nd big thing I had planned that day, we went to a huge Walgreens. This store had one of the best souvenir sections that I have ever seen. I got a plush monkey, a picture frame, and some key chains. After buying some fun souvenirs. We went to one of my favorite places and that place is the rainforest cafe. There used to be more of these delightful cafes around, but sadly, they are not as common as they used to be. I was super excited to get to go to a rainforest cafe because I had not been in a long time. I had a great time at the rainforest cafe. It is a fun place to take pictures and they also have a good store there. I got some stickers and a baseball at the store. Even after we did  all of that, we were not done with our adventures for the day yet. That night we went on a bus tour. The top of a bus is a great place to see  Las Vegas. I enjoyed this tour. The top of the bus was also a great place to get pictures of Las Vegas. Later that night, I went out one more time. I bought a flamingo pen, and I went to the candy store one more time before going back to the hotel to get some sleep before our early flight the next day.

June 13th – This was the day we left Las Vegas. I got a fun Las Vegas magnet at the airport. I’m so blessed that I got to have a wonderful Las Vegas vacation.

Thanks for reading! Love, Christina Epperly

Las Vegas adventure June 2025 part one

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! We are now in September, but I had a pretty amazing summer. Now that things are slowing down, I’m ready to write blog posts about my summer 2025 adventures! I’m very excited to write this post about some of my Las Vegas adventures. Without any more introduction, let’s get to it!

June 9th – This was the day that my mom and I began our Las Vegas vacation. At the airport, before getting on the plane, I got a magazine that had some fun food art on the cover. The short flight went well. Our hotel for this trip was the Linq. I had walked through this hotel before, but this was my first time staying there. I thought that the room had a fun and artsy feel to it. I liked that check-in was super easy on the kiosk. After getting settled. We went out to eat at the boss cafe. The food was really good. I’m glad that this place was inside our hotel . After eating we walked to a nearby candy store. I also loved how close this place was. I got to go to it more than once during this trip. On this night, I bought a few Las Vegas themed items from the candy store, including a cute tin of mints. I also got to cross off a bucket list item on this day when we went to the Minus 5 ice bar. This ice bar was a very fun place to take pictures. There were a bunch of different themed areas, and it was a great escape from the Las Vegas heat. My favorite part was getting to drink out of a cup that was made out of ice. After our ice bar experience, we went and saw the Bellagio fountain show. This show is iconic and something that I highly recommend doing while you are in Las Vegas. It is free and it is fun to take pictures and videos of. After the fountain show, we went to the Bellagio conservatory. This free attraction is an amazing work of art that changes with the seasons. I loved the flamingos and the zebras. Back at our hotel, I bought a magnet that had the High Roller Wheel on it. It was a wonderful first day of vacation.

June 10th – This was our first full day of vacation, and we had some fun things planned. When we were in Las Vegas in 2023, we loved doing the flyover ride, so we decided to do that again this time. We ended up doing three different rides, and they were all amazing. I highly recommend doing this ride at least once. I believe that there were four different rides when we were there. They also have a fun gift shop so I got a few things there. Next to the flyover ride is one of my favorite stores in Las Vegas. It is called the ABC store, and it has a great selection of souvenirs and other items. I love the hat that I got there. I also got a plush animal that comes with a blanket, some post cards, a rubber duck, and a shirt. After doing the flyover ride three times and shopping at the ABC store, we went to lunch at Olive Garden. When we went back to the hotel we went in the pool. It was a lot of fun. I love staying at hotels that have pools . This pool also had a DJ, and drinks were available it was still pretty lowkey and chill. After the pool, my next activity was to go and cross off a bucket list item that had been on my list for a long time. There was a tattoo shop in our hotel so I went there and I got a tattoo of a starfish. I had been wanting to get this for a long time. I got a starfish that had a fun pattern of circles and dots. I also got another bucket list tattoo because I had Philippians 4:13 written above the starfish. I was so happy with the way this tattoo turned out. After getting my tattoo, my mom and I went on The High Roller Wheel. I can not recommend the High Roller Wheel enough. I went on the High Roller Wheel of the first time back in 2023, and I loved it, but this time, I wanted to ride it at night so I could see all the city lights. The views from the high roller wheel are simply amazing. I got some wonderful pictures of all of the city lights below. The capsule that you ride in is a good size, and you can move around to different windows. I loved getting to see the Las Vegas Sphere with different designs on it. The beach ball was my favorite. After an amazing ride on the High Roller Wheel, I got a deck of playing cards from the Linq at the gift shop. it was a day full of adventure. I got some pizza to end the day on a high note . It was a really wonderful day.

Summer 2025 check in !

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends ! I know I have not been blogging lately. The main reason is that I have been having a summer that is full of adventures, and it is keeping me busy. I’ve gone on some great vacations, including one to Las Vegas, where I finally got the starfish tattoo that I had been wanting for a very long time. I also went on a road trip that was full of adventure, including going to a zoo that I had never been to before. Other highlights include my summer mall weekend tradition , spending time with family and friends , going to my first Mets game, making art including chalk art , shopping at some of my favorite places including Target and Five Below, and going to a local zoo. I will be doing blog posts about all of these adventures. However, for now, I just wanted to write a quick blog post so I don’t go the entire month of July without writing a blog post. I plan to write more blog posts in August, but for now, I’m going to say I hope that all of you are having a wonderful summer and here a few pictures from some of my summer 2025 adventures!

Love, Christina Epperly

My great Tennessee adventure part 3

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I am excited to bring you the blog post about the third and final part of my Tennessee vacation. While on vacation, I welcomed a new month, and that is where this post starts on July first.

July 1st

On this day, my mom and I went on an adventure to Fall Creek Falls State Park. We went on a nice hike, and we got to see a great view of the water fall. The water fall was not flowing very much because it was summer. However, it was still worth seeing. There was also a pretty awesome bridge that we got to walk on. Oh, and there was a playground by the parking lot, and I went on the slide, and there is a nice visitor center here as well. That night, we went back into Nashville for some food and shopping. I got some fun souvenirs, including a cute plush bear and a puzzle. This was our last full day of vacation, and it was an enjoyable day.

July 2nd

This was the day that we flew home, but our flight was not until later in the day, so we had some time before we needed to be at the airport. We went to Starbucks, the Goodwill, and went got ice cream. I got a few things at Goodwill, including books, trivia cards, and pencils. The ice cream shop that we went to was really good. It was a good way to end our vacation, but it was so hard to say goodbye to Tennessee. At the airport I got a few more souvenirs before saying goodbye to the state We had a layover in Denver, and our flight got delayed, so we spent more time in the airport than we had planned on. I was actually not upset about the delay because that meant my vacation could last just a little bit longer.

Thank you for reading

Love, Christina Epperly

My great Tennessee adventure part 2

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I had a great vacation in Tennessee, and I’m excited to tell you more about the fun and adventures I had while I was there. Without any more delay, let’s get to it!

June 29th

The big highlight of this day was going to Parrot Mountain and gardens. This is like a zoo that is focused on birds. You get to hold and feed some of the birds here. I loved seeing the big, colorful parrots here but they do have many different kinds of birds. I do recommend going to this fun and interesting place. I’m very glad that I went to this place during my vacation. It was a whole lot of fun ! The other highlight of this day was going to eat at a Mexican restaurant. It was another good day of vacation.

June 30th

This day was one that was packed full of activities! We started off the day by visiting the most visited US national park, the great smokey mountains. Since we were there during peak season, we got up very early and drove the cade’s cove loop. It was a good drive, and we made some stops where I got some good pictures and a pressed penny. Our next stop was Clingman’s dome. There is quite a hike to get up to this lookout point, but it is a pretty cool spot once you get up there. After our hike, we stopped at a visitor’s center. I bought some fun items there, including another book in the series that I mentioned in my last blog post. This book is called Hello, Smokies and I was very happy to get another one of these very cute books. Before leaving the park we stopped at one more spot because it looked like a fun place to explore. I do not remember the name of this spot, but it had a cool rock structure. When we left the park we road the Ober tram. The tram was fun to ride, but it was very busy on the way up. I liked the ride down a lot better. There were some very beautiful views from the tram. As soon as we were done with the tram, we got out of the area because it was very busy. Later that evening, we went to the Alcatraz east crime museum. This is one of the most interesting museums I have ever been to. The museum covers many topics, including crime seen investigation , cold cases, famous criminal cases, and much more. One of my favorite things here was a machine where you could print out your thumbprint on a card. I highly recommend going to this museum but I would not recommend it for children. That night I went swimming at the hotel pool. As you can see, this day was a very busy but very fun vacation day.

Thank you for reading !

Love, Christina Epperly

My wonderful Missouri Vacation part 3

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! There has been a lot going on in my life lately. Some of it has been good, like crossing off bucket list items and shopping at fun places like Five Below and Target, but on the other hand, I got bronchitis. It has been hard to keep up with blogging, but I will get there. For now, please enjoy the third and final part of my Missouri vacation!

June 13th – On this day of vacation, I crossed off a big bucket list item when I went parasailing! Before we went parasailing, I had a fun time feeding fish. They had fish food that you could buy, and large fish, including cat fish, came to eat the food when it was thrown into the lake. Going Parasailing was amazing, and I highly recommend it to anyone who does not have a fear of heights. It feels like you are flying. I’m so glad that I bought the photo package. The photos turned out great! It was also fun having my toes dipped in the water. I was very happy to cross this item off my bucket list, and I would love to do it again. Our next activity was going hiking at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. It was a beautiful place to explore. Our hike had a lot of stairs, and it was a warm day, so needless to say that I was very happy to be back in the air-conditioned car when our hike was complete. After the hike we went to the visitor’s center where I bought some things to remember this very beautiful state park. After our adventures, it was time to eat. We went to a really nice restaurant that had good views and a good veggie burger. Later on in the day, we went to a go cart track. I road with my mom because driving is not my thing. I enjoyed the ride. It was a very adventurous day of vacation.

June 14th – On this day, we left Lake of the Ozarks and went back towards where the airport is because we were leaving early the next day. We still had one day left to have fun, and that is what we did. Our first big adventure of the day was going to Buc-ee’s . I had never gotten a chance to go before, and now that I had one, I was gonna take it. I do have to say that this was one of the most busy places that we visited on our vacation. I love how this place stays on theme. I just had to take a picture with the beaver statue out in front.  when I was in the store, I got to meet Buc-ee himself! I did a good amount of shopping here. I’m happy to say that I’m the owner of a Buc-ee beaver plush and more cute items from this place. I had a lot of fun there but the next place I went to was so amazing. I really hope I get to go back there some day. That place is the world’s largest toy museum complex. There are two buildings filled with displays of all different kinds of toys! My favorites included the amazing collection of 90’s lion king toys, the Crayola display, The Star Trek toys, The My Little Pony collection, the TY beanie babies, and the room full of Barbies! I spent a good amount of the in the Barbie room. It was a very impressive collection. There are also fun things outside of the museum, including a large Barbie Roller skate. After the museum we had some time before our next activity so we went to a park. It was a cute park and  it was a good place to spend some time before we went to see a wonderful play that evening. We saw the Queen Esther play at Sight and Sound theatres. To say this play was awesome would be an understatement! It was truly something that everyone should see. The theater itself was an amazing work of art. If you ever get the chance to go see a play here, I highly recommend it!

June 15th – This was the day we went home. We had a very early flight, so we did not get much sleep at all. In the airport that morning, I did my last round of souvenir shopping before getting on the plane to go home. It was a great vacation!

Thank you for reading about my vacation!

Love, Christina Epperly

My wonderful Missouri vacation part 2

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I was very busy in the month of June. I went on two great vacations and even more! I hope to get caught up soon, but for now, here is the second part of my Missouri vacation.

June 11th, 2024 – On this day of vacation, our first activity was taking a ride on the Branson scenic railway. The train had a great gift shop where I got some things including a cute plush squirrel before getting on the train. The train had a few different kinds of seats throughout the cars, and we ended up sitting in some pretty comfortable chairs that had a table in the middle. Just like the name suggests, the ride is a beautiful one. I was happy to be by a window for this ride. You could also buy snacks and drinks on the train we did that too. After a fun train ride, our next adventure was going to an attraction called Beyond the Lenses. This place is hard to explain but it is like a combination of a selfie museum , a regular museum, and an arcade. Before even making it to the main part of the attraction, I played a claw machine, and I won some rubber ducks! There are lots of fun photo opportunities here. My favorite one was the Barbie box. It was fun to pretend to be one of my favorite toys. They also have a really cool ball pit here that was great for taking pictures. They also have a fly ride here it is like a flying simulator. We did the ride and enjoyed it. That night, we went to a very popular show in Branson called the Haygood’s. The Haygood’s are a group of very talented siblings. we all enjoyed this show.

June 12th

We started this day with a tour from the Pink Jeep company. This was a very fun tour that included a few stops. I know that this company has tours in other places as well. I would recommend giving this company a try when looking for a fun tour. I bought a pink rubber duck at the tour store. After the tour, our next activity was going to the Promised Land Zoo. This is a great zoo. There is a drive-through and a walk through section. That allows you to feed a good amount of the animals here. We paid extra to get to pet and hold some of the animals. The baby kangaroo was my favorite. but I also loved holding the snake. I also got to go shopping at a big souvenir store and of course I got some great items there. Branson is a very touristy place so there are lots of fun stores to shop at. We also went to Cold Stone and got ice cream before we headed to our next hotel that was located in Lake of the Ozarks. That night we went to a Walmart where I got a lake of the Ozarks cup. It was a great day.

Thanks for reading – Christina Epperly