Tag: summer vacation

My wonderful Missouri vacation! Part one

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I went on an amazing vacation this month, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it! I have a lot to tell you, so I’m going to write a few different blog posts about this vacation, but this is the first one, so let’s get to it!

Missouri adventure day one June 9th

One of the biggest challenges when it’s comes to vacation is getting there! It took two flights to get to Missouri. After getting our bags and rental car, we checked into our beautiful hotel! It had been a long travel day, but we still wanted to have some fun on our first day. First we ate at a very wonderful Mexican restaurant. After eating we went to play mini golf. however, this was not just any mini golf course. It was the shoot for the stars mini golf . This is the mini gold course that I have on my bucket list. I was excited to cross off another item off of my bucket list. We had a lot of fun playing minigolf and this course was a lot of fun. I love the Hollywood theme. I’m glad that I had this mini golf course on my bucket list. After playing mini golf, we went to Walgreens, where I got some fun souvenirs. It was a great first day of vacation.

Missouri adventure day two June 10th

This was our first full day of vacation. Our first adventure of the day was going to Dogwood Canyon Nature Park. This place is bucket list worthy. There are a lot of amazing things there, including a tree house that was on the show TV treehouse masters. I wish I had gotten time to explore it. I did, however, get to go on an amazing tour that included seeing some very cute Buffalo and a Texas Longhorn. The tour also included a stop at a wedding chapel. I also went to the gift shop, of course. I really want to go back to this place. My next adventure on this day was going to the butterfly palace. I also highly recommend going to this attraction. I loved getting to see all of the butterflies, and I also loved the mirror maze. I also want to go back to this place. There were so many beautiful butterflies. My last adventure on this day was going to visit Top of the Rock. The highlight of this attraction for me was going on a golf cart ride that included going through a cave that had a bar inside. There was a very beautiful wedding chapel that I got some good pictures of. I also enjoyed shopping at the gift shop here, of course. Later that night, I went to the pool at the hotel. It was a wonderful vacation day.

Thanks for reading!

Love – Christina Epperly

My fabulous Las Vegas vacation part 1

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! I crossed number 15 off my bucket list in July  by going Las Vegas. It was a pretty short trip but it was jammed packed with fun so I decided that it would be best to write two different post about this adventure. In my second post about this adventure I will talk about another bucket list item I crossed off. Without anymore introduction needed let’s get to part one of my Las Vegas adventure.

July 17th – This was the day that our adventure began. On this trip, I went with my mom and my friend. Our flight was in the evening. The flight went well, and after we landed, we checked in to our hotel. We stayed at New York New York. I wanted to stay at a classic Las Vegas hotel, and this one seemed like the perfect fit. I love how the room was decorated to fit the New York theme of our hotel. We had one activity planned for our first day, and that was to take a tour at the neon museum. The neon museum is full of old neon signs that used to be displayed around Las Vegas. My favorite sign was duck that I took a picture with. After the tour we went to the gift shop where I got some souvenirs  from our first adventure of the trip!

    July 18th – This day was packed full of adventure! We started out by getting Starbucks at our hotel, and then we went to the ABC store. I loved shopping there. I got some great Las Vegas souvenirs, including a much needed water bottle because Las Vegas is very hot in the summertime. Our first big activity of the day was going on the flyover ride. This ride is one of those rides that makes it feel like you are flying over some amazing places. I enjoyed going on this ride. They had a few different ride options we did the American West ride. I would like to do some of the other rides if I go back to Las Vegas. After the ride, I bought some souvenirs from the gift shop. Our second activity of the day was the Dino safari walk through adventure. I had a lot of fun walking through this attraction and taking pictures. There was a dinosaur slide that I got to go on. I also enjoyed getting to color a dinosaur coloring page. Our next activity, after that, turned out to be one of my favorite things that we did during this trip. We took a ride on the high roller observation wheel. The views from the wheel are amazing, and when it was announced that we got to the top, it was very exciting. I highly recommend going on the high roller observation wheel if you are in Las Vegas. After all of that adventure, it was time to stop for lunch. We ate at a really good Mexican restaurant. After lunch, we went to see the real flamingos that live at the Flamingo hotel. I love flamingos, and it was cool to see them in Las Vegas! The next activity I did was going to the selfie museum with my friend. I had a lot of fun taking pictures here. I especially enjoyed taking photos in the ball pit and the bathtub. After the selfie museum, I road the zip line with my mom. It was a quick ride, but it was definitely an adventure! We had already done a lot on this day, but we had another thing to do before we went back to the hotel. We went to the Eiffel Tower observation desk at the Paris hotel. It was a great way to view Las Vegas. After that, we went back to the hotel for some rest before going out again. My friend and I went to Hershey’s Chocolate World, which was located in our hotel. There were some fun things in there to take pictures with. I also bought a magnet and a chocolate bar there. After that, we all walked around a bit and looked for a cake vending machine. we didn’t find one that night, but I was determined to find one the next day.

Thank you for reading part one of my Las Vegas adventure! – Christina Epperly

Connecticut vacation June 2023 part 3

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends. This is the last part of my Connecticut vacation posts. However, I’m sure I will mention it again. I’m excited to tell you about the last part of this adventure. With that being said, let’s get to it. 

June 19th, 2023 – This was our last full day of vacation before going back home. Our main adventure of the day was going to the submarine force museum and exploring the USS Nautilus. The museum is free to go to and it is very interesting. There is also a gift shop inside the museum. Of course I enjoyed going shopping there. The main highlight was getting to go onto the submarine. My mom took a really good picture of me in the submarine. I liked being on the submarine, but I was happy to be back in the fresh air when we were done exploring. After our adventure, we went to Best Buy because I needed some new headphones. While I was there, I saw a Barbie doll that was on sale for a really good price, so I got her along with my new headphones. After that we went on a hike. It ended up being a pretty long hike, but it was beautiful. I got some truly amazing photos.  I especially love the ones I took where you can see the reflection of the clouds in the water.  It was a good last full day of vacation

June 20th – This was the day we went back home. Our flight was not early so we had some time before it was time to go to the airport. Before going to the airport we got coffee and we went to explore a park. The park had a cute playground and a bridge that had a little path. we did not go on the path, but we did stand on the bridge. Then we went to the airport and dropped off our rental car. We got on our first flight of the day that took us to Charlotte North Carolina. That flight went well, but our 2nd flight got delayed. This airport was probably the most crowded one that I have ever been in it was difficult to walk through, and to make matters worse, our flight got delayed. Also, our gate changed more than once. We went all over the place, trying to get to the right gate. It was very stressful, but we ended up getting on the plane and going home with no problems, and that is how my vacation ended.          

My Connecticut vacation June 2023 part 2

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! It is time for the 2nd part of my Connecticut vacation! In this part I go to the zoo ,ride some boats and more! I’m excited to tell you more about my adventures in Connecticut! Here we go!

Friday, June 16th – On this day, we went to Connecticut’s Beardsley zoo. I like going to the zoo when I travel, so I am excited to explore another zoo. I loved this zoo for a few reasons, but I was very happy that it was not crowded on the day we went. I had fun exploring the greenhouse that they had. it was filled with many different kinds of plants there were also koi fish. I saw lots of fun animals her including prairie dogs, buffalo, an owl, and a tiger. Another highlight was ridding the carousel. It was affordable and a lot of fun. I love riding carousels, and I was very happy that I got to ride one on this day. Of course, I also made a stop at the giftshop. I got a few things there, including a hat. Another highlight of my day at the zoo was taking pictures in a photo booth. After our zoo adventure, we went to get pizza! The pizza was really good. I loved this day of vacation

Saturday, June 17th – On this day, we did two activities that involved boats! The first one was a tour of the Thimble Islands. All but one of the islands are privately owned. We didn’t get to explore that island since the tour we were on didn’t make any stops. However, I really enjoyed the tour. It was so cool to see all these houses on little islands. It was definitely a unique area, and it was worth the visit. We had some time before our next boat adventure, so we stopped at a Starbucks. The Starbucks was located in a truck stop. While we were there, I bought this bear shaped keychain that said Connecticut on it. We also went into Tj Maxx to pass the time. I had not planned on getting anything there, but I found a pack of hair bows for a great price. Our 2nd boat adventure of the day was a going to sheffield Island. We took a boat to the island. The island has a light house on it, and a tour was offered. We had some time before the tour began, so we explored the island. The island is beautiful and I liked being there. When it was time for the tour, we met at the door to the lighthouse. We had not been on the tour for very long when we were told that there was a storm coming and that we had to leave now. We quickly went back to the boat. On the way back, it began raining. We made it back safely, and I still enjoyed this adventure even though we had to end the tour early.

Sunday, June 18th – On this day, we went on another boat tour, but before the boat, we went on a steam train. We had some time at the train station before it was time to get on the train so we went to the giftshop. At the giftshop, I got a wooden bookmark, and my mom got a Christmas ornament. On the train, we were seated on the first class train car. The seats in there were very comfortable, and they spun around so you could face however you wanted to. On the train ride to the boat, I got a ginger ale. When we got to the boat, my mom found seats on the third floor after staying there a while we went up to the top deck. It was windy up there, but I got some great pictures. After our boat ride, we went back on the train and headed back to the station. After our first adventure of the day, we went to get some lunch. Later one we went to Mystic. Mystic in an area that is popular with tourists. We didn’t really have any plans there, but we ended up getting some really good softserve ice cream. We went on a walk, and there were some interesting things to see around the Mystic seaport museum. We didn’t go to the museum, but I did enjoy seeing the outside displays. I also got a pressed penny at a machine outside of a gift shop. That night we went swimming at our hotel it was a great way to end our busy day.

Thank you for reading about vacation fun! – Christina Epperly

My Connecticut Vacation June 2023 part 1

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list, friends! I went on a very fun vacation this month. I had a lot of fun exploring this beautiful state. I have a lot to tell you about, including the two bucket list items I crossed off, so here we go!

Tuesday, June 13th – This was the day that my mom and I flew to Connecticut. We stayed at a hotel near the airport the night before to help reduce the stress of travel. When we got through the check-in process and security. I was very excited to see that close to our gate was an Amy’s Drive thru restaurant. It was on my bucket list to eat here. Oh, and just to make things clear, drive thru is the name of the restaurant. Since it was inside of the airport, it was not an actual drive thru.  I had not planned on crossing off a bucket list item on this day, so it was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed eating here, and I’m really glad that I crossed off my first bucket list item of 2023. It took us two flights to get to Connecticut, and they both went well. When we arrived in Connecticut, I went to a store at the airport and bought some souvenirs. My favorite item that I got at that store was a magnet that said Connecticut in colorful letters. After that we got our luggage and our rental car. Then we headed to our hotel. after checking in to our hotel we went to get some food. The subway was closed, so we ended up getting food at a gas station store, and that was day one!

Wednesday, June 14th – This was our first full day in Connecticut. Our first activity of the day was going to the carousel museum.  This was something that I chose to do because I love carousels. When I walked into the main room of the museum, I was amazed. I was in a room full of beautiful carousel animals. There was so much to look at! Of course, there were plenty of horses, but there were also other animals such as a dog and a pig. I had a fun time taking pictures with the carousel animals. I truly loved exploring this museum. There was also a small gift shop by the entrance to the museum so on the way out I stopped there and bought a few things to help me remember my visit. If you ever get to the opportunity to visit the museum, I highly recommend it. Our second activity of the day was the day was going on a tour of Yale University. As part of the tour, we got stickers with a very cute bulldog on them. I learned that the bulldog’s name is Handsome Dan, and he lives on campus. I was hoping that we would get to see him, but we didn’t. The tour was very interesting and there was a lot to see. Our tour guide was great and I really enjoyed it. After the tour we went to the Yale book store and got some souvenirs. I did want a plush bulldog, but it was out of my price range but I did get a postcard with his picture on it. That evening we went to the beach. It was the perfect time to go to the beach because there was a beautiful sunset. I got some great pictures at the beach. It was the perfect activity to end the day with.

Thursday June 15th – On this day, I crossed another item off my bucket list with the first adventure we did that day. Our first adventure of the day was going to the Pez visitor’s center, and it was on my bucket list to go there. With your admission fee, you get a Pez lanyard and a discount at the store. The center is full of many different kinds of Pez dispensers. There are also activities you can do there like a bingo card scavenge hunt game. I started doing the game, but I decided not to. You can also see the Pez factory through a window in the visitor’s center. Another thing you can do there is to take a quiz on a computer and then you can print out a certificate. I did this, and as silly as it may sound, I’m proud of my certificate. I was excited to go shopping at the Pez visitor’s center store. I got several Pez dispensers, including one shaped like a truck that you can decorate. I also got an elephant and a bee Pez dispenser along with a Pez visitor center’s magnet and postcards. On the way out of the Pez visitor’s center, I used the pressed penny machine. I want to say thank you again to the person who gave me an extra quarter so I could get a PEZ visitor’s center pressed penny. Our second adventure of the day was going to Kent Falls State Park. At the park we went on a walk up to the waterfall. There are many places at the park where you can see the falls so you don’t have to walk very far if you are not able to. I took many pictures of the beautiful falls, including selfies. After the falls, we ended up stopping at a Goodwill store. I love going thrift shopping anytime but there is something special about going thrift shopping when you are traveling. At Goodwill, I got some fun things, including an American Girl travel games book and an art kit. However, my favorite thing that I got was a Hansom Dan plush! I was so happy when I found him because I had wanted to get one the day before. The last highlight of this day was going to the rooftop bar at our hotel. The views were truly beautiful it was a great way to end this day of our vacation.

Thank you for reading about part on of my Connecticut adventure! – Christina Epperly                               

A summer weekend in Idaho

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello,my bucket list friends! Last weekend I went on a little getaway to Idaho. I have family that lives there. I try to go a few times a year. However, this weekend was the first time I was able to go this year. It was a short visit but I was able to do a good amount things before it was time to head back home. I can’t wait to tell you all about it so let’s get to it!

Friday- On Friday I worked a half day, then after a quick stop at Best Buy to get a headphone adapter,I went to the airport. After I got checked in and made it through security, I still had some time before my flight so I went to the store and got some souvenires from my home state. I know it’s far from perfect but I do love California! Anyways,after that it was time to head to Idaho. The flight was normal and uneventful. When I landed I stopped and got some Idaho souvenires. After that I got my luggage, met up with my mom and went to my grandparents house. It was great to see them and their dog again. After talking with them for a while. My mom drove me to get something to eat because I was hungry after a day of working and traveling. We ened up going to a restaurant that neither of us had been to before it was called smoky mountain Pizzeria grill. There was a bit of wait but the food was really good so it was worth it. There was also a vending machine that gave out random toys for a quarter each so that was pretty cool. After dinner we went to Walmart to get a few things. A few fun things I got were a squishy strawberry toy,Barbie stickers, and and Idaho button. It was a pretty good way to start off my weekend in Idaho.

Saturday- I was really looking forward to Saturday because I had bought tickets for a museum in Boise. We got Starbucks before going to the museum. I had been to this museum before but they host different exhibits so it was going to be different then it was before The main exhibit they had this time was Sue the T.rex. I  had seen Sue before but it had been a very long time ago. It was nice to see her again. There was also a small exhibit about the moon. My favorite part of that exhibit was the moon themed art work. The next part of the museum was a hands on area that was closed the last time I visited the museum. My favorite part of that area was this machine that made beautiful works of art. Also in the museum there is another T. rex named Tinker. It  was nice to see that T. Rex again too. After exploring the museum,we went to the gift shop on the way out. My favorite thing that I got was a Sue keychain. After the museum my mom and I went to a Idaho gift shop that we had visited once before. I was excited to go shopping for more fun Idaho souvenires. My favorite things that I got are two Idaho shaped Christmas ornaments that you paint. I can’t wait to paint one of them. I got two of them so my mom can paint one also. After our fun in Boise, we went to a restaurant to celebrate a faimly members birthday. It was great to see even more family and to celebrate together. Later on that day I went to Goodwill. The prices at this Goodwill are lower then at home. I was happy to find some Barbie dolls, a Lion King coloring/ tracing book, and two My Little Pony toys. I also got some books. I’m happy I managed to do so much in one day.

Sunday – This was my last full day in Idaho before flying home the next day. We went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant that is a favorite of my faimly that lives in Idaho. I got some very yummy vegetarian Mexican food. After lunch my mom and I went to visit another family member. This family member has a farm. I love going there and seeing all the animals. I got to see a very cute calf that I had not seen before. I also got to meet some super cute kittens! I loved taking pictures with the animals and I can’t wait to see them again. Later on that evening my mom and I went swimming! There is a community pool in my grandparents neighborhood. I’ve been swimming at this pool before and I love it. I love that it has a fountain. I’m very happy to say that I’ve gone swimming four times this summer.

Monday- This was the day we went back home. If I’m being honest I really didn’t want to leave. It had been a great trip but it was pretty short. I wasn’t ready to leave yet. However, it was time to go. Usually we get nonstop flights to and from Idaho However, this time we were not able to and we had to stop in Utah first. We didn’t have a lot of time before our second flight but we didn’t have any problems getting to the flight on time. It was a very quick but very fun trip to Idaho and I’m excited to go back!

Rock On – Christina Epperly

Colorado adventure June 2022 wrap up

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! I hope you have enjoyed reading about my adventures in Colorado! In this post I talk about the day we left Colorado and some of my favorite things I did on this trip. Without any more delay let’s get to it!

Colorado day seven- This was the day we flew back home to California. At the airport I bought two more souvenires before I left this beautiful state. I got another snow globe for my collection and a very cute teddy bear that had pictures printed on it of some of the places we visited while in Colorado. This was a very unique bear from the other ones I have seen at airports before. We had a direct flight home and there was still plenty of day light left when we arrived home. When we landed in California we got Starbucks at the airport before going home.

My highlights! – there were so many amazing things that we go to see and do in Colorado but I decided to put together a list of my five favorites it was a hard decision to make but here it is!

1. Denver zoo

2. Denver art museum

3. Isak Heartstone

4. Royal Gorge Bridge

5. Denver selfie museum

Thanks for reading!

Rock On- Christina Epperly

My Colorado adventure June 2022 part 2

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! It’s time for the second post about my adventures in Colorado. In this post I go to an art museum and even create my own art! Plus a little bit of adrenaline rush! I’m super excited to write all about it. So let’s get to it!

Colorado adventure day three – On this day I crossed off a bucket list item by visiting the Denver art museum. We arrived at the museum a little while before it opened. That was actually a good thing because there were some great things to see outside of the museum. My favorite outside art piece was a large broom and dust pan sculpture. I love the picture that I took by the sculpture. There were also these rocking lawn chairs that played music as they rocked. Soon it was time to go inside the museum. This museum is huge with so many things to see. I enjoyed looking at photographs,paintings and more. My favorite part of the museum was an area where you could make your own art. After looking at so many inspiring pieces of art I was in a creative mood. I made two collages. I loved using paper that had patterns on it. For one of my art pieces I made a beautiful collage of patterns. the other collage I made was inspired by ice cream. If I’m ever back in Denver I want to go to the art museum again because there is so much to see. After the art museum we took a walk and we quickly visted the Colorado state capital building. It is a very beautiful building and I got some good pictures there. After that we kept walking because we had a tour scheduled at the Molly Brown house museum. We got a little lost on our way there. However,we did make it on time for our self-guided tour. There were so many interesting things to see there. There is something special about seeing history frozen in time as you explore the house. I loved the swing outside the house I took some pictures of my mom and I on the swing. I love the wooden spinning top thst I got at the gift shop there. Later that day we went to get the rental car because our other adventures were going to be outside of Denver. Before we went to pick up our car we went to eat at Ihop. We were very hungry after a long day full of adventure I  won’t get in to all the stressful details here but we ened up having to go to another rental car place then the one we had reserved a car at because there were some problems picking the car up. However it all worked out and we got a great car for our adventures. When we got to the hotel, I  went swimming again. It was a busy but mostly fun vacation day.

Colorado day four – On this day we took a drive to see some famous Colorado attractions. Our first stop was Garden of the gods. This park is known for it’s rock formations. We took a trolly tour because we didn’t have much time. We went to the visitor center to sign up for the tour. We had some time before we went on the tour so we checked out the visitors center,got hot drinks and visted the gift shop. The trolly tour allowed us to see a lot of the rock formations. With the limited time we had it was the perfect way for us to be able to see the park without spending a lot of time there. Our second activity for the day was to go see the Royal Gorge Bridge. The bridge is located in an amusement park. So in addition to walking across this very amazing bridge we also saw a bird show, went to a petting zoo, and road a zip line across the Gorge. The zip line was fun but kind of scary. However it was definitely worth it because the views were beyond beautiful when I wasn’t closing my eyes that is! I also got to go on a carousel here. It was a small Carousel and adults where not allowed on the horses however I was able to ride on the bench and take pictures with the Carousel horses. On the way out we stopped by the gift shop. On the way back I went to Taco Bell for dinner. Taco Bell is one of my favorite fast food places. This was a really fun day!

Thank you for reading about my vacation fun in Colorado!

Rock On- Christina Epperly

My Colorado adventure June 2022 part 1

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello,my bucket list friends! I recently got back home from an adventure filled vacation to Colorado! I have so much to write about. Here we go!

Colorado day one – The first day of this vacation was similar to a lot of other first days of vacation,meaning that there was an airplane ride and then an Uber ride to the hotel. The big highlight of day one was going swimming in the hotel pool. I love going swimming. I wish I got to go more often. It was a good way to start my vacation.

Colorado day two – On day two I did one of my favorite things. I went to the zoo! I just have to say that the Denver zoo is a lot of fun!I saw so many different kinds of animals including elephant, lions, flamingos,Zebras, raccoons and more! I also got to ride a train and a carousel. The Carousel had so many different animals on it. There was also a lion made out of Legos that was really interesting to see. One of my favorite animals that I saw there was the okapi. They are very cute and I love that we got to get pretty close to them at the zoo. I ended my zoo adventure by getting some souvenires at the gift shop. At the gift shop I got a new snow globe for my collection along with some other items. I also got a souvenire cup with my lunch. After a fun time at the zoo we took an Uber to downtown Denver. Our first stop was the Denver selfie museum! I love going to places like this. I’ve been to two other places like this before and I loved them both. I was super excited to take some fun photos at this museum and let me tell you something this place did not disappoint! There were so many fun backgrounds and props that looked amazing in pictures. I loved the fuzzy purple background that had old fashion phones attached to it. I also loved the smiley face background and the bubblegum background that was full of candy machines that had yellow gumballs in them. After taking a lot of fun pictures we walked to a souvenire store. I got some great things there including another snow globe,a plush moose,post cards,key chains and more! It was a day full of fun and adventure!

Thank you for reading this post about some of my adventures in Colorado.

Rock On- Christina Epperly

Los Angeles summer adventure 2021 part two

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends! I’m back with part two of my Los Angeles Adventure! This day started off with a tour of the TCL Chinese theater. This historic place is one to add to your list if you are ever in Hollywood. The whole place including the ceiling is a true work of art. We got to sit in the theater and watch a video about it’s history. I loved the comfortable red chairs. After the theater, we went on a another bus tour. This wasn’t originally the plan. We had a two day ticket for Big Bus so we were planning on doing that tour again but getting off at a different stop. While waiting for the Big Bus we took a walk on Hollywood boulevard. We met a guy who was selling tickets for another tour bus company. This bus was smaller and went up to the neighborhoods where the celebrities live. Since we had already done Big Bus we decided to do this tour. I had a lot of fun on this tour. The guide was informative and entertaining. My favorite part was driving through Beverly Hills. If I could live anywhere in the in world it would be Beverly Hills. There are a lot of interesting houses on this tour After the amazing bus tour we took an Uber to the Griffith Observatory. This attraction is free to go to and it offers wonderful view and interesting exhibits. However,it was very crowded when I was there. It was hard to see all the exhibits but my favorite was moon exhibit. I got some really great pictures and yes, there is a gift shop. It is definitely worth a visit. That night it was back to Hollywood boulevard for dinner. I really loved being able to walk to Hollywood boulevard from the hotel.

Thank you for reading this part of my Los Angeles/ Hollywood adventure!

Rock on – Christina Epperly