Idaho adventure August 2023

Hello, my bucket list, friends! This month, I went on an adventure to Idaho. I go to Idaho pretty often. However, this was my first time going there this year. I have a good number of family members living there, so that is the main reason I visit Idaho so frequently. This time, we were going to celebrate my grandma’s birthday. Since my birthday is this month I was also a part of the celebration. It was a pretty fun adventure, and I can not wait to tell you more about it, so here we go!

August 9th – This was the day my mom and I flew to Idaho. When we got there we went to lunch with my grandparents. Along with my lunch I had some soft serve ice cream, and of course, I put sprinkles on it. I was happy to see family members that I had not seen in a long time including my grandparents dog.

August 10th – Today was a big shopping day! I went shopping at JC Penny’s , Walmart, and two thrift stores. I got several great items. Some of my favorite things I got are a pair of flipflops with a colorful heart pattern, a new Barbie doll from Walmart, a bunch of Barbie books, a Las Vegas mug, A Build a Bear plush that has a colorful star pattern, a duck plush from Las Vegas, and a rubber duck that looks like a fire fighter from the two thrift stores I went to. It was a good day of shopping and being with family in Idaho.

August 11th – Today’s big highlight was going on a trolley tour of Boise. I did enjoy ridding the trolley and seeing some beautiful things and learning about some of Boise’s history. I also went to another thrift store on this day. I did not get much, but I did get a craft kit, some stickers, and some teeny Beanie Babies. There was also another trip to Walmart that night where I got some of my favorite juice that comes with toys.

August 12th – This day was a really fun one. This was the day we celebrated three family birthdays, including mine. I started the day by getting Starbucks and then going shopping at the Dollar Tree. At the dollar tree, we got some balloons for the birthday party we were having. I also got some stickers, two art kits, a set of two hair accessories, a set of four water balls, and more! To celebrate our birthdays we went to a restaurant for some very good food and they also sang happy birthday to us. I also got some ice cream there. After lunch, some of us went to pick up some desserts to take to my grandparents’ house. I chose a colorful cake that a plastic balloon decoration on it. The night I went on a walk with my mom and my sister. It was a great way to end this wonderful day.

August 13th – On this day, I went with my mom and sister on a day trip. We drove for a while before stopping at a convenience store. Then we went to Kirkham Hot Springs. It was really interesting to visit a natural hot springs. I got some good pictures there. I do recommend visiting this location. We also went to Red Fish Lake and we rented a peddle boat there. I liked that the boat was sparkly. After the lake we went to a restaurant before going back to my grandparents’ house.

August 14th – This was the last full day we had in Idaho before we went back home the next day. It was a pretty lowkey day, but I did go to Burger King, and the one went to had one of those really cool touch screen soda machines.

August 15th – This was that day we went back home. Our flight was not till afternoon so we had time to go to breakfast. We also got to the airport early so I had time to play in the arcade where I won some prizes from the claw machine. I also got two Idaho souvenirs from a store at the airport.

Thanks for reading about my Idaho adventure! – Christina Epperly

Things I love June 2023

Hello, my bucket list friends ! I’m still trying to catch up with my blog post since the summer has been pretty busy but in a good way. Anyways before I can get into the adventures I’ve been having in July, I’m going to do a post about the things I loved in June 2023.

Friend sleepover / swimming – I had a fun sleepover with my friend that included shopping at Walmart and going swimming . ( You can read about it HERE)

Connecticut vacation – I had a wonderful vacation in Connecticut! I did many fun things, including going to the zoo and seeing a waterfall. ( You can read about it HERE,HERE, and HERE)

Crossing two items off my bucket list.- I’m very happy to say that I crossed two items off my bucket list in June! ( You can read about them HERE )

Going on a shopping spree – I had a great time shopping at the Dollar Tree, and the mall the weekend after I got back from Connecticut. ( You can read about it HERE )

Shopping at my favorite local thrift shop and toy store- I did some other fun shopping this month. (You can read about some of it HERE )

winning an American Girl Doll – Towards the beginning of June, I won an American Girl doll in a raffle. ( You can read about it HERE)

making my summer playlist – I made the perfect playlist for my summer. (You can read about it HERE )

Alice Cooper’s new song and album release date – I did add one more song to my summer 2023 playlist. While I was on vacation, Alice Cooper released a new song! He also announced that his new album would be released on August 25th! I love his new song, and I’m very excited for his album to come out later this summer!

Thanks so much for reading about the things I loved in June! – Christina Epperly

Connecticut vacation June 2023 part 3

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

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

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                              Â