You know that every time you are planning to go for a family vacation, there is always the daunting task of where to go because each member desires to impose his or her own ideas. It is good to listen to everyone so you can factor in their sentiments. Whether you want to have an indoor vacation or outdoor activity, there are many spots to pick from.

via eastandard.net

Chicago... Chicago... was not at all what any of us expected. For one, the city seems so clean! It is so shinny and city like yet there are so many trees and parks and I know we didn't find every area there was to find... but we did a pretty good job at seeing as much as we could. When we first landed we did a river boat tour which was really interesting to learn about the architecture and just see the city.

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Hacienda San Jose appeared to be away from any towns. It was a sugar plantation but the buildings had fallen into disrepair. Their reconstruction is shown in photos in the reading room. There are extensive gardens, aqueducts and facilities that suggest the hacienda's former glory. Some of the footpaths were made of slabs of limestone with gaps in between them. Since they were not smooth they were difficult to walk on, especially at night.

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Previews of a Canadian Winter Wonderland and sunny Italia await those who attend the DSC Destinations information session Tuesday, July 29, 6 p.m. at the James E. Brown Center on the Dalton State campus.
Over regional treats, participants will learn plans of two upcoming trips: a December excursion to Quebec featuring luxury accommodations and shopping/museum opportunities as well as a spring 09 tour of Italy, featuring visits to Rome, Florence, Venice, Como and Milan.

via northwestgeorgia.com

So today we went to this waterpark in Texmico with the kids who didn't get visitors on visitors day. There were only 44 kids which means an amazing amount of people had visitors. It's in an old haceinda grounds which is of course like an old plantation in the south. Basically we played volleyball, frisbee, football, laid in the lazy river, swam, and played in the pools and slides where a bunch of slaves were held.

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Truthfully, we saw less of Denver than any other stop we have made so far. Next time we are in Denver we will have to explore all that it offers. Then we were on the road again, this time for Grand Junction. Today was a medium-sized day of travel, but Colorado certainly had a tremendous number of panoramas in store for us. All of a sudden, I was singing old John Denver songs in my head. Leaving Denver was the same high desert that we had entered in.

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We left for Portland around 6am. Kelsie drove down with us to take the car back. A quck stop at Tim Horton's on the Maine Mall road enabled us to meet what had to be Tim Horton's newest employee. Two atempts at a hazelnut with just cream, no sugar, and she produced a regular coffee for Brian the third time we asked for it. We'd already paid for it, and it was on the screen, but she was still having trouble.

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The Devils Tower National Monument is a 1,300 acre preserve with rolling hills and a river- the park’s eponymous tower of rock stands glinting gray and tan. Geologically, the tower is a wonder, a formation of igneous intrusion, lava burped up from undergraound eons ago, with time and wind and water then washing away layer upon layer to unveil the work.

via wayfaring.info

Just a reminder from the last blog - we have been awake since yesterday at 8am! We arrived at Brad’s at 11 local time, and we served a nice refreshing wrap for lunch, which felt great after eating mostly chips and a greasy breakfast. After that we hung out for a while, played guitar hero and had a few beers while we did our laundry. After supper we headed downtown, where there was a street closed off and there was all sorts of music and other things going on.

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What a reunion! You can tell by the video that these people know how to party! We have had a blast over the past two days with Patty's mom's family (the Liebhardts). It the first time in a long time that the 11 first cousins and all their kids were all together. "Big Sky" dave hosted on his awesome house on Flat Head Lake in MT. He had all of the toys (boat, wave runner, skis, tubes).

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We headed back to Winnipeg, because it was on our way to our next stop, Riding Mountain National Park. So we took the opportunity to stop at the Mint and take a tour. We learned how coins are made, which is really amazing how many steps it takes. It was cool to learn that they also make coins for 100 other countries!

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Although we head to Montana every summer, each year holds something different. Even if we travel on the same highway, we'll take in something new. This time, I found Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in Mandan, North Dakota, a few miles from Bismarck. This is a perfect place for brushing up on a history lesson and getting a sense of what life was like on the Great Plains back when the Mandan Indians and Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer lived here.

via gadling.com

After resigning my position in Alberta, I had little desire to stay in the Province. My RTW trip is meerly 3 months away and the thought of staying here until then was unbearable. I want to go, I want to start this trip, and I don’t want to wait! So when a possible chance to work in Niagara Falls, Ontario for 3 months came up, I decided to grab it.Growing up in Ontario, I made several trips to the Falls.

via blogs.bootsnall.com

Tuesday in Santiago there were a large number of people protesting, mainly education. It started as a peaceful march, but then, according to my friend who was nearby, someone threw a rock and all hell broke loose. The march was never ok-ed by the government, so the police were more or less just waiting for something to happen.

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This last month at La Fargassa has brought more and more campers to our mountain retreat. About 100x more. What started out as a quiet nook in a peaceful mountain valley in April has, by July, turned into a three ring circus complete with mondo tents and a travelling donkey show. When everyone gets together for dinner the headcount is 50+ people.

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