On the road again....or maybe in the air again?! We have finally been able to start traveling again...and it feels like home!
In March, we went to Colorado with friends. In May we went to Las Vegas with my cousin and his wife and also spent Memorial Day Weekend in Yankton. And then we spent the first weekend in June celebrating our 16th Wedding Anniversary in Chamberlain, SD.
Instead of giving the full details in my play by play, I thought I'd just share a few of the highlights.
LAS VEGAS - MAY 2021
At Easter dinner with my family, we had been talking about going to Las Vegas with my cousins and their wives. Jake and I just LOVE Vegas. It's one of our favoritest vacation destinations. When we got a group text a week or so later from my cousin's wife inquiring about possible Vegas dates, we said we were in...no matter what! We just told them to book a trip that would work for them and we would work the trip into our schedules. With the dates, flight, and hotel booked, we just had to look forward to our quick vacation....which happened to be over Mother's Day Weekend!
We left Friday afternoon - with our carry-ons only (a goal), and I did what I do on vacay, and crocheted on the way to the airport. I had to make a hair scarf to go with my outfits...which I ended up wearing as a make-shift tie to cover a stain on my shirt I didn't realize I had on my shirt until it was all I had to wear. I packed so light. I'm just so resourceful.
We had to travel with masks on the flight again and had to wear masks anytime we were inside any of the buildings and because of Covid, many of the "good" shows weren't running. That was kind of cruddy. Oh...and I had to wear glasses the whole time because I was preparing for LASIK eye surgery. At least I got compliments when I wore my pink pair. ;) Anyway....
Jake arranged for a limo to pick us up from the airport and take us back - it was a Mother's Day gift. ;)
We stayed at Paris for the first time. It was quite beautiful!
We went on a walkabout with my cousin, Matt, and his wife, Paige, when we arrived and enjoyed the beautiful weather!
We snagged early coffees from the coffee shop downstairs and met Matt and Paige for breakfast at Blondies Sports Bar & Grill - the service was eh, but the food was pretty good!
We ventured down the strip, making stops along the way - we learned that you get the best service (aka - free drinks) at the Cosmopolitan....if you're wondering.
We had dinner that evening at STK (if you remember, we also went to STK in Chicago....although, I'm not quite sure I remember it). The Vegas restaurant is located in the Cosmopolitan, and it is delicious. Everything about it is excellent. The vibe, the food, the service, and the compliments about my haircut.
We enjoyed the evening weather after dinner and headed down to the Wynn and the Venetian to show my cousin and his wife the quieter end of the strip, but we had to check out the fountains first!
The next day, Jake and I had breakfast with a Mother's Day Mimosa at Hexx Kitchen & Bar, visited Caesar's Palace and then just hung out around our hotel until our limo came to pick us up and take us home.
It was a short quick trip, and it was just what we needed! Fun friends (who had taken a bus tour the day before or maybe it was the day we arrived and knew all kinds of information and answered so many of our questions!), great weather, great food and drinks. Jake and I liked it...a lot.
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND - MAY 2021
A nice long weekend on the lake seemed like a great idea! So, in anticipation of great weather and good times, we booked the same house we had stayed at last fall.
As the weeks passed by, the forecast started out looking like a dream....and then....as the weekend drew nearer, the outlook looked dimmer.
It was like 50° on Friday evening when we arrived to Yankton. But we didn't care! We could see the lake and had the house all to ourselves. We unpacked and enjoyed the view.
We stopped into The Cottonwood to see Jake's friend, Mike. He's basically family, so it was nice that we could meet some of his Yankton family!
We finished off our evening at another friends' house. Their vacation home is just down the hill from where we were staying, and they have kids our kids' ages. So the kids hung out in their hot tub while we sat around the fire pit and enjoyed cocktails and fun stories. We had a great time! Who needs warm weather?
Then Saturday rolled around, but the sun didn't! But again - who cares, right?! My brother, Weston, and his wife, Paige, were on their way up to Yankton with their daughter, and we were going to make the most of it.
So they showed up with Mike and Bloody Mary's! We gave everyone the tour and hung out for a bit, and then headed to lunch at the Marina Grill. Kindrey ordered the pizza, and if I had to recommend anything...it would definitely be the pizza. It was delicious!
Then we drove down by the lake, in search of the beach. It was so windy, but we really wanted to see the water!
But it was kind of ridiculous how windy it was, so we went back to the house. We let my niece run around, we took a walk, and then let her run around some more! Then they decided it was time to get their little one back home. It was so nice to get to hang out with them though! We don't get to do that nearly enough!
We had dinner that night with Mike at Stringers. It was a fun bar on the backside of the gas station. Then we just went back to the house. The sun had started to come out, and the sunset was beautiful.
The next morning, Jake's brother-in-law, Jesse, and sister, Erin, and their two kids came up for the day / night. Our girls always have fun with their cousins, and we enjoy our time with their parents!
We had lunch at the Dam Fish Shack (a recommendation from the Kinnings on Friday night). The sun came out (which was a good thing since this was an outdoor eatery!). And we ran into WSC Football friends who were visiting family. It was one of those super surprises! I got to see their kids in person. It was just wonderful! And the food was great. I highly recommend this place!
And because the sun came out, we decided to take the boat out on the water. It was a little chilly, and they only caught one fish, and lost one rod (at the same time the fish was caught), but it was still so nice to be on the lake! The Kinnings were out on their boat and grabbed our girls for a bit, and then we headed back to shore after the girls were returned. Snacks were consumed. Naps were taken. Yarn was crocheted.
We struggled to find somewhere for dinner that we could just order and pick-up that sounded good, but after a failed attempt at ordering, we decided to try Minervas. It was pretty good! Erin and I drove into town to pick it up, and the restaurant reminded me of Cedar Rapids. If you haven't seen that movie, go watch it. It's a dry slow hilarious moving. A definite must see. And the food was really good, too!
We finished our night with a fire and ridiculous scary stories....and a cat scaring the bejeezus out of us when it climbed up the tree in a hurry - right behind us. I'm pretty sure Kamryn peed her pants. Thump. Thump. Draaaaag. ;)
Monday morning, we didn't really have a game plan. Just pack everything up and head home. So we enjoyed the beautiful morning (FINALLY!). We went for a steep walk (boy was I exhausted afterwards). And then just loaded the truck up, grabbed the boat, took it back to the storage unit, and then drove back home.
We ended up having an impromptu gathering of friends and family because the weather was so gorgeous. It was a perfect weekend!
ARROWWOOD RESORT AT CEDAR SHORES - OACOMA, SD - JUNE 2021
Sweet 16. Sixteen years of wedded bliss! We celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary doing what we do - working hard and then relaxing hard. :)
Friday after a grueling week of work, we loaded up our pick-up and drove towards Chamberlain, SD - stopping in Yankton first. We had dinner reservations at The River's Edge, but we had a little time to kill. So we cruised around looking for houses and found our friend, Mike, standing outside at the Cottonwood and stopped and said hi. :)
After our visit, we had our anniversary dinner - and it was so wonderful. This restaurant is across the street from the infamous Ice House, and is not too far from the river (hence the name of the restaurant). :) We ate outside, despite it being nearly 100°. It wasn't too bad in the shade! Great atmosphere, spectacular view, and delicious food! If you're looking for a relaxing but "nicer" dinner, check this place out. They have a traditional / unique menu.
Then it was off to Chamberlain! Okay, and how perfect was it, that during a gorgeous sunset as we passed a little pond / lake, that our wedding song began playing. It was certainly no accident.
When we arrived at the resort, Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center at Cedar Shores, our truck was just covered in bugs! Grotesquely covered in bugs! Just a little fun tid bit - I had to take pictures the next morning of it.
So we checked in and found our room, and discovered we had a balcony overlooking the bar & grill and lake. We were just so excited! We new it was going to be awesome in the light of day.
The resort is a mix of old and new. I wouldn't say it's "run down" by any means, I just think they're in the process of updating. And, as Jake reminded me, it's a "luxury fisherman's resort". And that pretty much sums it up! It was perfect though. Everyone was so relaxed and easy going and super helpful.
The resort has a restaurant (where we ate breakfast both mornings), a bar & grill we had lunch and dinner at on Saturday, and an indoor swimming pool we spent the majority of our time at. Oh, and I should mention that the Second Brigade of South Dakota Motorcycle Club was having meetings there that weekend. So the resort came with bikers, too. ;)
It was so so so hot and pretty darn windy while we were there. It was hard to believe only a week before, we were freezing our buns off! Our weather luck has never been too great. But we hadn't brought the boat with us, so we didn't feel too bad about not wanting to get out on the lake...
And that worked out. The kids swam all day on Saturday - they made a friend from Minnesota at the pool - "You wanna hear a 'Yo Momma' joke?" And this friend certainly earned brownie points with me when he told me I looked fabulous in the vest I finished crocheting there, "You look fabulous in that vest," those were his exact words. In additiona to crocheting, I enjoyed a cocktail or two courtesy of Jake. He had grabbed a couple of Bloody Mary's from the Bloody Mary bar - discovered that the bartender was my brother, Weston's, friend from college. Such a small world! Anyway, we just sat in the pool area drinking da cockytails and watching the girls swim.
We pulled the kids out of the pool long enough for lunch, and then to go see Dignity, check out Al's Oasis, and then get back in the pool! Then we watched the band, The Barn Flies, set-up for their gig that was going to be right under our balcony and right outside of the pool area! And Jake learned from the bartenders that one of the bikers was going to propose to his girlfriend and was going to use the band to help. Our evening was shaping up to be quite eventful!
We ordered too much food, watched the band for awhile down in the main area. Then we headed back up to the room, and watched the band from our balcony. But Jake had to go close out our tabs (yes, he opened one up in the bar inside and the bar outside), so he headed back down to the bar, met the Polar Bear's family, and then came back up in time to see the proposal!
Then we took the girls to the pool again until it closed. They had it all to themselves! Awesome!
