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Like many Michiganders, we headed south for our spring break.

Unlike many Michiganders, we stopped heading south after only one state and we spent our week in Ohio.

Our friends spent their days on the beach. Our kids had fun seeing who could grab the biggest icicle off the rock ledges.

Our destination was Hocking Hills. We found a VRBO in Logan and set out from there each morning for some trails. For those of you not familiar with this part of Ohio, you are best off picturing West Virginia for the terrain.

Day 1:
We couldn’t check in until 4:00, so we didn’t need to leave that early. It was 10:00 or so when we left.

Normally, when we drive somewhere, we stop at around the 2.5 hour mark for a break. Use the bathroom, stretch the legs, etc. So we usually have lunch around the 2 hour mark. On this day, Some Wife handed out the lunches we had packed, everyone ate as we drove, then we scouted for the upcoming rest stops. I took a survey and no one needed to stop, so the plan was to drive until someone needed to stop.

We ended up going the whole 4+ hours without stopping. I think that’s the first time we’ve ever done that. Turning point for family vacations right there.

We got there early enough so we did everything else before checking into the house: visit the visitors’ center, tour the pencil sharpener museum (right next to the center, and only about 10’x15′ – one of the tinier musea around), hike Rock House, hike Rock Bridge, pick up groceries for the week (hooray for curbside pickup), and grab a carryout pizza (hooray for no cooking the first evening).

Rock House
We chose Rock House for the first afternoon because it was close. Rock House is like a cave with many large openings.

I’ll start with a picture of a tree that looks like a snail, which is on the trail to the actual Rock House

Next is a couple of the kids clambering around the path to Rock House. Notice the icicles. In many areas the path led you under icicles, and we witnessed several of them falling.

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This is continuation of last week’s blog post about the start of our spring break trip to Texas.

Now on to the chronological recap:

Day 4: Cave Day
There a number of caves around the San Antonio area. There was a big tourist-trap one that I avoided due to cost reasons, and I ended up picking Cascade Caverns.

It’s a smaller affair, so if you like a low-key tourist event, I’d recommend this one. The lady sold us our tickets, then locked up the building so she could be our tour guide, then went back to the building after the tour and we bought souvenirs from her. And we were the only people on the tour.

Here are some photos. First up, the gift shop:

We had a few minutes between the ticket purchase and the start of the tour, so we went on a short (1/2 mile?) hike in their trails on the grounds. Not much notable on that hike, other than some informative signs about native fauna. Plus we saw cactus growing wild. That’s something of interest to a Michigander who sees cactus only in special buildings.

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Like most people in Michigan this year, we took advantage of spring break to leave Michigan for warmer pastures and to find out what it’s like to dine in at restaurants.

Unlike most people in Michigan this year, we went to Texas, not Florida.

Since it was only a week, we chose to fly rather than drive to Texas. Our destination was a VRBO house with a pool. Staying for a week, and with kids that can be loud, we figured renting a house was the way to go. It had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, which is a good layout for a family of 6. Plus a kitchen, dining room, living room, washer/dryer, and back patio and pool. Better features, less crowded, and a similar price compared to staying in a hotel.

Now on to the chronological recap:

Day 1: Travel Day
We left our home around 10:00am, flew to Austin, got a rental car, and headed out to San Antonio. Direct flight to Austin, that’s why we didn’t fly to San Antonio. The rental car process was easier than I remember. The only mishap was that the Alamo and National counters were manned by only one person so there was only one line, but they didn’t tell you that until you went through the ropes course and got to the front of the empty Alamo line, only to be sent to the back of the National line. How hard would it have been to put a sign at the entrance to the Alamo line saying “Go over there to National” or something?

Anyway, we arrived to San Antonio just before dinner their time. We stopped at the Costco just outside SA to get some supplies for the week, plus a Costco pizza for dinner. The only real traffic we had was getting into SA.

All in all though, I’d say Texans weren’t bad drivers. I didn’t have a preconceived notion of Texas drivers, but for the most part they were competent. Which is above average if you check in other states.
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Continued from last week

Day 8

This was a travel day. A few hours through the UP and then the upper LP. A lot of 2-lane highways and not much of the freeways, which made for some scenery. I was doing most of the driving, so I didn’t get to take many photos of the scenery.

Except for this one: our rest stop before the Mackinac Bridge:

Followed closely by this one:

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Continued from last week

Day 6

We had a typical breakfast that we would have at home – cereal and bagels and stuff like that. And then we were off on our day of adventure in the greater Marquette area. First up: Presque Isle.

Fun fact: Presque Isle was designed by the same guy who designed New York City’s Central Park. Maybe “designed” is the wrong word for it – more like “conserved”.

Our first stop was to the mini lighthouse. I think officially it is a beacon, not a lighthouse. But either way, the walk out there was something that the boys liked. It was somewhat harrowing, but the lake was rather calm so it could have been worse.

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Continued from last week

Day 3

Our hosts offered us the use of their jetski. But not just any jetski – it was a stand-up jetski.

For those of you who have ridden a jetski: it’s not like a normal jetski. The difference is like between driving a car and driving a motorcycle. It requires a lot more balance and a lot of concentration. With a normal jetski you can slow down or stop and not have to do anything. With a stand-up jetski you must balance all the time. Imagine riding a bike or motorcycle and not being able to put your feet down, or a kickstand either. Because there’s not ground under you.

And the handlebar moves up and down when you don’t want it to. That was the hardest part for me – I wasn’t keeping the handlebar down all the way when I was starting and I couldn’t steer very well. Anyway, here’s some guy on a stand-up jetski:

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Day 1

After last year’s excursion to the west coast, we took a shorter vacation this year, staying in the Midwest.

First off, we drove to Green Bay, WI. I had fond memories of going to tour Lambeau Field, so I wanted my kids to experience that. Actually, I have only one memory of the tour, but I do remember going when I was a kid. So day 1 of vacation was driving to Green Bay and then going on the official tour of the stadium.

First up: the statues. We parked near the statues out front. One of Curly Lambeau

And then one of Vince Lombardi:

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