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Posts Tagged ‘Vacation’

Thoughtful Thursday-Travel Edition

Posted in Fun, My Thoughts, Travel, tagged , , , , on June 21, 2012| 3 Comments »

June fourteenth is a very special day for C & I because it is our wedding anniversary.  This year was our 11th year of marital harmony (most of the time), so we decided to take a mini-vacation to celebrate.  We knew we wanted to go see an Imax movie and, at first, thought about Nashville since it is only a couple of hours from us, but then I found out there is an Imax theater in Newport, Kentucky along with an aquarium and other fun things.

All of these attractions are located in one complex called Newport On The Levee and it was well worth the three hour drive (each way) for us.  The location was a cinch to find off of I-75 because, when you reach the Newport area, there are signs telling you what exit to take for the Newport Aquarium and then other signs on the city streets that take you right to it.  We were there on Thursday so the parking at Newport Intermediate School was only $2 for the whole day.  What a bargain!  Our original plan was to visit the aquarium and ride the Duck on Thursday, then see the Imax matinee on Friday.  Since everything was right there together, we were able to do all three things on Thursday. 

Today’s photos will be of the aquarium.  This is the third big aquarium we have been to and it was just as good as Gatlinburg’s and better than the one at Virginia Beach.  We also were able to buy a combo ticket for the aquarium and Duck tour that gave us a pretty good discount.  I have mentioned that Duck tour twice now, haven’t I?  Wonder what that is?  Hmmm?

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Pretty fish!

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Ms. Octopus was not happy!  One of the other visitors took a photo using a flash (against the rules) and the octopus went crazy in her tank.

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Mighty Mike the alligator.  He blinked and the aquarium guide said that was the most movement he had made all day.

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A pretty Lorikeet

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The jellyfish are always one of my favorite marine animals to watch.  It is so relaxing to watch them swim around.

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C was keeping a close eye on that shark.  Can’t you just hear the Jaws theme song in your head?

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This isn’t all…come back for the next edition for our incredibly fun and entertaining Duck ride!

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Almost-Wordless Wednesday

Posted in Photography, Travel, tagged , , , , on June 29, 2011|

Sailing, sailing…somewhere beyond the sea…

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Thoughtful Thursday

Posted in Fun, My Thoughts, Photography, Travel, tagged , , , , on June 23, 2011|

Today starts your virtual journey on C & I’s 10th anniversary vacation we took last week.  I hope you enjoy, but I warn you that you may get tired of all of the photos I put on here from this trip.  We had such an amazing time road-tripping through parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio before making our way back to bluegrass land.  It was an adventure I will never forget!

C & I started out on Sunday with the plan to drive to Natural Bridge, Virginia to see Foamhenge.  That’s right, I did say “Foamhenge” not “Stonehenge”.  Here is a little history…I was watching Ace of Cakes on the Food Network one night and, in that episode, Duff and Geoff take a road trip.  One of the stops they made was at Foamhenge, which is a free road-side attraction built by an artist.  It is a full-scale replica of Stonehenge made of huge foam blocks.  C was hooked!  He had to see this.  We had already been talking about a beach vacation to celebrate our 10th anniversary and that pretty much sealed the deal for Virginia Beach.  Anyway, back to our story.

We arrived at the Kentucky/Tennessee/Virginia lines (yes, they are that close together) and realized that we would have to go through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel.  Gulp!  I am not that fond of being underground, but here goes…

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After that, we took Highway 58 through a good portion of Eastern Virginia.  This is a main highway, but it wraps around a mountain so it is really, really curvy.  Then it started to rain while we were on the really curvy road.  Thankfully, we made it without any problems and the scenery was great to look at.

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We finally arrived at Foamhenge and it was so cool!  The place is not fancy, but if you like Stonehenge and have a sense of humor, you really need to go!

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It was kind of desolate.  I was a little afraid someone would sneak in and lock the gate behind us.

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There is even a levitating Merlin!

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This is the path back down to where we parked.

We were being watched!  I think it was an attack deer! 

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Once we had experienced Foamhenge, we headed toward Lexington, Virginia, where we were spending the night at the Hampton Inn-Historic District.  This hotel is partially housed in a historic house called Col Alto.  You can stay in those rooms, or did like we did, stay in the separate hotel in the back which is quite a bit cheaper.  You can still walk through the historic home and enjoy the ambience without having to shell out the big bucks.  I was saving my hotel budget for the beach!

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This is it for Day 1.  Please check back next Thursday as we travel to the coast!

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