Final Summer Vacation Trip!!!

One of my favorite places: Turkey Run State Park!! Okay, so I've only been there twice. It's still one of my favorite places. Maybe top ten. :) Can you see why??

This was my sister Sara's and my final vacation outing. My other sister didn't really want to come, and my oldest sister lives around 20 hours away, so it was just the two of us. 

There are several environments in the park: woody, wet, cliffy, and canyon-y. I like to call it the Grand Canyon of Indiana. :)

Even though I am afraid of heights, there was little fear climbing up these ladders! Adventure waits for no one and for no fear!

This area is the best!!!! You actually walk through/over that little stream in the above picture. Or you can climb the steps embedded in the canyon wall, walk on a ledge, and climb more steps down. If you ever plan on going here, trails 3 and 4 are a definite must!!

Around the time we reached the bright red, covered bridge, we were sore, tired, and slightly worried because of an incident involving a snake. And I may have been slightly muddy because of an incident involving mud. :)

Unfortunately, we weren't at the end of our adventure. Somewhere among the trails, we got lost, ending up on something called "Bridle Trail". Let's just say it wasn't labeled on the map and there were lots of hoof prints and horse cookies. :) We walked and walked until we found the horse stable thing which, thankfully, was on the map. A long walk across field and parking lot, and there was the van. HALLELUJAH! Then we got the brilliant idea to look for a vending machine I thought I had noticed earlier... :)

 Moral of this story: Spend time with your family. It's a great thing to do (even if you tend to get a little impatient with them). There's nothing like the bond of brotherly (or sisterly!) love. And there's nothing quite like adventure... :)

Florida!!!!

 Hello, friends!
I promised to show you (and tell you) about Florida, so here you go.

It was a loooong drive down (and up)! I mainly slept, read an Amish romance book, and watched some episodes of the only season of Family Affair we own. And panicked when I woke up after a very early morning doze to find that my dad was still driving. How anyone can sit in a van for 8 hours, then drive for about 13 hours straight is beyond me. But the view was pretty terrific at times!

                             

This year, we actually stayed in a house instead of a hotel. It was soo nice! If you have the opportunity to rent a house (and for five people, the cost was about the same as two hotel rooms), I would say go for it! It's definitely worth it. Just be sure to do your homework. Because if you decide to rent a place and it ends up being a dump home, I want to be clear from any blame. :)

The gulf in the backyard, animals everywhere, tropical plants..... Ahhh, yes. Vacation is a great time to enjoy God's great and diverse creation.

 

We had a lot of fun feeding the ducks- and the greedy gull things. :)

  Now you may have heard about Florida in the news, and not just because of their sunny beaches, scary sinkholes, or summer homes. Florida has had an abnormally large amount of rain, thus
flooding. Roads were blocked, parking lots closed, and occasionally cars got stuck.

Speaking of sunny beaches...We enjoyed swimming and tanning on this new man-made beach during one of the only non-rainy days. But for some strange reason, I actually didn't tan very much. :(

So, after a week of shopping, swimming, and relaxing, it was finally time to say goodbye to our temporary home, and hello to 21 hours of blissful driving. :D