The Story Of Us

We spent a total of three nights in Las Vegas . On our second day there.. to break up the monotony of the strip we decided to do a little off strip exploring. Last time we visited Vegas, M and I visited the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation  which is just 30 mins away this time we ventured a little further and drove 75 mins to the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada's oldest and largest state park. It is 46,000 acres of red Aztec sandstone, formed by shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago.  We had two main hikes on the agenda. The first was the Fire Wave and Seven Wonders loop (1.8 miles)  and the second was the White Domes loop (1.1 mile).  The was a $10 entry fee. We stopped at the Visitors Center for a quick bathroom break and encountered this handsome fella.  I would have guessed and said ram but google informs me that it is a bighorn sheep. We drove towards the hike and let me tell you.. just the drive through the park was worth it.. if you h...

Last weekend was a long weekend..we took Friday off as well and went to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. On Friday we drove up to North Adams. We had lunch at A-OK BBQ. It was so so good. The kids had mac and cheese while M and I had the pulled chicken sandwiches. We walked around the area.. discovered a gorgeous shop called Roam selling goods made by African villagers and craftsmen. The Mass MOCA Museum is also located there, unfortunately we could not stop in for a visit :( Before heading out we grabbed coffee and the boys ice cream from Tunnel City Coffee.  Our next stop was Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts. The internet informed me that hiking to the summit with small children was not easy so we decided to drive right up to the summit.  While on Greylock we decided to hike to Stony Ledge, a rocky outcropping offering scenic vistas of the Greylock mountain range. Google said it was a 30 minute walk to the vista point.. but it took us much longer.. the ...

The first stop on our trip was Charlotte but we did not have the time to actually explore the city. The time it took to get that far south from New Jersey and the time it would take to get back cost us two of our 9 vacation days. Our second day was spent at the Chimney Rock State Park just outside of Asheville, near Lake Lure. The same lake where the water scene from Dirty Dancing was shot. Chimney Rock has over 6 different trails for all different skill levels and most very family friendly. We explored three different trails while we were there. The first was the Great Woodland Adventure designed specifically for kids. The second trail was Chimney Rock There were a lot of steps.. over 400 but the boys were real good.. and the view was totally worth it.  You can see Lake Lure from the top.  We asked the boys if they were up for another hike and surprisingly they both said yes! The third hike was the Hickory Nut Falls Trail ...