The week after Easter was Spring Break. We decided to visit Zach's sisters in Charlotte with Justin and Max in-tow. We managed to make it to Charlotte without Justin or Max becoming carsick, a first for us. We stayed with Zach's sister Julie, her husband, Doug, and their son Brad. (His other sister was in Florida.)
Julie being aware of our high level of activity had a wide variety of things lined up for us to do. The first day we went to the Reed Gold Mine, which is now a state park. There was only a small gold rush in Charlotte. The mine is closed because it is not cost effective to remain in operation. We took the tour of the mine and Zach answered all the guides' questions correctly, much to her surprise. She didn't know he had been on the tour several years ago. After the tour we went panning for gold. Justin was the only one to find a flake.
From there we went rock climbing at a place called Inner Peaks. Rock climbing is very challenging and requires a lot more strength and energy when the technique in not fully developed. The object is to climb to the top following colored routes of varying degrees of difficulty. Zach and mountain boy Justin had climbed before. Julie had never been, but after her first tentative climb she was enjoying herself and working hard to reach the top. Cathy didn't climb with her ankle injury. After four hours of climbing and belaying we were all tired.
The next day Brad introduced the rest of us to disc golf. The rules are the same as regular golf. We enjoyed it so much we all bought our own discs and played again the next day. When we returned to Atlanta, we found the location of all the courses in the area and Zach and Justin have already played. While we were playing Cathy and Julie invented several new throws including the throw that goes straight up in the air and comes back down and hits you in the head and the throw the you throw forward but ends up behind you.
We returned home on Thursday and Zach left Sunday for Chicago to work on a pilot course for the Postal Service. Cathy had never been to Chicago, so she flew up on Thursday for the weekend. We stayed in the downtown area and did and saw everything we possibly could. Friday afternoon we went for a run by the lake that is Lake Michigan. We ran out to and around the Navy Pier, which is a hopping place in the summer. Friday night we went to "Ragtime" at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theater. Since we were staying in the theater district at the Allegro Hotel, it was only a three-minute walk from our hotel to the theater. The show was great.
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were devoted to museums, landmarks, and other sights of interest. Saturday morning we started the day with a trip to the top of the Sears Tower which is the tallest building in the world. Besides all of Chicago, from the top you can see four states. We won't tell which four. If you are interest check out a map. From there we went to the Field Museum, which is similar to parts of the Smithsonian and the NY Museum of Natural History. It had an excellent ancient Egypt display with numerous mummies and an extensive rock and mineral collection. We finished the day at the Adler Planetarium where we participated in a one of a kind interactive star and planet show.
On Sunday after church we went to the Art Institute, where there are wonderful collections. Beside all the Monets, Van Goughs, Picassos, etc., we particularly enjoyed the miniature house and medieval weapons and armor displays. It was also fascinating to see sculptures and other types of art in the same galleries. We particularly didn't enjoy the modern art collection. One gallery had nothing but six frames of varying sizes with white canvases. In another gallery there was a pile of candy in one corner and toy stuffed snakes arranged in another corner and that was the good stuff. After the Art Institute we went to the famous shopping district on Michigan Avenue called the "Marvelous Mile." At the end of the shopping district are the Old Water Tower and the Hancock Building, which is the eighth tallest building in the world. Of course, we had to go to the top and view Chicago and those four states from a different angle.
On our last day we went to the Shedd Aquarium. On the way there we went through Grant Park. In the park is and absolutely breathtaking fountain called Buckingham Fountain. Grant's tomb is not in this park, but where is it? The aquarium had some really neat tropical fish and other assorted sea creatures.
The week after our return we went down to Florida to visit our friend Ron in Tarpon Springs. While there we biked to the beach and around the area several days. One day we played golf. We had made a visit to the driving range everyday before we played golf in an effort to improve our play. The day we played was the first time Cathy started getting power in her swing and was able to hit the ball much further than she previously had.
On our way home we detoured to Orlando and visited Sea World. Our friend and business associate Dennis had given us some free passes, which we put to good use. We particularly enjoyed the Shamu show, the dolphin show, the water ski show, and the Journey to Atlantis. Somehow in the Shamu show when the whales were splashing the audience Zach got soaked and Cathy sitting right next to him didn't get a drop. That changed in the Journey to Atlantis. It's a combination flume/rollercoaster ride. There are two big drops where we went into pools where all the water comes splashing over the sides. We rode it twice and both times Cathy's side received most of the splash. She got pretty wet. The ride was a lot of fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment