For a fun and informative Halloween activity, be sure to take in the Wicked Plants at Lauritzen Gardens from now until November 12. It’s super creative, fascinating, educational, spooky, and beautiful all at once! I DARE YOU to visit!!!

Recently, I was fortunate to be able to cross an item off my bucket list. I have wanted to attend the world’s largest hot air balloon festival (the International Balloon Fiesta, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico each October) for quite a while. I was in New Mexico for nine days and attended the Fiesta four times while I was there. Allow me to show you around! Includes video, plus I’ll give you some insider tips along the way!

Copy and paste the link in the post to see the drone show. It’s awesome! 👏🤩❤️

A quick peek at the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico! Stay tuned on my blog for more!

While Omaha has many new attractions and much to see, folks have been eagerly awaiting for the reopening of the newly expanded Joslyn Art Museum! I have been one of those people. The Joslyn has been closed for more than two years and I have dearly missed it. When the museum reopened in early September, I made sure to visit the first week. Since then, I have visited two more times, enjoying different parts of the museum on each visit. Join me as we explore the new and improved Joslyn together!

Prior to this past August, I had only been in Victoria British Columbia for a grand total of six hours, including two hours at Butchart Gardens, in 2013. That was just enough time to visit the gardens briefly, go to the Royal BC Museum, and have an ice cream cone downtown. After I got there in 2013, I realized that six hours was not nearly enough time to spend in Victoria. And in August of 2024, I got to go back! It was AMAZING!

In 2022 I when to Seattle with some friends and we took a tour with Lynn from Seattle Under the Radar Tours while we were there and it was fabulous! So when I went on my recent trip to Seattle in August, I contacted her for another tour. We wanted somewhere we hadn’t explored yet so she suggested West Seattle with one stop in Seattle along the way. It was a super suggestion!

Most folks know that state fairs are usually big events. But did you know there is a fair in Northwest Iowa that rivals many state fairs? It’s called The Clay County Fair and is held each year in Spencer, Iowa. I had a fun time attending this past Saturday, September 7, with two friends I’ve known since age 3. We had a blast! The fair continues until September 15, so there’s still time to go yourself!

On August 10, I took a fun and inspiring tour in Seattle called Henry Mural Tours. This post is Part 2. Please read the original post first. The tour was a total blast! Check this out!

Many of you know I enjoy art of all kinds. My favorite type of art, though, usually involves lots of color, a hopeful message, and a bit of unique whimsy. When I was recently in Seattle, I was fortunate to discover a tour for an artist that checks all those boxes. It totally made my day! See why!!!

If you are fascinated by sea creatures, you will enjoy the Seattle Aquarium! I have been to the aquarium several times over the years and the facilities and exhibits improve every time I visit. Let me show you around!

In August 2024 I achieved a personal milestone (a.k.a. Bucket list) that I added to my to-do list in 2013 - more than 11 years ago. I spent one absolutely GLORIOUS full day at The Butchart Gardens near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. To me, this place is like heaven on earth. See why!

When you go to Seattle, you go to the iconic Space Needle! It’s almost a given! But did you know that the experience has been upgraded in the last few years? Let me show you more!

I just returned from yet another fun day at the Iowa State Fair! You might think a fair in 2024 is an old fashioned place that only a few folks attend. Not so in Iowa and several other places in the U.S! In fact, in 2023 more than 1.1 million folks attended the Iowa State Fair and this year at least one daily attendance record was broken, so the Fair just keeps getting more and more popular.

I just got home at 1 am from a wonderful trip to Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. I say this almost every trip, but this trip was one of the best trips I’ve ever had! I got to do so much fun stuff I can’t believe it. My son presented at a national conference in Seattle, so I decided to go with him (since guess who was mostly footing the bill?). 😏 I totally turned it into a “Bucket List” trip for myself though!

Eleven years ago I was fortunate to travel from Vancouver to Victoria, British Columbia just for the day. I spent 5 wonderful hours in Victoria, two of them at world famous Butchart Gardens. It was so incredible that 2 hours was not nearly enough time. I vowed that day I would be back for a whole day some day in the future. It took 11 years, but today was the day!

I love taking unique ways to travel, whether it be by air, train, unique automobile, or animal!  I have ridden in many types of vehicles, planes, trains, trolleys, tractors, boats of various types, and horses. So I was excited to try a water taxi in the canal in downtown Oklahoma City in April 2024. Yes, you read that right. 😏 It surprised me too!

Hi, my fellow travelers! I am traveling this week and, unfortunately, will not have much time to blog. The good news is that I will have lots of great places to share with you when I get back! Please keep checking back, though, because I may do some blogging when I’m too tired to walk anymore. 🤪🙄😵‍💫

Well, Freebie fans, you are in luck! This weekend only (August 3 and 4) you can explore 70+ Omaha-Council Bluffs area spaces and places completely FREE! Let me repeat that - FREE!!! Is that awesome or what?!?

I spent the Fourth of July this year in the Okoboji area in Iowa, as I sometimes do. This year, due to flooding in Northwest Iowa (heartbreaking), I had to take a different route than normal to get there. On the way home I was looking for fun stops on Google Maps and I spotted Lost Island Lake Nature Center a ways south of Spencer, Iowa. So I paid it a visit on the Sunday afternoon after the 4th.