a happy heart: March 2014

Friday, March 21, 2014

A Girl and Her Dad: Road from Canada (The End.)

Well, today my trip with Dad came to an end. It's definitely very bittersweet. Upon entering Wisconsin, I think we were both very relieved but at the same time, really sad. The whole thing was such good bonding and somehow, we never grew sick of each other (at least that I know of).

Yesterday we left Frankenmuth in the afternoon and headed for Grand Haven to stay with some family. Spoiler alert: they're probably the coolest. We haven't seen them in two years, and so our reunion was extra great! We walked along the beach/pier which was still pretty frozen and afterwards went to a place called K2's for pizza, pool, and of course, some good ol' conversation! I think we were all pretty full after our individualized mini pizzas... well, at least I was. Afterwards, they surprised me with one of the best ice-cream cakes I've had. My stomach is growling just thinking about it...

We left Grand Haven this morning around 9:30 AM. Our original ETA according to our GPS was 1 PM and according to Siri, it was 2:30 PM. Well, due to a series of events, our actual time of arrival was 5 PM due to a series events:

Initially, Siri was taking us towards the ferry rather than the freeway and Dad didn't want to trust the seven year old GPS right away (eventually we used it for a while)
The car's tires needed to be changed because the two back ones no longer had tread; originally we went to Sears but they were poop holes, so we ended up going to Firestone
While waiting for the tires to be changed, we went to JJ's Pizza for lunch (a block down from Firestone)
Dad tried going through an IPass Lane but ended up getting stuck because we don't have one; several cars honked at us as we were trying to pay, also a sign that we were in Illinois
Getting through Chicago took about 2 hours (as usual) and was kind of the worst for someone like me because of this thing called motion sickness

I'm sure that several more things had happened in this time span, but I think my brain is mushy from holding all of these memorable adventures and as a result, I can't remember all of them. To conclude our trip we figured that we drove a total of 1785 miles, averaged 26.5 miles/gallon, spent $262.81 on gas and developed Canadian accents. Well, more so Dad than me. You'll notice he says "eh" a lot more...

This for sure has been the trip of a lifetime and I am so incredibly thankful to have gone on it. It's helped me realize how much I take my parents for granted and that I need to start to appreciate them so much more. And now that I'm older, we can be friends and I don't constantly need to be reminded to brush my teeth, take a shower, and everything else parents remind their children of. I wish that Mom and Stephanie could have come with us and be a part of our memories. But it's just as fun reliving the experience while explaining it to them. Some people may find it odd that I spent my 21st birthday with my dad and others may think it's awesome. I've come to the conclusion that it's awesome. So, kids, be sure to love your parents unconditionally--they might just take you across the world to visit an aquarium--and I promise you won't regret it.

-A & G

(Stay tuned for other life adventures I encounter, eh?)

a little sea gull riding the ice

welcome to chicago -_-

chicago

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

A Girl and Her Dad: Road from Canada (Day 5)

You may have noticed that the title of today's post is slightly different in comparison to the others. Well, that's because today we left Canada. Dad and I woke up in time to have breakfast, which for me was way too early. That time, was 8 AM. I guess not having any sleep in college makes you appreciate those moments when you can sleep in. Anyways, in case you were wondering, my waffles were delicious.

We hit the road around 10 AM today and were back in the US around 3 PM. Crossing the border and going through border patrol was so nerve wracking. I felt as if I was reliving my arrival back to the States from my time in South America. Good thing Dad is a smooth talker or I may not have made it back without intensive interrogation.

We spent the afternoon/early evening in a small German town called Frankenmuth. One might wonder how two people could find such a town? Well, as soon as the lady at the information center told us that there was a Christmas store in the town called Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland, we knew where we were going. It is open 361 days of the year. MY DREAM. I've never been as overwhelmed by Christmas as I was in that very moment. It was a maze of ornaments, nutcrackers, nativity scenes, hummels, lights, Santas, and anything else Christmas! We were only there for a half hour, but I could have spent HOURS AND HOURS there. In fact, it was so huge that we were starting to get lost. It was a dream come true. Most of today's pictures are from there...

Afterwards, I bought Dad dinner at the Bavarian Inn, which is a German restaurant. We started off with bread. And then they brought out four bowls with homemade applesauce, cranberry sauce, coleslaw, and chicken salad as appetizers. Then, we got our food: schnitzel, sauerbraten, rouladen, kasseler rippchen, and chicken. Oh, and on top of that we were given sauerkraut, stuffing, buttered noodles, and corn. I felt like it was a Thanksgiving feast. It made up for our lack of food over the past few days. It was well worth it. If you're ever in the Frankenmuth area, GO THERE. Seriously.

It's sad to think that our trip is coming to an end, but at the same time, we have so much adventure ahead of us! A few more days on the road with Gar Bear will result in adventure.

christmas

i love christmas

christmas

celebrate your santapendance

christmas

more christmas

there's even more!

i was feeling overwhelmed

yet, more christmas

the west entrance (there were four entrances total)

a small portion of the outside

there's an entire street of lit up christmas lights

bavarian inn

dad ordered the heidelberg combination and i ordered the frankenmuth combination

loner.

(I added pictures from the Falls to the bottom of yesterday's post!)

-A & G

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

A Girl and Her Dad: Road to Canada (Day 4)

We left Toronto a little before noon today and headed for Niagara Falls. Seeing as we didn't have any source of navigation, we made it there fairly smoothly. Though, we did stop at good ol' Tim Horton's for some coffee. And for directions. It seems that our pal Tim never lets us down.

After about an hour of driving, we arrived to Niagara Falls, Ontario. Also known as the Wisconsin Dells on steroids. Dad and I were astonished at how something so beautiful such as Niagara Falls could be turned into such a tourist fad. And because it is the off season for tourism (who wants to see a frozen waterfall?), everything seems extra creepy. It probably all belongs in a horror film: wax museums, Dracula's museum, Marine World, haunted houses, flashy neon signs, giant dinosaurs, etc.

Though, the Niagara Falls itself is absolutely incredible. I would actually describe it as being overwhelming. The amount of beauty this one waterfall can hold, is breathtaking. Just when I thought our trip couldn't get any better, it did. We spent a few hours taking pictures while parking illegally and always having to make sure there were no police ticketing us. Due to the mist being emitted from the Falls, it felt as if it were raining inside the car.

After standing in front of the falls for a little bit, we went back to the hotel and hung out. We went out again to explore what was beyond the creepy outskirts of the touristy area. We didn't run into a whole lot, so we decided to turn around. And good thing we did because we were able to see Niagara Falls lit up with several different colors. The chunks of ice looked like heaping piles of cotton candy and the flowing water was even cooler looking. I can't describe it without making tons of weird references. As I was taking pictures the second time around (when it was dark) someone came up to me and asked me how my pictures were turning out, what my camera settings were, etc. Turns out, it was someone Dad and I had met at the CN Tower yesterday. What are the chances?

Once we got cold from the Falls, we headed back to the hotel and warmed up. From there, we went out. Well, once again, everything was closed. However, we managed to have one drink. While we were at the bar, we ended up running into an older couple that were from the Milwaukee area. That was pretty crazy. And by older couple, I mean Mom and Dad's age. But, Dad did get the senior discount at our last hotel, so I feel that it is safe to use the term "older couple"...

Oh, and breakfast tomorrow includes waffles. In the back of mind, that's all I've been thinking about...

the falls and the ice chunks

the falls

rainbow

dad and the falls

us and the falls

jumping with joy

the falls and i

creepy funhouse carnival death street

the falls at night

giant cotton candy chunks of snow

the falls at night

all lit up!

(i posted them!)

-A & G

Monday, March 17, 2014

A Girl and Her Dad: Road to Canada (Day 3)

Day 3 we continued to hang out with the Canucks. It probably has been the best day of our trip so far! I don't even know how to process everything that happened or even put it all into words. Here's a brief run down:
1. After several hours in the car, we finally realized that we were in another country.
2. We went and had lunch in the CN Tower, and also explored it.
3. We went to the Ripley's Aquarium.
4. We went out.

Lunch in the CN Tower consisted of a three course meal while being 114 stories up in the air. Oh, it also was the first time we've had real food in like, two or three days. Dad ordered duck. And while ordering it, he got a tear in his eye because that's what Harold would have ordered (his dad, my grandpa). Probably the cutest thing ever. So now, when I describe my main dish, it will sound boring and not sentimental. Well, probably because it is. Though, it was delicious. I just got your standard ribs and mashed potatoes. The really incredible thing about our lunch, besides how good it was, was that we were able to rotate around the city of Toronto and a part of Lake Ontario. The view was absolutely incredible. And do to a full rotation, it takes about 72 minutes. Getting up to use the restroom was a challenge in that the tables moved. So, the journey back to my food took a little longer than I would have hoped. After lunch, we went down to the observation deck and the glass floor. I thought that Dad was going to s*** his pants upon seeing the glass floor. He would not walk out onto it for a good amount of time. It was similar to the one time I tried taking our cat for a walk. It just stood stationary and meowed until it could go back inside. Granted, Dad didn't meow, but he definitely stood stationary and seemed terrified. At one point, I turned around and saw him standing about three inches onto it. I was flabbergasted. Maybe seeing all the kids jumping up and down on it gave him some courage...

After the CN Tower, we headed on over to the Ripley's Aquarium (probably my favorite part of today). I don't even know how to express it in words. So, I won't try to. The only thing I'll say is that there were fish, sharks, and stingrays swimming over our heads at one point, and I felt the electricity that an electric eel omits. It felt like the one time I touched an electric fence to prevent goats form wandering too far away from their grazing land. Really, it was a light jolt of electricity (dad didn't even feel it) but it was enough to make a little girl almost cry, and me not want to touch it ever again.

After our adventures, we headed back to the hotel and napped. We went back out around 10 PM to a bar/pub called Bar Hop. The beer selection was so incredibly unique and we were both pretty overwhelmed with our selections. We each ordered two beers. Dad's had higher alcohol content so he was maybe a little bit more drunk... but that also made him the life of the bar. I just sat and observed. We began to grow pretty hungry and figured that we would continue roaming the one street we were familiar with in hopes of finding food or another pub. Everything was once again closed, except for the hotdog vendor on the corner of the street. So, we resorted to walking back to our hotel with a hotdog and brat in hand. This seems to be a reoccurring problem for us...

All in all, today was a success. Dad cried, almost s*** his pants, and got drunk. I just observed and made sure he was still able to function while continuing to enjoy my time with him. Someone has to keep him in line. He even said that we are friends now and my being disciplined days are over. YES. Tomorrow we're leaving Toronto and heading for the falls. We might try the barrel challenge and roll down the falls. KIDDING. That would be crazy. Stay tuned!