On Vacation!!!

We started today off in Clinton, Missouri. We slept in a little bit before continuing our trip north. We drove past the state line into Kansas with no fanfare, so we do not have a welcome to Kansas sign to share.  Our first stop today was at the Museum at Prairie Fire. The building is stunning! The glass changes color with the sun and angle that you look at it.  For those of you who know us well, it is probably pretty odd for you to have been following us for so many days and not have seen any dinosaurs! Today changed that. On our trip south,  we did not find any dinosaur stops that were new to us that seemed like they were worth stopping at. Apparently very few dinosaur fossils have been found in Louisiana and Mississippi, thus there are not a lot of dinosaur specimens in museums in those states.  Although the museum at Prairiefire was small, it was well worth a stop.  Then we were off to Ikea for a quick lunch and to pick up some mats f...

We started our day in Hope, Arkansas. We had an earlier start than most days as we wanted to get a few hours of digging in at Crater of Diamonds State Park and we wanted to get to the Prehistoric Fossils store in Branson, MO before they closed.  We aren't sure if we found anything at Crater of Diamonds as we sifted and took the gravel with us. We really enjoy this type of treasure hunting and plan to come back when we can spend more time. 2 hours in the diamond field really flew by.  Driving through the Ozarks was beautiful. We passed by areas we know others are treasure hunting for the Pokémon box, but our family has a hard time believing that the box can be this far north. (Heracross does not spawn here). We talked through some clues in the car as we drove through the winding roads.  Branson was a nice leg stretch. Dane found some great specimens at the Prehistoric Fossil store and we made our way to Pasghetti's for dinner. Dane has been craving a meatball sub like he h...

  This morning we packed up from our home base in Slidell, Louisiana and started to head north. As much fun as it was hunting treasure and exploring southern Louisiana, we were all ready to head north. Louisiana isn't a bad state to visit but the humidity, even with the lower spring temperatures was not our cup of tea.  Dane was absolutely loving the Creole cuisine though! We stopped a few times today, but not for any particular attraction: lunch, gas, leg stretching, and to put our feet down in a new to us state- Texas.  Lots of cool bridges, driving... and driving today... (Do you see Dane, being abducted by aliens back there?) Texarkana was full of art, even for the crosswalks! We didn't see a "Welcome to Texas" sign on the road we drove in on, so we will have to save capturing that sign for another trip.  After Texarkana, we drove north to Hope, Arkansas.  Tomorrow we dig for diamonds! Today's State Count: 3 Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas Trip State Count: 9 Mic...

  This morning we went "Boots on the Ground." Although the clues were abundant for our location, it quickly became clear that once on the ground we were missing significant pieces of the puzzle for our location to be "the location" for the Pokémon box.  Camp Salem Nature Park was definitely a treasure of its own though. It was a beautiful morning for a hike and the Spanish Moss on the trees was exquisite. We failed to find a Golem or a rock to sit on in the middle of it all.... So, the hunt continues!!! After our walk, we took a little bit of a break at our hotel before heading out to Honey Island for a swamp boat tour.   We were lucky enough to see a couple of gators in addition to a number of raccoons, owls, snakes, and various birds. It was a fairly warm day, so it was nice to be cruising around on a boat for a couple of hours. Then, we went to downtown New Orleans. Allan as lucky enough to snag us some reservations at Mulate's. The food did not disappoint!  ...