Weekend on the Lake

So, we had the mostjampackedweekend.ever.

First:  Dinner date with our favorite Aggie-Buckeyes! Love them and baby June bug. Sidenote: Too bad our Aggies let us down this weekend. Most boring game of the year award for sure.

Second: Halloweekends at Cedar Point! We thought since it was a little chilly and windy, the park wouldn't be quite so busy... but we were so wrong. It was still packed. What can you expect from the world's best amusement park? Because I'm not just biased. It really is. Despite the long lines, we were able to ride EVERY attraction on our list! It was a blast. My favorites are the Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster and Power Tower. I'm excited for the new ride next year too!

Since it was "Halloweekend" we walked through the scare zones and the haunted corn maze. They definitely got me to scream several times! Mostly due to the loud noise and jumping out from hay bales... but it was spooky for sure. Then we went to the Gypsy Fortune Tellers. Honestly, I thought it was going to be as random as a Panda Express fortune cookies... but it was actually really creepy. This gypsy knew WAY more about each of us then I ever anticipated. Either that, or she's just a really good guesser. I would share what she said... but it's actually pretty personal so I'm going to choose not to. But seriously... these people are a tad bit freaky. Scared me more than the haunted maze!

And after 12 hours of walking, standing and riding... we were exhausted. Some McDonalds chicken nuggets and hot cocoa were the perfect evening snack and I'm pretty sure we both fell asleep the minute we laid down.

Third: 

Family Day. Got to see my nephew play football, my niece do her back tuck on the trampoline, and some of the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (always so uplifting!) We also had plans to take family pictures for my brother and his kids, but it rained. Photo shoot rescheduled!

Fourth: 

Pumpkin Patch Picking!

This was unexpected. We had originally planned on taking the Jet Express ferry to Put-n-Bay island... but unfortunately it doesn't run on week days! But we happened upon this fabulous pumpkin patch and decided it was fate. There we hunted for our two perfectly perfect pumpkins and finally settled on these beauties. Can't wait to carve and/or paint them!!

Fifth:

Drive-thru African Safari. Let me just say. This was CAAAARAZY. Like a little scary. Like umm... how is this even legal and safe? For $8 (Thanks, Groupon) we drove through a park full of giant deer, elk and alpacas! And they were ravenous creatures.

 

When I pulled the food away and rolled up the window, one got so angry he rammed our car with his antlers! It left a dent in our door! We are lucky that 1. our car is old and we don't really care and 2. it wasn't this guy! Now that would have done some damage!

But mostly, it was a fun adventure. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt as I watched Christopher freak out when this elk poked his head inside the car.

But my laughter immediately halted when I turned around and realized an elk almost ate my boot buckles off! We learned our lesson quickly though... only roll down the window enough to stick the food cup through. Much safer.

The coolest part was at the end when we got to feed the zebras and giraffes! Check out these awesome close-ups I got.

And if you know how much I LOVE giraffes... you can imagine how I excited I was when one peaked his head in our window and his crazy long tongue coiled around my carrot. I squealed like a kid meeting Mickey Mouse at Disney World. Best moment ever. Christopher loved it too. If you want some excitement in your zoo experience, check out this safari in Port Clinton!

Sixth: 

Lake Erie Fishing Charter! We were so lucky for great weather, a great guide, and lots of yellow perch biting! We took my dad as part of his Father's Day/birthday/retirement present. It was so fun! We only fished for about an hour, but caught about 20 fish!

I actually did a lot better than I expected. Probably because our guide has a special technology that can tell where the fish are. He made it easy for us! At one point, I even caught TWO fish at the same time! hah, it was awesome. We had a trophy for the person who caught the biggest fish. It was supposed to go to ME... but on the VERY last cast... Christopher caught a fish that was about an inch bigger. Grrrr! hah but it's ok. I was just excited that we had more yummy perch to eat! We fried it up in bread crumbs, added some lemon, and served with french fries. Yum. Nothing like fresh fish &a chips! Can't wait to go again next summer... for an ALL day trip! Maybe then we can catch some walleye too.

We definitely tried to do way too much this weekend. Luckily, it turned out OK anyways. But I let this be a lesson to myself... STOP TRYING TO DO SO MUCH! Just leave time for chilling & relaxing, not racing around from one thing to the next. 

Because seriously. After this 3-day vacation from work...

I need another vacation!