Abraham Lincoln sites - President's Day

 Anyone who knows me, knows I L-O-V-E Abraham Lincoln.  My students know just how obsessed I am considering my classroom was covered with his picture, witty remarks and wisdom.  I have a continually growing set of books and movies dedicated to him and his role as our 16th president.

And since I love to travel and visit historic sites you can bet your bottom dollar I seize any opportunities to see sites relating to Lincoln.  Hoping to add the monument and museum in Springfield Illinois to my list. These sites are extremely popular, and I hope families get the chance to see these monuments dedicated to one of the most loved presidents that's served our great country.

"History is not history unless it is the truth."

"Bad promises are better broken than kept."

"Broken eggs cannot be mended."

"My father taught me to work, but not to love it.  I never did like to work, and I don't deny it. I'd rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk and laugh - anything but work."

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park - Kentucky

On our family RV trip we planned to make a stop at Lincoln's birthplace.  Since I was doing most of the event planning this was definitely going to be stop on our loop.  What added to the experience was the fact that we almost missed the whole thing!  If you've ever dealt with time zone change then you know the line isn't a straight line, but in fact curves in and out. So the closing time for the historic park was actually an hour earlier, and by the time we realized it, we were booking that RV down those side roads faster then was probably safe and flew into the park just in time.

Picked up this miniature bust of Lincoln as a small token of our visit. Makes a perfect item for my teacher desk.

Battle of Gettysburg - Pennsylvania

One of Abraham Lincoln's most famous speeches was his Gettysburg Address in 1863 after the three day July battle.  Lincoln delivered his classic speech at the dedication of a national cemetery at Gettysburg to commemorate all the lives on both the union and confederacy side that had been sacrificed.  It was one of the greatest expressions of democracy in American history.   

Even back when my family visited the battle site in my early school years I still remember that feeling when driving through the park and stopping at the Minnesota memorial.  My love of learning about the Civil War has only continued to grow. In college I was lucky to have taken a class just on the Civil War my freshman year.  I was completely in my element in that class.  I was able to read so many great books on the subject and we even memorized the Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

I hope that I'll be able to venture over to the site again next time I'm in Ohio, since I know that it would certainly mean even more to me today.

Mount Rushmore - South Dakota

One of my favorite monuments honoring our past presidents, carved into the side of the Black Hills of South Dakota is Mount Rushmore.  This National Memorial is visited by nearly 3 million people a year who wish to marvel at the astounding man-made creation carved into nature’s creation.  When you stand at the base of this gigantic memorial it is hard not to be amazed.

"The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt."
Gutzon Borglum

Clearly I was not the only one to think that these were the best of the best in regards to our presidential leaders.  Even back in grade school when I visited this memorial on a family vacation I was captivated.  I'm looking forward to returning with my own family one day.  And since some of my students have been, I always love teaching about Mount Rushmore's construction in my U.S. History class.

 Lincoln Memorial - Washington D.C.

Before starting my history teaching job, my husband and I took a spontaneous trip to D.C. over the summer.  I haven't been to D.C. since I visited in sixth grade with my family, so I've been dying for another opportunity.  It was great to tour all the memorials again, especially with a friend that's a D.C. native.  Make sure you have your walking shoes if you visit, cause boy did we get our exercise over those 3 days.

Although I value all the memorials, my most anticipated was of course the Lincoln Memorial!!!

Creating Beach Mementos

As the winter cold finally hits us here in Minnesota I find myself dreaming of a day at the beach, or even better, a whole week! Below zero temperatures make short weather seem so very far away. So with no ocean in sight here in the midwest, and all the lakes frozen over, I savor my beach memories and decor that I've collected over the years. Here are some of the very simple ideas to incorporate the beach into your home.

Beach Scene

A great way to recreate your time at the beach is by gathering an assortment of beach items and them placing them in a display.  Our best friend Charlie lived in the Bahamas for a year, and although we were unable to go visit him he brought the beach to us. 

Some great items to secure for the display:
-Seashell or glass platter
-Sand
-Seashell Candles (seashells filled with wax & wick)
-Seashell variety
-Capsule of the ocean water

Shadowbox with Sand Filler

Using a scenic picture from your trip, place it in a shadowbox.  Add the sand as filler from the beach you visited so that the real sand covers the sandy part of the picture. You'll get a really cool effect.

Shadowbox with Seashells & Sea glass

 Using shells and sea glass you've collected fill a small shadowbox. Perfect for a shelf or wall display.

Seashells with Candles

I've accumulated many shells from my visits around the country. An easy way for me to add them to my collection is toss them on a glass plate around a pair of candles.  Easy to clean if dusty, and allows anyone to pick up a shell and examine it if they're curious.

Bottle of Sand

A glass bottle to display the sand from our trip to Cape Cod became a fun honeymoon memento for us to remember all the time we spent at the beach.

Seashell Lamp

 
Growing up, Lisa and my grandparents lived in Florida for a good many years.  When they moved back to MN one decoration that always was a conversation starter was my grandma's seashell lamp.  The lamp base was glass and filled with seashells they'd collected.  Talk about a unique piece!

Lisa and her mother decided with our grandma's help to make one for themselves. The petite lamp really makes a statement.

Sand Dollar Ornament

Find your own sand dollar on the beach or find one in a nearby seashell store to hang on the Christmas tree.  Write the year and vacation spot on the sand dollar to forever spark memories of your trip.

They also make great gifts. Besides the created "Beach Scene", Charlie brought us back a sand dollar ornament from the Bahamas. It was a very thoughtful gift he gave to all our friends and reasonably priced too.

Collage of Beach Memories

My apartment is filled with photos, but I've been setting aside a plan for a beach collage wall for years.  And after 3 years I made the time to print our honeymoon photos and hang those beauties on the wall.  Our pictures from Cape Cod made the perfect arrangement in my new coastal frames! And to accompany them on a separate wall, I have other beachy items that make me smile every time I walk into the room.

I definitely see other beachy projects in my future, but for now, I'll have to wait until summer .
 

Ireland Travel Highlights

If you missed my last travel highlights post, I have been recounting some highlights from our Paris and Ireland trip in May. It is a bit embarrassing that it took me so long to go through photos but I finally set aside some time dedicated to organizing our travel photos!

We were blessed to share the Ireland leg of our trip with my brother, sister-in-law and my sister. My sister was staying in Northern Ireland with our relatives while she was between her study abroad classes. Part of the motivation of our trip was to get to spend some time with her and our relatives. It was so fun to see them all and to be back in Ireland!

Northern Ireland

Our relatives kindly took us in for the perfect Irish visit. We had some amazing home cooked meals! I can't wait to try my hand at their recipe for Guiness Stew this winter. They also taught us all about their garden, coached us on what crystal to use during dinner parties and shared the history of their local church and graveyard.

A couple days after our arrival, we went up to Giant's Causeway, Bushmills Distillery and Dunluce Castle on the coast. It was so exciting to experience these sites again with my husband.

Cool facts about Dunluce Castle: it is thought to be the inspiration for C.S. Lewi's Cair Paravel in the Chronicles of Narnia and it was also featured in the filming of Game of Thrones! The kiddos called it a castle with no roof because if you look out into the sea, you can see the very top of the castle.

Dublin, Ireland

Guinness Factory:
This is a must see, even if you aren't a huge beer drinker. The factory grounds are incredible and they do a great job of explaining their beer-making process. They share crazy statistics like the following: Of the millions of kegs produced every year, one third is consumed by the little country of Ireland. Another interesting fact: If you walk into any Irish bar and ask for a pint, they will always pour you a Guinness.

I also totally geeked out in the marketing area of the factory. They show different Guinness ads, characters, slogans and marketing materials from over the years. I loved learning about their marketing strategies and seeing how they chose to position the beer to different countries and cultures. Super interesting stuff!

Kilkenny, Ireland

Kilkenny Castle:
This castle is picture perfect in the cutest little Irish town! We lunched along the river where we had the perfect view of the castle. Definitely one to add to the list!

Galway, Ireland

Murphy's Bar:
I am pretty sure that my husband died and went to heaven when we entered Murphy's Bar in Galway. We had been walking around Galway and were on our way back from the sea. It is such a beautiful town. While walking past the shops, we spied Murphy's Bar and obviously, needed to grab a drink inside the darling pub. This was the only place that we were able to find a pint of Murphy's Stout, which is brewed in southern Ireland. The kind bartender let us keep a Murphy's Stout glass as a keepsake.

Cliffs of Moher

This is a must-see for anyone going to Ireland. Pictures cannot capture the vast glory of these cliffs! They were breathtaking. Definitely make time to walk around and see the cliffs from many sides. If you can get away from the crowds, it's even better! Thankfully, we were able to go on a day when it wasn't too cloudy, windy or rainy. Irish weather is so temperamental and you really can't plan for it. But we were grateful to be able to enjoy the views on a clear(ish) day!

Other Highlights

Classic Temple Bar in Dublin

Tea and treats for breakfast in Dublin

Sheepies in the Wicklow Mountains

The most photographed castle in Ireland, Dunguaire Castle

My souvenirs: Belvoir! My husband's souvenirs: Whiskey!

Paris Travel Highlights

Marie and I were recently laughing at our total opposite blogging schedule. She is a teacher so the summertime is when she is able to blog more freely. The summertime is my busy season with corporate events and weddings so the fall and winter is my best time to blog. But that is the beauty of having an awesome blogging partner! We are able to keep up with the ebbs and flows of our very busy lives. Thanks for sticking in there with us as we try to navigate through this crazy ride!

Speaking of life being busy... I am just now getting the chance to go through the photos from our two week France and Ireland trip that happened in May. I am excited to finally share some of the highlights from the trip!

Paris, France

Paris was amazing. We flew directly from Minneapolis to Paris and hit the ground running, quite literally. We only had a few days in this city and we wanted to make the most of them. It made for an exhausting few days but it was wonderful!

The flower markets were picture perfect!

And thus began my obsession with macarons!

I wanted to go back the minute that we left if only for another croissant and glass of rose, which happened to be cheaper than a Coke! I could not get enough of the macarons, cappuccinos, wine, pastries, crepes, the list goes on! Even my husband was obsessed with the chocolate croissants because the chocolate was the best we have tasted. Food aside, here are some of the other highlights from the Paris leg of the trip.

The beautiful Eiffel Tower at night!

Palace of Versailles

These golden gates were breathtaking! We felt like we barely scratched the surface on exploring this massive palace. The rooms were incredible and the gardens were beyond compare!

Eiffel Tower from the Arc De Triumphe

I was glad that no one told us how many steps it would take to get to the top of the Arc de Triumphe. We walked more in Paris than I have in a long time and our behinds were quite sore! But it was totally worth it. Since Paris has building height restrictions, I couldn't imagine a more beautiful view of the city!

Napoleon's Apartments, The Louvre

It took us an embarrassing amount of time to find Napoleon's Apartments in the Lourve. The museum is massive! We had arrived when the museum had opened and eventually made our way past the Mona Lisa to see the apartments in full glory. I definitely have some major chandelier goals after this trip!

Paris is always a good idea! - Audrey Hepburn 

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Ohio

Visiting zoos on important family days seems to be a trend for us.  Our first anniversary was spent at the Toledo Zoo. Our second anniversary at the Minnesota Zoo.  On Mother's Day last year we took my visiting parents to the Columbus Zoo.  This year, we celebrated Father's Day with my husband's side at the Cleveland Zoo. Can you tell we like zoos? 

Something unique about this zoo is the The Rainforest portion that lies outside of the zoo (still included in the zoo ticket).  It's a 2 acre 2 level exhibit with 600 jungle animals from Asia, Africa and Americas.  They even simulate a rain storm, which kids love.  One of the least expected, but incredibly interesting exhibit was the leaf cutter ants.  The cases gave you the opportunity to see their tunnels and constant activity.  With clear tubes you'd see ants transferring leaves from one glass case to another.  Very impressive to see the amount of work these small creatures could accomplish.

CATS:  If you're like my father in law and like cats these are the cats to see : Lion, Cheetah, Snow Leopard, Black footed cat, Fishing cat, Ocelot, Siberian tiger.

*Also my father-in-law LOVES the red panda, which with the outdoor exhibit set-up made viewing the 2 of them easy, and I'd say was the best compared to the other zoos we've visited listed above.

BEARS: Sun Bear, Sloth Bear, Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Andean Bear

MONKEYS / LEMURS: these animals were well represented at the zoo, with some of my faves being Gorillas, Mandrills, 3 Tamarin varieties, Orangutan

Just like the Columbus Zoo, the Cleveland Zoo features koalas (MY FAVORITE) in both an indoor and outdoor cage. Lucky to catch a few minutes of both of these guys waking up for a few minutes, partly because we checked back periodically every time we walked by the exhibit.

The African Elephant exhibit had five elephants in it, and gave you the opportunity to view the animals from different perspectives, which was nice since the elephants were spread throughout it.

 

Other locations in Ohio worth a visit on the blog:

*Columbus Zoo

*Toledo Zoo

*Cedar Point Amusement Park