Mary Graham

Trusty Chucks Blog

  • Home
  • ABOUT MARY
  • contact

Weekend road trip: Fort Wayne, Indiana

School has started, but we’re not letting it cramp our style. We’re still planning weekend getaways and adventures around soccer practice and tennis matches and homework.

A few weeks ago, we squeezed in a trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana. The forecast predicted a few rain showers, but we pretended it wasn’t there and headed north. From Indy, Fort Wayne is an easy two-hour drive. I love that Indianapolis is central to so many great cities. You can spend a weekend in a different city with very little effort (we can get to Cincinnati, Ohio, or Louisville, Kentucky, in about two hours also!).

The weather ended up being perfect. We got to spend hours at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo and an afternoon at their new Promenade Park. Promenade Park just opened this month; it’s over four acres of public space, playground, water features, amphitheater, and dining along the banks of The St. Mary’s. We hung out on their large porch swings as riverboat cruises, kayaks, and bar boats floated by.

When I visited Fort Wayne in the spring, the whole area was a muddy, still-in-progress construction zone, and it was awesome to see it completed.

If you subscribe to my emails, you know we’re big fans of visiting libraries in new places. I already knew I loved the Allen County Public Library from the genealogy research I was able to do last time, but this time we got to spend a few hours in the air conditioning, resting and reading books before heading to our next stop. Their children’s section does not disappoint.

Once we were done introverting for a little bit, we were re-energized and ready for the Ft. Wayne TinCaps game. The TinCaps are a minor league baseball team with an amazing ball park; it’s often voted the number one minor league ball park in America and seeing a game there was a bucket list item for us.

The girls loved the game, the food, and Harper got a ball the first baseman threw into the stands, so it was a successful night at the stadium.

One perk about visiting minor league stadiums is the ticket prices are much more manageable than major league parks. If you’d love to watch more professional baseball games, but budget is an issue, I highly recommend taking a road trip to a nearby minor league park.

At our small group meeting recently, I made a comment about how summer was over and everyone lost their minds. SUMMER IS NOT OVER YET! It’s just the beginning of August! How DARE YOU.

I laughed because the majority of my life has been planned around a school calendar: elementary school, college, teaching, and now with our daughters in school. My understanding of seasons is based solely on school calendars and not weather or moon phases.

So what I’m saying is *technically* summer is not yet over. The weather is still wonderful and you can still answer the call of the road as long as you do all your homework first.

*DISCLOSURE: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Visit Fort Wayne, but all opinions are mine.

Michigan in the summer

I don’t know what heaven will be like, but I imagine it will be close to what Michigan in the summer feels like.

In our fifty states quest, it would seem counter-productive to go to Michigan every summer. But after our first summer visit to the Mitten State, we knew it would become an annual destination.

Michigan in the summer is magical.

I wish I had the right words to transport you there with a few adjectives and verbs, but it’s not possible. Even Tim Allen and his Pure Michigan campaign fall short.

Michigan in the summer is magical.

It’s not a secret we love to stay at KOA Kampgrounds. They’re not usually the most inexpensive place to camp, but their amenities, clean restrooms, and atmosphere make it worth the extra money.

This trip we stayed at the Allendale/West Grand Rapids KOA. It’s a Holiday KOA which means it’s set up more like a resort than just a campground. I don’t want everyone to know how amazing this place is because it’s where we’ll stay when we go back, but we could have stayed at the campground the whole trip without leaving and not been bored. Swimming pool, splash pad, blueberry fields for picking, hiking/bike trail, jump pad, tons of kids activities, nightly movies on the lawn. I don’t want to just list everything they have because, obviously, you can read their website, but it was one of the best KOAs we’ve stayed at (and we’ve stayed at a lot of KOAs). They have a kitchen in their clubhouse where you can grab warm donuts in the morning or have pizza and ice cream for dinner after a day at the beach. Saturday morning the girls tie-dyed shirts and on the 4th of July, they decorated themselves and their bikes and participated in a parade around the campground led by the local fire department with sirens blazing.

Michigan in July is the perfect time to pick blueberries and cherries too; we learned that by accident a few years ago and if you don’t come home with pounds of fresh-picked blueberries, you’re doing your vacation wrong.

We were near state parks and beaches so a quick trip in the car meant in about ten minutes, we were riding our bikes through the streets of South Haven heading to a local diner for lunch or leaving them at a tree trunk as we ran down the stairs to the shore.

We spent hot days on the beach playing in the cool waters of Lake Michigan and evenings walking to candy stores and souvenir shops. After our bellies were full, we’d stumble back to the car in time to see the sun set over Lake Michigan.

Michigan in the summer is magical.

I don’t write about every place we travel anymore; sometimes because it’s just a weekend at a state park and there’s really no story to share. Other times, it’s because I lose track of time and never get it done. But I need you to know about this campground, this place, this area.

If you don’t have a travel trailer or you have absolutely no desire to ever sleep in one, you can still stay at this KOA. They have cabins, some more rustic than others, and tent camping. There were tons of families tent camping while we were there. Also, if you haven’t gathered a bunch of friends and spent a weekend camping before, please add it to the bucket list.

You still have time to head to Michigan before the less desirable weather sets in. I spoke with a local resident while we were there, and when I said, “I can’t believe you get to live here! It’s unreal.” She responded that they pay for the beauty January through March. So it’s a trade-off, I guess.

Or just cheat like we do and get there during the summer months.

Michigan in the summer is magical.

Always in my mind

Keep Ithaca always in your mind, wrote C.P. Cavafy in his epic poem about Odysseus’ journey. He wasn’t talking about Ithaca, New York, but he was talking about adventure and wandering and that, my friends, fits here.

In June, we packed up the camper and headed east. This wasn’t the first time we made our way to Ithaca; we spent a chilly fall break in 2012 tent camping there and have been dreaming about going back ever since.

If you’ve ever heard me explain why I deserved a camper after years of tent camping, I’m sure our first Ithaca trip has come up. New York in the fall is amazing. I don’t care what part you go visit–NYC or outside the city–it’s going to be amazing. But it can get chilly or, if you will, cold.

(Need a camper too? Check out these RV types to see what would fit best for your family.)

Our fall break trip in 2012 involved below-freezing temperatures with a one year old and a three year old in a tent with only a few blankets. I had, at the last minute, packed the space heater I used to use in my classroom, so we were able to point the small heater at the girls as they slept.

It wasn’t big enough to heat the whole tent or anyone not directly in front of it. I don’t want to be a martyr here, but I really took one for the team with that move. My kids slept peacefully, warm and snug in their little sleeping bags while I was too cold to move.

I plan on telling this story to them every single time they’re mean to me for the rest of their lives.

Even with the freezing temperatures, we were longing to go back. Above our bed is a picture of the girls holding hands in front of a huge waterfall as orange and yellow trees begin their descent into winter nakedness.

So we met Chris’ brother, his wife, and their daughter Savannah for a long weekend in Ithaca. This is our second annual summer camp out; they live in Maryland so we meet somewhere middle-ish for a visit. Last year it was West Virginia, this year it was New York.

We spent Father’s Day weekend grilling out, hiding from the rain, hiking, roasting marshmallows, exploring state parks, laughing, riding bikes, and telling stories.

The Graham boys carry a heavy legacy, one with a lot of pain and mess. They have parents who often made choices that were not in their best interest, were not with their safety or health in mind. Raising their own children reminds them of what they lost and how it should have been.

They could get stuck in the memories, but they don’t. It’s part coping mechanism, part survival tactic. They acknowledge how things weren’t what they would have picked and now they’re picking better for their daughters.

Father’s Day is bittersweet for kids whose fathers were not much to celebrate, not much to look up to.

Author Sammy Rhodes writes, Addicts aren’t gone, but they’re missing. Their addiction has banished them to wander as a ghost who haunts the land of the living with the presence of their absence…The wound of fatherlessness isn’t lightly healed. Time certainly is no help. If anything it reveals just how big the wound really is, just how much damage the foundation has actually suffered.

Chris and Mike’s father is not missing. He is not dead. But he is gone. Gone to Florida where it is easier to hide. Gone to drinking where things don’t feel so painful. Gone. Gone. Gone.

Like Ithaca, there is a part of Chris’ father that is always in his mind.

When Chris stopped drinking, everything he was running from caught up with him, his father’s legacy included. Picking through what he left and how it’s still being carried is laborious.

This summer has us revisiting places we’ve been before: Clifty Falls State Park, New York, Michigan. It would seem counter-intuitive in our quest to visit all fifty states to go back to some when there is still so much to do.

But before we go forward, we have to go back.

Before we start again, we have to see where we’ve been and what we still drag with us.

Before we get to healthy, we have to go through healing, and it is often facing the direction behind us.

DISCLOSURE: This is a sponsored post.

You should go camping

We camp because we want to.
We camp because we have to.

“You like to camp because it’s good for your mental health,” my counselor said this winter as we discussed my weather-related sadness in full effect.

Huh, I thought. I never made that connection before.

This is why I pay for counseling, so someone smarter than me, someone with a better view of my life can help me make sense of it.

As we rolled into the state park a few weeks ago, I watched the bars on my cell phone signal slowly go down. I’d been working on the two-hour drive in, but as we made our way back to the campground, my connection to the internet, my work, and my stress slowly lessened its hold on me.

I could feel the untangling as we drove.

I could feel the deeper breaths I was finally able to take, the tension in my shoulders releasing, the endless to-do list in my head quieting.

I am made to go, strive, make lists, check off tasks, do things efficiently, think about what’s next, what we should be doing instead of stopping. This helped me balance a full-time job with grad school and a newborn. It helped me survive teaching and coaching and two small kids. It allowed me to work 50+ hours a week in the classroom, take on freelance writing jobs, and still find time to sleep enough.

But it does not make turning my brain or my hands off easy.

Stopping only happens when I have no other option. Stopping only happens when I cannot work around my exhaustion, my family, or my lack of internet.

And so we camp.
We camp to rest.
We camp to stop running.
We camp to slow down.

At 37, I understand the only way I stop is when I can’t figure out a way to keep working. It is what it is.

So here we are, spending our summer camping as much as possible. Camping so I can take a break. Camping so Chris doesn’t have to do more projects. Camping so I’ll have nothing to do but read a book or take a walk with my kids as they race around the campground on their bikes.

I do this on purpose as a way to survive.

Lessons come slow sometimes. I wish I had understood this sooner, understood that I have to trick myself into not working. It might have made my twenties easier. It might have made the last few years less stressful.

But I’m thankful for the lesson now. For the camper we can tow to a campsite in the middle of a no-cell-phone-reception forest. For a bed with no plug nearby so I can’t look at my phone before I drift off to sleep.

We’re heading out again soon. Heading to another place to rest. The moments before we pull out of the driveway are busy–is everyone packed? Can I get one more hour of work done really quick? Please pick up this mess. Let’s just make one stop on the way out of town. Wait, I need to grab one more thing.

I literally can’t stop wanting to cram one more thing, idea, or task into my day. I’m annoying even to myself.

I camp to get away from my own brain.

I don’t know if it’s like this for you too. Maybe you’re better at turning the world and lists and things off? Maybe not. Maybe camping sounds like the opposite of enjoyable and relaxing. But what are you doing to rest? Where do you go to stop your brain and your schedule?

I didn’t know I needed to be asking these questions. I’m glad my counselor pushed me to.

I camp because I want to.
I camp because I have to.

(Pictures from a weekend at Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, Indiana.)

Visit St. Louis

Sometimes it’s nice to be told what to do, so I’m going to come right out and say it: plan a trip to St. Louis, Missouri sooner rather than later.

When the girls were still in school, we skipped town for a few days and headed to St. Louis. I love that it’s within four hours of Indianapolis; close enough to go for a weekend, but far away enough to feel like a vacation.

While we were in St. Louis, we stayed at the Drury Plaza Hotel, and we really need to talk about it. We normally travel with our camper and skip hotels. It’s more cost-effective for us to travel most places (especially within a day’s drive) with our camper. BUT. The Drury Plaza Hotel changed the game for me: a great view of the Arch, a breakfast buffet that felt like an actual restaurant, unlimited popcorn and pop in the lobby all day, and something called a 5:30 Kickback they advertise as a snack time but is an actual full meal…all included in your room rate.

When I shared my shock and awe of the Drury Plaza Hotel on social media, people weren’t as surprised as I was–PEOPLE KNOW HOW WONDERFUL THIS PLACE IS. And they never told me. If this was supposed to be a secret, I’m refusing to stay quiet. It’s a magical place (there’s a rooftop pool! look for part of Ellie’s tooth if you’re there!), and we should all have the experience at least once.

You can get to Gateway Arch National Park and the Old Courthouse in less than a five minute walk. This isn’t the Arch of your childhood either, the grounds, the entrance, and the underground museum have all been remodeled and updated. It looks amazing. When we were there in 2015, it was under construction and not very pretty to look at. But now! Now it’s amazing. Make sure you leave enough time before your tram ride up to the top of the Arch to explore the museum exhibits. It’s kid-friendly, utilizes universal design making it accessible to almost everyone, and really interesting (unfortunately, the actual Arch isn’t as accessible; the construction makes it pretty much impossible to redesign or make friendlier for more people). The museum curators also did a good job of addressing some painful parts of our history in relationship to westward expansion. The exhibits tell the story of the area from three different perspectives: the white settlers, the Native Americans, and the Mexican settlers. It’s done really well.

(The Park suggests you buy tickets online ahead of time if you want to ride the tram or do any of the boat/helicopter tours. Especially in the summer, things sell out fast and you don’t want to have to wait hours for your ride time.)

Make sure you actually visit the Old Courthouse too, don’t just walk by in your way to the Gateway Arch. The Old Courthouse is part of the National Park Service and worth a stop. Both the Dred Scott case and the Virginia Minor case were heard in this courthouse, so the American history is rich and important. You don’t have to spend all morning there, but don’t miss it.

The park, formerly known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, was renamed Gateway Arch National Park and became an official national park in 2018. The National Park Service has worked hard to make the whole park an experience, not just the Arch. The grounds are beautiful and spacious. As we walked around, people were biking, using electric scooters, running on their lunch breaks, and playing frisbee with their dogs. You could easily spend the day at the park between the courthouse, museum, Arch, and the surrounding areas. Behind the Old Courthouse is Kiener Plaza complete with a splash pad, fountain, and playground. (If you’re there in the morning, walk the few blocks over to Pharoah’s Donuts. When you walk in, there is powdered sugar hanging in the air so you know those are going to be good donuts. It’s nothing fancy to look at, but the donuts are so good. Grab a box and head back to the playground to eat them.)

If you’re not into a picnic lunch (but seriously, why not?), take a stroll over to Laclede’s Landing where there are food and entertainment options. We ate at Mas Tequila Cantina and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re bad at making choices and just want to be told where to go (i.e. the first paragraph) for good food.

What’s great about the Drury Plaza Hotel location is that later in the evening, you can walk the few blocks over to Ballpark Village at Busch Stadium for a Cardinals game. You don’t have to mess with traffic or parking, you just waltz on into Ballpark Village carefree and fancy free. If you don’t have a ticket, you can grab food and a seat at one of the many restaurants or bars in the Village, but if you can get a ticket, seeing a game in Busch Stadium is bucket-list worthy. We got to take the girls to their first major league baseball game in St. Louis, and it was an experience they won’t forget.

You could hit a few highlights on a long weekend in St. Louis, but if you have the time, try to stay a little longer. This was our family’s third trip to St. Louis and every single time we leave wishing we had just a few more days.


-I’ve got so many recommendations for St. Louis. If you need more (like the not-to-be-missed City Museum or all the free attractions), you can see this post from our first visit and this one for our second visit.

-There’s still time to plan a trip for the 4th of July weekend! Fair Saint Louis is happening at the Gateway Arch National Park July 4th, 5th, and 6th (2019). It’s humbly called “America’s Biggest Birthday Party” and includes musical acts, air shows, free family fun, and fireworks celebrating our nation’s independence. Any time is a good time to visit St. Louis, but this weekend will be extra special

–DISCLOSURE: This is a sponsored post in partnership with the National Park Service and Explore Saint Louis. All opinions are my own.

Cemetery dirt

We live across from a cemetery.

Less than two acres with a sloping hill, it is nestled between trees and a busy road. The gravel driveway takes you on a half-circle loop before depositing you across from the boundary line that separates our house from my aunt’s.

For decades, my grandpa was the caretaker, mowing the grass in the cool of the evening, picking up silk flowers as they blew off headstones, and helping to prepare sites for graveside services.

I never knew to be concerned or weirded out by our closeness to the dead. I wore frilly dresses made by my grandma as we hunted Easter eggs in the front yard, steps away from the cemetery. We celebrated Christmas and Thanksgiving nestled in the small den–where my grandparents kept all the toys–as cars crept slowly down the rocky lane to visit their deceased loved ones.

My grandpa is now buried in the cemetery across from my house, the house he and my grandma built, the one that became too much to care for after he died, the house that we bought in 2017. My niece, the baby taken too soon, who only lived a short thirty two days, is laid next to him. My grandma’s name is already etched on a headstone, patiently waiting for her to join my grandpa.

In the summer months, the girls and I walk the dogs in the cemetery. They race their bikes down the hill as I wander through the headstones looking for the oldest one, the youngest one, the one with the kid born the same year as me but who didn’t make it through high school.

The day before a funeral, a friend from high school’s dad will show up with a backhoe to dig a new grave. He works alone and efficiently, rain or snow or shine. The next morning, the funeral home arrives, erects their tent, puts down the odd pretend grass-carpet, and sets up folding chairs. From my office window, I attend a graveside service for someone I don’t know, bowing my head when they bow their heads, and standing when someone plays taps.


Last month on my trip to Fort Wayne, I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at The Genealogy Center in the Allen County Public Library. Their library is the second largest genealogy library in the country, only topped by Utah’s Mormon genealogy library. People travel from all parts of the country and world to research ancestors, property, and family trees there. The sheer volume of resources, family histories, and yearbooks from around the United States will take your breath away. Standing in the stacks, thinking about the miles of books just telling us about people who lived before us felt reverent to me.

I can’t begin to explain all the information accessible through this library. Those family tree websites? You can use them for free at the library. Those trained ancestry professionals you see interviewed on TV? Those are the people who work at this library. All the old newspapers, land deeds, census records, and birth certificates you might want to gather as you trace your family back multiple generations? You can get them there.

Before the trip, I was asked to submit some family information: who are my parents, when were they born, where were my grandparents married. When I arrived at the center, I met with a Genealogy Librarian who had spent a few hours completing my family tree for me. I walked away from our time together with a stack of family documents (census records from my great-great grandparents, birth certificate for my namesake relative, pictures of headstones in Illinois from five generations back, pictures of my grandparents’ grandparents…) and the name of every person on my family tree back six generations.

It’s a little unheard of to be able to fill in six generations back so quickly, the genealogy librarian told me, it’s not normally this easy.

It helped that my lines were so solidly American. The Keatons and the Ritters, the Kimerys and the Spitzners have been in the Midwest for a long time; we immigrated to America in the early 1800s, worked our way west pretty quickly, and then stayed put. We came mostly from England with a little bit of Germany and France mixed in; we became farmers and teachers and factory workers and we didn’t move around much. We liked Illinois and Indiana, the land was good for farming and the cities were just close enough for those who wanted to work in developing industries.

The researcher was able to show me where our German last names were slowly Americanized and the names of the many relatives who took up arms in the Civil War to fight against the confederacy.

I learned it’s often hard to track families back this far because our patriarchal society didn’t always keep record of women well. Maiden names weren’t important and obituaries identified women as “Mrs. Christopher Graham” instead of “Mrs. Mary (Ritter) Graham.” Often when we start digging into our ancestors, we get stopped on maternal lines. I was proud to see the women in my family often carried their maiden names around on official documents even if it wasn’t common for the time period.

You could keep going easily, the librarian told me as our time drew to a close. We didn’t stop your tree because we got stuck, we just ran out of time. But you could come back and probably go a lot farther without too much trouble.


When a grave is dug, and then later, a casket is covered, you don’t need as much dirt as you took out. It seems silly to tell you that detail, but if you live across the road from a cemetery, it’s important.

In the corner of the cemetery, near where the bumpy gravel drive drops off at our property line, is a pile of dirt. An old sign, created by my grandpa years ago, shares the “Free Dirt” proclamation. The fresh, rich earth goes fast so you have to hurry if you need some for your yard, for your garden, for your field. I’ve received text message reminders from my aunt when the good dirt arrives.

There’s good dirt over there if you need any.

In warmer weather, Chris will hook up the trailer to our riding lawnmower, the girls will jump in the back with their kid-sized shovels, and they’ll take a trip to the graveyard for dirt to fill our landscaping or to top off the garden. I don’t try to think too much about why the dirt is extra fertile or what I’m shoveling as I spread it around my newly-planted bushes. I know why it’s the good dirt, and I leave the thought at that.

I am not a farmer like my ancestors.
I don’t work in a factory like my grandpa and my great-grandpa.
I was the first person on my dad’s side of the family to earn a bachelor’s degree, the second on my mom’s.

I dreamed about leaving Indiana, the Midwest, the cornfields and the soybeans when I was growing up. This place was not meant for me.

But here I am, living in the house my grandparents built, sending me kids to the school my parents went to, passing my uncle on the road as he drives the school bus and learning how to garden–with the rich cemetery soil my grandpa cared for–from my aunt who lives next door.

I’ve decided to stay put.
I’ve decided to tell my daughters they don’t have to get rid of their names to live a happy life.
I’ve decided that small and quiet is better for me.
I’ve decided that staying put, taking walks around headstones, and growing things here, in the Midwest, is where I’m supposed to be.


*If you haven’t visited The Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I think you should. You can check out their resources or get access to their trained professionals who want to help you find the pieces of your family tree on their website. You can also sign up for a free 30-minute consult with one of their librarians. I got a little extra help and attention, because I was there to write about my experience, but you have access to all the resources and information they have.

*Fun fact: If you ever come across old yearbooks or family histories (a lot of families have bound books about their ancestors), and you don’t know what to do with them, The Genealogy Center will gladly accept them. They’ll add them to their shelves (and electronic records) so people can have access to the information for generations to come.

DISCLOSURE: THIS IS A SPONSORED POST. I VISITED THE LIBRARY IN CONJUNCTION WITH A SPONSORED TRIP WITH VISIT FORT WAYNE.

Visit Fort Wayne, Indiana

Traveling to Fort Wayne, Indiana, wasn’t on my summer travel plans, but I’ve learned the error of my ways and now I’m here to save you from the same mistake.

I’ve lived in or around Indianapolis my whole life. Why did I need to visit other parts of the state? Indianapolis and its suburbs have everything I need.

Except, they don’t. I needed Fort Wayne, and I didn’t even know it.

I got to spend a few days in the northeastern part of Indiana and was blown away with how great it was. Confession: I took a trip without my family on spring break. The girls were off school and with family while Chris stayed home and worked.

I have no regrets about this. I pretended the trip was “research” for a summer road trip. I figured out what was fun, and what the girls would love (answer: so many things). I also “researched” all the things we shouldn’t do when we come back, you know, to save time and money later (answer: nothing, but still worth researching).

Here’s what my tireless research uncovered and what you should do when you take your trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana:

I stayed at the Hilton Fort Wayne, which is connected to the convention center. It has a Starbucks inside and was easy walking distance from a lot of the places I’m going to recommend. We normally travel in our camper; you could go that route and still enjoy Fort Wayne. Northeast Indiana is home to the RV capital of the world (Elkhart) so you know there’s quality camping nearby as well.

Where to eat in Fort Wayne? SO MANY CHOICES, SO LITTLE TIME.

Coney Island :: Get a coney with onions and mustard. I also had a cup of chili soup and do not regret it one bit. If you visit their website, the photo of the restaurant is almost identical to what you’ll see when you walk in today. Eat at the counter and watch the employees sling dogs like a well-oiled machine. And get a Coke in a glass bottle just because you can.

DeBrand Fine Chocolate :: I sampled chocolates and a mocha that was so rich I thought I was going to die at the downtown location. If you have time, go out to their factory and take the tour so you can see how they craft these extravagant chocolates.

Hoppy Gnome :: Hoppy Gnome describes itself as an upscale taco shop with lots more than just tacos. I don’t care how they describe themselves, their food is really good and that’s all that matters. Get the chips and guac (always get the guac, duh) and make sure you order the s’mores for dessert. The marshmallows are homemade, and they bring out a tiny fire pit for you to roast them on. I don’t even like marshmallows, and I could have eaten five of them.

Tolon :: This farm-to-table restaurant is run by a husband and wife team. The place is beautiful, the food is unbelievable, and the atmosphere makes you want to spend the evening around their table with friends. If you don’t do anything in Fort Wayne, go to Tolon and order their crispy Brussels sprouts. I’m serious. Do not leave without trying them.

Proximo :: You can eat any meal here, but I recommend breakfast. Especially if you’re hungry and you like breakfast to be your biggest meal of the day. I felt like I was in a New York City brunch spot. Everything on the menu is good, of course, but please do yourself a favor and order the chilaquiles. I dream about these.

Hop River Brewing Company :: Yes, it’s a brewery, but it’s also a great place to pass a rainy afternoon with board games and snacks. Their homemade chips are amazing, and they’re open for all ages to eat and play. Fort Wayne has a thriving brewery scene so if craft beer is your thing, you’ll find plenty of new things to drink there.

Bird + Cleaver :: I don’t know if you can order a charcuterie board to go, but if you can, put on your stretchy pants, stop by Bird + Cleaver, and then head back to your hotel room to watch trash TV. You can eat there and you won’t regret it, but sometimes hiding in your hotel room with really good food is okay too.

Sassie Cakes :: Please go here and get their cookie dough shots. Don’t ask questions, just do it. Don’t just get one either. You’re going to need more than one, trust me.

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse :: I know this isn’t a local place, and you might even have one in your own city. I don’t care. Go anyway. Get the cheesecake. Email me your thanks afterwards.

Also, Northeast Indiana is full of Amish who make delicious food. I’m not saying that’s all they do, but they do this really well. Find a local market to buy their homemade donuts or the incredibly decadent and wonderful biscuit-egg-cheese present-in-your-mouth. (That’s not really what it’s called, but I think that is what it should be called.)

Truthfully, if you just want to go to Fort Wayne and eat delicious food the whole time, you can. There is lots of stuff to do, but eating is really important so maybe plan your trip around all the great food stops?

What to do in Fort Wayne?

-Stop by The Hedge for an art class and to see 100-year-old printing presses. They also have a small gift shop where you’re bound to find something you love. (Sassie Cakes is right next door too.)

–Botanical Conservatory :: Fort Wayne Parks runs this beautiful conservatory. Admission is inexpensive, and you could easily spend a few hours wandering around. They have a dedicated kids’ area and if photography is your jam, you’ll be in heaven.

–Promenade Park :: The amount of rivers and lakes northeastern Indiana has access to is crazy. I’m showing my ignorance, but there are SO MANY water activities. I was able to get a sneak peek of the new Promenade Park opening in June 2019 and I am so excited to go back when it’s open. They’re planning a huge weekend of events and programs for the grand opening, and if you happen to be near Fort Wayne June 21-23, it would be worth a stop just for this. ((EDIT: Because of the rainy spring we’ve had in the Midwest, the grand opening celebration has been pushed back to August 9-11. You can stay up-to-date on the schedule here.))

–Arts United :: This cultural center houses art shows, a restaurant, and Fort Wayne’s professional ballet company. You can glimpse professional ballerinas practicing, grab something to eat, and see the latest local art installation. I got to see the last day of an underwater exhibit made exclusively of plastic trash. It was unbelievable.

–Museum of Art :: Kids and adults will love this museum. It’s not huge, but there is a lot to see. Also, they have a Chihuly piece you don’t want to miss.

–Science Central :: Plan at least four hours for this amazing children’s science center. Housed in an old factory, the Science Center is full of hands-on exhibits and learning experiences kids (and adults) will love. Don’t miss the room where you can view real-time satellite images of the earth. I could have spent all day watching.

–Embassy Theatre :: Fort Wayne gets a lot of traveling Broadway acts stopping through on their way to Chicago. Even if you don’t see a show, stop in to see the beautiful architecture.

–TinCaps baseball at Parkview Field :: Fort Wayne is home to the nation’s best minor league baseball park. Catching a TinCaps game is fun for the whole family. We’re going back this summer and scheduling our trip around a TinCaps home game, because I want to experience a game at this beautiful park.

–Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo :: THIS ZOO. We travel a lot and visit a lot of zoos. Not all zoos are created equal, but the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo does it right. I’ve known about this zoo for a while, if you live in Indianapolis or surrounding areas, you’ve been told you need to visit this zoo because it’s amazing. I’m here to confirm it is, in fact, amazing. I can’t wait to take the girls back this summer.

Also, Fort Wayne’s downtown district is covered with lots of beautiful murals you’ll love. They commission local artists to create the pieces, and they’re adding more every year. Going on a mural hunt while you’re in town would be a fun adventure.

I was in Fort Wayne for three days and felt like I only scratched the surface of things to do. Everywhere I ate, everywhere I visited, someone recommended another place to see or thing to eat. It’s the Midwest so people are nice and helpful and I needed them to stop telling me about exciting things happening in the city because it made it really hard to leave.

On the positive side, I’ll be back with Chris and the girls this summer, and I can’t wait to show them Fort Wayne.

(I have one more recommendation for Fort Wayne, but it warrants its own post so come back tomorrow. I’ve got some stories to share with you.)

DISCLOSURE: THIS IS A SPONSORED POST. I TRAVELED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH VISIT FORT WAYNE TO EXPLORE THE CITY.

The happiest place on earth

We ended the week at Disney World.

After Universal, we stayed at the campground on Wednesday to do laundry, swim, and take naps. We knew the next two days were going to be full so taking a day off to recover felt necessary. (Another sign of a family of introverts: we have to take fun breaks or we don’t survive.)

We woke up Thursday morning energized and ready to go. This was going to be our longest day all week because we were doing the Magic Kingdom from 9 AM to 6 PM then Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party from 7 PM to midnight.

We travel with our dog, Blue, and because this day was going to be too long for him to stay inside, we booked him a reservation at Disney’s doggie daycare, Best Friends Pet Care. He spent the day playing with friends and going on long walks on the beach…just kidding, no beach. I just felt that sentence had to end that way. So we played at Disney for fifteen hours on Thursday and Blue lounged at the dog spa.

Not popular confession: I liked Disney, but I don’t really have the desire to go back anytime soon.

I KNOW.

Please sit down and breathe into a paper bag.

Don’t get me wrong, it was fun. We loved the two days we were there and there were lots of things we didn’t get to see or do. But it just seems like so much hype and money and chaos–it’s not the way I like to vacation. I don’t regret the trip at all, but we’ve been lots of really great places (a ski resort in Michigan, Yellowstone National Park, the Florida coast) and I don’t think Disney was any more special or exciting than any of those.

Plus, our goal of all fifty states by the time the girls graduate won’t happen if we do the same trips again and again.

Was Disney a bummer? Absolutely not. We loved it. We loved the old school rides and the brand new Toy Story section. We loved the crew members and the live shows. I’m so glad we went. The girls were the perfect ages (seven and nine) so they didn’t tire easily and they’ll remember this forever.

I’m glad we’re home. I’m glad we can mark it off the list. I’m glad next time we can go explore some other new place. And you can bet I started planning our next trip on the way home from Florida.


*To see how we prepared for the trip, check out this post.
*To see the first part of our week at Universal, go here.

MAKE SURE YOU SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER! USE THE POPUP WINDOW, THE BAR AT THE TOP OF YOUR SCREEN, OR GO HERE TO GET MONTHLY BOOK REVIEWS & SUGGESTIONS, SURPRISE GIVEAWAYS, SUBSCRIBER-ONLY POSTS, AND THE MONDAY BUSINESS MEETING EMAIL WITH ENCOURAGEMENT, NEWS, & FREE STUFF.

Love podcasts? May I suggest you listen to the Not Terrible Podcast? My friend Jess and I co-host a weekly show where we discuss hard stories with hope and humor. I’d love for you to listen and subscribe.

We solemnly swear we are up to no good.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Universal Studios and Disney World over fall break felt impossible. We travel often, but we do it on a budget. We pull the camper to stay inexpensively. We eat out, but we also eat at the campsite a lot. We see new things but most of them are free or nearly-free. We’re committed to showing the girls all fifty states, but also saving for college and so we do it carefully.

Universal Studios and Disney World felt too frivolous.

Universal Studios and Disney World felt too out of reach.

But then our renters abandoned our rental property, we spent all summer (and all our money) getting it ready to sell, and when it sold above asking price in a hot market, we suddenly had the money to do something we thought could never happen.

So before I share all the fun stuff we did over fall break, I feel it’s important to say we know this extravagant trip was a gift from God. The God we serve was showing off when the house sold and He was showing off with the extra money we were given. This trip was never going to be a reality for us. It’s not the way we choose to spend our money, and I’m too responsible to spend money on a vacation if I know we need to use that money elsewhere.

Being a financially responsible adult is the cross I bear.

God has been showing off in 2018 and this trip is an example of that.

OKAY, ENOUGH OF THAT. WE WENT ON A MAGICAL TRIP AND HERE’S WHAT WE DID:

We pulled the camper 1000 miles to the KOA Kampground in Orlando. (If you can book early enough, Disney has a campground that is amazing: Fort Wilderness Resort). We broke up the trip over two days because travel with a camper, two kids, and a dog is sloooooow. We boondock while traveling to our destination so while we don’t have electricity (or heat…or air conditioning…), we also don’t have to pay for a site. We stay in Wal-Mart parking lots surrounded by other campers and road-trippers in well-lit lots with security cameras. I know it might sound shady, but it’s legit and lots of people do it. Drive by a Wal-mart located near an interstate late at night sometime and count how many campers or semis you see in the back of the parking lot.

We stayed at the Orlando/Kissimmee KOA for the week. Six nights of campground fees cost us $416 which compared to a week at hotel is shockingly good. Before you get too excited though, I’ll mention driving your minivan to Florida costs at least 50% less than what pulling a camper with a giant SUV does. So we save money with the camper, but it also costs much more to get it down there. (But for us, it’s still less than a hotel bill which makes it worth it.)

The Orlando/Kissimmee KOA is about 15 minutes from Universal and 10 minutes from Disney World so it was the perfect spot for a week spent visiting both places.

We got to the campground and settled in on Sunday afternoon then rested up for Universal first thing Monday morning. I feel like Disney people will be insulted to read this, but we were most excited for Universal because of Harry Potter.

The girls knew we were going to Florida for fall break but didn’t know we were doing anything specific. We told them we’d be near a beach and just relaxing, so on Sunday morning as we neared Orlando, we broke the news to them, and Ellie lost her little mind.

She was excited for the trip, but I, having held in this surprise since April, was even more excited. It is not a competition, but if it was, I WOULD HAVE WON.

We did two days at Universal with the park-to-park pass going between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. (You can check out this post to see why we needed it for all the Harry Potter experiences.) I had prepared so much for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter that I sorta forgot there was other things at the park. I’m so serious–we walked into  Springfield home of the Simpsons and I was just shocked that it existed.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is magical. I’m not sure I have words to adequately describe how surreal it is. I’m not a Harry Potter super fan; I love it because Ellie loves it so much, and I love it because of what it does to her, but even I was overwhelmed at times during the Harry Potter experiences. It actually feels like you’re in the books and Hogwarts is real. The attention to detail was inspiring, and I don’t know how to describe the joy I felt getting to take Ellie there and seeing her excitement. It was worth every single penny we spent.

If I could go back and prepare more for the trip, I would have paid attention to all the movie experiences we’d be a part of. My kids rode the E.T. ride with NO IDEA what the movie was about; I was so disappointed in myself. We shot aliens and saved the world with the Men in Black, but my girls didn’t understand why they zapped our memory with a light at the end.

We are failing our children with all the movies they haven’t seen.

If you’re planning a trip to Universal Studios, I’d recommend introducing your kids to
The Simpsons
Marvel Superheros
The Blues Brothers (duh, ours already knew this movie really well *high five*)
Popeye
King Kong
Jurassic Park
Harry Potter (I feel like this is a given…)
Dr. Seuss
Despicable Me
Spongebob Squarepants (gag)
Shrek
Transformers
Revenge of the Mummy
Fast & Furious
Men in Black
Woody Woodpecker
Curious George
Barney
An American Tale with Fievel

Okay, so your kids probably know the more current cartoon characters and some of these aren’t appropriate for younger kids, but you get the idea. We came home with a list of movies to watch so the girls could see why the rides and experiences were so awesome.

Going over fall break made the crowds a lot more manageable. We didn’t wait in a line more than 30 minutes and everything seemed to move fast. It was really hot all week–like record-setting highs for October–so that made the days a little less comfortable, but in Indiana it was freezing rain and nasty so I’m not going to spend any time complaining.

Tomorrow: Disney World!


*To see how we prepared for the trip, check out this post.

MAKE SURE YOU SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER! USE THE POPUP WINDOW, THE BAR AT THE TOP OF YOUR SCREEN, OR GO HERE TO GET MONTHLY BOOK REVIEWS & SUGGESTIONS, SURPRISE GIVEAWAYS, SUBSCRIBER-ONLY POSTS, AND THE MONDAY BUSINESS MEETING EMAIL WITH ENCOURAGEMENT, NEWS, & FREE STUFF.

Love podcasts? May I suggest you listen to the Not Terrible Podcast? My friend Jess and I co-host a weekly show where we discuss hard stories with hope and humor. I’d love for you to listen and subscribe.

Universal and Disney World, but for cheap introverts

I did what anyone starting to plan a trip did: I Googled some things.

But instead of finding answers, I just found myself overwhelmed. We wanted to go to Universal and Disney World for fall break last month, but the information was never-ending, and it felt like everyone was telling me different things.

What I wanted was a low-key trip to a few amusement parks, but what I found was anxiety and stress. Too many articles. Too many tips. Too many ideas. Too many things to do.

So before I tell you how our fall break trip to Orlando was, I want to tell you how we prepared. Not because you can’t find a million answers on the internet to these exact questions, but because I feel so much of it was unnecessary and confusing. What if you want to go do Disney but you don’t go three times a year and spend all week there and know all the secret handshakes? What if I’ve never been to Universal Studios and you just want to make sure you don’t miss anything your kids want to do?

I want an introvert’s guide to Disney and Universal, if someone could write that, please and thank you.

Until that happens, I’ll tell you how we prepared for the trip, what we took with us to help lessen some in-park expenses, and what tips we actually used once we were in the park.

Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida
The main point of Universal was taking my Potterhead daughter to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The months leading up to our trip, I slowly collected Harry Potter shirts for all of us to wear. We spent two days at Universal and so we each needed two shirts. What’s great about HP is it’s so popular (still, 20 years after publication) you don’t have to struggle to find anything Harry Potter related. I picked up shirts at Target for the girls and Kohls for Chris and I.

I ordered robes from Amazon, and the party aisle of Wal-Mart supplied Harry Potter glasses and wands. We planned to buy wands from Ollivander’s once in the park, because they have special wands that allow you to do magic in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. (You can take a test here to determine what wand is best for you; Ellie got the wand she tested best for, but Harper just picked one she liked with no concern for the test results. This drove her sister crazy.)

My girls didn’t know we were going to Universal Studios or, specifically, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so I printed Hogwarts letters with their names on them to surprise them with the news. You can print your own letters here. Both girls still have their letters and treat them with the upmost care.

Because two days doing all things Harry Potter was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for my girls, we planned on letting them pick out one thing from a shop in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade as well. Harper got a Crookshanks stuffed animal, and Ellie got a quill set. We also stopped at Honeydukes for chocolate frogs, and we tried butterbeer (frozen and chilled versions) at the Leaky Cauldron.

We spent much less money at Disney or elsewhere in Universal, but for us, the pinnacle of our trip was Harry Potter so we lived like we had unlimited funds at Gringotts for a few days.

At home (AKA: the camper), I had stickers, character dolls, and pencil cases waiting for them when they crashed into bed at night. It was easy to say no to lots of expensive junk at the stores when I told them they had surprises waiting for them already. Our local Party City also had great Harry Potter stuff I picked up before the trip so we wouldn’t be tempted to buy over-priced things at the park.

Everything I had read told me to get into either Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade first thing in the morning before it got too busy. Part of the Harry Potter experience is riding the Hogwarts Express, but to do that, you have to have the park-to-park pass. If you get a ticket for just one park, you can’t ride the train or visit the other part. You could do one park each day and have plenty to do, but riding the Hogwarts Express is a really neat experience. Make sure to ride it both ways because each one is different.

We ate one meal at Universal, and it was ridiculously expensive. After that, I packed lunches and snacks in our backpack, and we only spent money on their refillable cup so we could drink pop or water whenever we wanted to. I would buy the refillable cup again, we definitely got our money’s worth over two days. (You can bring water bottles and drinks into the park, but carrying around a bunch of water in my backpack sounded horrible, so we sprang for the unlimited refills cup.)

Disney World in Orlando, Florida
I prepped for Disney the same way. I picked up Mickey and Minnie shirts for us at a Disney outlet mall this summer. The second day, we wore other Disney shirts (Moana, Star Wars, Lilo and Stitch, etc.), and if I didn’t get it at the Disney outlet, I picked it up at Kohls.

One day when I was brave, I asked my Facebook friends what Disney tips they had. We only had two days and I wanted opinions on what parks we should focus on for our very first visit. Without hesitation, people recommended Magic Kingdom. Some said Animal Kingdom was their favorite too, but we ended up choosing Hollywood Studios for the second day. We did not do the park jumper tickets because there was more to do in each of those parks individually so it was going to be a waste to add more things to do (plus many people said travel time–when you have a limited visit–wasn’t worth it). We also attended Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party one evening so I bought Minnie trick-or-treating bags for the girls at Wal-Mart plus unicorn headbands and tails at Target. I wanted them to be able to wear costumes, but I didn’t want to carry anything bulky around all day so I found small things to shove in the backpack.

Many Facebook friends said to order lanyards and trading pins on Ebay before we went to Disney and then trade pins with the crew members. I found lanyards on Amazon and a lot of 50 pins on Ebay before we left so when we arrived at the park, we were armed and ready to trade pins. The girls (and Chris…I didn’t buy him a lanyard for pins, but I learned the error of my ways when we ended up at the store the night before Disney buying one for him) had a lot of fun trading pins with crew members. Buying pins at the park is crazy expensive, but I got 50 for less than $30 and would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do this before you go. Everyone came home with cool pins; Chris ended up with a whole lanyard of Star Wars pins and Harper completed a set of Mickey pins. It was a fun extra thing to do there that many people weren’t aware of. We had more than a few people ask us what we were doing and how many times we’d been there to collect that many pins.

We didn’t buy an souvenirs at the Disney parks. I had enough goodies like Mickey stuffed animals, stationary, tattoos, pens, and sticky notes at home from Target, the Dollar Store, and Party City to keep us out of the shops and kiosks.

I learned my lesson on day one of Universal so we came to Disney prepared with sandwiches and snacks. It was convenient and easy to eat while waiting in line for something so we only spent money on special snacks like LeFou’s Brew and the giant cinnamon roll at Gaston’s Pub. Of course, we had to get Mickey ice cream, but it was so so hot that it didn’t last as long as everyone would have liked. I think Harper’s ended up on the sidewalk. Ellie tried a Mickey pretzel (it was a hit), and we had decadent cupcakes at the ABC Commissary.

When you buy tickets, you get three FastPass options with each ticket. 30 days before your visit you can select what rides or experiences you want and at what time. I wasn’t too concerned when the 30 day mark rolled around and selected our FastPass times later than I should have. We still had good options, but if I had done it the day it came open, I think I would have selected a few different rides. A lot of people make food reservations, but we weren’t there to eat food so we skipped that.

Okay, that’s it for my low-key tips and suggestions. If you’ve got some, leave them below, but remember, I get overwhelmed easily so talk quietly and slowly.

Wednesday: Universal Studios!
Thursday: Disney World!

 


*DISCLOSURE: Affiliate links used.

MAKE SURE YOU SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER! USE THE POPUP WINDOW, THE BAR AT THE TOP OF YOUR SCREEN, OR GO HERE TO GET MONTHLY BOOK REVIEWS & SUGGESTIONS, SURPRISE GIVEAWAYS, SUBSCRIBER-ONLY POSTS, AND THE MONDAY BUSINESS MEETING EMAIL WITH ENCOURAGEMENT, NEWS, & FREE STUFF.

Love podcasts? May I suggest you listen to the Not Terrible Podcast? My friend Jess and I co-host a weekly show where we discuss hard stories with hope and humor. I’d love for you to listen and subscribe.

« Previous Page
Next Page »
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Categories






SHARE OUR SITE

Trusty Chucks

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in