Category Archives: Travel

Road Trip To North Carolina

2017-07-24Travelcity park, family vacation, florida, Harold Turpin Park, North Carolina Vacation, park, playground, Ridgeland, road trip, South Carolina, Starke, vacationleslie

Keith has been wanting to attend the Catechumenate conference for a few years now, but never managed to go. This year’s one was hosted by Nativity Lutheran in Asheville (our friends and family’s church), so we decided the whole family was going to road trip it up to Amber’s house and spend the week working and playing. But first we had to get there, and that is no easy feat with a 4yo and almost 1yo. It’s about a TEN hour trip, without stops (and we knew there would be stops) so I researched potential stopping points along our route so the kids could play and we could get an “are we there yet” break.

The Play Across America Blog was particularly helpful once we hit I-95 because it had a descriptive listing of playgrounds to be found within a few miles of road exits, but first we had to make it out of Florida. Which takes HOURS. The only real place to stop for a picnic lunch along the route from Seminole to the Georgia border via US-301 was the town of Starke. I drove through this place all through college (it’s about halfway between Gainesville and Jacksonville), but have never really stopped. Except for that one time I toured the Florida State Prison located there, but that’s another story. The town of Starke had a small park a few blocks from downtown with clean bathrooms, picnic tables, and some playground equipment. It wasn’t fancy, but it worked for us. Henry had fun climbing and making up games while we ate in the 90+ degree weather.

The kids were getting stir crazy as we crossed the South Carolina border, so we stopped at one of the coolest playgrounds ever in Ridgeland – Harold Turpin Park. It comprised nearly a whole city block surrounded by quiet, tree-lined streets, and just looked how a playground was supposed to look (you know what I mean-picturesque). The whole playground was a wooden treehouse, and it had slides, fun swings (including a spiderweb swing), and a zip line! E loved the little splash pad to cool down. We would have spent more time here if we could have, but had to hop back in the car for the last stretch to Amber’s house where she was waiting up for us.

The day took a little more than 12 hours, but it was totally worth it to us to take these two long breaks for everyone’s sanity.

Bad Kid Christmas Orlando

2017-05-25Bad Kid Christmas, Travelbad kid christmas, davenport, disney springs, homeaway, legoland, orlando, vacation, winter havenleslie

Our enjoyment of the Christmas season is quickly followed by our annual Bad Kids Christmas reunion with some of our seminary friends. It is one of the best weeks of the year! This year we hosted everyone at a huge rental in the Orlando area. We had plenty of space for our 15 person-strong group (9 adults and 6 kids now), and the weather cooperated (highs in the 80s). This allowed us to enjoy the heated pool and hot tub everyday (even me)! Henry shared a room with one of the sisters (on rotation) and got his wish for a roommate.

We went to the small Legoland (Disney Springs) and the big Legoland in Winter Haven, where he lived his best life. He keeps talking about it because building things and riding fast rides are his jam. I didn’t really care about Legoland but could definitely see why little kids love it…Henry could do almost everything as a 3 year old.

We returned to the Alifia River for a boating party (thanks Dan Jr.) where people did some back porch relaxing and riding on SUPs, in addition to the main boat ride down the river. It’s really a perfect place, and I’m so happy our family shared it with our friends.

My favorite part, like always, was simply hanging out with everyone, catching up on our unique experiences of being clergy families, and the hugs. Because I love these people and once a year is not enough time but we make it work.

Milwaukee Vacation, Part 2

2017-01-26Travelbest place, family, milwaukee, pabst brewery, vacation, weddingleslie

We headed north to Milwaukee in the fall to attend Keith’s cousin Katie’s wedding to her love, Matt. We woke up Henry from his afternoon nap to rush over to the ceremony at the Three Holy Women Catholic Parish. We walked in with a crying and cranky Hen and sleeping Elliot just as the mother of the bride was being escorted down the aisle. Keith walked around the back of the church to calm Henry, and then Elliot awoke, wanting to nurse. So I headed to the back of the building, too. Needless to say, we were distracted during the ceremony, but the parts we saw were beautiful. Everyone in the place was so happy for the couple, and it showed.

We piled in our cars to head for the reception at the Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, chosen in part because Katie and Matt are big beer drinkers and Matt works at the the Lakefront Brewery. It was a cool building with stained glass windows and cells in the basement. The cells made for a quiet place to nurse away from the party. Henry danced up a storm at the reception with everyone – he definitely has some signature moves! Keith and I alternately wore Elliot so he could sleep while we ate, drank, and danced. It was one of our favorite wedding receptions ever, but the best part was hanging out with extended family who rarely have the opportunity to all get together in one place (because there’s so many of them)! Milwaukee and the Meister-Krajnaks, we love you!

Milwaukee Vacation, Part 1

2017-01-25Travelcheese curds, discovery world, family, lake michigan, milwaukee, public market, vacation, wisconsinleslie

Back in October we took our first plane ride as a family of four up to Milwaukee to attend Keith’s cousin, Katie’s wedding. Making a mini vacation out of it, we hung out in downtown Milwaukee for a few days with our extended family, exploring “the good land” and eating and drinking our way through the town.

We’re members of MOSI in Tampa and one of its benefits is reciprocity with other science museums all over the country, including Discovery World. Located on Lake Michigan, this museum is amazing. One building houses an aquarium filled with fun and informational exhibits about the Lake Michigan watershed, and a second building focuses on science and technology exhibits including hands-on music (Les Paul) and physics areas.

Keith and I loved the aquarium, which Henry wanted to blow through, of course. Henry liked racing cars using air pressure, and Brent humored us by joining our adventure (I’m not sure what he liked the best). Henry keeps asking when we are going back, it was that awesome.

We also toured the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan by boat, which was fantastic. Our guide gave a synopsis on the history of Milwaukee and its buildings along the river and lake, and local beer was available for purchase. Henry performed an impromptu dance, and we all loved spending additional time with the newly married couple and extended family – Miller and Meister cousins reunited!

Luckily, we happened to be in town on a Sunday when our friend, Alexis, was preaching at Lake Park Lutheran Church, so we drove up for worship with her and her congregation. We spent time on two different days with her; it was totally bonus donuts on top of an already wonderful trip.

Finally, we ate at several delicious restaurants (Milwaukee Brat House, Colectivo Coffee, Stubby’s, and Cafe Benelux were favorites) – lots of beer, cheese, and sausage consumed by all. At one meal, Henry ate bacon, sausage, and chicken tenders – he was in food heaven. We visited the Public Market and picked up yummy cheeses to bring a bit of Milwaukee home with us – I wish we had cheese curds here; I could eat them every day!