Where is it??

Kevan and I took a little mini-vacation to Chicago a few months ago.  He had to go there for work so I went with him a few days earlier and then flew home before the work week.  I was very excited about going because I used to live in Chicagoland. I wanted to show him where I used to live, take him to my old church, show him Navy Pier and downtown Chicago. 

The day after we arrived we got up early and drove out to Navy Pier.  It was COLD!  We checked out the parking prices and found out it was like a zillion dollars to actually park at Navy Pier so we drove a few blocks away, fed a meter and then walked back. 

Here is a picture of Kevan at Navy Pier.



It was a very quiet morning, about 9am, and despite the cold weather we really enjoyed our walk around Chicago.  We ran into this little guy while we were there.



We also saw this double-decker bus.  Who would sit up there in the freezing cold weather??  Craziness I tell you!



Once we were done with Navy Pier we drove to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (parking was $18!!!  Can you believe it??).  I did a little research about the different exhibits that were in town and I knew Kevan was going to love the Weather exhibit.  I didn't tell him ahead of time because I wanted to see the excitement on his face when we reached it.  Let me just tell you....his reaction WAS AWESOME!  As we were walking around the museum he heard this (below) make noise. 



He stops immediately and says, "WHERE IS IT!!!!  WHERE IS IT!!!"  He starts running through the museum to find it.  It was so funny.  Anyone that knows my husband knows that he loves anything weather, but he especially loves Tesla Coils.  He built his own Tesla Coil in high school for the Science Fair and they even accused him of cheating and said that he couldn't have made it on his own. 

Kevan entered the Hurricane Simulator...he was cocking his head to the side because he said it was messing up his hair.  Haa Haa!



Another exhibit was the Smart Home (Green + Wired) exhibit.  You may not know this, but one of our dreams is to one day own a home that is off-grid.  We want to produce our own energy (wind/solar) and our own heat (wood/water).  So, this was a pretty cool experience.  We had to pay extra to view it, but it was worth it.  The house isn't that pretty (see below), but it has a lot of cool ideas. 



The kitchen had the ability to have cordless appliances.  You just had to set the blender on a certain spot on the counter and it worked.  There were no electrical outlets in the kitchen.  One of the things Kevan loved was that they had a Control Panel for the whole house so you could see how much energy was being used and how much energy the home was producing.  Also, the home was VERY smart.  It turned the lights on by just speaking to it.  If you are into stuff like this and you are in Chicago I highly recommend going to see it and paying the $8.


The wind turbine:



I will leave you with this.  :o)

Everglades National Park

Kevan and I traveled to Homestead, FL to see Coral Castle. Kevan apparently did his research before we arrived in Homestead and had a little idea in the back of his mind that he didn’t share with me until after we were finished with Coral Castle and had a few wine tastings at the winery. He wanted to drive all the way to Flamingo, FL.

As you can see from the picture below, it is the southernmost tip of Florida.I have to say, I wasn’t really excited about the idea. It was 5pm and there are no restaurants/gas stations on the way and I like a plan. I like to pretend in my mind that I am this adventurous woman, but in reality I don’t like things sprung upon me! Also, I don't like to be in the middle of nowhere when it is getting dark. I do not like the dark! So, we decided to stop at the Visitors Center and check it out first. They were closing, but the ranger told us to go to the Royal Palm Stop and do the Anhinga Trail before we headed out. It was a few miles up the road so we decided to go. I'm so glad we did.When we began the trail we saw this Anhinga trying to swallow his catfish dinner.

Just a few feet from this guy/gal we saw another one drying his wings in the sun.

Anhingas are really funny birds. Driving around Merritt Island we see them all the time in the water. You will be looking out at the water and all of a sudden you will see this little head pop up. You will think in your head that it must be a snake or a turtle or something. Not a bird! Birds don't walk/swim around underwater. Then, you see him go back under and come back up with his little head popping up like a scope on a submarine. It is really funny to watch. Once they get their fill of fish they jump out of the water and dry their wings on the side of the bank. They also have feet like a duck.

As we continued the Royal Palm trail we found a boardwalk that went out into the water and looped around to a place further down the trail. Now, I like docks and all, but I'm not crazy about a huge boardwalk that you can't see land from because it is this huge trail that goes all around the water. But, I sucked air in and tried to be a man (I mean, a tough woman). Trying to forget that the boardwalk was making creaking noises when I walked on it and I could fall through at any moment (because people fall through all the time! lol!). I didn't say I was rational. You wouldn't want to fall in with a thing like this right next to you would you?

I didn't think so. We saw at least 6 of these guys swimming around just waiting for a helpless woman to fall in!

As we were finishing the boardwalk trail we saw more birds like this one:There were so many more wildlife, but I can't post them all here. So, if you are interested in seeing the rest, go here.

Memorial Weekend

Kevan and I went to Weston, FL for Memorial Weekend. We stayed at the timeshare resort, Vacation Village of Weston. We had a small 1 bedroom suite. It was one of the nicest resorts we’ve stayed at through our RCI Timeshare. We had a HUGE pool with the largest hot tub I have ever been in. It was very quiet, clean and all the workers were really nice.

When I woke up in the morning I went out onto our balcony and saw this little baby sitting in one of the palm trees.

Then, while Kevan was in the shower I decided to go ask the pool lady where the best place for breakfast would be. On my way I saw this worried Mama with her baby.

The pool lady told us that the best place for breakfast was Bagel Mania in Sunrise, FL. It was really good and I highly recommend it if you are in the area. We ate there all 3 mornings that we were at the resort. :o) Over the next few days I will update everyone on the rest of our trip.

First Anniversary!

For our First Anniversary we went back to the Overlook where Kevan asked me to marry him. Here is a picture at the overlook. We had a great year together! Were so cute together!

Jayde & Kevan Leatherwood Overlook

Kevan's Birthday

We went back to Mount Mitchell for Kevan's birthday. We also stopped by Linville Cave's on the way home. Here are some pictures from our trip. Also, notice the Mt. Mitchell parking lot when there isn't snow!

Kevan in the Linville Cave

Kevan at the peak of Mt. Mitchell

Parking lot from the top of Mt. Mitchell