chadswifey

[chadswifey]

21C and more!

So as we've finished our top 5, I'm going to take a break for a sec and talk about one of my favorite hotel chains that we've come to adore. Me for the art, and my husband and nephew for the penguins. My husband, mom, and I have been to them all (Until they finish the one in Des Moines which I have on a trip in 2026), but my nephew let me tell you, he grew up with these penguins. I've lost count on how many times I've made reservations at one of the hotels close to us and then had to call and ask them to put penguins in our rooms. Yes, penguins. Adorable, 3' tall looking, 3d printed, penguins, of every color....

21C Museum and hotels are the absolute best place to stay in my opinion. Some of them are a little pricey, but TOTALLY worth it. Each location has a different color penguin, and of course, I have every color!

I even got my gold penguin from finishing my penguin passport back in the day. :)

These hotels are immaculate, the rooms are clean, they usually have art galleries in all of them like on the 1st or 2nd floors, a wonderful restaurant, and amazing staff. 5 stars, you must stop by.

[chadswifey]

#5 Windy town, our first big trip and our favorite city! The best for last, the favorite anyway!

This one you can just mark down on your list as our favorite city. Together Chad and I have been here 6 times, and it will always have a special place in our hearts.

Our first time to Chicago we were pretty much just friends and a group of us all went, we may have held hands at this point. I knew at the time that I already loved Chad with all the time that we had spent together, but we took it slow and got to know each other. Our favorite memory was going up in the Centennial Wheel, which is the picture above, and seeing the bean for the first time.

There are so many different things we've done in Chicago that I'm not sure where to start with tips and all the other amazing things that we did.

Places we've stayed: The last place we stayed when we went in '23 with Mom is the 21C Hotel. It is a must visit and definitely worth the money (All the 21C hotels are, but we'll do a thing on that later on). If your nervous about all the crazy that is Chicago, one time we stayed in Bolingbrook, IL, just outside Chicago. My love for trip planning came from this trip with Mom in July of '19 and we have traveled all that we have since then, after my Dad passed and after we all lived through Covid.

Best things to do that we did in '18? CENTENNIAL WHEEL and navy pier! You need to walk along the pier and down to the bean, Also, Grant park is fabulous, we went in '19 for the pokemon festival. (See below) Also, there is the 360 Chicago observation deck and part of it the tilt you over part of the building to see the whole city below!

The tip that I cannot stress enough is to be aware of your surroundings. Especially in parking garages and areas that you are not familiar with.

[chadswifey]

The headless horseman! #4

This place itself means a lot to me. My grandma and I growing up watched Scooby doo, which was HER favorite show. I, to this day, watch Scooby Doo frequently, all the movies and spinoffs, this girl has seen them all.

Both times we have been here, we have discovered so much. I first discovered "Sleepy Hollow" was a real village located in New York our first trip to the east coast, never wanted to go to New York until then. It is a magical little place that is by Tarrytown and let me tell you, when Mom found out it had a lighthouse, we were both crazy about going to the area.

This little town has the sweetest people and some of the best places to stick your feet in the water. Walk down to the lighthouse at the cutest park (I think it was like $10 to park and spend some time).

Downtown they have great gift shops that have the best souvenirs and tours of the town and cemetery as well. At the cemetery is where Washington Irving the author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is buried as well. It was so nostalgic for me, they even have the Headless Horseman bridge. Bella's Boutique is a great little gift shop on main street, along with others downtown.

If you don't have a whole lot of time to kill, at least walk along the trail in the park to the lighthouse and stop at a gift shop or two.

[chadswifey]

Our travels!

This blog is to backtrack and relive everywhere that my husband and I have traveled to. Our favorites and honorable mentions!

When I met my husband in mid-2017, he had been nowhere but Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. Over the past 7 years we have changed all of that! As of our west coast trip in September to grab 3 more states, I have all 48 minus Alaska and Hawaii. As of our upcoming trip in December to Disneyworld, which might I add will be one of my all-time favorites, Chad will also have his 48!

This is a journal with tips and tricks that might help you, otherwise I will be joyfully documenting all of our journey for us to enjoy as we get older.

[chadswifey]

Favorite # 3!

Boston, Massachusetts!

This is both one of Chad and I's favorite!

We've been here twice and the absolute best place to stay is where we stayed both times! Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor, 5 freaking stars! Wonderful place to walk by the harbor and have a delicious dinner overlooking the water, and it's just outside the hustle and bustle of Downtown Boston so you don't have too hard of a time getting in & out.

But anything that has food is Chad's favorite 😝😘

We have several different spots that we stumbled upon that ended up being fantastic.

You absolutely must stop and throw "tea" into the harbor at the Tea Party Museum, and get a wonderful history lesson at the Old North Church.

We also stumbled upon an awesome shopping center with live music, gift shops, and any shop that you could think of (Fauneuil Hall Marketplace).

Another great place we found when I was planning our trip was the Mapparium (not my pic below, when we went your weren't allowed to take pictures and now you can). I love everything map or globe and this is a whole beautiful room that is a globe! It is also surrounded by gorgeous buildings that we walked all around to see!

There is so much incredible history in Boston and we love it so much!

We did so much more, but these are definitely our favorite activities!

[chadswifey]

Fav city #2 coming at ya!

My husband and I discussed at lunch that there should be 15 honorable mention blog posts also. So prep yourself.  

The hubby’s absolute favorite! This is a definite Zillow hotspot for us, but it never happens. Also, dying of freezing to death is a scary thought.

Gardiner, Montana. This is the absolute best place to stay right outside Yellowstone. There’s no better part of Yellowstone besides going in the North Entrance, trust me. I’ve had to be there because of my husband. Beautiful, breathtaking, relaxing place though so I don’t mind a bit. Just pretty pricey, but we can always make more money. Memories with my husband and giving him a fantastic life are the only life goals of mine now minus the babes we’re going to have.

Back on track, did I say breathtaking?

Freaking gorgeous!  

Stay at the Absaroka, we’ve stayed here twice for several nights and I promise there isn’t better.

You walk out of the hotel parking lot and across the bridge (right side of the picture). It’s the best views and food you could possibly ask for!

Cowboy’s is the must stop grille to have lunch or dinner, we’ve had lots. The market, the opposite direction instead of over the bridge, is the best place to get any supplies you need. Sandwich stuff and I needed colored pencils once. :P

Just a magical place right outside the North entrance to Yellowstone!

Absolutely make note, that while you may have phone service in Gardiner, as soon as you cross under the Roosevelt arch into Yellowstone it is gone. If you don’t know where you’re going, get your GPS set for places before you head that way for the day!

Also, Grab breakfast and souvenirs down the road at Yellowstone Perk! Breakfast burritos to die for!

Beware of wildlife, do not approach like Chad here. They are living everywhere in Gardiner and they do not care.  

[chadswifey]

Favorite destination #1: UFO city!

My next 10 posts are going to be about our 10 most favorite cities! Here is 1 of the 10, because I just can't possibly pick who's the greatest.

No alien invasions or encounters at this destination, but definitely one of our top 3 favs!

This city is filled with amazing people and so many alien souvenirs, you will be in heaven!

No seriously, everything is incredible!

For 2 years in a row, we went to the UFO fest. It was my dream to be involved with all the alien folks. So much to do, but the speakers let me tell you, they believe! ....And of course, so do I, but that's all besides the point.

For the fest, stay at the Home2 on Virginia Ave., you can walk everywhere from this spot and see everything that the fest has to offer.

I could go on and on about the UFO fest, but this is a Roswell post. We will do UFO fest tips at a later date maybe.

Roswell, at the fest and all the other "encounters" we have had with the locals have been so good. They are a helpful and sweet community, not one bad experience. Top on my list? I can't even tell you how many multiple times I was told to have a blessed day. I cannot for a moment pretend that my husband and I don't have zillow sending us notifications on houses for sale... Maybe someday.

Tips: Do not go in summer, you have to for the fest which is always 4th of July weekend, but beginning of May is perfection. No crowds, not too bad with heat.

International UFO museum? An absolute freaking must! Get there early, especially if you're trying to go during the fest.

This city is sheer perfection and will always be top 5 forever!

Hoping for the 6th time that we go to New Mexico to be with our baby! :)

[chadswifey]

Most exciting travel!

My husband's first trip to Colorado and Wyoming in Mother's Day weekend May of 2021....

1st stop Alva, OK to drop off material to a customer.

Leaving Alva traveling through the panhandle of Oklahoma. High winds. No ditch or other structures in sight. 110 mph in diesel truck to escape tornado right beside us that we couldn't tell which direction it was going. Craziness. Passed the storm team after we survived. Just drove as fast as we could.

Entering New Mexico. Clayton: broken tensioner pulley and belt in the desert. Napa delivered, and worker helped Chad figure out how to put on parts. Saved. Went back to Clayton this year, and it's a cute little city.

Driving through Colorado, pitch black 10:00 at night, 80mph in the mountains, tons of cars, Mom and Chad were sleeping. No headlights. Forgot to mention rain, Chad got out and started beating on them and God saved us by letting them come back on. 😪 Beautiful Colorado Springs out our hotel door. (Stay at Kinship Landing in Colorado Springs, pic below!) (Other note: When we went back to Colorado Springs a couple years later, you must eat at the airplane restaurant, go when they open so it's not crowded.) (Other other note: go to the Columbine Memorial not far away in Littleton, beautiful memorial for such beautiful lives that were tragically taken.)

The whole purpose for this trip was to get to Cheyenne to help Jeff say goodbye to his incredible father, who helped me so much when mine died. (Stay at Little America in Cheyenne, WY, pic below!)

All the crazy? No, wait, there's more.

The day of Dave's memorial, we got 8 inches of snow in 12 hours 🤦‍♀️ 2 wheel drive, long bed truck, not meant for any snow at all. We once again flew Dad's diesel to Nebraska to warmer temps that were rain instead of ice. #Unforgettable #travelswithchad #besttripever

[chadswifey]

Incredible day! Tons of work done this week, and I can't wait to have an amazing weekend with the hubby. Nights spent like this relaxing should happen every night. 😻

Getting so close to Disney!

#soblessed #obsessedwiththisman