Tag: IFTTT

There are times in our lives that we often dream about what our kids will be when they grow up.  Our son Tyler, is out on his own and currently owns a business in Brandenton, FL.  Amber is working on finishing high school a year early.  College visits are something that are quite common among high school students.  We don’t know where to start since being on the road.  However, we think we found the beginning of a college visit tour.

The University of Notre Dame is widely known.  We have watched movies on that use the school as a focus, remember Rudy.  While we were in Elkhart, IN, we found a unique but fun adventure.  We took our first college tour.  Albeit it was just the stadium, it was enough to inspire Amber to visit other campus tours throughout our journey.

On February 22, 2018, The Gateway Arch in St Louis became the 60th National Park.  The Arch took just over 2 years to build and was a representation of the westward expansion from the time of Thomas Jefferson – hence called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.  The Arch is 630 feet tall and taller than the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.  The Arch can sway up to 18 inches and was built to withstand earthquakes and extreme high winds.

Known as the Windy City, we spent the late afternoon in Chicago.  The bustling city on a Sunday afternoon was quite a surprise.  Many big cities that we visit on weekends are often desolate and easy to find parking spaces.  However, on this day, the Bears just lost to the NE Patriots on their home field and there was plenty of traffic and upset fans throughout the city.  We eventually found a parking spot that did not cost a arm and a leg ($21 an 1/2 hour is not in our budget) and we were able to visit a few landmarks within the city.

A great way to learn the history of the state you are visiting; is to visit the state capital.  About 2-3 hours you can learn how the state government works, and the similarities of other states. 

We have visited 5 US State Capitals and 1 Canada Providence Capital.  All tours have been free and some we have to go through metal detectors to enter.  Most tours are available several times during the day and have a tour guide.  We often have the opportunity to have a self-guided tour around the building.