Category: travel

We spent about five hours at Whitewater this past weekend. A nice way to relax, but be prepared for people if you do go on a weekend. May want to consider a weekday if you’re looking for a serene escape.

We parked at Pizza King & walked over as it looked like down the hill it was only for people with reservations. I will say the road doesn’t look like you are going the right way, if you know you know lol. Without reservations, we still managed to get kayaks for a group of ten (they did mention we may get canoes).

After you pay, you wait in line until they check your slip. You then grab your paddle/lifejacket & walk shortly to the river where they bring the kayak too you.

Like I said, there are quite a few people but it’s not too bad ((mainly at the pullouts (plenty of them for breaks or what not)). There are some rapids along the route but they are manageable for a beginner, not exactly a child but they have restrictions in place.

They also have a rope swing and cliff to jump from as well if that’s your thing.

To finish it out, they have a bus that picks you up at the end to take you back to where you started. All n all it’s worth doing if in the area. I’m not sure how comparable it is to others around but let me know if you have any recommendations for rivers to kayak in the U.S. as I have no knowledge on it.

**Must in the area: Dairy Cottage after (awesome chicken, mashed potatoes, and icecream!).

I hope you enjoy! – Abigail

We took a day trip up to Turkey Run State Park a little over a month ago & even with the rain, it didn’t disappoint. (For context if you are unfamiliar, Turkey Run is located a little over an hour west of Indianapolis). As for our day we did trails 3,5,8,&9 which took about three hours to complete.

Note: we ended up doing an alternate version of the trail as a portion was closed while we were there. We also got poured on for a good portion of our time which caused us to take a shortcut as we didn’t want to continue to trench through water. I will admit, it was cool to hike with rain but after awhile I was ready to be dry hahah.

The trail had creeks, stairs, bridges, and of course ladders. I would recommend it 100%. If you have any recommendations for Turkey Run yourself, please share in the comments!

Note: not too much around the area so come prepared. Also, maybe not the most child friendly trail due to amount of stairs/ladders.

I hope you enjoy! – Abigail

I drove up from Mackinaw City to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for a day trip to hike Chapel Rock, Mosquito River (not a coincidence), & the North County trail loop. It was one of the longest trails I’ve done at 9.6 miles. It is nice to prove yourself up to a challenge every once and awhile. Now I know I can handle more haha.

You will take dirt roads to get back to the parking lot which does have a porta potty situation (only one more on the trail by the beach). Make sure you follow the signs or you will veer off like I did.

I recommend starting the trail earlier rather than later to maybe beat the crowds if you come during a specific season. I also recommend doing the trail counter clockwise to start with the Mosquito River portion so towards the end you have the peace of the woods portion. It was incredible! I also recommend longer clothes ,bug spray, or a mosquito head net. Better to be over-prepared.

The trail itself took me under four hours with very little breaks but you could easily stretch this into a whole day but I already drove two hours there and had to do it back. I say this because you have a river, bridges, beach, so many overlooks, woods, flowers, and well nature.

That’s all the photos I will be posting. I suggest you check it out if you are ever in the area 🙂

I hope you enjoy! – Abigail

We spent five days in Michigan with one of the days being spent at Mackinac Island (I’ll make a separate post about the upper peninsula next week). As for the island, it was a unique travel experience that has been on my radar for a little while now. We went the day before the Lilac Festival that is going on right now. I will say for the day before I didn’t see many lilacs but we also didn’t venture too many of the inland streets. Leave a comment if you have gone during & your experience with it!

If you are unfamiliar with Mackinac Island, it’s located in Lake Huron in Michigan between the upper and lower peninsulas. It’s known for being a car free island with amazing views, fudge, bikes, carriage rides, and history.

You will need to take a ferry in order to get to the island. We took the Arnold Transit ferry over which at scale is cheaper but take into consideration the toll bridge if you cross out from Mackinac City into St. Ignance as that was a hidden cost for us.

When you get to the island, you will most likely see horses or bike riders right away. We ended up just doing the 8.2 mile bike loop around the island which took a little under two hours with a couple stops including Arch Rock. The cheapest option I found was Ryba’s which was right by our ferry exit at $12 an hour (prorates if not exact). They also had a coupon on their website for a dollar off your second full hour. Make the bike ride a priority if you can!

As for food/fudge we didn’t indulge in much of anything outside of Doud’s Market. Side note: you are able to find their fudge around the area as well without going to Mackinac Island at their other locations. I even saw some in a general store. I didn’t fact check this but all of them claim to give free samples too.

We only spent about five hours exploring and taking it in as the ferry only came every two hours during the time we visited & we brought our dogs.

Other things to do include: Grand Hotel, Fort Mackinac, carriage tour, butterfly houses, the secret garden (which I found out about writing this so we missed it :(…) Please comment if I missed something!

I hope you enjoy your trip! – Abigail

If you are unfamiliar with BB Riverboats, they are a company that offers multiple day/evening cruises on the Ohio River located in Newport, Kentucky. This has been on my list for some time now & an anniversary is the perfect opportunity to do so. I do recommend reservations and sunglasses haha. I waited until days before due to it being spring and me not wanting any rain. With me doing that I missed out on the dinner option which of course became available the day after I booked the one without dinner. Oh well.

As for the cruise itself, I would recommend getting on as early as you can just to take advantage, get a seat, drink/snack, and of course admire the Cincinnati skyline view. I will say I wish they made more signage up to navigate where everything was as I waited in the bar line beforehand when I don’t think I needed to just for a Pepsi. The crew was super helpful in that regard! Also, come with song requests if that’s your thing (dj nights)!

After doing it, I can say it’s still worth it to do even without the food included. If you have done any of them please comment below your thoughts as I’d love some insight!

I hope you enjoy your cruise! – Abigail

Chattanooga to me gave equal parts city and equal parts small town which I really enjoyed. I stayed less than two days but feel I got a decent checklist completed within the time. As always if I left something off feel free to comment & just maybe I’ll have to go back haha.

Day One:

• Drove from Indiana to Chattanooga
• Stopped at Sanders Cafe & Museum in Corbin, Kentucky (Colonel Sanders original restaurant).
  • Funny side note: a man was dressed like Sanders walking around getting pictures with people without even working there.

• Lookout Mountain Incline Railway
  • I didn’t have this booked before we got into town but we had some time to kill. Keep in mind I booked this about 5 minutes before my scheduled time on a Friday evening and didn’t wait too long. Maybe about 45 minutes or so but not bad for my lack of planning.
  • I’d say for the view alone it’s worth it but you can drive to the top as well if you don’t want to spend the money (or if you aren’t a heights person like my mom who stayed grounded).

• Sunset at Point Park
  • We parked at the free parking next to the Point Park entrance. From there we walked alongside the far road by the picnic tables until we saw an opening where we sat & watched the sunset. It was incredible to say the least.
  • Sunset Rock Viewpoint is a popular spot to view it nearby as well but it has a small parking lot which happened to be full when we drove by so we came up with an alternative.

Day Two:

• Tried to get to Julia Overlook & failed…. pretty views regardless so enjoy 🙂

• Chattanooga Duck Tour
  • This tour had the best of both worlds. You got to cruise through the city and of course through the water as well. Also, the guide had tons about the history and what you were passing which was neat.

• Rock City
  • Rock City held something unique at every turn with some nostalgia mixed in which I loved. Then on top of that add the views, you can even see seven states (Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia). *Won’t add too many pictures, don’t want to ruin it.

Day three:

• Edward’s Point
  • We ended the trip with a hike to Edward’s Point. To start the trail you should park by the Rainbow Lake Wilderness sign (we went to the wrong spot a couple of times). I will say I would have gotten lost again if I didn’t have the AllTrails App. (No this isn’t sponsored). As for the trail itself, it’s not too bad just be prepared to climb rocks for a portion. Once you reach the view it will all be worth it, mentally prepare to walk back though lol.

Thanks for reading. – Abigail