Town of the Indy 500…

Yip, Tyler and I are at it again! Taking off for another random-ish road trip. This time we are headed to Indianapolis, IN.  We got in pretty on the Friday night, so we never got to see much. The Saturday was started with a walk around downtown, there were some really pretty buildings around that I got to photograph.

Downtown on the riverwalk

We also headed to the NCAA (The National Collegiate Athletic Association) which I wasn’t sure about…till I got in there. There were interactive sections where you could try out the sport. I got to throw a football, kick a soccer ball and even try to shoot some hoops. Apparently I’m not designed for most sports, but one day I’ll find something I’m good at.

Tyler playing ball

That night we went to a piano bar called Howling at the Moon. It was my first time at a piano bar, and let me tell you. This place was awesome! The people playing the instruments are really talented and have a great sense of humour. Although I did see how alcohol certainly lubricates the wallet strings. There was a board that you could “buy” a message space on it, so it started at say $5 and went up by $5 every time someone “purchased” it. You can choose to put whatever you wanted on the board, and it stays on the board until someone else “buys” the board. There was a group of fireman, marines and police that were all competing through the board, it got pretty interesting and expensive!

See what I mean?

 The next morning we visited the Indy 500 racetrack. It was pretty amazing to see the track, it’s huge! There is a museum where they have the racecars that have previously been in the race. It was fun to see how much they have changed to become more aerodynamic.

Indy 500

After that we headed back to Milwaukee…only 7 hours away. Home sweet home!

Another state, another road trip!

Two little boys turn two today…

The boys turned 2 today and there is not much to say except I cannot believe how quickly they have turned from little cute blobs that didn’t do much, to fired up balls of energy! They are talking so much and love to play. They love their big sister which they call AJ and try to imitate her as much as possible. They have really grown up, no more onesies anymore, just big boy shorts and tees!

Big boys now!

For their birthday Amanda did a really good job of making sure it was kid inspired and definitely geared towards them. Her parents were here from New Jersey to celebrate with the boys which was extra special. We started off by going to Monkey Joes, an indoor jumping castle haven with slides and obstacle courses…some that were a little too hard for the boys to conquer alone…so I volunteered to help the boys climb up and slide down the big bouncy houses.

The boys 'singing' along

Reading Birthday cards with mom and dad

Next we headed to Chuck. E. Cheese with is a heaven for little kids with food, a games arcade and even a big singing mouse! The pizza was pretty good and watching the boys eat cake – pretty priceless! Ah, sometimes a picture says a 1000 words…

Sharing is caring...

And who's job is it meant to be, to teach this kid table manners?

*Hi-lighted words are explained in the glossary page

Baby. Baby. Baby oooooooo…

Yip, those are the famous lyrics of guy who may be small in stature but definitely not in popularity. His movie “Never Say Never” just came out and Julia and I are kind of super fans, so we decided to go to see it on the BIG screen. Julia ran in to buy the tickets while I parked the car (this was due to the fact that we were running late, not because we were that excited…although we were) She walked up to the front desk and proudly announced “I would like 2 tickets to the Justin Bieber movie. Thank you.” Then we made our way to an empty cinema where we chose the best seats for maximum Bieber viewing. We were 50% of the population in the cinema, not that it made a difference. We loved the movie and even sang LOUDLY to the Karaoke type set up to “Baby.  Baby. Baby Oooooo” Super fans indeed!

Going green…

St. Patrick’s Day…day to commemorate Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland, aka an excuse for perfectly rational human beings to wear various shades of green and get drunk even if it’s a week night.

Green Beer...hmmm

Au pairs however are a little tamer and chose to go out and have a quick drink (or two) then head home. It’s not fun, watching children through “hangover glasses” after all! Jenny, Julia and I headed to Paddy’s Pub where we meet some really interesting people, we then headed downtown to Mo’s Irish Pub where they serve green Miller Light on tap. It’s kinda strange cos I was in the same exact place last year for Paddy’s day, then even more strange, I ended up seeing the SAME group of guys Tamara and I had meet the year before. I guess some people love routine?

Tamara with our new friends in 2010

Déjà vu?

Tag you’re…hit!

This is my 2nd time playing laser-tag, but every place has a different set up to the next so I was really excited to go try this one. This place was crazy! There were empty “buildings” (probably prefabs) that were all in this warehouse looking room, they had open roofs and basements and you could go in.

Ready for action!

This laser-tag game was also a lot more structured than the first one, we played about 4 different games, like find the briefcase and plant the bomb etc. I mainly just played “try not to die” as this on its own is pretty tricky! We were playing with a bunch of other people that were there, a bunch of kids that were pretty serious and a few marines that even wore camouflage!

Team Kick-a**

Another laser-tag adventure I had at yet another place, was started by a challenge to DDR (dance dance revolution) which by now I have come to terms with the fact that I seriously have no co-ordination skills to play.

Karabo and Tyler having a dance off

Then we headed to the laser-tag room where we paired up (well 3 on each team) and went crazy! There were little walk ways you could hide in, mirrors on the walls to see your target hopefully before they saw you and the room was pretty dark, so this made it a big adventure!

South Africa, Germany x 2, America
South Africa x 2

Left step, right step…and repeat…

Line dancing is something I find fun, of course this is mainly because it is a form of dance, but also because it’s something at everyone can try.  Julia, Jenny, Karabo and I made our way to Hot Water (which is where we have previously done Salsa dancing) to join in the fun! Well when we got there we were definitely not blending in…we were A. under the age of 30, B. dressed up all cute (looking country and all) and C. straight…

Jenny and Julia

The organizer of the event came up to us and asked where we had found out about it. After she realized that it was advertised on the website, I think she was pretty excited that we knew what we were getting ourselves into and had in fact come to learn a few lines dances and were not looking for a club. She taught us a few dances, then announced that they were not a traditional line dancing group as they were gay. Not sure if we were supposed to be bothered by this? Everyone there was super nice and we had a good time!

Karabo and I

My last day of awesomeness…in the Bahamas...

Spending time with my family has been amazing, but all good things come to an end. We had a last meal together at the golf club before Merle and I headed towards like airport (with a quick stop at the Daq Shack.)

My wonderful family, thank you for an amazing trip!

Everything went well at the beginning, and while I was trying to clear customs (in Bahamas) I had a problem with my passport and some of my forms.  So I had to wait in a separate room until I could meet with a customs official and we could work everything out. I was literally freaking out as I thought I was going to miss my flight.  Finally after we got everything sorted out I was free to go. I RAN yip RAN down the passage way to get to my gate. As I got to the boarding gate they asked if I was “Robyn” and told me they were about to give my seat away. Then just as we were boarding the last few passengers I was stopped for a “random” bag search. Which means they went through ALL my stuff, on a table set up outside the boarding gate. Lovely! Plus then the lady still lectured me about my sun burn. Robyn FAIL! But alas I made it safely to Milwaukee.

Bahamas...definitely worth the trip!

Better than I could have hoped for…

The weather today was amazing! It was perfect for a day of power boating out to the most gorgeous Islands for a wonderfully prepared breakfast.

Paradise? I think so!

 I’m going to keep this pretty short as a picture is worth 1000 words, however if you wish to read more in detail or are thinking of planning your own Bahamian adventure be sure to check out http://www.islandworldadventures.com/

Chilling on the tour

We got to take a guided tour around the Islands. Next we were feed lunch which was super yummy. Afterwards we got to take our bones and feed the sharks (nurse and lemon sharks) and string rays by the jetty.

Feeding the sharks

Then we climbed back into the boat and jetted out to spot where we were able to snorkel in crystal clear water and even found a starfish.

Starfish friends :)

Then we went to a group of mini Islands where we were able to walk around and look for pansy shells, and of course it had the perfect picture opportunities!

My own island? sure :)

On route home we stopped at an Island where we feed the iguanas grape off sticks, that was pretty funny! I was admittedly a little freaked out though. Then we headed home soaking wet, sun burnt but with huge smiles on our faces!

Creepy creatures

That being my last night called for a celebration so we went out to the night club in Atlantis (Aura) and later back to Bambu. An acquaintance of Merle’s ended up being at Bambu when we arrived, he is built like a football player…so he is huge. He spent most of the night around us, any guys that so much as looked our direction got cut off by his huge frame. Some guy even asked if we were the presidents daughters with the way we were being protected. haha

Merle and I out and about

*Hi-lighted words are explained in the glossary page

Sometimes it rains on your parade…

I had booked a trip to the great Exzumas today, but unfortunately the wind has been terrible so the sea is really choppy so they have cancelled the tour today. I am really hoping that I can go tomorrow! In fact tomorrow may be better because then Merle could join me. But for today I’m just going to hang out by the pool and chill down at the beach.

Love it!

Encounters of the dolphin kind…

So I have ALWAYS wanted to swim with dolphins.  It’s one of those childhood dreams that you are inspired to keep wanting but not sure if it will actually happen…kind of like finding Prince Charming. I booked my Dolphin swim through Blue Lagoon for the Thursday that I was in the Bahamas. I arrive at P.I ferry terminal nice and early full of excitement and ready to go!

Sweet kisses

We had to take a boat out to the Island where we would be doing the dolphin swims and encounters (there is a difference between the 2.) We had to sit through a short lecture about dolphins, mammals and what to do when we were in the water. Then we headed out to find wetsuits and to find out which dolphins we were going to swim with. In my group I had a mom and daughter from New York and a lady with her son and granddaughter. Playing with the dolphins was a lot of fun, but instead of me going on and on about it, I’ll just post a link to the website and you can see the difference between the swim and the encounter as well as the island I was on, and yes I did the thing when the dolphin pushes your feet and you “fly” through the water. http://www.dolphinencounters.com/

Showin' off

Later on you are allowed to walk around the Island and catch which ever ferry you choose to get home. I walked around for a while, and then made my way to a little cocktail shack, which served all things tropical, with straws and umbrellas. While sitting there I met a Canadian guy who was also travelling solo, so we sat together and chatted. Then we added 2 Spanish girls to our mix of travelers.  Just then a girl who looked just like someone I went to high school with walked past…OMG! It IS someone I went to high school with! After a little chat we said our goodbyes and I settled back into my seat, and then the music began!

Kate and I

They were playing all sorts of “dance songs” you know the ones where it tells you what moves to do, or where the moves are super easy and repeated a few times. The lady in charge of getting people to let loose and enjoy their time made a beeline for me, and I happily obligated, so there I was dancing on a small Island in the Bahamas to the “cha cha slide” Good times!

How beautiful is this place?!

A day with the girls…

Merle had taken the day off to spend with me and show me around, which is going to be awesome! One of Merle’s friends from Island School was coming to Nassau for the night so we went to the airport to collect her. Then we made a stop at the Daq Shack, which serves the freshest (probably most alcoholic) daiquiris ever!

Daq Shacks cuzzies

After our “happy” beverage we headed towards the fish market. I got to see fresh fish, crabs and conch lined up on tables waiting to be bought. We were not brave enough to take some home to try prepare ourselves however we did find a table, ordered a range of Bahamian cuisine and feasted! It was great and the food was pretty good too!

Conch shells

When we got home we attempted to make a dessert called bananas foster which is bananas and a sweet sugary sauce which we served with ice cream. The trick is lighting the sauce on fire while it’s still cooking on the stove. I stood back for this and decided to take pictures which was probably safest for everyone involved!

Banana Foster...or fire hazard

That night we went to the bar where Merle works part time and jammed out some karaoke tunes later we partied at Bambu, dancing with an array of vacationers as well as cruise ship employees, which has now inspired me! Hmmm…

Jammin' out tunes at Crazy Johnnies 

Bay Street and P.I bridge…

Today I walked, and walked and walked…I went along Bay street, where the famous straw markets are. It sort of reminded me of going to the little markets in India. A lot of the same stuff, a lot of bargaining but definitely fun! I saw some really pretty buildings and found out the all government pink are painted pink, hmmm, my kind of city for sure!

Just Sayin'

I walked over the bridge the closes the gap between Nassau and Paradise Island (the P.I bridge) which gave me some amazing sights of the two places.  I got a couple of pics before reaching the otherwise, where I caught a ferry that took me back to where I had started. Diyls picked me up and we went home to have another fabulous family dinner, I could get used to this!

Atlantis, over the PI bridge

Later on Merle and I went out to the Green Parrot, where our now mutual acquaintance Patrick was working, unfortunately that was his night off. However the view from the restaurant is so beautiful, it was totally worth it.

A pic from my walk around town/Bay Street