Back in July we celebrated my Uncle’s 50th Birthday with a trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. We camped at Taylorsville Lake State Park and spent a full day on the lake on a pontoon. It was so much fun!
Here’s pictures from the day!
Boat rides=Nap Time!
Birthday Boy and Uncle Phil!
She was an excellent driver!
Learning to fish from Uncle Phil
Relaxing in the tube with Nana
Cousins
Nap time, again!
Looking at the huge fish by the pier!
Relaxing by the fire
We had an exciting adventure this past weekend camping at Enchanted Rock. Addy absolutely loved it, she’s totally a nature girl. Uncle Ryan even came and camped with us!
Enchanted Rock is about an hour or so west of of Austin. Taylor took Friday off of work and we headed west. In total our drive was about 4.5 hours. The campground designed a bit differently than we were used to, but it was fun(and super busy!) We brought our stuff in to the our site by crossing a little creek and walking down a path.
After unpacking we played at the playground for a bit and explored another creek.
After playing Uncle Ryan made it to our camp site and we help him set up and then bought firewood and started our campfire. Addy loved watching the fire.
We had a very earlier riser on Saturday. Addy was a 4:30 AM alarm clock. We have no idea why she was up so early, but it was tough. The campground was super busy and loud the night before so we knew it may turn in to a rough day for the family. Taylor cooked us breakfast and we got ready for our morning hike.
We hiked up to the top of Enchanted Rock. We had borrowed a hiking pack for her and she loved riding in it! She actually napped for a short 10 minuted until we were back at our site. The poor thing was exhausted, but wanted to look and watch everything. By this time in our day it had gotten pretty warm out and she was not going to nap in the tent. We made a parental decision that we were going to head home later in the afternoon because Addy was on the verge of meltdown central since she was so tired. We ate lunch, packed everything up and did one last short hike before we left.
We had a great time on our short trip. We can’t wait for our camping adventures this summer!
Here’s some last scenery pictures!
Here’s more from our from our trip to Door County!
Addy loves to play in the water and sand. In Door County we spent time at the beach in town and the beach inside the state park. A few days it was on the chilier side so we didn’t even get into our bathing suits, but still enjoyed ourselves. If you saw a few weeks back, Addy took her very first steps on the beach in town. It was very exciting!
Playing in the Water
Uncle Dave
Time to Take a Break!
Playing in the Sand
Playing with Friends
Best Attempt at a Friends Shot
Loves Playing with Balls!
Tackling Grumpy when he wants to Nap!
Playing with Friends
The boys were all about her!
We experienced some great Door County sunsets. Here are my sunset pictures unedited!
While this isn’t a sunset, there was a storming coming in and it looked pretty darn cool. Especially, with the canoe in the picture!
One evening we went to dinner at a BBQ place. Outside there was a pig statue that we all thought was fitting for Addy to take a picture with. She ate so much this entire vacation!
Right next door was an ice cream shop that was fitting for Grandfather and Granddaughter.
One afternoon my Mom, Addy and I took a short hike to visit the lighthouse. Addy was desperate for a nap and she quickly fell asleep. 
We spent some time playing at the playgrounds. Addy loves to swing!
This was the first time that we were able to use a present from our baby shower, our cart for our bikes! While I still don’t have a bike, I borrowed my Dad’s this vacation and Addy experienced her first bike ride. While she was not the biggest fan of having to wear a helmet, I think she enjoyed the aspect of riding. Hopefully she’ll get used to the helmet wearing!
In the evenings we head to Not Licked Yet just outside of the park to play and enjoy some ice cream. Addy and I would share a baby cone of the flavor of the day.
Ice Cream!
Playing on the Rocks
Can you spot us!?!Being Silly
That rounds out our adventures in Door County. We had one last adventure on the way home. A trip to Wisconsin would not be complete without a stop at Mars Cheese Castle! I had not been since the rebuilt the store so it was way different than I remembered. Addy loved it!
Coming up next week, I’l share some of our adventures of our week in Indiana!
After spending a week in Nantucket, Addy and I flew to Chicago to spend some time in the Midwest. We spend a quick night at my parents house and then headed north to Door County, Wisconsin for Addy’s first road trip and camping experience. My family has been visiting Door County since I was in middle school. We travel with a large group of family friends which makes the vacation even more fun. I hadn’t been on this vacation in a few years so I was very much looking forward to the trip.
Addy’s ready for the trip! Kitchen gear and my old baby doll made for fun toys!
We camped at Peninsula State Park this year located in Fish Creek. This is a great State Park and we love visiting here. Here’s a look into our accommodations for the week. P.S. The pop-up camper is shown in the pictures is currently for sale! Let me know if you’re interested! 🙂
Mom Working Hard
Addy Watching the Process
The Camper
Uncle Dave’s Tent
We enjoyed Grumpy making us breakfast in the mornings and we would also head out to eat at our favorite places.
Grumpy Cooking 
Addy and Nana Playing Before Breakfast
One of our first stops on our Door County breakfast tour was at Al Johnson’s for some Swedish pancakes and meatballs. This restaurant is also know for having goats on the roof, but they weren’t out when we were visiting. Addy devoured the Swedish pancakes. My mom could only eat half of her plate, Addy seriously ate the other half plus blueberries, ham and one meatball. It was pretty impressive.
Our next breakfast stop was a White Gull Inn located in Fish Creek. I love their breakfasts, we actually went twice! My go to dishes are the Door County Omelet, Nice Guy Hash, Cherry Pancakes, and the Cherry Stuffed French Toast. They also have great coffee cake. Sorry, no pictures of food, I was too busy stuffing my face and picking up after the little one. 
Addy loved the great outdoors. She loved hearing birds, watching the wind blow leaves, exploring in the dirt, eating rocks and stick and in general just getting dirty. Here are some pictures from around our campsite or of Addy exploring and playing.
Baby’s Dirty Feet
Exploring her Surroundings
Playing with Toys
Watching the Water
Stealing Ice from the Cooler
Playing with Nature
Hmm…what is this?!?
Camping Wears a Girl Out
A Tooth Brush, New Favorite Toy
Causing Trouble
Mowing the Rocks
Grumpy Napping
Playing in the Street with Uncle Dave
We did have a few rainy parts of our vacation, but made the most of family time in the pop-up. (You may choose to insert an eye-roll here.) Rain while camping with a baby that likes to explore and be on the move is not the best part of camping.
My Dad’s Face Says it all…haha. Love you, Dad!
Playing with Light
Next week I’ll round out our Door County trip with some fun at the beach, Door County Sunsets, Playground time, Ice Cream, and biking and hiking!
Our adventure on the north end of the South Island started with some sea kayaking around the Abel Tasman National Park. We were part of a small tour. Our trip started with a water taxi to our starting destination.
Water Taxi
We then loaded up our kayaks and pushed off.
We headed out to this island first. We saw lots of wildlife like seals, penguins and other birds. 
Penguins in the Water
Seal and a Seal Pup
Birds
We then paddled south along the coast. We saw more animals, interesting rock formations and paddled into lagoons.
Lagoon
Penguins
Penguins
Taylor did most of the paddling. 🙂 I was busy taking pictures! 
Super Paddler!
Next on our agenda for the next few days, we headed to wineries. We visited wineries in the Nelson and Marlborough wine regions. We visited a bunch more wineries, had excellent meals, relaxed and purchased some bottles to bring back to Singapore. Here are the wineries we visited: Nueforf Vineyards, Rimu Grove, Waimea Estates, Spy Valley, Clos Henri, Seresin Estate, Gibson, Huia, Hunter’s, Hans Herzog, Cloudy Bay, and there may have been a few others but I’ve already forgotten!
Sauvignon Blanc Grapes
Baa. We saw lots of sheep near the wineries!
Clos Henri Tasting Room 
Lunch at Hans Herzog
On our final day driving back to Christchurch we mostly drove along the coast. We stopped along the way to admire the beauty of the ocean. One stopping spot was great for seals!
The ends the highlights of our New Zealand trip! All together we drove about 30,000km in about 11 days. Here’s a general map of how we drove. Follow the arrows!
Next week’s post, the botanical gardens with special visitors!
