NORTH DAKOTA SUMMER TRIP 2014

While waiting for baby to arrive, I have had plenty of spare time which would explain the sudden occurrence of this post - our summer trip that happened eight months ago.

We road tripped it.

It's been decided that that probably won't be happening again any time too soon.

The journey there was a breeze, but the way home? 

That was a long one.

We really had a wonderful time and what a fun experience it was for Gray to get to meet everyone and see new things.

 Gray has stayed in plenty of condos and beach houses, but never a hotel.

We couldn't have anticipated how exciting it would be for him.

It was adorable.

He took it all in with eyes of wonder - the lobby, the hallways, the rooms, the POOL, continental breakfast in the morning, etc.

How fun for us as well...to see something with fresh eyes.

 We made a pit stop at 'The World's Largest Truck Stop'.

 And then we arrived at Lawrence and Bailey's place in Minnesota!

It was beautiful and two new kiddos to play with is always a good thing.

Next stop: Fargo 

 The Hawleys were so sweet and had a birthday cake prepared for Gray.

 Enjoying a little morning coffee at Lake Metigoshe.

 As soon as Kara said it was late enough in the morning to start the engines, Gray was running to that tube.

 It was his first time tubing and he was all smiles. 

I'm pretty sure the signal of thumbs up (meaning faster) was a constant during his ride.

The faster, the better.

 Joined by Daddy!

 Waiting for Kara to get the jet ski ready...another first - how exciting!

 In addition to all of the fun water activities, we had a wedding to attend!

Dusty was the officiant and married these two lovebirds :)

 One foot in Canada and one in the United States...two places at once? 

Check.

I don't remember exactly how Dusty ended up with my shorts on - I think I was cold or being eaten alive by bugs and he offered me his pants...such a sweet man. Ha!

 Gray holding Wells for the first time ❤

 While in Minot, we also had a wedding celebration where our closest friends and family joined us to celebrate our marriage! 

I haven't quite gotten around to editing all of those yet...most likely, they will be in a separate post.

 We began our trek home by going to Rapid City to see more family.

We had one day to explore a bit and our first stop was Storybook Island - a place Dusty used to visit with his Dad.

 And then a little adventure!

 We rode this way up high and then had a fun ride down...

 I was going so fast that Dusty couldn't even get me in focus :)

 And of course, Mount Rushmore:

Whew - big trip!

We did much more while we were there and many people didn't seem to make it into photos, but we remember all of it. 

I'll try to have my camera out more next time.

Thank you to everyone who made it so special for us :)

Hotwire Secret Hotels

On Saturday, we have a wedding to attend in Mobile.

I'm actually really looking forward to it - it will be my first southern wedding.
I hear they are loads of fun.

Mobile is a little over an hour away, so we decided to stay the night in a hotel.

After searching for hotels near where the wedding is held, they all came up over $100.

I did not want to spend that much. 

I was going to use Travelocity Top Secret Hotels, which we have used in the past, but they only do the top secret thing for bigger cities.

Then, I discovered that Hotwire has it too, but for some of the smaller cities as well.

Hotwire even lets you put in a landmark (wedding location for us) you would like to be close to and they search for hotels within a 5 mile radius of it. 
Before booking, you will know the star rating of the hotel, amenities, the approximate distance from the landmark you entered, the satisfaction rate for the hotel from other customers...you definitely know enough to feel good about your decision.

And if you really took the time and did a little research, you can basically figure out what hotel you'll be getting, but that kind of takes the fun out of it :)

It's actually pretty exciting to put in your credit card information, lock in the deal, and then  find out where you will be staying.

Now, for our savings on one night at a hotel in downtown Mobile: $60/50%

Isn't that awesome?!

Moral of the story: book your overnight stays using top secret hotels when you can - you will be amazed at the deal you'll get :)