Last Friday evening I attended one of the Bright Nights events at Lauritzen Gardens. If you love any of the things on this list - beautiful lights and decor, toy trains, poinsettias, gorgeous flowers, festive food and drinks, holiday photo ops, outdoor games, visits with Santa, cheerful music, beautiful plants, or just celebrating the holidays this event is for you! My family and I are going closer to Christmas but I also wanted to go early in the event to take photos. It is GORGEOUS!

I’ve probably driven by Fat Putter at least 50 times in the last year or two, always reminding myself that sometime we should go there. Well, let me tell you that we should have gone sooner because it is super fun! Allow me to give you a look around…

One of the things that I like best about the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha is the immersive nature of all the exhibits. Each area of the zoo is appropriately themed down to the animal buildings and enclosures. This includes one of my BRAND NEW favorite exhibits - the Hubbard Orangutan Forest.

When I travel I always like to try the local foods and participate in local cultural experiences. It could be a cooking activity or class. It could be a tour with local foods or customs. It could be meeting a family and sharing a meal with them or just visiting with them and trying to learn a few words of their language. In Milan, I chose to learn the art of making mosaics with Murano glass from Venice.

Corgi races are really a “thing” in the Omaha area. I have wanted to attend the races since I first heard about them a year or two ago. After all, I have to cheer on my short-legged, spunky little friends. Join me for a front-row seat!

Today I feature my first guest blogger, my son! I told him he could write about any topic he wanted and he picked this, as The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota is one of his favorite places to visit.

I’m going to start posting twice a week (see earlier schedule) about my 37-day trip to Europe last summer. And I’m choosing to start with the most fabulous, economical place to stay in Milan - the K34 Milano B & B operated by my now-dear Italian friend, Stefania!

I absolutely love taking photo after photo while I travel! It probably comes as no surprise to many of you.

I have been to many wonderful museums all over the world and I do enjoy most of the museums I have seen. But I have to say The Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix ‘blew my socks right off!” 

One thing that has surprised me recently is the beauty of the desert in the Phoenix metro area. I guess I had always simply thought of deserts as dry, rather barren places.

I absolutely love aquariums of all kinds! Well, I actually prefer the ones that don’t smell too “fishy.” Yeah, I know. 🙄

Anyway, I can spend all day in a large, well-done aquarium and Scottsdale’s OdySea is definitely both of those. There are more than 65 exhibits to explore and I’m not just talking tiny tanks I set in a wall.

The Phoenix/Scottsdale area has numerous self-driving cars for hire - reserved with an app like Uber or Lyft. The company is called Waymo and I got to ride in one to and from a tour in Old Town Scottsdale.

Scottsdale is so surprising! There’s something for everyone here - the arts, sports, shopping of all types, tours, nature, great restaurants, and great winter weather. I am loving it here. One of the places that surprised me was the Western Spirit Museum: Scottsdale Museum of the West.

As mentioned in my blog just previous to this one, my mom and I went to the Western Spirit Museum: Scottsdale Museum of the West yesterday and today and it was wonderful! During this post I’m going to focus on the courtyard sculpture garden.

Howdy, Partners!!! I’m having a great time here in Scottsdale learning about all sorts of things. Yesterday and today, my mom and I went to the Western Spirit Museum: Scottsdale Museum of the West. It was fabulous!

I had the privilege today of going “Live” on my travel blog Facebook page showcasing a new full-scale mural in Council Bluffs.

Last night I went off on my own and toured the Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo. It is a special holiday attraction with more than 4 million lights that runs until January 14. It was absolutely gorgeous

While a quarter million (250,000) currently live in Scottsdale, the original downtown/Old Town feels very much like a small town. There are many small shops of all types, fun restaurants, artwork and galleries galore, beautiful public areas, and an unbelievable amount of Western Americana.

My mom, sister, daughter, and I went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. They host a special holiday event each year called Las Noches de las Luminarias” which is simply incredible.

Since we were going to be in town on Christmas this year, I decided to surprise my family and reserve a decorated igloo at the zoo for the evening (6-9 pm) of December 26.