Last year, we took a road trip to Mackinaw City with my parents.  Michigan has so many beautiful places to visit, it's nice that we can travel only 4 hours to a whole new world.  Since Ricky is a newbie Michigander, we had to check out Mackinac Island and the area surrounding it.  Be warned: I have a lot of photos!

Time for a quick history lesson for all of you who aren't native to Michigan: we have a lower and upper peninsula, which are connected by a 5 MILE Mackinac bridge.  We stayed in Mackinaw City (yes, it's spelled differently) which is in the lower peninsula.  To visit Mackinac Island, you have to take a quick ferry across the lake to the island.  The area has so much fascinating history and it's very remote, for being such a large tourist town. On Mackinac Island, there are NO motor vehicles aside from a few emergency vehicles--everyone gets around by foot, bikes or on horses.  How cool is that?

To see the whole post, head over to my new site: Dash of Evans. 

Stonyfield Yogurt Pouches {Road-Trip Friendly Snacks!} #Sponsored

DISCLAIMER: I participated in a Blogger Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Stonyfield. I received coupons to facilitate my shopping trip and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Next week we are headed on our first family roadtrip to Hilton Head Island, SC.  Just call us the Griswalds! 17 hours in the car with two 5 year olds and a 2 year old should be...interesting.  When we made this trip pre-kids, we would blast our favorite music and have a nice relaxing road trip.  Now, I have a feeling we will be stopping more and hearing quite a bit more chatter-- or "are we there yet?"   I'm trying to stay optimistic!

Since we are staying at my parent's condo, we can come prepared.  I'm planning on bringing cereal and other breakfast goodies, plus plenty of beach friendly snacks.  For the car ride, I want healthy, yet filling snacks for us to grab easily.  My go-to product so far has been from our beloved Stonyfield yogurt.

We are loving the new Stonyfield organic yogurt pouches and they are actually quite road-trip friendly! I'm freezing a bunch for our cooler. They will also double as ice packs!  These come in great flavors for everyone...not gonna lie, I have tried a few myself while driving.  Our favorite is the Strawberry Beet Berry.  They are perfect for healthy snacking and almost mess free. 

Aside from the yogurt pouches, I'm making up a few batches of Greek yogurt banana bread and muffins.  The protein will keep us full, without being stuffed.  I really don't want to have to stop for fast food.  Another snack I'll be packing is some veggie dip made with Stonyfield Greek yogurt, dill and lemon for some crudites.  I'm sure I'll get get some major eye-rolls from the Mr. for my healthy snacks...but he'll thank me when his stomach starts growling around hour 2.  His version of snacks are a case of sugar free Red Bull and Munchies snack mix. (Let's be honest, that Munchies snack mix is ah-mazing...but doesn't make you feel so hot a few hours later)

If you want more information about Stonyfield organic yogurt products, check out their website.  They have coupons to print too! 

Other ways to connect:

• Stonyfield Facebook
• Keep up on Instagram to watch their fun adventures!
• Twitter
• Pinterest

Do you have any fun trips planned this summer? What's your go-to snack?

Visiting Chicago? Check out the World's Fair Exhibit at the Field Museum!

This past weekend, Ricky and I took a trip together to visit Chicago.  I love that we are only 2.5 hours away here in Michigan!  Instead of driving, we took the MegaBus (more on that later...) and it was nice to not have to worry about parking!

We stayed with my friend Cori and she lives within walking distance of the Field Museum.  It was so fun to wake up and see a quiet Chicago.  The only people on the sidewalks were runners of a Santa 5K.  I haven't been to the Field Museum since I was a teenager, so I was super excited!

Have you checked out the new World's Fair exhibit yet?  If you are close, make sure you do!  We learned SO much.  It will be running through September 2014, so you have plenty of time.

So much has changed since I have last visited the Field Museum.  Now there is an interactive Field Museum app which guides you through the museum with videos and extra information.  I used my iPad and it was so helpful...I just wish I had headphones!  Throughout the exhibits there are QR codes that you scan for extra tidbits of information.

Here are a few screenshots from the app.

To be honest, I really didn't know much about the World's Fair before visiting the exhibit.  I had no clue how large it was!  At the time, there were 67 million people in the country and 25 million people visited the Fair!  It was the first time many people were exposed to different cultures and information.  After the Chicago fire, the city had a rebirth with the Fair.  Over 200 new buildings were built!  People remorgaged their homes to visit from all over the country, and even the world!

This exhibit is called "opening the vault" since there are artifacts that have never been seen before.  Although the Field Museum wasn't built for the Fair, it was built later to commemorate the huge event.

What I found most interesting was the information about different cultures.  Whole groups of people from all over the world would set up a camp to be put on "display" so visitors of the Fair could experience other cultures--"travel" to faraway lands.  The downfall of this was that they were looked down upon.  Instead of highlighting the differences between Western and non-Western civilizations, it created a sense of entitlement from some visitors.  There was even one photo which showed a group of women laughing at people in one of the villages.

The World's Fair also allowed people to see animals that they could only imagine before.  Many stuffed animals were put on display for people to see...they also gained new information about new foods and jewels.  Since almost everything was for sale, people could purchase these new goods from the over 63,000 exhibits.

What's hard to believe is that the Field Museum holds over 50,000 objects from the World's Fair, so this is just a small component of what they have.  Everything is kept in such impecable condition...some items almost looked artificial!

I could ramble on forever about the exhibit, but I don't want to ruin it for you!

Another exhibit that you have to check out is Images of the Afterlife.   They were able to use technology to scan mummies and create what the people would have looked like.  It is CRAZY when you see how they do it.  There is a King Tut bust and it looks so lifelike. 

We had a wonderful few hours at the Field Museum and learned so much!  It's nice to get out of our little bubble and go exploring sometimes...especially without the kids!

When is the last time you've gone to the Field Museum?

 

Sue says "Hello!"

I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, however all content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Cheap trips to Chicago through Megabus!

Schedule a trip here!

 Have you heard about Megabus?  I am excited to try this out.  Although Chicago is an easy drive from Grand Rapids, it would be nice to not have to worry about parking and just relax!  The bus has WiFi, too! 

Ricky and I have a wedding to go to this November and I am thinking about booking our trip through the bus!  It's only about $20 (each) round trip.  You can't fill up our tank for $40!  It leaves from GR and ends up at Union Station.  NOTE: I have noticed that prices change frequently.  Once I looked and it was only $10 round trip!


There are 4 different locations in Michigan: Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Ann Arbor and Detroit!  When you go to the website, you can check out different states to see what is available around you.

I am following on Twitter to watch for promo codes.  I've heard that you can get even better deals!

Have you tried Megabus yet?  I would love some reviews and input!