I spent the weekend in Nebraska City with the family. Chris said that she always wanted to stay at the Lied Lodge there so we took this opportunity to do it.
We arrived Thursday night and had to try out the pool and we did. It was a big underground pool 4.5 ft deep in the center. There was also a "hot pool" as Jupiter and his cousin, Ryland, referred to it and a child pool that was 1.5 ft deep. There was a sauna in a connecting room which my brother and I tried out for a few minutes on one of the following days. I might also add that there was a very nice dining hall connected to the spacious lobby of the lodge. To sum it up, all of the features of a fancy hotel were in place, which is hardly surprising for place that was awarded the “Best of MidAmerica” award in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
On Friday we went to Arbor Day Farm. We started off with some wine tasting in the gift shop. Arbor Day Farm produces a variety of wines that are all quite satisfying. I would have to say that my favorite teeters between the highly alcoholic Apple Pie and the Cherry flavor wine that Chris and I have taken home to enjoy in the past. However, I cannot say that there was any sample that I disliked.
We ventured out on the smallest trail that is mostly meant for kids, seeing as how we had four kids in tow. We enjoyed a tree house, a spiderweb, and a wooded play area which was designed with smaller children in mind. Despite the target audience of kids, I made sure to enjoy all of these things myself as did the other adults in our party.
On our way back to the hotel, I managed to get myself into a bit of a jam... or a hole as it was. There happened to be some old barns and the remains of two grain silos along the walking path between Lied Lodge and Arbor Day Farm. The first time past the cement remains of the silos, on our way to the farm, I felt compelled to jump in the 9 ft deep silo to see if I could get out. At that time I passed on the opportunity. However, as we traveled the trail back to the lodge I had a little more alcohol in my blood, as well as a little lesser judgement after a lot of walking. Therefore, in the hole I went with a newfound challenge of how I might get out.
I first tried to climb a tree. This baby tree was, to a more observant minded me, obviously not strong enough to hold my weight for any length of time. Next I found a few pieces of wood and concrete which I stacked up in hopes that it would give me enough lift to grab the side of the hole which I could then use to lift myself out. To no avail, my life saving brother, Nick, found an 18 inch tall planter that I could set along side the wall of the hole. That, along with the afore mentioned wood and concrete, was able to lift me up enough so that I could grab the ledge and have him along with my sidekick wife team up to help me out of the hole so we could continue along the path to our planned naps in our respective rooms.
On Saturday, we had hoped to go out on at least the medium trail, but due to timing with the tractor ride and our desire to check out the green houses, we ended up going again on the kid trail. We repeated the same fun we had on the previous day
without a problem. This time we enjoyed a bit of wine in the 50 ft high treehouse, Morton's Reserve to be specific. While I played on the xylophones in the Nature Explore Classroom, Ryland and Jupiter were busy building things in the builders area with trimmed up stumps and sticks in another area of the classroom. Meanwhile some of the others were visiting while watching the kids.
Saturday evening my side of the family had gone. We visited with Chris's brother and dad over dinner and a trip to the park for a bit. The kids were both tired from the previous two days of hiking and playing, so they went to bed at what would be their regular bedtimes at home.
They seemed to get good rest that evening without much of a peep through the night from them.
The next morning we went to Lincoln for a bit. We drove around town sucking in memories of the past and then visited Chris's aunt and cousin for a bit for a brunch/lunch sort of meal for an hour or so. Then it was off on a rather longish trip back to Kirkwood where we were, by this time, happy to be back in our regular beds.
Overall, it was a fine trip. I think that maybe Chris and I will visit Arbor Day Farm and perhaps Lied Lodge once again during another season sometime just to get a feel for the different times of the year at that farm. It is a relaxing place that I would recommend anyone from anywhere take the time to put on their bucket list for a visit. It certainly encompasses the midwest of the United States at it's best.
We arrived Thursday night and had to try out the pool and we did. It was a big underground pool 4.5 ft deep in the center. There was also a "hot pool" as Jupiter and his cousin, Ryland, referred to it and a child pool that was 1.5 ft deep. There was a sauna in a connecting room which my brother and I tried out for a few minutes on one of the following days. I might also add that there was a very nice dining hall connected to the spacious lobby of the lodge. To sum it up, all of the features of a fancy hotel were in place, which is hardly surprising for place that was awarded the “Best of MidAmerica” award in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
On Friday we went to Arbor Day Farm. We started off with some wine tasting in the gift shop. Arbor Day Farm produces a variety of wines that are all quite satisfying. I would have to say that my favorite teeters between the highly alcoholic Apple Pie and the Cherry flavor wine that Chris and I have taken home to enjoy in the past. However, I cannot say that there was any sample that I disliked.We ventured out on the smallest trail that is mostly meant for kids, seeing as how we had four kids in tow. We enjoyed a tree house, a spiderweb, and a wooded play area which was designed with smaller children in mind. Despite the target audience of kids, I made sure to enjoy all of these things myself as did the other adults in our party.
On our way back to the hotel, I managed to get myself into a bit of a jam... or a hole as it was. There happened to be some old barns and the remains of two grain silos along the walking path between Lied Lodge and Arbor Day Farm. The first time past the cement remains of the silos, on our way to the farm, I felt compelled to jump in the 9 ft deep silo to see if I could get out. At that time I passed on the opportunity. However, as we traveled the trail back to the lodge I had a little more alcohol in my blood, as well as a little lesser judgement after a lot of walking. Therefore, in the hole I went with a newfound challenge of how I might get out.I first tried to climb a tree. This baby tree was, to a more observant minded me, obviously not strong enough to hold my weight for any length of time. Next I found a few pieces of wood and concrete which I stacked up in hopes that it would give me enough lift to grab the side of the hole which I could then use to lift myself out. To no avail, my life saving brother, Nick, found an 18 inch tall planter that I could set along side the wall of the hole. That, along with the afore mentioned wood and concrete, was able to lift me up enough so that I could grab the ledge and have him along with my sidekick wife team up to help me out of the hole so we could continue along the path to our planned naps in our respective rooms.
On Saturday, we had hoped to go out on at least the medium trail, but due to timing with the tractor ride and our desire to check out the green houses, we ended up going again on the kid trail. We repeated the same fun we had on the previous day
without a problem. This time we enjoyed a bit of wine in the 50 ft high treehouse, Morton's Reserve to be specific. While I played on the xylophones in the Nature Explore Classroom, Ryland and Jupiter were busy building things in the builders area with trimmed up stumps and sticks in another area of the classroom. Meanwhile some of the others were visiting while watching the kids.Saturday evening my side of the family had gone. We visited with Chris's brother and dad over dinner and a trip to the park for a bit. The kids were both tired from the previous two days of hiking and playing, so they went to bed at what would be their regular bedtimes at home.
They seemed to get good rest that evening without much of a peep through the night from them.
The next morning we went to Lincoln for a bit. We drove around town sucking in memories of the past and then visited Chris's aunt and cousin for a bit for a brunch/lunch sort of meal for an hour or so. Then it was off on a rather longish trip back to Kirkwood where we were, by this time, happy to be back in our regular beds.
Overall, it was a fine trip. I think that maybe Chris and I will visit Arbor Day Farm and perhaps Lied Lodge once again during another season sometime just to get a feel for the different times of the year at that farm. It is a relaxing place that I would recommend anyone from anywhere take the time to put on their bucket list for a visit. It certainly encompasses the midwest of the United States at it's best.
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