As it so happens, 21 years ago – long before we were dating – Amy & I were on a bike trip around Door County and got to know each other rather well. So it was fun to revisit some of those memories with our son.

Map of Door County

Steve & Amy on a Door County Bike Trip (1993)

Speaking of memories, here are a few we made as a family on this trip…

We set up a blanket for Wes in the car to encourage him to sleep. Instead, he started playing with it and turned it into a fun tent!! So much for nap time in the car!

Waitress brought this to our table. Called it a "Wheel of Fun". Um, that's a lot of butter.

Wesley had a blast at Green Bay's Bay Beach Amusement Park. Just 25 cents per ride!

Egg Harbor... literally

A fitting way to wrap up the day, chilling at Egg Harbor Beach

"Is that Jesus?" quoteth my son. I think we're failing somewhere.

Wesley helps us get ready for our family bike ride at Peninsula State Park!

Wes and Steve speed by on the trail!

Hanging out at Eagle Bluff Lighthouse

"Boil Over" at the fish boil

Checking out the "Door County Images" display, featuring photo paintings by my friend Chris Arndt.

Well, of course we stopped here... and I don't even like cherries!

"I'm driving!"

What do you do when it's rainy and cold on vacation? Go bowling, of course!!

We bought this Cars suitcase at a garage sale for $1.50. It's been perfect to store Wesley's toys and he can wheel it around himself. Apparently, Wes has discovered another use for it!

"Don't mind me. I'll take care of this ice cream."

The Upper and Lower Towers of the Baileys Harbor Range Lights, built in 1869

"Whoa... shells!"

Overcast visit to Cana Island Lighthouse

Sunset over Egg Harbor

Stopped by the camp "that shall not be named" to visit with my (now former) boss of 11 years at Kidology - Karl Bastian - who was the main speaker for their kids' camp

Amy had a super fun week with these two!

And we're home! Not our longest driving vacation, but one of the most packed!

Something new awaits...

Back in 2003, shortly after being laid off when the "dot-com bubble" burst, I started freelancing as a copywriter for Kidology.org, a website that provides resources for those who work in children's ministry.  My boss, Karl Bastian, knew me via his sister Melissa, who was one of my high school youth leaders and had seen me work as a goofy summer camp song leader.

That opportunity grew into a full-time job, where I eventually took on the position as Kidology's Director of Web Operations… basically overseeing the creative and technical aspects behind-the-scenes at an Internet-based organization.  From puppets to web servers, curriculum to cup stacking, it was a role where I was often known as the "Swiss Army Knife," having to stretch my talents across many different skillsets.

I really enjoyed the diversity of the job, as each day was not like the previous.  Working for a small non-profit, you got to wear many hats.  My time with Kidology also allowed me to work out of a home office, which really cut down on my commute, as well as provided quality time to connect with our son.

I like companies that start with "K"

Recently, God opened a door for me to explore a new opportunity.  And after much thought and evaluation, I decided to take on a new challenge.  For someone like myself who doesn't really thrive on change, it's been an interesting point to arrive at.  But Amy & I felt that the time was right to challenge my skills with something new.

So this week I finish up my time with Kidology with mixed emotions.  I've learned quite a bit and am so thankful for the opportunity Karl and his team have allowed me to experience.  At the end of the month, I start in a new role at kCura, a software firm in downtown Chicago.  I'll be taking on the role of Marketing Specialist, working in corporate communications and social media.

This new endeavor will be quite a change in many aspects — for one thing, I'll have to remember how this whole "commute to work" thing goes — but I feel it will also be a fitting opportunity for me to grow personally.  We'll see what happens!

Wes toots the whistle!

The Dixie - since 1929

We took a ride on our visit and Wesley totally enjoyed his experience. Even weeks after the event, he tells us about the boat where he got to go up and down the stairs, toot the horn, and ride with his family. What fun!

There's something interesting over there!

This isn't the Rivers of America

It's funny what sticks in kids' heads sometimes, isn't it?

Here are some shots from our snowy adventures around the neighborhood and up at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Bridge to Spider Island

Along the lagoon at the Botanic Garden

Accessible only by lawn mowers

Japanese Garden

Snow, color, and ice

"Daddy makes me laugh!"

Shadows preface Evening Island

This shot reminds me of a View-Master slide

Snow isn't a problem for Amy & Wesley

Such a grumpy kid

Happiness is a stroller ride in a snowstorm!

Snow behind our condo

Amy & Steve (2002)

Back then, we streamed our wedding live over the Internet via RealPlayer. Yup, RealPlayer! Who even uses that anymore? It's funny to think that all the servers, cameras, and technical setup we did back then to pull that off can pretty much be replaced with an iPhone running Ustream today.

Amy, Steve, & Wesley (2011)

Hard to believe it's been 10 years, but I'd do it all again (well, maybe not the part about shooting our wedding on S-VHS… I still need to convert the ceremony to digital!)  And these days, we've got our hands full with a new member of the family to keep us on our toes.  Let the festive 02/02 celebration commence!

P.S. Our anniversary also marks the 10 year milestone for SteveandAmySly.com… so I guess it's a "Happy Blogoversary" as well!

Mary Poppins? Yup!

I'm not much of a theater goer, but we really liked this production. The combination of familiar elements from the Disney film (including the Sherman Brothers songs) along with non-familiar pieces from the original books and new music worked really well.

Amy & Steve head inside!

But as a guy, I probably was more enthralled by the creative staging and prop usage. That was a lot of fun to watch as scenes transitioned.

Now showing at the Cadillac Palace Theatre

I can't wait until Disney decides to make The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad into a musical. That would be awesome!

Explore Zone, Create Zone, Score Zone, and Replay Zone

Even though this image doesn't look very "Disney", it actually reflects the very structured and themed approach that DisneyQuest had upon opening.

For those not familiar, DisneyQuest was the Mouse's attempt at an "indoor theme park" that more closely resembled a Dave & Buster's or GameWorks. The first location opened at Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney in 1998, followed by the first non-theme park location here in Chicago the next year. The facility was built downtown, side-by-side with an ESPN Zone at Ohio & Rush.

The building was 5 floors tall, with 4 being being themed as "lands" — or using DisneyQuest speak, "entertainment environment zones." These Zones were all represented visually on the button shown above. An excerpt from the grand opening press release provides some explanation:

The DisneyQuest experience begins by riding a seemingly out-of-control "Cybrolator", guided by Aladdin's madcap Genie of the Lamp. The doors open, and you are standing at the Ventureport, an awe-inspiring crossroads of adventure leading to four entertainment environments: Explore Zone, Score Zone, Create Zone, and Replay Zone.

The gateway to the Explore Zone is the tiger's head from Aladdin's Cave of Wonders, which leads to a 150 foot long slide that drops two stories. A dimensional rift slashed through a comic book grants passage into the Score Zone. A digital artist's palette is the entrance to the Create Zone. An energetic collage of classic 50's moon-crazy symbols leads into the retro-future of the Replay Zone.

On the medallion-like magnet I own, you can see the names of each of the Zones written on the black band around the edge. The center compass rose represents the VenturePort (which is pretty much a correlation to Disneyland/Magic Kingdom's "Hub" with the castle).

Each Zone is then represented, again filling in like a theme park "Land." Starting at the top, we have the yellow-hued Explore Zone that features an illustration of the aforementioned Cave of Wonders. Moving clockwise, we see the painter's palette features in the Create Zone. At the bottom, the Score Zone has a comic book feel with a little of Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent thrown in. And finally we have the Tomorrowland-like Replay Zone with its retro spaceship.

I visited the Chicago location only once, on March 19, 2001, to celebrate my birthday. DisneyQuest Chicago would close forever later that year on September 4 due to low attendance and other issues. I know the exact date of my visit because I recently rediscovered a trip report I was writing about my experience, but apparently never finished. It originally took up one page in Microsoft Word and I'm still note sure what my purpose was in writing it!

Despite there being only the WDW location remaining in the chain, I still think the artwork on that button was rather nifty! The DisneyQuest concept never really took off and rumors have circled for years about Orlando's location eventually closing, but here's to memories of hope, excitement, and overpriced indoor entertainment experiences!

Ticket to Ride at the Botnaic Gardens!

Just last weekend, we lugged a game of Ticket to Ride Switzerland up to our favorite Summer 2011 hotspot, the Chicago Botanic Garden, and actually played a few games on Evening Island in the beautiful weather.  10 years ago, Amy & I got engaged close to this very spot!

Sunset over the North Lake

I just really love the themed landscape design of this space.  Each area has a different look and feel, much like a theme park.  But with less overpriced junk.  And no timeshares.

New Orleans Voodoo vs. Chicago Rush

The Chicago Rush continued in their return of the Arena Football League (post-bankruptcy) and we caught a few games, including one with our friends Branden & Megan.

Megan, Amy, & Branden... and a lot of empty seats

Truthfully, given the rather amateurish way this new version of the AFL is being run, I've pretty much lost interest in Arena Football.  Just not worth my time and definitely not a value anymore.

Heading into a night game at Wrigley Field

A little later in the summer I got to catch a Cubs night game with Branden… and it was considerably warmer than the game I experienced back in April!

Anyone want to pee in a trough?

One thing that never changes… the Cubs still suck.

More jazz at Millennium Park

We experienced another installment of Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz down at Millennium Park as they summer wound down.

Amy (and Ubster) enjoys the summer evening

This time around we saw "Latin Inspiration: Howard Levy with Chevere, Trio Globo and special guests."  Frankly, it wasn't as Latin as I had hoped.

Millennium Park trash can

But on the plus side, we did get to check out another unique trash can.  Magical, it is not.

The Childs Family

While we did get together with our college friends like we do every summer (I'll cover that as part of our ongoing "Smoky Siesta" story), there were a few we missed.  Thankfully, we did get to see them on other occasions.

Visiting with the Folkerts

Our friends Eric & Kelli Childs, and their daughter Sarah, visited us here in Chicago for a few hours as they were passing through town. We were also able to catch up with Josh & Tina Folkerts recently, along with their kids Jacob, Jenna, and Kara.  Since they live pretty far away, we haven't seen them in years; it was nice to spend some time with them.

DJ at the block party!

Back here at home, we enjoyed the second block party on our street.  Last year, one of our neighbors spearheaded an effort to start block parties and this 2011 version surpassed that effort.

Woo hoo, a fire truck!

Heck, I got to sit in a firetruck — what, am I 12?

Amy makes s'mores in the street

Plus, there's nothing quite like sitting in the middle of a Chicago city street… and cooking s'mores over an open fire.  Now that's unique!

A mini golf rematch!

Back in July we went mini golfing with our friend Henry Zonio when he was in town.  At the end of that matchup, I won a free game!  So Amy and I recently returned to the course for a rematch!

Tough putt for Amy

We played at night shortly before the course closed, and I sort of think that the folks who ran it didn't really care what was going on.

River floods out the green... gross!

You see, the fake river in the middle of the course was overflowing and flooding out some of the greens!  It was quite gross.  (For the record, I won!)

Dad gets a new bike!

Oh, hey, I helped my Dad buy a bike!  He hasn't had a bike for quite a long time, so we headed over to Kozy's Cyclery and found him a great deal on a 21-speed Giant Cypress hybrid.  This bike shop is located in a really old building where the 3rd floor is wide open for "test rides" on bikes.  You can see Dad giving his new bike a try in the above shot!

Steve spends quality time in the ER

Speaking of bikes, on August 31 I was out riding, adding to the many miles I've been racking up this summer, when I was hit by a car.  Off to the ER we went!  I'm still recovering and am quite banged up, but thankfully no broken bones were detected.  It may be a while until I'm back on my bike, however.

It's been a busy summer and I'm sad to see it go.  But it's also been a lot of fun!

Hiking the Oconaluftee River Trail

We had breakfast on the porch of the cabin and our view… well, it was pretty awesome! After a relaxed morning, we hopped in the car and drove over to Cherokee, NC.

Oconaluftee Islands Park

This town sits in the Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation at the southern entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park… complete with its own Harrah's casino!

Painted bears all over Cherokee, much like Chicago's "Cows on Parade"

We ended up at Oconaluftee Islands Park, which is a grassy island that sits in the middle of a river. Quite a few people were fishing, playing in the water, or riding the current on tubes.

Steve finds a bamboo forest!

We made our lunch and enjoyed a quiet time just people watching. The island itself wasn't much to write home about, and frankly could have used some upkeep, but it was something different that we enjoyed.

Amy (& Ubster) at the National Park entrance

We explored the town a bit, and after determining that we really didn't feel like getting fleeced by obvious tourist-targeted "Learn about Native Americans" stuff, we continued on to the entrance of the National Park.

Brand new Oconaluftee Visitor Center

Back in April, the new Oconaluftee Visitor Center opened, becoming the first new visitor facility to be built in Great Smoky Mountains National Park since the early 1960s. Prior to the construction of this new building, guests were greeted by a dinky 1,700 foot shack that was retrofitted from a Ranger Station.

Can you read Cherokee?

The new building is very attractive & modern, yet rustic. It also is quite energy efficient, right down to some pretty odd water conservation elements in the bathrooms.

Visiting Smokey in the Smokies

There's a re-creation of a mountain farm on the property, a nice historical setting befitting a National Park. Additionally, a short hiking trail (Oconaluftee River Trail) follows the river behind the Visitor's Center, which we decided to explore.

Steve pauses for a photo before attempting a backflip dive

With "Ubster", er, Male Baby Tanner, tagging along with Amy, we knew that we'd have to take it easy when it came to trails at the Smoky Mountains.  This path was a good starter, as it was quite flat, but fun.

Nice stonework on this bridge

Most of the trail sat right next to the river, winding through the woods. At a couple spots you could get to the water's edge and watch people float by on tubes. We even hiked under a bridge which could have simply been built as a utilitarian overpass, but instead it had a nice National Park look to it with some quality stonework.

Not Bike Friendly: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

It was during this hike that I really wish I would have brought my bike with me. It would have been fun to ride and very scenic. Oh well.

Ooh! Cheerwine Sherbet!

On the way home we stopped off at a Food Lion and picked up some Cheerwine Sherbet. What is Cheerwine and why did we care about a frozen version? Well, for that you'll need to read my story over on BevReview!

It was a good, relaxed day overall, which we needed after all the traveling and getting lost the day before. Plus, you can't go wrong with Cheerwine to end your day!