Nashville, Tennesse 2011

On August 1st we left for a 5 day vacation to Nashville, Tennesse. We all had our country music knowledge packed in our suitcases with us and could not wait to explore the city and see all of the countrty music tourist attractions.

The group posing in front of the museum they walked by on the first day, and later went back to and toured.

Kenny and Reade being silly and copying the statue.

We were lucky enough to tour the Grand Ole Opry!! We had a blast and learned a lot about country music. We even got an audio tour led by none other than Blake Shelton. In this picture the group is standing on the circle at the Grand Ole Opry. Every performer that has ever performed there (with the exception of one) has stepped onto this circle. How cool is it that we are standing where many of our favorite singers have stood. :)

At night we listened to live bands play, this band was from the best state EVER... Minnesota!!

 

Fred, Cody and Reade being funny and posing trying to get the locks out of the ground.

This wall of silver and platinum records was found in the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

This car was owned by Elvis. We got to look inside, and it had a lot of funny features. The door handles were little revolvers.

We had such a blast in Nashville, it was hard to want to come back to Minnesota, but we have memories that will last forever!

Rodeo/ Iron Mine Northern Minnesota 2011

This vacation took us up to the Northern part of the great state of Minnesota. We left on this vacation on July 28 and we arrived back in Mankato on July 31.

We toured the birth place and house that Judy Garland grew up in.

We thought it would be fun to pose as the characters from the movie the Wizard of Oz. :)

The group in front of Judy Garland's house.

We also toured the Minnesota Museum of mining in Chisholm, Minnesota.

 We went to the rodeo in Effie, Minnesota. We had a lot of fun at the rodeo, we all felt like cowboys and cowgirls in our cowboy hats we bought while shopping at the gift shops.

We made our way to look at trains and machinery that was used to transport iron. We all  got a chance to sit in a 220 ton mining truck, walk through train cars, and visit the train gift shop.

We had a succefull and fun trip up north and it was great to see what Minnesota has to offer.

Omaha, Nebraska 2011

This week we spent our time in Omaha, Nebraska.This vacation was from July 18 thru July 22.

This is the group at Old Market where we did some shopping.

The group crossing the bridge at the zoo.

We spent a day at the Omaha zoo. We had a blast, its such a big zoo.

Omaha was a fun vacation and we got to do a lot of fun activities. One of those activities included dog racing, which none of us had ever seen before. We also spent a lot of time shopping in all of the great shops that Omaha had to offer. This is a trip that we will all cherish and remember forever.

Arrowwood Resort Alexandria, Minnesota 2011

This trip allowed us to see different things that the great state of Minnesota had to offer. We traveled up to Alexandria on June 20th, and we came home on June 22. We stayed at a beautiful resort called Arrowwood Resort.

The group standing in front of our lodge.

Donna and Dale posing for a picture.

This was our view from our lodge.

We surprised Joyce with a birthday cake and we were able to  help her celebrate her big day. 

We were able to relax and play some mini golf at our resort as well.

Percy having fun at the Big Splash indoor water park.

This vacation was very relaxing, and it was a fun trip to get us out of Mankato. We were continuously busy so by the final day when we stopped going going going we all slept most of the drive back to Mankato. We will continue to remember and dream about our fun times in Alexandria.

Disneyland, California 2011

This trip led us to Disneyland, California. We left early June 13 and we arrived back in Mankato on June 17.

We spent our day at Disneyland riding rides and checking out all the fun shops.

This is us at Knott's Berry farm, which was another really fun amusement park in Disneyland.

Greg and Barb riding the rides.

We all had a blast is Disneyland where we were able to feel like kids again. It was hard to say goodbye to Disneyland, but we know that its somwhere we want to go back to someday.

Atlanta Georgia 2011

This trip took us all the way to Atlanta, Georgia. We left on June 6 and we were gone for a total of 5 days. Come take a glance at our vacation to Georgia.

Our first night in Atlanta after we got settled into our hotel we decided to walk to the great restaurant called Jalapeno Charlie's.

We kicked off our tours the next day by starting at the Coca Cola factory. We got to see a lot of old Coca Cola collectibles, and browse through many different Coca Cola bottle designs.

We even got to see a 4-D show while touring the Coca Cola factory.

We toured the park where the 1996 Olymic games took place. While here the local Weather Channel interviewed us and asked us questions about what we like to do on warm afternoons.

The next day we toured the Atlanta Zoo, where we had a lot of fun seeing and learning new facts about the animals.

We also went to the Atlanta aquarium. Here we got to see many different kinda of colorful fish.

We had a lot of fun in Georgia, and can't wait to make it back to experience more fun.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 2011

This vacation took us to the great state of Wisconsin!!! It began on May 23 and was a five day vacation in Milwaukee.

The first night in Milwaukee after we had dinner as a group we went to Lake Michigan to enjoy the view and to just relax. We spent the night swining, skipping rocks, and patrolling the beach. We even had time to get a group picture by Lake Michigan.

The second day of touring we went to the Milwaukee zoo where we had a blast viewing the animals up close and personal. At the zoo we had the opportunity to see zebras, bears, lions, fish, birds, giraffes, penguins, rhinos, polar bears and many more interesting animals.

The whole group got a chance to watch a sea lion show.The sea lions were named slim and scooter. They both performed amazing tricks and everyone enjoyed watching the show.

Our third day of the trip the group toured the Mitchell Park Domes.

After the domes the group went to Miller Park to watch the Milwaukee Brewers play the Washington Nationals.

Our group at the Brewers baseball game.

 It was hard to believe how quickly this trip went by. They group had a blast in Wisconsin and have many memories they will cherish forever.

Black Hills 2011

During this amazing get away our group enjoyed so many new and fun things! They were able to experience South Dakota in many different ways. The trip started out on Monday, May 16 and was a 5 day trip to the Black Hills.

While we were on our way to the black hills we decided to stop in Mitchell, South Dakota to check out the corn palace.

  

On the first day of touring the group traveled to the National Monument Mount Rushmore. It was a little chilly that day, but seeing the monument was totally worth standing outside in the cold.



 Next stop on our adventure was the Crazy Horse Monument. This is still being built, but we feel special because our donations are helping pay for the construction of this monument.

On our adventure in South Dakota we encountered some icky weather. This picture is of Deb and Phyillis hiding from the rain.

One of our last adventures that we went on was Bear Country USA. We were able to enjoy seeing bears up close and personal while sitting in the safety of our van.

Our trip to South Dakota was a nice 5 day get away from good ol Minnesota, and the group had an amazing time. The group agreed they all wanted to visit South Dakota again in the near future.



Arizona Dude Ranch

During this amazing get away our group enjoyed so many new and fun things! They were able to experience life on a  ranch all while enjoying the relaxation of a much needed vacation. The trip started out on Monday, March 7th and was a 5 day trip to a desert paradise.

The group stayed at the Stagecoach Trails Dude Ranch  and everyone loved the scenery!

The group made one day trip to the town of Oakmen about 10 minutes from the ranch. They were able to take part in a re-enactment of an old western shoot out taking place in the middle of the street! Everyone thought that was really neat.  The group also go to feed the "local" donkeys wandering about the town, which was a big highlight!

During their stay, the group enjoyed many day trips on horseback out in the desert.

 Everyone on the vacation talked about how beautiful the sunrises and sun sets were. One vacationer went so far as to say it was "pretty as a picture".

Our group really enjoyed their get away and all said they can't wait for their next LEEP Vacation experience!

Montego Bay, Jamaica

When we arrived at LEEP on the cold and snowy morning of January 3rd, our group was MORE than happy to headed to the tropical paradise known as Jamaica! On our little getaway we got to see and do so many fun things!!              

Our resort was right on the ocean and our group couldn't get enough of the beautiful water. It was very peaceful to just sit and enjoy the scenery.



Our first night at our resort



The first day of our trip was pretty low key with a trip to a nice mall where we got a lot of shopping done! We found lots of very unique things and everyone was pretty satisfied with their buys. On the following day we took a nice road trip through the countryside on the way to Bob Marley's birthplace. We got to see fields of sugarcane in all stages of growth, bauxite mines, the ocean and so much more. Jamaica is beautiful!

On our last day in Jamaica, we made the best of it! We hopped on the charter bus that took us to Ochos Rios, Jamaica where we were able to hitch a ride up "Mystic Mountain" on a ski lift to take in all the beauty.



View  from our ski lift

Our last big adventure was our trip through Dunns River Falls. We did some wading and hung out while watching some adventure seekers climb the falls. Everyone loved it!



Mandy and Lois chillin in the falls

Sadly the next day we headed back to snowy Minnesota. Our group agreed this was a trip they would remember for a lifetime! 

  

Good bye, Jamaica!