This year Iris had her first real Spring Break – and we had our first real experience of figuring out what to do with her for a week. Since Todd and I don’t get Spring Break off at our day jobs, Iris spent the first few days with my mom and then we headed off to Big Cedar Lodge on that Thursday. It’s only an hour and a half away, so after working a half-day, we hit the road and arrived right at check-in. Now I’m not really a nature person (camping is fine, like once a year as long as there’s coffee and an air mattress) and I’m not a golfer, so even though Big Cedar is so close, I’ve never really had a big desire to stay there. Finally though, this past New Years, we stayed at a cabin nearby and made our way to their Top of the Rock property and I instantly knew we had to come back. It was stunning.

So after a little bit of research, we ended up renting a Lakeside Cottage with some of our good friends. Big Cedar can be quite pricey if you rent one of their cabins, but the cottage options are more affordable and are still way more than you need. They are only a couple years old, so everything still feels new and they are still very luxurious for being the cheaper option. Yes, they are about as far away as you can get from the rest of the resort, but there’s a free shuttle that we utilized quite a bit. Plus, the cabins are right next to a heated infinity pool and hot tub overlooking the lake – no shuttle needed. If you like staying in a cabin, but like the perks of a hotel (room service, daily-cleaning, turn-down service, etc.) – then this is the perfect combo. With the cottage we also had a full-size kitchen, so we made some meals and saved a few bucks. Another one of the perks about a cabin or cottage is that you can split the room rate with your friends like we did, so it made it very doable price-wise.

On our first morning, we experienced Fun Mountain, which is right there in the resort. It seemed brand new and had bowling, laser tag, an arcade, two kinds of bumper cars, a rock wall, a huge slide/play area, food options, and of course a bar. We spent hours there and – big surprise – the kids loved it.

What I really appreciated about Big Cedar was that it had a million things for kids to do without it being a kids resort. Meaning, the adults had an equally good time (having a nice bar at every turn was very helpful). We had a good mix of down time where we just enjoyed being by the lake (our cottage had a nice porch with rocking chairs and a lake view), and then a lot of adventures too. There were so many activities for kids, we didn’t have time to do them all but we certainly tried. There are several pools, free mini golf, a s’mores station on weekend nights, scavenger hunts, etc.

I found my version of Fun Mountain at the spa. I’m not exaggerating when I said it was HEAVENLY. Brandy and I had late morning massages scheduled and then stayed for several hours exploring the 18,000 square foot space. We could have stayed even longer, but we thought that wouldn’t be too fair to the dads. In fact, I now want to plan a girls trip solely centered around spending time at the spa. The massage itself was about the best I’ve had in terms of the full experience. There was a fireplace next to the very comfortable, heated massage table which my masseuse used to warm up my robe. Afterwards, I found Brandy and we spent a while at the Grotto. We lounged and sipped wine, alternating between the warm grotto pool and ice room. Getting a little hungry, we ordered lunch to be delivered then hung out in the sauna, steam room, and woman’s hot tub while it was being prepared. They set us up in the Bridal Suite to eat lunch, which was a lucky surprise – it was the perfect setting for a perfectly relaxing lunch – and we had it all to ourselves. So romantic! Hah.

Top of the Rock
So it’s a little confusing, but from what I gather Top of the Rock is the same owner, but on the other side of the highway (so it was the only spot the shuttle wouldn’t take us). We didn’t have time to visit the natural history museum at Top of the Rock, but there were still tons of places to explore and unique details that the kids loved. We ate two different dinners at the Buffalo Bar, which is the casual version of the Osage restaurant upstairs. The open-air feel and views of the rolling hills made this our favorite stop for evening food and drinks. They also have a sunset ceremony where they blast an old-timey cannon, so of course the kids loved that. On our last afternoon, we did the golf cart trail at Top of the Rock. It’s a bit pricey, but I’m glad we did. Once again, the views are incredible and riding around on a golf cart is always fun, especially since you get to drive through a cave. Best part? There’s a drive-through bar inside the cave (of course there is)! And lastly, we went to the Sunday brunch at Osage before we headed out. It’s all-you-can-eat, but done in a really nice way. And the bottomless mimosas were a perfect send off!

I’ve been laying pretty low lately in the online world, mostly because I’ve been trying to stay on top of things in the real-life world. I spent this past week in New Orleans for my organization’s big annual meeting. It’s always a lot of preparation leading up to the event and then non-stop action once it begins. After it’s over, it still takes a little while for things to slow down, but I’m looking ahead and am so ready for spring, which I can see hints of in the weather this week.

I hadn’t been to New Orleans since before Katrina, but back when I lived in Memphis I would go fairly often. Just a straight drive south, and you could have a beignet in hand in under six hours. Now living in the northwest corner of Arkansas, it’s a bit of a trek. While my time was devoted to meetings all day, I was able to get out and do one thing at night – eat. I forgot how amazing the food is in New Orleans! There seemed to be an adorable, historic spot on every corner and every meal I had was incredible. I didn’t have much time to venture far from my hotel, so everywhere I went was in walking distance of The International House Hotel. My dinner tour included: The Carousel Bar, Mr. B’s Bistro, Palace Cafe, The Original Pierre Maspero’s, and of course, Cafe du Monde.

So while it was a busy trip, it at least was a delicious trip. I’ve been wanting to go to New Orleans with Todd and Iris, and now my interest is sparked even more. My favorite kind of vacation is being able to lazily walk around exploring, eating, and drinking and I’m not sure if there would be a better place to do that than New Orleans.