January 2019 MD

Kangaroo Zoo Play Place

I took the kids to the Kangaroo Play Place while Siara and Nate did the house inspection. The play place had cute inflatables that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. They were was also building new play areas like a ball shooters and an arcade. We’ve been to a lot of play places but I think this one will be my favorite once it’s all done. 

Homestead Resort

The Homestead Resort is in an area known for its hot springs. It’s been around for a long time because people would come enjoy its hot, mineral rich water. I’ve always wanted to stay there and explore this historical area. I thought Nate and Siara would like it too, so I got reservations for us as a Christmas gift.                                                              The main building (below) was where the hotel lobby, restaurants, gift shops, and swimming pools were located. It had a rustic but fancy decor inside. 

John and I ate dinner in their restaurant. We waited for our table in rocking chairs by the fire. So nice! My walnut filled salad and chicken noodle soup were amazing. They didn’t skimp on ingredients. We sat by huge paneled windows overlooking the resort grounds and had a fireplace behind us. 

 Most of the resort rooms were in different cottages that looked like a small village. Our room was in this barn type building above (We got the first room on the bottom. It pays to get there early). The room fit six people with two queen beds and a bunkbed room for the kids . It was called the bunkhouse. 

The kids loved their bunkbeds! After they went to bed, the adults played. We played a game where we made funny comics out of different cartoon scenes on cards. It was hilarious, but could be little inappropriate at times. 

On Saturday morning we went and got breakfast at the other restaurant in the resort. They had a yummy breakfast buffet, but I got biscuits and gravy. It was the best I had ever had! Breakfast was free because we had a 50 dollar resort credit from the package deal we got. 

After that, Locke and I went to check on our crater swimming reservation and found the resort activity center. We played pool, ping pong, and Candy Land. 

The Homestead Crater: This hot spring crater looks like a volcano. Inside the crater is clear, blue, mineral rich, hot water. Runoff water seeps deep into the earth and flows back up hot. Each time the hot spring overflowed, through the millions of years, it left mineral deposits, which created the walls of the crater. The mineral content of the water is so high that it clogs pipes within 6 months.

We had a one hour reservations to swim in the crater. The tunnel below leads to the crater. Grandpa is sitting in one of the dressing room stalls holding the baby while we waited for our turn. As long as the outside door was shut, it kept really warm inside. 

Left: This is what the crater  looks like from the inside. The water is so blue. There is a swimming platform so people can get in and out of the water. 

 Below Left: It was very foggy inside When we went into the crater. Nate, Siara, and the kids are in a little sitting area next to the swimming platform. The kids loved how warm the water was. Link didn’t want to do it at first. He screamed when we took off his clothes and put his shorts on. He said it was too cold–which it wasn’t inside. Once he got into the water, he loved it. We took the kids out of the sitting area and into the crater to swim–with life jackets on of course. Link just floated around on his back, very content. Locke swam around. Us adults took turns snorkeling. We could almost see how deep the crater was because of how clear the water was (the crater is 65 feet deep). We could see scuba divers swimming around below us. There were lights at the bottom of the crater where lots of artifacts had been found. There were diving platforms about 15 feet deep for the people learning how to scuba dive. It was all so amazing! John didn’t feel up to swimming, so he held Remi while we swam. She was very content in his arms. She loves grandpa. 

 Above Right: You can see how deep the crater is from this drawing. The small figures at the top of the water are swimmers. The resort had an indoor pool in the lobby building that got its water from the crater, so the water was very warm. We didn’t have time to swim in the pool though. 

Tubing: After lunch we went to Soldier Hollow to go tubing. John stayed at the hotel and took a nap. I watched Remi and Link in the lodge while Nate and Siara went tubing. I had been tubing here before, but they had installed a new system to get tubes and people up the mountain. It was a conveyor belt. Locke didn’t like tubing. It was too fast for him so he came and hung out with us in the lodge. I invited Nathan and Josie to come tubing too. They were there but Nate and Siara  never saw them, but they got pictures and videos. Nate and Siara didn’t. 

Ice Castle: After tubing we went to the Ice Castle that was on the Homestead Resort golf course. I gave Nathan and Josie tickets for their Christmas present.We were all well bundled up. John didn’t feel good enough to go.

This is the entrance tunnel. Pretty impressive! The floor of the ice castle was covered with what looked like shaved ice. It felt like we were walking in deep sand. It wasn’t very easy to keep our footing–as you can see in the video of Siara. Haha. Fortunately, she didn’t fall or drop the baby the whole time we were there. Strollers wouldn’t work in the ice “sand,” and they forgot the baby carrier.  

We told Locke to pose like this in the tunnel. Then we looked over and Link was doing it too, in the pathway. He wanted his picture taken too. So funny!

http://vimeo.com/313499720http://vimeo.com/313499717

There were children’s slides this year. Usually there is one big slide, but this year they had two big ones (one that was fast) and then they had this kids slide that Locke and Link went on over and over again. The lines were way too long for the big slides, so I was glad to get video of this slide. They look the same but the big slides are lots longer. 

We went about 5:30 so we could see the ice castle in the light and in the dark. As you can see they had colored lights all over the ice castle. It was beautiful!

The ice castle had tunnels and caverns you could stand in. It was a little freaky though feeling like it might all fall on top of you. They also had a fountain in the middle of the castle.  My phone ran out of batteries or I would have more photos to share. 

After the Ice Castle we all had dinner at the restaurant. The food was amazing. Siara got salmon and said it was the best she had ever had. I got bacon wrapped jalapenos. They were so flavorful and delicious. Nate and Siara got a artichoke dip that they shared that was also amazing. Nate, Nathan & Josie got steak. It was a fun evening with family!