Where Was I?

Last week I was off.  I usually don't talk about vacations on the air until after-the-fact.

I have paranoia that if I talk about going out of town someone will come rob my house, so I usually wait to talk about vacations until after I'm back.

Every other year my in-laws rent a lake house for the family and we spend a week swimming, fishing, eating and drinking.

This year we tried a new place in Linn Grove, Iowa.  It's a little northwest of Des Moines and about 19 miles north of Storm Lake.

The property is called InnSpiration Bed and Breakfast, featuring a full house, patio, vineyard and pond.

Even missing a few family members this year the property has more than enough space so we could be together and still feel like we weren't climbing over one another during our stay.

The weekend started hot, so we spent time out on their paddle boat and canoes, then did some swimming and fishing, too!

When it got really hot, we'd return inside to clean up and eat, then play some billiards or ping-pong in the basement.

At night we'd play cards or board games, charades and one night we even played a Saran Wrap ball game.  For two months my in-laws wrap prizes and money into a giant ball made with 3 to 4 foot sheets of Saran Wrap.  One person tries to peel back layers while the next person tries to roll doubles on their dice.  Once they do, they yell "Doubles" and immediately grab the ball and try to unwrap it.  Then the next person in line starts to roll the dice and so on.  You only keep prizes that fall out while you're unwrapping!  It's frustrating and fun at the same time!

We had a few rainy days, so I googled a local waterpark in Storm Lake called King's Pointe Waterpark Resort.  It's very Dells-esque, including a hotel with both an indoor and outdoor waterpark.

We had a blast riding waterslides and swimming in the pool.  One waterslide was like a slide with a giant toilet bowl at the end.  You spin around and fall out at the bottom into a deep pool.  It was awesome!

Another day we drove into Spencer, Iowa to catch "The Incredibles 2," which we loved.

It was a wonderful week.  Very relaxing and a nice opportunity to sleep in for a whole week.  Jacob's highlight for the week was staying up until 12:30am one night, exclaiming "this is the latest I've ever stayed awake!"

On the way home we stopped to gas up the truck.  We were in Sac City and realized we were just seven tenths of a mile from the World's Largest Popcorn Ball, so I insisted in the spirit of my late stepdad, Dewey- the consummate adventurer, we must stop and see this great site.

Sorry, now you're hungry for popcorn, right?

So that was my week off.  Full of fun and memories.

I hope your summer vacation is great, too.  Let me know what you're doing this summer... email me anytime at chris.farber@townsquaremedia.com!

~CMF