This is why I LOVE Smale park, Cincinnati, Ohio

These photos speak all about Smale Riverfront Park. Carousel, splash pads, river walks, play areas for the entire family, rose garden, picnic areas, slides, rock climbing and lots of photo ops.

We started at carousel ride because my kids love it and one ride is never enough. Then we stopped at "sing the Queen city" mural for a quick photo session and took a long stroll on the suspension bridge.

Next stop splash pad.

And then walked down the stairs to the park.

These play areas are fantastic and they are spread throughout the park. I love the giant piano and the pig and the swings and the rose garden. Oh, I love almost everything about this park. 

Don't miss this park if you are visiting Cincinnati.

Small and cute Rose garden.

I love these picnic benches on train tracks. Do they move? I don't know. But I tried to move them :)

Thanks, Cincinnati. For not being a disappointment. Hope to visit again. 

Topiary Park, Columbus, Ohio

Columbus topiary garden made it to the list of '5 of the world's fascinating topiary gardens'. I remember seeing the original painting by George Seurat during my visit to Chicago Art Museum  and I was really exited to visit this garden. 

After reading a ton of positive reviews online, I decided to visit this garden as it was only a couple of miles detour on our way home. Boy was I disappointed!!! This should probably make into the list of places "not to visit in Columbus"

The concept of topiary garden of a painting is amazing. It was rather entertaining as my kids and I tried to compare original painting with the topiaries in the garden. The park itself is small and is located in the heart of Columbus downtown. Street parking is available and is free during weekends. There is a small trail that goes around the park and few picnic benches. There is not much shade in the park either.

The sad part is lack of maintenance. There is a small pond in the middle of the park and it is outright disgusting. Metal frame that is used to shape the topiaries is exposed. It bothers me to see such a great place completely out of shape. While the park attracts lot of visitors, I think it would be a good idea to charge a couple of dollars as entry fee if that helps with the park's maintenance. I bet no one would like to see such hard work going to waste.

Sunflower Field, Mason, Ohio

Want a beautiful pictures in sunflower field? Well, head to Natorp's Sunflower field in Mason, Ohio. Courtesy of Natorp's nursery, sunflower field is planted in the corner of Snider and Irwin-Simpson road opposite to Cottell park.  Almost every summer, this sunflower field is open to public.

No matter where in the world you go to, it cannot get prettier than this.

Persque Isle State Park, Erie, Pennsylvania

Looking for a weekend getaway in the Midwest? Look no more... Persque isle state park is a perfect destination for weekend fun in the Midwest. We rather stumbled upon this beautiful park during our short stay in Erie PA on our way to Niagara Falls. We had a fun filled afternoon at this state park. I liked walking various trails around the park. Each trail had something different to offer right from beautiful views to marsh lands. Pick a picnic spots through out the park or a beach of your choice to enjoy an afternoon.

We as a family thoroughly enjoyed quite beaches and sunset. Best part was where my kids and I collected smooth stones around the beach. This state park has a lighthouse, Perry's Monument( smaller than the one in Put-in-bay), boat / bike rentals, boat tours, oh yes and a water taxi too!!

Macarons that travelled from France to USA

Every time I fly through Paris airport, I wanted to taste these delectable macarons but taken aback by the price. I couldn't help but wonder if they were really worth the money or was it just another marketing strategy. However,  I received a box of 12 assorted macarons from Fauchon as a gift from my beloved. 

It had assortment of coffee, chocolate, caramel, vanilla- pistachio, raspberry-chocolate, orange-pistachio?? Well, for a box of macarons this expensive, it would be great to see flavor description at the least. I was instructed to refrigerate the macarons before consuming. They looked appetizing and I took my sweet time to savor each bite of this French delicacy. The texture of the macaron was quite familiar and close to Almond Halwa. Outer skin was bit hard to bite and the filling was thick and heavy. Coffee was my favorite and rest of the flavors were good too. Overall, they were OK. Maybe macarons don't travel that well. I have to try them fresh to compare.

Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee and North Carolina

The Great Smoky Mountains extend from Tennessee and North Carolina. They are most visited in fall for the beautiful fall colors in late October till early November. The highest point is Clingmans Dome at 6643 ft. The drive from Gatlinburg to Clingmans Dome has the best vista points of the mountain range. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are two small towns near smokies that has small town vibe. 

The wonders of flight, Alpine costers, The Island are some of the fun places to visit in Pigeon Forge. 

Gatlinburg offers fun activities like Sky Lift, Ripley's museums, shopping and lots of activities. But beware of tourist traps and choose activities wisely as they can break the bank very soon.

Dollywood resort offers stay and play packages for adults to relax while kids enjoy the rides.

Clingman's Dome, Forneys Creek, NC

Clingman's Dome is a highly visited spot in Smoky Mountains. At around 6000 feet, this place offers spectacular mountaintop views.  Clingman's dome is around an hour drive from Gatlinburg through scenic roadways. Fall is the best time to visit Clingman's dome. With spectacular fall covers, the mountain range is painted with hues of orange, red and yellow. 

The Welcome center and restrooms are located at the starting of the trail. The trail leads to concrete ramp and climb the ramp to get to the tower top. Though, the hike it self is tedious, the views are well worth the hike and on a clear day, you can catch endless views of mountain range. Due to any reason, if you are unable to hike, do not sweat it. the parking lot it self has equally spectacular views.

Tips: 

1. Expect half a mile hike through steep paved road before you reach the bottom of the ramp for the tower.

2. Wear good walking shoes.

3. Carry water bottles with you as the hike is strenuous and no shops / vending machines are available at the top.

4. Avoid strollers if you can. Pushing the stroller can be very tedious. Baby wearing is the best choice.

5. Parking is very limited. Expect to walk around 1/4th mile after parking before the actual hike.

The Island, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

A trip to Smoky Mountains is never complete without visiting Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The Island is a 'do it all' kind of place to eat, shop, stay and play. Free parking is available at a walkable distance from The Island. If walking is not your thing, hop on a free tram from parking lot to the main center. 

The island Rope course, with two zip lines and 30 different course is challenging fun for adults and kids. It also has a Wheel that boasts of views. But we skipped it since The Wonders of Fight (Hot air balloon ride) gives a better views of Pigeon Forge.

From restaurants, to candy shops, The Island offers variety of food choices and shopping places.

Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois

NavyPier is an iconic Chicago landmark. in July 2016, the pier got a facelift for its 100th year celebration of the its commencement. Navy pier is opens at for visitors through out the year except on Christmas and Thanksgiving. Admission to the pier is free but individual attractions have tickets that can be purchased on site.

Navy Pier hosts several activities for kids and adults. It is home for the Chicago Children's Museum, several restaurants, movie theaters, beer garden, shops and many more. We deliberately skipped the children's museum so we can cover more activities in the limited time we have. Several dinner cruises, sight seeing cruises fireworks cruise and many other speciality cruises start from the pier as well. Architectural cruise took us through the canal covering Chicago's history and the architecture of the buildings but I like sailing the tall ship windy Chicago skyline tour. A spectacular view of the Chicago's sky line from lake Michigan.

Fireworks at the pier is scheduled for every Wednesday and Saturday through out summer and on some special holidays. Parking at the pier is available but several public transportation options are available to reach the pier.

360 Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

360 Chicago, previously known as John Hancock Observatory, has the best views of Chicago downtown and Lake Michigan compared to Willis tower (Sears Tower). Definitely buy tickets online or buy a CityPass since it is hard to predict the wait times in line for tickets. Parking is a pain in the downtown. Instead of shelling hundreds of dollars on parking, it is better to get a day pass from CTA or buy a hop on hop off bus rides or better yet walk if you can :) 

Conveniently located in Magnificent mile, the observatory deck is in 94th floor of John Hancock Tower. And a ride in the elevator takes about a minute to the top and you can definitely feel your ears pop. Plenty of space to accommodate people at the top but wait for elevators is a bottle neck. A small cafe & bar at the observatory floor servers coffee, sandwiches, ice-cream and drinks. Gift shops are located at the top and the bottom floors.

The observatory deck is enclosed by glass walls on all sides. East, West, North and South views of Chicago and Lake Michigan are absolutely beautiful. East and South views covers downtown Chicago skyline and Navy Pier. West covers downtown Chicago and Chicago West side. North views cover the beaches, lakefront and beachside drive.

South side views has a new feature Tilt added to enhance the visitor's experience. A 7$ ticket purchased at the observatory deck, gets you access to the Tilt. This can accommodate 8 guests at a time and is around 10 minutes activity. The enclosure tilts forward by 30 degrees over Magnificent mile. 

A 24$ ticket gets you Sun and Stars package where you can visit the observatory deck twice in 48 hrs. This is a great deal to view Chicago's night skyline and Navy Pier fire works every Wednesday and Saturday during Summer.