April 17, 2019

Houmas House Plantation and Gardens

April 17, 2019/ Meghan Oaks

Recently my sister came to visit us at our new place in Louisiana, giving us a perfect excuse to play tourist ourselves! Since we only recently moved here, and we have been in the midst of unpacking, working, and life, we haven’t had much of a chance to get out and explore our new area, which is a shame. Long before we moved here, plantation visits were on my radar. Some have been converted into B&Bs that you can stay in (many of which are haunted!), others you can visit for a small fee, but some are still privately owned. Turns out, Baton Rouge, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, is right in the heart of plantation country. After some brief internet research, we chose Houmas House to visit. It’s only 30 minutes from our house and had tours on the day we wanted to go.

November 16, 2018

Camping With Toddlers: An Epic Failure

November 16, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

“Camping with toddlers” is a sentence that strikes fear into most parents’ hearts. It’s most definitely not a “vacation.” There’s the tent, the sleeping bags, cooking outdoors, what to do with the baby that puts everything in her mouth or the toddler who has no fear in a land of snakes, and the tetris-like skills required to figure out out how to fit all that gear in a car. Some people love it and there is no shortage of pinterest-worthy, idyllic photos of parents blissfully enjoying a bonfire in the woods while their young kids play gleefully next to them. I fell victim to these. I had grandoise fantasies of watching my kids explore the outdoors, not worrying that they were covered in dirt - “It’s good for them!” I tell myself - but the reality is, I strongly dislike mud and dirt on my pillow and in my bed. But, I still love camping and bon fires and sleeping under the stars. So, we decided to try the whole family camping business when we headed to the Valhalla Missile Silo to do some diving. And boy oh boy, was it one of the most epically bad weekends of camping I have ever, ever, had.

October 10, 2018

Spoetzl Brewery - Home of Shiner Beer

October 10, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

Two hours west of Houston, at the convergence of US-90 and TX-95, on the edge of Texas hill country, lies the tiny town of Shiner. One of the most well-known small towns in Texas, Shiner is home to Spoetzl Brewey - the makers of Shiner Bock (among others). Ask any Texan about Shiner and they will know it. In true Oaks fashion, we had wanted to make a visit to the brewery, something that falls right in line with all of our other brewery tours. Our trip to Austin for Memorial Day Weekend, provided the perfect opportunity to finally do it.

August 20, 2014

Isle Royale - Recap

August 20, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

I promise, this is the LAST post about Isle Royale :) We hope you've enjoyed reading about the amazing diving that we did during the week, and learning more about this national treasure in Lake Superior. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the hard work of planning and logistics from the staff at Divers Incorporated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And of course, without the expert captain of the Lake Superior Diver - Ryan - and his first mate (for this trip) Rick. If you are ever looking to do a charter to Isle Royale for ...

August 17, 2014

Isle Royale - Day 5

August 17, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Our final day on the Lake Superior Diver dawned early. We left Windigo and had a five hour or so ride down the northwestern side of the island to the southern edge where we were scheduled to do two dives on the Chisholm engine.

August 13, 2014

Isle Royale - Day 4

August 13, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Morning came on day 4 and we were ready for another day of diving! We repeated the Emperor Stern and also the America. The best part about these shipwrecks is that there is so much to see, even after you've

August 05, 2014

Isle Royale - Day 3

August 05, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Wednesday morning dawned bright an early. Our alarm was Captain Ryan playing "It's a Beautiful Morning " by the Rascals - loudly. By the end of the week, what once starts out as a a fun way to wake up quickly becomes the worst way ever. Ok, perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration. Then again, I'm not the world's biggest morning person. Actually, I'm not a morning person at all. Some say I am downright grumpy...