I finally spent a day, ok maybe two days making a book of our vacation last year to Minnesota. Whenever I've made photo books it takes way longer to make than I think it's going to take.
Mistakes Made:
Don't upload all your photos, if you have tons of photos. It took forever to upload them. I didn't want to stop the upload process in the middle, in fear I'd only get some of them to upload. Then it took a long time go through them all on Presto Photo's site.
I also had Presto Photo put my images in the book. Each single image went on a page, but they have a lot of different compositions to choose from. I had to delete a lot of pages.
Typically one wouldn't have these problems. I just happened to have tons of pictures!
Don't do what I did... Select your photos outside of Presto Photo, then upload your selected shots.
Presto Photo Has Quality!
I've had two books made by Presto Photo. They do not disappoint. Other companies have gone down hill in my opinion, with the printing process. Not Presto Photo.
This book lays nice and flat. It makes it easy to keep it on a bookshelf because it doesn't take up a lot of room.
Cost
The cost varies. The books start at $29.99, but it depends on how may pages you opt to make.
Where would you go on a trip this year, if COVID wasn't a thing?
We talked about going to Western Nebraska. It was so pretty when we went. It's very remote. I still doing know that it's safe to travel anywhere right about now. Maybe it won't be safe, for quite some time.
Disclaimer: I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review. I was not told what to say, all opinions were my own.
This post is very much out of order, from everything else I posted. The first light house we saw on our trip to Minneapolis was at Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light. The light house was built to help guide ships into the canal from Lake Superior.
Why was this post out of order from the others?
I took photos with my phone and my camera throughout our trip. The night before this particular day I had my camera battery charging. Mica came up, unplugged it, to charge his Kindle without telling me. We went out and about. I saw great photo ops. I got out my camera, and there was no battery in it. I did happen to see a black box in my purse before we went out, thinking Travis popped my battery charger in my purse. It was my business card box.
If you want to see rage from this Momma, that was the time I was the most pissed off. I was worried my camera battery was gone for good. I had no idea where it was. Did it fall onto the floor at our last camp site, is it in a bag somewhere? A rechargeable battery isn't easy to find just anywhere.
I snapped a few photos with my phone, that I wasn't all that happy with. Isaak had his break down because he found a butterfly that he couldn't take home. We left to walk along the Duluth main strip for shopping. Along the strip there was major construction going on. I know it has to be done, but it didn't help our already sour moods. We had detours everywhere we walked, it was loud, and we needed a break from walking. Not our best day.
I know many people say that iphones can produce wonderful shots. Many times they do.
If you are trying to shoot with some distance behind you, or darker lighting a real camera does way better than an iphone! Hands down!
Foam always makes me thing of Root Beer Floats.
The first light house I ever saw was captured with an iphone.
I didn't even get too close to this light house. My phone was running low on battery. Usually I'm more of a...let's see how close we can get to that kind of a person.
Isaak thought we were at the beach. He's never been to a beach. Seeing the waves, and pebbles that was close to sand was closest to the beach he's been. Mica kept saying, "Isaak this isn't a beach!"
Good News!
We went back to our cabin that evening, and my charger with my battery still in it was in a bag that was sitting near the bed in both cabins we stayed at. Thank Gawd! I went on the rest of the trip with a working camera and phone.
Have you ever had a break down moment when you were on a trip? We have, but usually it's because family members are hungry. Disclaimer: This is not a paid review. I got no compensation, for writing this post. All opinions are my own.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid review. I got no compensation, for writing this post. All opinions are my own.
My boys have only been on a subway when we went to Chicago when they were 4 and almost 7, and this summer when we went to Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
We used to have to hold them back. They did understand that they couldn't be anywhere near the blue pad.
New All Over Again
When we went on the Light Rail Transit in Minneapolis and Saint Paul it was like it was new all over again to them.
They didn't try and out run the train. They were excited though.
Isaak longed to stand. Most of the time Travis said, "Sit your butt down! People only stand if they have to!"
So he sat in the back, as far from us and he could get.
Mica didn't care where he sat, as long as it was away from Isaak.
If there were people that were a little mentally unstable we made them each sit with us. As my sister describes it: Mentally unstable people are very similar to stable people (whatever that is). They just say what they are thinking out loud. Stable people keep their thoughts mostly to themselves.
Mica usually picks to sit next to Travis, and Isaak usually picks to sit next to me.
Funny Story:
One day we had cheese burgers for breakfast. You kind of do what you have to when you're camping. Food won't keep forever.
We were all sitting around the fire. Travis asks Mica, "Do you want bacon on your cheeseburger?" Mica said, "Yes please." He grabbed the bacon, and put it on top of his cheeseburger bun. Mica's totally an airhead, but super smart in school. We all looked at his cheeseburger with bacon balancing on his bun, and could not stop laughing.
This is them laughing once again about the cheeseburger with balancing bacon.
Do you have a subway where you live? We don't have one in Omaha, Nebraska, or in Kansas City, Missouri. I miss being able to hop on them. When I lived in Atlanta, Georgia I only rode busses and Marta - their subway.
This piece was really pretty interesting. I just wish I could have captured it better. The glasses were mirrors. You could see yourself in them.
Nap Time
They had an installation of mats people could lay on. My boys totally took advantage of that. Travis in particular keeps vacations packed. Good because we see more. Not so good because we get to places before they even open up. Ha! This was the last museum, and they were museumed out.
I had to practically yank them off those mats. They also get assholeish to each other. They were kicking each other.
If Only Fishes Were Wishes
I took pictures of the fish mainly for my sister-in-law that loves to fish.
This one took up a whole room:
A wood frame with glass and paint.
Wood Pieces:
Blue Girl:
I was a little bummed because I know I took a photo of Isaak posing with this blue girl. Then I couldn't find it. Possibly I took too many photos, and deleted the wrong one. I was annoyed with myself. He was so odd about nudes. This one he embraced. I guess it looks a little like she's wearing clothes. Her boobs are there - in your face.
Chickens in Cages:
It's a little hard to see in the full piece, so I took shots of this one with the full piece, a closer up shot, and a really closer up shot.
Lost Them:
At this point I think I said, "Travis they are your sons right now. I'm done with them." They weren't bad, just annoying each other every minute. Fighting over who got which bench, who should have their head on which side, and so on. I can tell by the smile on Isaak's face that he was the punk that started it all.
Melvin Smith:
I took a lot of photos of Melvin Smith's work. I liked it to much. He makes buildings and houses, photographs them, and adds them to his collages.
Some of the buildings and houses:
Postcards:
They did have a whole room of old Disney and fairytale postcards. I took a few photos, but opted not to post them. They were each framed and under glass. I had to shoot them all at an angle to not get reflections or blinding light spots from the lights. Then I'd have to straighten them all out in Photoshop. I'm not a huge fan of Disney. I kind of think they run the world. They own ABC. They capitalize on everything they can by making sequels like crazy and real looking movies off of animated looking movies. Not to say I don't love some of their movies. I just have a love hate relationship with them. My sisters begged for me to go to Disney World, and I said, "Umm Nope!" I think I'd rather go camping.
Charging:
When we were done looking, we went to a room off to the side that was fairly empty to charge our phones and my camera battery. I seriously think there should be charging stations at museums and malls. Kind of like how there's a check in for coats, bags and umbrellas. It didn't dawn on me until this trip how great a battery station would be!
View:
While we waited there was a great view on the inside, and outside.
What was the last art museum that you visited?
Disclaimer: This is not a paidreview. I got no compensation, for writing this post. All opinions are my own.
The opinions on this blog are my personal take on products and topics relating to motherhood. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.
I am not compensated to provide opinions on a variety of topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own. If I claim to show knowledge of certain topic or product I will only endorse products or services that I feel, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement.
If you have any questions about this blog, or want to get in contact with me please email me at: anapeladay@gmail.com
