For many, a vacation is less about the destination and more about the journey. Instead of remembering the hotel and whatever resort, retreat, or activity that lies at the end of the traveling, some prefer to remember the laughs and sights found along the car ride. Personally, I find a joy in a mixture of both the destination and the journey. However, there is. Fine balance between the two and sometimes you find something along the journey that just completely blows the roof off of your expectations in comparison to your destination or vice versa.

As I type this, I am nearing the end of my family vacation where I happened upon something that I can not truly put into words. I knew from the moment I picked up the tucked away brochure in the lobby of our hotel that I was in for something strange and wonderful. The raw peculiar energy that radiated from the pictures found on the brochure had more power over the eccentric part of my brain than I can say.

People of the internet, if you haven't already heard of this glorious location, let me introduce you to the concept of Dinosaur Kingdom II.

Now, on the surface, this concept doesn't seem too strange or far fetched. What is it just a little dinosaur amusement park for children? What's so special about this? Now, at first I had the same thoughts. However, as I kept reading the brochure, I realized that this is sent your average dinosaur-themed adventure. According the brochure, Dinosaur Kingdom II prides itself in being able to combine both the awesome majesty of dinosaurs with the intriguing history of the Civil War.

From this, you get some amusing and wild visuals. Mark Cline, the creator of Dinosaur Kingdom II, provides visitors with a wild and amazing experiences with promises of Stonewall Jackson battling a spinosaurus and Abe Lincoln lassoing a pteradon who decided to make the Gettysburg address its new snack. By going into the "time tunnel" that Mark Cline provides in Dinosaur Kingdom II, you get to see the wild question get answered: what happens when you combine the Civil War with dinosaurs.

Unfortunately for me, as I type this, I have yet to step a foot inside Dinosaur Kingdom II. However, I was mighty pleased to find that one of our trip destinations led us right by the gates of Dinosaur Kingdom II. It was a surreal experience to see the gates of my illusive dream (or fever dream) come into sight. Let me tell you folks, it gets even better. Just from how the outside of the park was decorated, I knew I would be in for a treat if I ever entered into the park. Standing alongside the parks walls, almost like guardians of the parking lot were a Frankenstein with a chicken body, a giant bug with a human face, a looming and long-legged clown, a wizard that my mom swore she originally thought was Jesus, and a giant face. It was almost like a fever dream come to life and I was living for it.

But don't think that Dinosaur Kingdom II forgot its roots. Sitting proud in the center of the parking lot was a train car that had Stonewall Jackson and a T-Rex brawling along the top. Watching all this zip by while sitting awestruck in the passenger seat and later going back to take pictures of everything (so I can prove I didn't make it up), I was totally living for the experience. I remembered exactly how fun it can be to just kick back and enjoy the journey to the destination. When you just take in everything around you and stop worrying about the destination, you can find so many weird, wild, and wonderful things.

Sometimes you can even take a step back in time and enjoy both the Civil War and some giant, pre-historic reptiles.