Chicago!

Chicago is an amazing city when the sun is shining and you are on a tall ship with a pirate that looked like he just got off a Malibu Rum billboard. On the other hand, when it is pouring and you CTA bus driver kicks you off the bus to walk a couple of miles due to rerouting during a run it is a cold place. We spend two days in Chicago and the first is why I will leave a piece of my heart in Chicago. On this day we rode the train from Elgin to Chicago's Union Station. From there we took a bus to the Grayline Double Decker Bus. We rode the bus around and heard interesting facts about the city until about half way through the tour when our stomachs protested. We then caught a bus to Rock N' Roll McDonalds. Now here is my though on this. It was a very cool McDonalds, but the food is not different so not worth double the money which is what I ended up paying. Just about everything on the menu was $1 to $.50 more. If I had it to do again I would have just gone here for an ice cream cone.

We then took another bus to Navy Pier for some family fun by Lake Michigan. We picked up tickets to ride the Lighthouse ride, Wave Swings, Carousel, and Ferris Wheel. Then we went and got tickets to ride Windy the Tall Ship. Their 5 pm show was "Real Pirates Stories." So we got aboard and got seats on the midship and learned about the Pirates that had once sailed on the very lake that we were on. The stories were fascinating and the crew was amazing. My favorite story was about Pirate Fox who imprisoned a entire town and got them to do his bidding for over a year. He was sentenced to death only after he shot a goose a few year later.

After our cruise we headed to dinner at an Italian restaurant where we had our first taste of deep dish. Then headed back to the train to ride back to the hotel. However, we missed our train so we had to wait for the next one. This one was at 10:40 and when we headed to get on their were four police officers barring the way and only allowed boarding twenty minutes before departure. They also did bag checks as we boarded.

Once home we collapsed in bed and got ready for the next day. However, my alarm didn't go off so I awoke forty minutes before we needed to be at the train station and we had not even packed our stuff up yet. So we did a rush job and grabbed McDs breakfast to make it just in time. We got off at Union Station and headed to Chicago. Once we got to Union Station we headed to our bus that would take us to the Museum Campus. As we walked out of Union Station we saw buckets of rain pouring down. We rushed to our bus stop because it was supposed to be there in a few minutes. However, no bus came. Then Blake said he had to use the bathroom. I went into the nearest building to see if they had a public restroom. When I went to the desk the security guard told me that they did not have a public restroom. Also, the door that I had used to access the building was supposed to be locked so another guard was locking it and I would have to exit the side door and walk around the building. Hmphf!

Back at the bus stop the next bus came and we sat happily headed to the planetarium. About three stops away from the planetarium the bus driver asked everyone to get off the bus. He didn't give a reason and only after asking were we given the reason that they were rerouted for the day due to the Taste of Chicago Run/Walk. So I followed a Field Museum volunteer to the Campus and headed back to the planetarium. In the pouring rain. With a seven year old who was wearing flip flops! Once there we headed around the museum in rapid fire style reading only a few plaques in each room. Then we watched a movie about IBEX, a NASA project, and headed to the Shedd Aquarium.

The Shedd was packed and the line to get in was over an hour line. The will call line that we had to stand in to get our tickets was still twenty minutes long. There we knew that we were running out of time fast so we headed directly to the penguins. We did stop briefly to look at the turtles, dolphins, and sea otters. The kids loved and we could have easily spend multiple days in here alone.

At this point we were starving and headed to the Taste of Chicago. We got two pieces of deep dish pizza and everyone was full. I was nervous that the kids would still be starving but they were not even able to finish both pieces. We got a dream cup, orange sherbert and vanilla ice cream to top it off. We all thought that this was great.

This was the end of our day in Chicago so we road the train back and went to the store to get some food for the trip. Unfortunately we pushed our luck and ended up putting our tent up in the dark. Then found that I had lost my phone. We finally after an hour of searching ended up finding it at the front office on the ground. The only thing that I can assume is that I knocked it out when I got the tent site information. Then fell asleep to the sound of rustling wind in an open field; For there were no other campers with us that night.

Homeward Bound!

So we left Avoca and headed to Niagara Falls. I went to the US side and realized that this was not the Falls that I remember, because apparently that is on the Canada side. So if you are headed to the Falls remember to keep driving until you are in Canada. The kids were not impressed with the Falls which confuses me because they are pretty impressive. Now we decided to only take the Maid of the Mist tour due to time, but the kids said that they would really want to do the Cave of the Winds another time. On the Canadian side there is an observation restaurant and a great wax museum. After seeing the Falls we headed to bed early because we had a lot of driving to do the next day.

The next morning we headed out for Cleveland, OH around six and got there about 9:30. We parked and headed into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is amazing but a bit dry for the kids. Also, I realized that they knew very few of the people in it. They did learn about Elvis, Les Paul, Bruce Springsteen, and more. We got a souvenir for the boys and one for their guitar teacher before moving on to the second hall of fame. The Second Hall of Fame that we saw that day was just south in Canton and was the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The boys had a ton of fun there and talked me into letting them get a package of trading cards. Now they want to collect them, so at some point in the future we will head to Target to get a binder. That will be after they remind me, of course.

Now all of this was good and if it had gone my way we would end on this note. However, it did not. From Canton, we headed west through the rest of Ohio. For those of you that have a GPS you might understand. My GPS, aka Lola, took me on surface streets for about 20 miles. She ate up about an hour before getting us to a freeway. We headed onto the toll road and right before Indiana we payed Ohio $10 for the pleasure of using their freeway for half the state. Once in Indiana we got the pleasure of heading onto another toll road and proceeded to drive through Indiana.

At the end of the thruway we pulled up to the booths and there seemed to me a lot of congestion. I blew this off as the time of the day as it was not almost six. However, when I got my turn at the transponder I realized it was because the transponder was not working well and took four times to read my ticket. Indiana was only $6.75. I attempted to pay with my credit card and when that didn't work because of the same reader issue I paid in cash. As I drove away I couldn't find my credit card. I am assuming that I left it in the machine in my hast to get away from the noxious fumes, the impatient honking, and the rumbling engines of semis.

My wonderful husband called and canceled our cards. I can't thank him enough for helping me out of a very stressful situation.

Just Visiting

So it has been awhile since I last posted and I thought that I should let you guys know what I have been up to. I have been having a wonderful time with my family and friends over on the east coast. I hope that you don't mind that I haven't been blogging so that I could spend as much time with everyone as possible. I will be hitting the road on the 24th again and I will resume blogging the trip then.

Down on the Boardwalk

We started the next day taking a stroll on the boardwalk. Like they say, “It ain’t what it used to be.” Atlantic City is more about casinos and a little bit more like Vegas than it was awhile ago. Obviously a long while ago. But, we did walk along and end up at Rainforest Cafe for lunch. This was a huge treat as my kids had not been here before even though we have one near our home. The kids loved the environment and had a blast with the thunderstorm.
After lunch we headed to visit with family. We had the a delightful time with my family. I can’t thank them enough for a wonderful visit that days later my children were still raving about.

From Hannibal To Atlantic City - Our Journey

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At George Washington’s Feet

The next morning we had pancakes and headed into Colonial Williamsburg. We started our tour by listening to George Washington explaining what our options are with the Revolution and why we should fight. It was very interesting listening to his speech and he then answered questions from the attendants. From there we headed to take a children’s tour. The kids really enjoyed this. The tour guide was great and centered everything towards the kids. He was very energetic and interactive. He taught the children to courtesy in the fashion of the day. He explained that if you were a farmer or a merchant you would want your daughter to marry into a higher class and into gentry class if possible. He explained that the way to do that was to make sure that she had the training to fit into the life. Also women would look for men with strong calfs as this meant that they spent time dancing and riding horses, therefore in the gentry class. He taught the children a rhythm dance that the slaves used to help them survive the many hours of hard labor.
From there we headed to get iced coffee and water as it was 99 degrees out. I couldn’t help but laugh at the number of people who stopped me to ask where I had gotten my Starbucks. We enjoyed our Starbucks as we rode around Colonial Williamsburg in our carriage. Ryleigh said that she loved it as she was a princess and should get a carriage. It was a great experience and we loved the horses. The poor things were so hot though and after our ride they only had one more ride before they were going to return to the stables to rest in the shade.
After riding around Williamsburg we walked around and went into several of the shops. We visited a wig makers shop, a silversmiths, a blacksmiths, and a baker. We also visited an apothecary shop and learned about the trade. I personally found this fascinating and had a lot of questions to ask. We found out that a male that could read Latin was able to become an apprentice and the apprenticeship was about seven years. We looked at casts and medicines. We learned that a family that could not afford to pay for a cast or a medicine could open a credit and pay over time. We also got to see a real skeleton as in it was real bones.
After we made it back to the visitor’s center I called to find out if our cruise on Assateague was still going to be happening since they were calling for thunderstorms. They said that they would so I drove the 3 hours and waited at the dock. The sky was looking ominous but no rain had fallen yet. However, the radar showed that the storm that was rolling in was thick and we would not be able to wait it out. Disappointed again I looked for a place to stay the night. I looked on my GPS and it was only 118 miles to Atlantic City so I thought that I would try and made a reservation at Trump Marina. The only catch was that it was a 118 miles as the crow flies and when the GPS showed the route it was 3 hours of driving. So I began to drive.
Halfway through I found out that the GPS route wanted me to take a ferry that closed at 6 pm. So I ended up driving another 2 1/2 hours to go around it. When I finally got into Atlantic City at 12:40 I was fried. I grumpily checked into the hotel and fell into my comfy bed. I did like the Trump Marina and the beds were great. Not to say this it wasn’t without its faults. But I am a sucker for a good bed and good pillows. I would like to stay again at the Trump Taj Mahal on the boardwalk.

The Nations Capital

The next morning we got our late start as we already knew that the race for the cure would be stalling all shuttles. We headed to Arlington Cemetery as that tour would start on time and we headed out for the first tour of the day. The tour was very interesting as I learned many things about Arlington Cemetery that I had never known. It was interesting to learn that it was formerly Robert E. Lee’s house. He left it when he moved back to his home state of Virginia to join the confederate army. When public outcry came about as a result of bodies being buried on the field of the battle where the soldier had lost his life the government needed to find a location to bury the bodies. Without scouting they decided to use Lee’s home as they viewed him as a traitor. They also hoped that this would prevent him from ever coming back. Now to acquire the property they planned on seizing it from unpaid taxes. It was the law at the time that property taxes needed to be paid in person. Mrs. Lee sent her cousin to pay the taxes, however, because it was not her in person they refused the money, which was $92, and seized the property.
From there we headed onto a bus to visit the National Mall. When we first started out we planned on seeing several monuments and two of the Smithsonian Museums. However, the first thing that happened was our bus broke down. This caused a delay of about an hour while we waited for a new bus to come. So we stopped at the Lincoln Memorial. It was so crowded that it was difficult to move around. We got back on the bus and rode around. I will suggest that if you are headed to DC to skip the Tourmobile tours and park at Union Station and purchase tickets to the circulator. Once we saw how long the bus was taking going around the National Mall I decided to just head to the most important place first. Which was the Air and Space Museum for Blake. We got to see the Wright Brother Exhibit and then as many exhibits that would could until it was time to watch the Hubble IMAX movie. This was a documentary about astronauts going to do the last repair on Hubble. Of course we stopped at the gift shop to pick up a bobble-head Einstein just like “Night at the Museum 2.”
We went outside to get our bus and found a note on the sign that said due to Race for the Cure and directing us to walk to the temporary location for pick up at the corner. Now remember this is the same place that they dropped us off at. So I try to be patient even though this has already gone so poorly. We just miss the bus and wait another 20 minutes for the next one. We were excited to see the bus heading toward us after our wait and were thinking about sitting down and getting off our tired feet; Until it pulled right by us. Furiously I walked quickly across the park hoping to catch the next bus on the other side. I stew as we sit there waiting and pretty much most of the drive back to the Cemetery. Quietly I stew as we drive to Williamsburg. Until I see a thunder and lighting storm. I love lighting so we pulled into Williamsburg with a happy mama.
We got the key to the cabin and the kids were excited to jump on the jumping pillow and swimming. The key didn’t fit though and we had to call down to the desk. An hour later after we had been moved to another cabin we walked down to the pool and found that it was closed. There were plenty of tears but we headed to take our showers and back to the cabin. At the cabin we started to read Misty of Chincoteague and the kids fell asleep in the third chapter.