Alabama Road Trip Part 6: Chicago

Wednesday was our big Chicago day. We all had things that were at the top our list to see, so we were very busy. Our first stop was the Shedd Aquarium.

We all loved watching this turtle eating his "salad."


The Field Museum of Natural History was right next door. Before we headed over, we took a picture in front of the nice (but cloudy) skyline.


Karl made sure someone took his picture next to Lucy.

Matt and Karl in front of Soldier Field.


In Alabama, we had quickly gotten used to wearing shorts and tank tops. Boy, did that come to a quick end. Chicago was cold and drizzly.


Next, we went to the Adler Planetarium.

Then it was finally time for a break at our hotel. Whew! After a nice rest, we realized we had a hankering for some Chicago-style pizza!

Karl's top priority in Chicago was to go to the top of the Sears (now it's called Willis) Tower. Laura and I also wanted to go up, but Matt got nervous and crabby just driving there. After the St. Louis Arch experience, there was no way we could convince him to go up with us ("I've already done it twice. I don't need to do it again."). Well. He wasn't going to ruin our fun!

We decided to go after dark, when all the city lights would be out, and I'm so glad we waited! There were absolutely no lines (although the doorman said there's often a 2-hour wait just to get to the elevator), so we went zip zip zip right to the 103rd floor. On that floor they have glass-enclosed ledges where you can actually stand out over the city. I'm usually fine as long as I'm in an enclosed space, but I must say that it was eerie to step out and look down onto the street that's hundreds of feet below my shoes.

Laura was a little nervous too, but she was brave and stepped onto the ledges too!

Yesterday we spent the morning at the Museum of Science and Industry, which was at the top of Laura's must-do activities.

This was a display where the "butterflies" would land on your shadow if you stood still.


We watched baby chicks hatching!


It was an exhausting couple of days. By lunchtime, the kids were ready to head for home.

We drove and drove until we reached Wisconsin, and then cheered as we crossed the border in to Minnesota, and then when we turned onto 35, and when we crossed into Chisago County, and then exited at Rush City, and then turned into our garage. We were happy to be home, but a little sad that our fun adventure was over. We had a great time, and the kids were absolute troopers. I guess road trips aren't so bad afterall...

Alabama Road Trip Part 5: Huntsville

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to Montgomery and to our wonderful hosts, Steve, Megan, Nathan and Kathryn. We always have a good time when we visit them, so we're looking forward to them moving to Florida this summer!

Although it was sad to leave, we were excited to be on our way back home. Our first stop on our trip north was in Huntsville, Alabama, at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Matt went to Space Camp here when he was a kid, so it brought back some happy memories.

In the museum, they had a Saturn V, which is the rocket that sent astronauts to the moon. It is unbelievably large.

Here is Karl in the Apollo command module simulator.


Outside in Rocket Park

Guess what shirt Matt wore that day?

After Hunstville, we continued on to Nashville to spend the night. Today we were going to take a walking tour of downtown, but when we woke up it was dark and raining. Our only indoor option was the Country Music Hall of Fame. When the kids groaned, and we realized how expensive it would be to take two crabby kids through a museum they had no interest in, we decided to amend our travel plans. That's right, we hit the road and powered through all the way to Chicago, where we are right now. We made excellent time, since the kids are incredibly good about riding in the car (we know all kinds of car games now, and the kids both love reading in the car, and the DVDs help too). Just outside of Louisville, we saw a Chik-Fil-A, and knew it was our last chance to try it out. Our last southern meal of the trip turned out to be pretty darn good (but Laura pointed out that it wasn't as good as the Waffle House).

After a day of driving, this is what we saw as we drove into the Windy City.

Tomorrow is our big day to do the town in Chicago, but we got a good taste of it when we had dinner at a super-hip burger place. Tasty! We all agreed that Chicago somehow feels like home. Although it was hard to be back in jeans and polar fleece, it feels good to be north of the Mason-Dixon line.

An Alabama Easter

We felt really lucky to spend our Easter with Steve and Megan in Alabama, although it felt strange to be celebrating Easter in the middle of summer. We went to a beautiful church service and then out for brunch, where we noticed some subtle differences in the menu (grits instead of hashbrowns, vegetables instead of fruit, and no maple syrup anywhere--but Laura took it in stride).

Spending Easter in Montgomery sure has its perks, like getting up in the morning and searching for Easter eggs outside!

After church, we tried to take a picture of all four Meissner kids. It wasn't easy...

Nathan was a great host to Laura and Karl. He happily shared all his toys, books, and even his room with them. Here he is sharing one of his movies.

That night, I realized that we hadn't taken any pictures of our whole group, and everyone knows how much I like my group photos. We actually had quite a good time trying to get it right. Here's our best one:

Waffle House!

On our way down south, Laura couldn't help but notice all the "Waffle House" restaurants around. Waffles mean syrup, and since there is probably a ratio of one Waffle House to every 25 people or so, there was no escape. Yesterday we went to the "good one" by Steve and Megan's, and Laura was not disappointed!

How are the waffles Laura?

Later that day, we colored Easter eggs.

Last night we went to the playground near Steve and Megan's house.

This photo proves that Matt can hold Kathryn without her crying.