A Grand Tour of The Entire Midwest, But Mostly Wisconsin (UPDATE 11/12--BONUS Texas TR NOW COMPLETE)

Birds of a feather and all that. We can tear people down together!:p

:laughing:

Well, you can't leave it at that...

Hmmm...

Okay, really quickly, though.

1. Grade 9. Bodychecked head first into a door. (Floor hockey. No helmets. No checking allowed.... ahem...)
13 stitches. But never passed out.
2. Earlier. I was 12. With a bunch of guys playing soccer. It started to rain hard. We all ran into a garage.
The door wasn't all the way up and I didn't notice, focusing on running and avoiding puddles.
I was very fast back then. Ran full speed and caught the steel door on my forehead. Which meant my feet went out from under me and I landed with the back of my head on the concrete floor/driveway.
That stung a bit. Came reallll close to passing out on that one, must admit.
Had a bit of a headache for the rest of the day. (The term "splitting" comes to mind.)

Good one! I like curmudgeon as well.

I am one.

Takes one to know one!

::yes::

This sounds like a challenge!

:rolleyes1

Cue the exploding helicopters...

Don't be silly.
There will definitely be no exploding helicopters in mine.


They were planes.
 
Lambeau also won championships and has a stadium named after him in his honor, yet my only note for Mr. Lambeau is to acknowledge that he is immortally enshrined giving the “pull my finger” gesture.

Well he is named "Curly". Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

We were taken into one of the fancy lounges for high-dollar ticket holders, where peons like you and me are never allowed to go. Seemed pretty swanky in there.

I'm sure they kept a pretty close eye on you. :magnify:

Meanwhile, the Eagles turned their offense over to a quarterback named “Bubby”, which should tell you all you need to know.

I remember him from his Pittsburgh days. p.u.

It’s always neat to walk out at field level at a pro sports stadium, to get an idea of what it’s like to be on the field. You don’t get this view as an average fan.

Yes, very cool!

Back outside, by the parking lot, there’s a statue dedicated to the Lambeau Leap, a touchdown celebration invented by safety Leroy Butler.

Did you check out the wall inside the stadium? My sense is that it's fairly high and you have to be a pretty danged good athlete to actually pull off the leap.
 
1. Grade 9. Bodychecked head first into a door. (Floor hockey. No helmets. No checking allowed.... ahem...)
13 stitches. But never passed out.

9th graders playing hockey? Yeah, there's going to be bodychecking. I don't care what the rules say.

Ouch.

2. Earlier. I was 12. With a bunch of guys playing soccer. It started to rain hard. We all ran into a garage.
The door wasn't all the way up and I didn't notice, focusing on running and avoiding puddles.
I was very fast back then. Ran full speed and caught the steel door on my forehead. Which meant my feet went out from under me and I landed with the back of my head on the concrete floor/driveway.
That stung a bit. Came reallll close to passing out on that one, must admit.
Had a bit of a headache for the rest of the day. (The term "splitting" comes to mind.)

Yikes! You're lucky it wasn't worse than that.

I only had one concussion. I was playing baseball with friends. I was in the outfield. Batter hit a pop fly. I ran in to catch it, the infielder ran out, and...

...I woke up on my friend's front porch, with my parents hovering over me.

I am one.

Takes one to--oh, right.

Don't be silly.
There will definitely be no exploding helicopters in mine.


They were planes.

:woohoo::banana::cool1:

You have pictures...

:eek:

Well Liesa has already posted the first update, I have one more to go before I start posting. And I guess @pkondz will be copying off our homeork! :laughing:

Great! I can cut-and-paste my replies from @Steppesister 's TR!

Well he is named "Curly". Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

Always good for a laugh.

I'm sure they kept a pretty close eye on you. :magnify:

I can't really blame them.

I remember him from his Pittsburgh days. p.u.

You'd think the Eagles would have remembered him from his Pittsburgh days before signing him.

Did you check out the wall inside the stadium? My sense is that it's fairly high and you have to be a pretty danged good athlete to actually pull off the leap.

Yes! I believe the wall inside is about 8' high. The one for the photo op is a much more comfortable 3.5'.
 
Chapter 22: This Time John Wayne Does Not Walk Off Into The Sunset With Grace Kelly.


I’m not allowed to print the response to that line.


Anyway, it’s time to wrap up this TR with our final day in the Midwest. It began with yet another edition of Sleeping With A Toddler, in which Dave got perhaps the worst luck of them all.


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We had a fairly relaxed day planned to explore the Twin Cities area. After a hearty, relaxed Embassy Suites breakfast while we waited out rush hour, we went downtown to the St. Anthony Falls area of the Mississippi River. This is a man-made dam the provided hydroelectric power to the city as well as a lock that allowed ships to traverse some rapids in the river. Now it’s a nice little dam riverfront park and was the temporary dam home of the Mississippi National River visitor center while their main building was under renovation. And yes, we came here mostly to pick up another cheap National Park passport stamp.


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This old mill building was refurbished to hold a history museum. Looked like it would be a neat place to visit.


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I’d say we were there maybe about 15 minutes or so. Long enough to get our stamp and enjoy the view. At this point in the trip, we were all pretty tired and grumpy and I seem to remember having one of those stupid married couple fights over nothing with Julie where I was just being snippy because I couldn’t find a parking space and the kids were being ornery in the back seat and everything was irritating at the moment. As is always the case in these types of fights, the husband is wrong, because the marriage vows said so. Also, I actually was wrong in this case. First mistake of the year. So I eventually apologized for being a jerk and we re-set our attitudes for the day.


We headed east to St. Paul and parked at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. This is exactly what the title says it is, a large zoo and garden operated by the St. Paul Parks & Recreation service. Admission is free (suggested donations are welcome), and we thought it would be a nice spot to let Drew run around and see the animals after having been cooped up in the van for most of the previous two weeks.


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The zoo turned out to be fairly large and a nice place to visit, especially for a place with free admission. Along with gorillas, lions, and wolves, they had a special arctic exhibit featuring sea lions and penguins.


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They even had a periodic sea lion show.


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This guy had heard about our troubles flying out to Minneapolis and bet us he could beat us back to Baltimore. As you can see, he had a head start.


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A quick McTour of the zoo:


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We thought this sign, posted on a rickety wire fence leaning at an angle 25 feet over the lion cage, was extraordinarily helpful:


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It must have been necessary, though. I pity the poor kid who tried to set up a swimming pool in there.


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It was somewhere around the lion that we pulled off our last DiS Meet of the vacation. We got together with Karin (@MNtwinsplus1mom ) and her three boys, Sam, Kevin and Benji. They were nice enough to meet us at the zoo and then hang out with us for the rest of the day. Karin’s boys were having a great time showing us around the zoo while also comparing notes on various Disney resorts.


We found that, similar to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Como Park has an animatronic sleeping polar bear on display for visitors.


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After some quick sandwiches to use up the rest of our supplies, we went inside the conservatory. Karin was nice enough to take a photo of the family and got this one, which turned out to be one of the better family shots of the trip despite Drew picking his nose.


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The conservatory was full of beautiful gardens. It reminded me of Longwood Gardens back home.


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They had a small bonsai area too. I’m always fascinated by bonsai trees.


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It was a hot summer day, and eventually we got tired of the non-air-conditioned conservatory building, so we took refuge in the conveniently air-conditioned gift shop for a bit before moving on.


Our next stop was in downtown St. Paul, where we found the Minnesota History Center. It just so happened to be a Tuesday afternoon, and it just so happened that the museum offered free admission on Tuesdays after 3:00 p.m. And wouldn’t you know it? It just so happened to be 3:00 p.m. Perfect timing for a cheapskate family like ours.


Now there was an additional benefit that I hadn’t quite planned out, but instead proved to be a happy accident: there was a special traveling exhibit showcasing the work of one of the great artists of our time. I know, Picasso has his fans. So does Salvador Dali. You might prefer the more traditional work of Norman Rockwell or the more out-there stylings of Andy Warhol. But for my money, one man’s creative genius surpasses them all. That man is the immortal Chuck Jones.


Jones is best known as the artist who gave life to many of the best-remembered episodes of Looney Tunes, starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and of course, Road-Runner and Wile E. Coyote. The exhibit featured art, scripts, hand-drawn cels, and many video clips of his best work. I could have watched those for hours. It’s fantastic. Seriously, try watching the Bugs/Daffy episode “Duck Amuck” while keeping a straight face. Impossible. It’s lunacy at its finest.


The exhibit was all I hoped it would be.


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Be vewy quiet. I’m hunting wabbits.


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Sarah got in on the act as well.


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I had hoped this would be our Christmas card shot. And it did end up making it as part of a collage.


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Here’s the whole crew with Karin and her boys. We were really having a lot of fun hanging out with them.

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They finally had to drag me away from the Looney Tunes clips and into the rest of the museum. Kevin and Benji took great pride in showing off their favorite exhibits to our kids. First up was a mining exhibit.


After donning the appropriate headgear, the kids went into a cave where they could load “dynamite” into strategically-placed holes in the rock, and then move back to push a “detonator” in the style of a Wile E. Coyote-style plunger, and then set off “explosions”. This is very similar to the “detonator” we’d found in the Mount Rushmore visitor center, and just as much fun. In fact, they’re probably the greatest museum exhibits ever, and I feel confident in saying that even though I’ve only been to relatively few museums in my lifetime. Museum security had to pull us away after several hours of simulated explosions and maniacal laughter.


We moved on to an exhibit dedicated to Minnesotans who fought in World War II.


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It was here that Kevin and Benji proudly showed off the third-best museum exhibit of all time (second was the U-boat in Chicago’s Science & Industry Museum). Here, the kids had to team up on an assembly line and build bombs for the war effort. The four of them moved like a finely-tuned machine. It was kind of scary how efficient they were at building bombs. Clearly, they had all practiced this somewhere before. I believe they managed to make over 300 in about 10 minutes.


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This turned out to be a really fun museum. Even better, we were able to find an authentic hand-painted Chuck Jones cel in the gift shop as a Christmas gift for Sarah, our budding Imagineer.


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Karin, thanks for being willing to spend the day with us and for being such good hosts and company! We really enjoyed our time with your family.


Our final stop of the vacation was for dinner at the 5-8 Club south of the city. This is one of the homes of the “Juicy Lucy”, a Minneapolis burger creation featuring melted cheese cooked inside the hamburger patty. The 5-8 Club is locked into a bitter dispute with Matt’s Bar as to who officially invented this burger. We’d seen it featured on a couple of Travel Channel shows and figured we needed to try it out before leaving town.


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The place was busy, which is always a good sign, and somehow we lucked into a seat without much of a wait. We all ordered the Juicy Lucy, figuring it was a waste of time to look at anything else on the menu. We were cautioned not to bite in right away, as we would run the risk of scalding our mouths. Allrighty then.


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Eventually, we braved the burgers. The verdict? Six thumbs up!


And then it was time to turn in for the evening. The following day, we flew home. Nothing exciting to tell you about there. We were all thankful that there were no delays this time. I did manage to get a shot of Chicago after we took off from a layover in Midway Airport:


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The Museum of Science & Industry is at the very bottom of the photo, to give you an idea of where it sits compared to downtown Chicago.


Drew demonstrated the effects of spending two weeks strapped into a car seat.


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Once we landed in Baltimore, we retrieved our luggage and van without incident. We stopped for dinner at Mission BBQ, a military-themed joint I’d discovered while at a business conference in Annapolis, Maryland. It’s a chain, but it’s a very good chain. Also, BBQ.


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Here we could finally relax and sit back, reminiscing about our favorite parts of the Midwest vacation. All in all, we’d covered the most ground yet on one of our insane road trips—over 3,600 miles. And yes, it’s still fun to watch the rental car employee do a double-take when he/she scans the mileage after we return the van.


Anyway, we talked and laughed and ate and enjoyed the successful completion of another vacation. We finished our meals, started gathering our belongings, and then looked up…


….and Drew happened.


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At the end of this trip, we were able to add 8 new states to our map. So, at the end of summer 2016, Sarah, David and Scott had now set foot in 40 out of 50 states. And Drew, in less than three years of life, had already covered 28. After our Hilton Head getaway in November, Drew was up to 30. We’re getting close to actually pulling this off!


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Coming Up Next: Final thoughts on the trip and my standard Poor Man’s PTR for the next one! And I guess I’ll ask now—are any of you interested in a TR for our spring break trip to Texas and New Mexico? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
 
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And you've got the famous Stone Arch Bridge in that shot too!

This old mill building was refurbished to hold a history museum. Looked like it would be a neat place to visit.
It is a neat place. It's been a number of years since we've been there, but I remember enjoying it. :thumbsup2

We hadn't been to Como in ages, but met some family there earlier this Spring and there was a baby giraffe just running laps around there. So adorable, it was almost gliding along, figuring out how to use those long legs. Also, not sure if you saw the zipline thing over at Como Town, but my little daredevil and I did that. :eek:

Karin was nice enough to take a photo of the family and got this one, which turned out to be one of the better family shots of the trip despite Drew picking his nose.


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Ha, it works because he has that adorable little smile while doing so.

….and Drew happened.


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:rotfl2: Glad to see he's learning from his big bro...

At the end of this trip, we were able to add 8 new states to our map. So, at the end of summer 2016, Sarah, David and Scott had now set foot in 40 out of 50 states. And Drew, in less than three years of life, had already covered 28. After our Hilton Head getaway in November, Drew was up to 30. We’re getting close to actually pulling this off!


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This is awesome!

Coming Up Next: Final thoughts on the trip and my standard Poor Man’s PTR for the next one! And I guess I’ll ask now—are any of you interested in a TR for our spring break trip to Texas and New Mexico? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
I'm always interested in hearing about adventures you have in store. :goodvibes
 
9th graders playing hockey? Yeah, there's going to be bodychecking. I don't care what the rules say.

Yep

Yikes! You're lucky it wasn't worse than that.

Pretty sure I had a concussion.
I vaguely (at the time) remember being carried inside the garage.
I went "home" to my aunt& uncle's and lay down and basically held my throbbing head for the rest of the day.

I only had one concussion. I was playing baseball with friends. I was in the outfield. Batter hit a pop fly. I ran in to catch it, the infielder ran out, and...

...I woke up on my friend's front porch, with my parents hovering over me.

Whoa.



Hey! So that's what happened to us!
 


John Wayne Does Not Walk Off Into The Sunset With Grace Kelly.

That was Gary Cooper, ask anyone.


Good Lord! How does he even sleep like that??

Now it’s a nice little dam riverfront park

Those dam parks.

This old mill building was refurbished to hold a history museum. Looked like it would be a neat place to visit.


ZU6qQo-3nbvCyouMwcGlgLhzJCxcNJaW-qILh1-nKmZxeF267ZGI4gaLmV07LW-8BgAXU4Xf8Xk_tWFq9IhMSmFPizv3feFqnwueTgV80NWTgJWO8_Uxr7KJSi2erJW_MVL_hvBvyalo-_To9JEWw-Vm1iM2oBgwQwKFaPZn2RD20Ikmk5TAiwJNTBKVZnKiTObcajO81RngpI6BhK7cL9vyHpN-Iv3ZU98yz53hn_z-YGJfSs0FaWlo__Krb3CjI-S0hus9sdwZy8ZDymQxAwJBBuaRde_4vbaX9grdEyKACQMt7zWUFFFsYRU6FoGewLtg76ucH1gyxBa1G1jf0iIyGJypIzZOT4vKRL-uqJfukguGGTKgy3sMKvw3wPlGXXrdBM6bE2QZXyeoli59YLiHfN2t5mGJZGWNRHPq9NF9NBCaiDBlJ-TuDl0w7BTks05IuzQAbbMDlS6FeC_X_1d2Btuy7yC-uGZsIk_26uswONW_6lq1iCBeWWoDMpKGfBLfqU7a_wrVt1_ktKKI3ZrZ7jZfGtFK0eE2_MnaVCIjYppOiJlRWYzQRh04aiFHNxG7d981eMU-WpZl5M8SlV_9hj-ZrORIZE2__gC6SI434FY6eRaY=w558-h836-no

That is really cool how they designed that.

At this point in the trip, we were all pretty tired and grumpy and I seem to remember having one of those stupid married couple fights over nothing with Julie where I was just being snippy because I couldn’t find a parking space and the kids were being ornery in the back seat and everything was irritating at the moment.

:hug: It happens.

As is always the case in these types of fights, the husband is wrong, because the marriage vows said so.

Correct.

Also, I actually was wrong in this case. First mistake of the year.

The trip was in January?
You got great weather!

So I eventually apologized for being a jerk and we re-set our attitudes for the day.

Also the proper husband response.

Admission is free

You're kidding!!!


holy crap

they had a special arctic exhibit featuring sea lions and penguins.

Point of order.

Antarctic.

They even had a periodic sea lion show.

Wow!
I remember having to memorize the periodic table... and these sea lions did it! Impressive!

This guy had heard about our troubles flying out to Minneapolis and bet us he could beat us back to Baltimore. As you can see, he had a head start.

Did he let himself in while he waited?


Surprised that
a. the zoo allowed that and;
b. the momma giraffe allowed that.


How come you didn't let the kids ride that one?

We thought this sign, posted on a rickety wire fence leaning at an angle 25 feet over the lion cage, was extraordinarily helpful:

good thing everyone on the planet speaks (and reads) English.

I pity the poor kid who tried to set up a swimming pool in there.

I hear he was delicious.

According to the tiger, anyway.

We got together with Karin (@MNtwinsplus1mom ) and her three boys, Sam, Kevin and Benji. They were nice enough to meet us at the zoo and then hang out with us for the rest of the day.

Nice!

We found that, similar to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Como Park has an animatronic sleeping polar bear on display for visitors.

Come up here and see them in their natural habitat.

Kidding aside... it's....... humbling.
Humans are of no concern to them.

Karin was nice enough to take a photo of the family and got this one, which turned out to be one of the better family shots of the trip despite Drew picking his nose.

Nice shot!


pretty


Nice close up! :thumbsup2


Love that shot.

They had a small bonsai area too. I’m always fascinated by bonsai trees.

Me too!
That and Japanese gardens.
I'll drive hundreds of miles out of the way to see one.

Our next stop was in downtown St. Paul, where we found the Minnesota History Center. It just so happened to be a Tuesday afternoon, and it just so happened that the museum offered free admission on Tuesdays after 3:00 p.m. And wouldn’t you know it? It just so happened to be 3:00 p.m. Perfect timing for a cheapskate family like ours.

Timing is everything.

But for my money, one man’s creative genius surpasses them all. That man is the immortal Chuck Jones.

::yes::


Even just that makes it worth the visit.


Awwwwww....


Good Lord! Don't let her stand there!!!

After donning the appropriate headgear, the kids went into a cave where they could load “dynamite” into strategically-placed holes in the rock,

Sure. Totally safe.

Museum security had to pull us away after several hours of simulated explosions and maniacal laughter.

:laughing:

It was kind of scary how efficient they were at building bombs. Clearly, they had all practiced this somewhere before. I believe they managed to make over 300 in about 10 minutes.

They're probably on some watch list now.

Even better, we were able to find an authentic hand-painted Chuck Jones cel in the gift shop as a Christmas gift for Sarah, our budding Imagineer.

Nice! I'm sure she'll like that.

Our final stop of the vacation was for dinner at the 5-8 Club south of the city. This is one of the homes of the “Juicy Lucy”, a Minneapolis burger creation featuring melted cheese cooked inside the hamburger patty.

meh. My Mom's been doing that for over 50 years.


Holy crap! But her burgers didn't look like that!

Okay. Serious question.
Would you pick that place, or the Machine Shed you went to the other day?

The Museum of Science & Industry is at the very bottom of the photo, to give you an idea of where it sits compared to downtown Chicago.

Thanks!

Drew demonstrated the effects of spending two weeks strapped into a car seat.


mSr9dNvDrh5V82AdKBtNQglTVCPtO20-YwY9Zl7LLAzaZJJtMASTOJbyQ8SAxB_kA7Bpke7mx9D7bwEaa45F0T64UPaDc4t1yzImFEAV3dSZXvsbz87VprhQq-uvNrknoN5HNYGUwOzlCw1bvtgLEHXB-_tlpwI4tAFdHZNCAmrloElR1ZKK3RuHFJaUcFz1V2Acc6_zdJhtkvu-QGjR4ashlo0TYjWBVwdiT6_T13GjM0OYqPtEcH03vMMQxvqJRdRI66LU0Nq_zuZDS755QrsBIluaXXyR5EPVxXanw6kqEPOy84jMdUtTbFd46n9UVC7pIFdoOcZZe5swkRcuhB-7wyl_rgjeMiKZdz2A5a87B2H-Qz3mmuQyUA-UP6ahwt8Hb8EWXb-ZqXpJlk-hOcOgLGTObM94iZAkzmR5lhp9t_g0v2Fp7FVFErqEREC38d7ILu6vrumI05p116BhDHpeZjYHGZ6gdfAnX6AxOwvrLkmE3DJdQE5DcZzWa7ykJiTQ5AyKR_Jgc75hgGgENIErgRj8u8pREwnIzfzo-vYZvQC-rdQ-RZozf5DqbPBPYGC7aIJHidhYNCrpx67JUaL7VGT95qkxBr2VbUN1cn9ma03gnCou=w627-h836-no

I can see that, actually.

It’s a chain, but it’s a very good chain. Also, BBQ.

You had me at BBQ.

And yes, it’s still fun to watch the rental car employee do a double-take when he/she scans the mileage after we return the van.

:laughing: I know! I did the same to a girl on her first day on the job solo... after driving from Winnipeg to WDW and back.


:lmao:

Although, if he drains the cup, you'll have a better story.

And I guess I’ll ask now—are any of you interested in a TR for our spring break trip to Texas and New Mexico? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

:wave: Me! Me! Pick me!
 
Anyway, it’s time to wrap up this TR with our final day in the Midwest. It began with yet another edition of Sleeping With A Toddler, in which Dave got perhaps the worst luck of them all.

THOSE AREN'T PILLOWS.

Also, I actually was wrong in this case. First mistake of the year. So I eventually apologized for being a jerk and we re-set our attitudes for the day.

A. Aren't you always wrong? and B. First mistake of the year?

We thought this sign, posted on a rickety wire fence leaning at an angle 25 feet over the lion cage, was extraordinarily helpful:

That is one of those "Don't push this button" signs.

That man is the immortal Chuck Jones.

Agreed. Many hours of enjoyment watching his work when I was kid. OK, even as an adult.

After donning the appropriate headgear, the kids went into a cave where they could load “dynamite” into strategically-placed holes in the rock, and then move back to push a “detonator” in the style of a Wile E. Coyote-style plunger, and then set off “explosions”

Now that is cool. You have me a little worried though, first your kids launch a nuclear attack and now are blowing up caves.

All in all, we’d covered the most ground yet on one of our insane road trips—over 3,600 miles. And yes, it’s still fun to watch the rental car employee do a double-take when he/she scans the mileage after we return the van.

Calling you the Griswalds from now on.

Housekeeping: I'll send you a PM this week on the Everglades trip.
 
Ha! The virtual dynamite and the "help the war" assembly line sound really cool. I was going to say "bomb" assembly line, but then realized that could sound really bad if I were ever investigated for something and this post was found. And now I've gone ahead and said the word "bomb" anyway. Whoops.

At the end of this trip, we were able to add 8 new states to our map. So, at the end of summer 2016, Sarah, David and Scott had now set foot in 40 out of 50 states. And Drew, in less than three years of life, had already covered 28. After our Hilton Head getaway in November, Drew was up to 30. We’re getting close to actually pulling this off!


DECvN70XHIb28QyOcYj_pcEosnyUt5U60phuZHgfcNBNDRfu8gdjgYSrYoPIx5nkg1mUl8KvIRC_mbVHRt0PVib0YNV2V3IZTU5JlJO1B0bfmPe1WQVheupel3W0Zac8kgPbLenf2cGmJczFfu7vcQN0Bxl03Gg6bl0unnCeSfB-ORvL4d4QI6j3TW02H4pNyj4Onw-FJil3YuzpLlhMT9jG3jTzMSsBxNWylZWzIpxYHUrj29lY5Cq_V4Rd_L7YuhUQK8oVkm85vznTJrT_l-333aiYivNLRFQNvIjldHuHam-XfJuLnx5xtzg1GQnaMhnfNseEBW27Tp1aWen-HkYb-7sV7lLy2P2Gfq89y_m4L4grms8w31s96TCzYIIuU5DPvfsWU8extbwBWgFrnG-MLdBk-8tEKLYG-ccnWDSQGFapsNAEGeQFXGPFpcFSg8V997Z5RQOQrHgZ2yMd58YkUJxvLfrmcZLUpFJp4E3wAC15zQc2EIN0mqoBeGxXZZr5k4QTFVD7GuZV37OUOnl-jiCxZwkDijvXn9nPYgUC_xTPZh9HtSbxnp2cWKBI8l5JY7yyFxKnW8F58m4x9kE5jhjlhOpALiiBWsid7dhTi_RpfF1s=w1115-h836-no

So what is the color code for pins on the above map?

Also, seeing as your kids (most of them) have covered 40 states, I'm somewhat impressed that I can say I have been to five your kids have not! (TN [?? - That one pin is super close to TN], AL, OK, WA, and OR.)
 
It began with yet another edition of Sleeping With A Toddler, in which Dave got perhaps the worst luck of them all.
Wow... one small move and that will be a painful way to wake up.

Now it’s a nice little dam riverfront park and was the temporary dam home of the Mississippi National River visitor center while their main building was under renovation. And yes, we came here mostly to pick up another cheap National Park passport stamp.
Oh... that's disappointing. I thought you went there mostly to make more dam jokes.

As is always the case in these types of fights, the husband is wrong, because the marriage vows said so. Also, I actually was wrong in this case. First mistake of the year. So I eventually apologized for being a jerk and we re-set our attitudes for the day.
Way to man up and admit you were being a *******... :rolleyes1

After some quick sandwiches to use up the rest of our supplies, we went inside the conservatory. Karin was nice enough to take a photo of the family and got this one, which turned out to be one of the better family shots of the trip despite Drew picking his nose.
And he looks awfully proud of it too!

They finally had to drag me away from the Looney Tunes clips and into the rest of the museum
No!!!! I don't wanna go!!!!

After donning the appropriate headgear, the kids went into a cave where they could load “dynamite” into strategically-placed holes in the rock, and then move back to push a “detonator” in the style of a Wile E. Coyote-style plunger, and then set off “explosions”.
Ok... this is cool. But I think I'd rather have Wile E Coyote type detonations. You know, the big spectacular kind where you blow things up over and over yet nobody gets hurt.

This turned out to be a really fun museum. Even better, we were able to find an authentic hand-painted Chuck Jones cel in the gift shop as a Christmas gift for Sarah, our budding Imagineer.
Awesome gift!

That looks amazing...

Eventually, we braved the burgers. The verdict? Six thumbs up!
What? No drooling Homers?

Hey, Ryder can drink that way... :rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

And I guess I’ll ask now—are any of you interested in a TR for our spring break trip to Texas and New Mexico? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
::yes::
 
And you've got the famous Stone Arch Bridge in that shot too!

Yes! I just wasn't up on my history on that partcular structure. Looked cool, though.

It is a neat place. It's been a number of years since we've been there, but I remember enjoying it. :thumbsup2

I thought about visiting that museum, but I think the free admission at the History Center won out.

We hadn't been to Como in ages, but met some family there earlier this Spring and there was a baby giraffe just running laps around there. So adorable, it was almost gliding along, figuring out how to use those long legs. Also, not sure if you saw the zipline thing over at Como Town, but my little daredevil and I did that. :eek:

Cool! I did see that, and it looked fun! But we were too cheap to try it.

Ha, it works because he has that adorable little smile while doing so.

He gets away with so much. Good thing he's cute.
:rotfl2: Glad to see he's learning from his big bro...

:sad2:

This is awesome!

We're getting there! Added 2 more states since then, too!

I'm always interested in hearing about adventures you have in store. :goodvibes

Well, you guys brought this on yourselves. Just remember that.

Pretty sure I had a concussion.
I vaguely (at the time) remember being carried inside the garage.
I went "home" to my aunt& uncle's and lay down and basically held my throbbing head for the rest of the day.

With two big blows to the head like that, I don't know how you could avoid a concussion. Explains a lot, actually.

Whoa.



Hey! So that's what happened to us!

....what we were talking about again?:confused3
 
That was Gary Cooper, ask anyone.

I don't remember Bruce Willis saying, "Ask anyone." I'm probably remembering it wrong.

Good Lord! How does he even sleep like that??

I don't know how Drew manages to stay in the bed, and I don't know how Dave managed to keep the family jewels intact.

Those dam parks.

We weren't there long, but it sure was a nice dam park.

That is really cool how they designed that.

Yeah, incorporating the ruins made it look really cool!

:hug: It happens.

More often than I'd like to admit.


I see you've been through this, too.

The trip was in January?
You got great weather!

Why does no one believe that part?

Also the proper husband response.

'Cause that's what you do.

You're kidding!!!


holy crap

If it's free, it's for me!

Point of order.

Antarctic.

Yes. You are absolutely right. Thanks for correcting me.

Wow!
I remember having to memorize the periodic table... and these sea lions did it! Impressive!

:sad2:

My kids had to do that. The teacher pointed them to a Youtube video where somebody had made up a song with the elements in order. And so we heard it over and over and over and over...

Did he let himself in while he waited?

Yep. I'm not going to talk about what he left on the couch, either.

Surprised that
a. the zoo allowed that and;
b. the momma giraffe allowed that.

Well, when it's free admission, security gets a little lax.

How come you didn't let the kids ride that one?

I was all for it, but Julie read the sign on the fence.

good thing everyone on the planet speaks (and reads) English.

Well, sure. That's standard practice, right?

I hear he was delicious.

According to the tiger, anyway.

Gotta make some sacrifices to keep the zoo running.

Come up here and see them in their natural habitat.

Kidding aside... it's....... humbling.
Humans are of no concern to them.

That would be awesome to see polar bears in the wild! From a distance, of course. I would love that.

I haven't had much luck seeing any bears in the wild. Only saw one once, briefly, in the Smoky Mountains as a kid.


They were a really sweet family.

Nice shot!

Karin did a great job!


Nice close up! :thumbsup2

All credit to Julie for these.

Love that shot.

Me too.:goodvibes

Me too!
That and Japanese gardens.
I'll drive hundreds of miles out of the way to see one.

Wow! I don't know that I'd go that far out of my way for a Japanese garden, but they are certainly beautiful places.

Timing is everything.

It really is true, isn't it?

Even just that makes it worth the visit.

I wish Acme Rocket-Powered Roller Skates were real.

You know what's really cool? This is my local grocery store chain:

https://www.acmemarkets.com/#2

So, yes--I shop at Acme.

Awwwwww....

Finally hit the wall. Couldn't resist the photo opportunity.

Good Lord! Don't let her stand there!!!

You have to be careful in these Looney Tunes exhibits!

Sure. Totally safe.

What could go wrong?

They're probably on some watch list now.

I wouldn't have been surprised if my boys were there long ago!

Nice! I'm sure she'll like that.

She did!:thumbsup2

meh. My Mom's been doing that for over 50 years.

Yeah, it didn't seem like that big of an innovation to me. I mean, yeah, we all like more cheese. But Julie has done this before as well.

Holy crap! But her burgers didn't look like that!

Okay. Serious question.
Would you pick that place, or the Machine Shed you went to the other day?

Presentation is overrated! The taste is the thing.

Hmmm...tough call. I really liked the cinnamon rolls, and everything else was quality breakfast food at Machine Shed. However, I don't think it was different from any other quality breakfast place.

The burger was a unique item in that most places don't serve it that way. So I'd give them a couple of points for that. But it's not like it's THAT out of the ordinary. Maybe it depends on what you're in the mood for. In terms of the quality of the meal, I'd say I enjoyed them fairly equally. I know that's not helpful at all.

I can see that, actually.

These trips can be tiring.

You had me at BBQ.

That's usually all the justification I needed. I was thrilled when they opened a place in Delaware.

:laughing: I know! I did the same to a girl on her first day on the job solo... after driving from Winnipeg to WDW and back.

:rotfl: Never gets old!

:lmao:

Although, if he drains the cup, you'll have a better story.

This kid! :rotfl2:

:wave: Me! Me! Pick me!

I'm trying to spare you guys; I really am.
 
I don't remember Bruce Willis saying, "Ask anyone." I'm probably remembering it wrong.

Pretty sure it started with "A.S."

I don't know how Drew manages to stay in the bed, and I don't know how Dave managed to keep the family jewels intact.

How was the voice pitch?

Why does no one believe that part?

Shouldn't the question be "Why does anyone believe any of it?"

My kids had to do that. The teacher pointed them to a Youtube video where somebody had made up a song with the elements in order. And so we heard it over and over and over and over...

I'm sorry for your loss... of hearing.

Yep. I'm not going to talk about what he left on the couch, either.

Nice! A gift!

I was all for it, but Julie read the sign on the fence.

Rules are meant to be broken.

Well, sure. That's standard practice, right?

Yep.

That would be awesome to see polar bears in the wild! From a distance, of course. I would love that.

No.

Not from a distance.
This is relatively common:

54a495f2c06ab08c7db7b30ad98e54b5.jpg


While this is pretty much a given:

polarbears2-700x420.jpg


I haven't had much luck seeing any bears in the wild. Only saw one once, briefly, in the Smoky Mountains as a kid.

Of course I've seen tons of polar bears,
but the only brown bears I've seen were at the dump.
Not sure if that qualifies.

Wow! I don't know that I'd go that far out of my way for a Japanese garden, but they are certainly beautiful places.

Try this on for size.
Drove about 650 miles to a hotel (about 11 hours). Next day drove 100 miles to the garden (couple hours), spent a few hours, had dinner, went back the 100 miles to the hotel. Next day drove the 650 miles home.

Just to see the garden.

You know what's really cool? This is my local grocery store chain:

https://www.acmemarkets.com/#2

So, yes--I shop at Acme.

So... did you get the roller skates?

I wouldn't have been surprised if my boys were there long ago!

:laughing:

Hmmm...tough call. I really liked the cinnamon rolls, and everything else was quality breakfast food at Machine Shed. However, I don't think it was different from any other quality breakfast place.

The burger was a unique item in that most places don't serve it that way. So I'd give them a couple of points for that. But it's not like it's THAT out of the ordinary. Maybe it depends on what you're in the mood for. In terms of the quality of the meal, I'd say I enjoyed them fairly equally. I know that's not helpful at all.

Yeah it does.
I'm not going for breakfast, it'll be supper.
So if I'm near them both, I know which one to go to now.
 
It began with yet another edition of Sleeping With A Toddler, in which Dave got perhaps the worst luck of them all.

My mom used to tell me as a kid that sharing a bed with me was like sleeping with an egg beater. I think I'm starting to understand what she meant.

And yes, we came here mostly to pick up another cheap National Park passport stamp.

And here I thought you were there to make Dam jokes. :laughing:

I seem to remember having one of those stupid married couple fights over nothing with Julie where I was just being snippy because I couldn’t find a parking space and the kids were being ornery in the back seat and everything was irritating at the moment. As is always the case in these types of fights, the husband is wrong, because the marriage vows said so.

It's harder to recover from these when there isn't a husband. When one of the wives claims to be wrong, you'd think that would end the fight, but no, it escalates things every further. :sad2:

We thought this sign, posted on a rickety wire fence leaning at an angle 25 feet over the lion cage, was extraordinarily helpful:

But, but there's a ladder right there!

Karin was nice enough to take a photo of the family and got this one, which turned out to be one of the better family shots of the trip despite Drew picking his nose.

He does look rather proud of his proficiency!

Be vewy quiet. I’m hunting wabbits.

Great picture! At least Drew is being quiet!

I had hoped this would be our Christmas card shot. And it did end up making it as part of a collage.

I think it would have been an awesome Christmas Card!

After donning the appropriate headgear, the kids went into a cave where they could load “dynamite” into strategically-placed holes in the rock, and then move back to push a “detonator” in the style of a Wile E. Coyote-style plunger, and then set off “explosions”.

Cool!

It was kind of scary how efficient they were at building bombs. Clearly, they had all practiced this somewhere before. I believe they managed to make over 300 in about 10 minutes.

You better not let Homeland Security get ahold of that information.

This is one of the homes of the “Juicy Lucy”, a Minneapolis burger creation featuring melted cheese cooked inside the hamburger patty.

I've put cheese in the middle of a burger before, but it never came out that cheesy. Looks good, but I'd have to order it without the ketchup. I'm one of those West Coasters who likes mayo or Thousand Island.

I did manage to get a shot of Chicago after we took off from a layover in Midway Airport:

Brings back memories for me 10 years ago this summer, we spent a week there.

Drew demonstrated the effects of spending two weeks strapped into a car seat.

He looks so mature and contemplative.

….and Drew happened.

What was he thinking? That he could drink from his bellybutton?

are any of you interested in a TR for our spring break trip to Texas and New Mexico? Anyone?

::yes:: :wave:
 
Well Liesa has already posted the first update, I have one more to go before I start posting. And I guess @pkondz will be copying off our homeork! :laughing:

I may actually find time to post another one someday too.
:rolleyes2


Great! I can cut-and-paste my replies from @Steppesister 's TR!

Awesome! Glad to have provided the opportunity to save you some time.


Well, this was a dam good update!!!!


He's got a good thing going. Set for life now in sole bed rights!


Finger lickin' good!



You've got the finger lickin' good theme down pat.

Clearly, they had all practiced this somewhere before. I believe they managed to make over 300 in about 10 minutes.

Nice work, boys!

Even better, we were able to find an authentic hand-painted Chuck Jones cel in the gift shop as a Christmas gift for Sarah, our budding Imagineer.

Score!!!! That is a VERY nice gift!

:banana:


Wrong port!
 
Anyway, it’s time to wrap up this TR with our final day in the Midwest. It began with yet another edition of Sleeping With A Toddler, in which Dave got perhaps the worst luck of them all.
No. Just no. Poor Dave...

This is a man-made dam the provided hydroelectric power to the city as well as a lock that allowed ships to traverse some rapids in the river. Now it’s a nice little dam riverfront park and was the temporary dam home of the Mississippi National River visitor center while their main building was under renovation.
I see what you did there...censors....

This old mill building was refurbished to hold a history museum. Looked like it would be a neat place to visit.
Too bad it was being demolished when you were there :laughing:

At this point in the trip, we were all pretty tired and grumpy and I seem to remember having one of those stupid married couple fights over nothing with Julie where I was just being snippy because I couldn’t find a parking space and the kids were being ornery in the back seat and everything was irritating at the moment. As is always the case in these types of fights, the husband is wrong, because the marriage vows said so.
Really? Gee, I can't say I have ever experienced something like this... :rolleyes1

We thought this sign, posted on a rickety wire fence leaning at an angle 25 feet over the lion cage, was extraordinarily helpful:
Well, I suppose they could have put some more branches over it to make it even more "helpful".

Jones is best known as the artist who gave life to many of the best-remembered episodes of Looney Tunes, starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and of course, Road-Runner and Wile E. Coyote. The exhibit featured art, scripts, hand-drawn cels, and many video clips of his best work. I could have watched those for hours. It’s fantastic. Seriously, try watching the Bugs/Daffy episode “Duck Amuck” while keeping a straight face. Impossible. It’s lunacy at its finest.
Very cool. I enjoyed Looney Tunes growing up (still do I guess). I remember one birthday (maybe my 8th?) my dad brought a movie projector back form his school (he was a teacher) and my parents had bought some Looney Tunes films, the little 8mm film reel, this was pre-VCR days. So I showed Looney Tunes films at my house for my birthday and I thought I was "Da Bomb!" or "the shizzle" or whatever the kids say these days to make themselves sound cool.

I don't think my kids really know much about Looney Tunes these days. Kid of sad....

Here, the kids had to team up on an assembly line and build bombs for the war effort. The four of them moved like a finely-tuned machine. It was kind of scary how efficient they were at building bombs. Clearly, they had all practiced this somewhere before. I believe they managed to make over 300 in about 10 minutes.
Well, it would seem they have a fall back plan if school doesn't work out.

This is one of the homes of the “Juicy Lucy”, a Minneapolis burger creation featuring melted cheese cooked inside the hamburger patty.
That looks awesome. I tried doing that once but all the cheese oozed out and made a mess. Clearly there is a trick to it.

Drew demonstrated the effects of spending two weeks strapped into a car seat.
I foresee that he may also look like this after spending a long night in college one of these days.

At the end of this trip, we were able to add 8 new states to our map. So, at the end of summer 2016, Sarah, David and Scott had now set foot in 40 out of 50 states. And Drew, in less than three years of life, had already covered 28. After our Hilton Head getaway in November, Drew was up to 30. We’re getting close to actually pulling this off!
That's very impressive. Good luck to the rest! (How is Alaska going?!)

Final thoughts on the trip and my standard Poor Man’s PTR for the next one! And I guess I’ll ask now—are any of you interested in a TR for our spring break trip to Texas and New Mexico? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
I'm up for it! I spent some time in Texas, so it would be interesting to see if we visited the same places.
 
At this point in the trip, we were all pretty tired and grumpy and I seem to remember having one of those stupid married couple fights over nothing with Julie where I was just being snippy because I couldn’t find a parking space and the kids were being ornery in the back seat and everything was irritating at the moment. As is always the case in these types of fights, the husband is wrong, because the marriage vows said so. Also, I actually was wrong in this case. First mistake of the year. So I eventually apologized for being a jerk and we re-set our attitudes for the day.

I don't know what this is like at all! :rolleyes:

They even had a periodic sea lion show.

Okay, I give up...what's a periodic sea lion?

Our final stop of the vacation was for dinner at the 5-8 Club south of the city. This is one of the homes of the “Juicy Lucy”, a Minneapolis burger creation featuring melted cheese cooked inside the hamburger patty. The 5-8 Club is locked into a bitter dispute with Matt’s Bar as to who officially invented this burger. We’d seen it featured on a couple of Travel Channel shows and figured we needed to try it out before leaving town.

Ah yes, I've seen that show a couple of times. (You can tell there isn't much on tv when you watch the Juicy Lucy episode twice.)

I did manage to get a shot of Chicago after we took off from a layover in Midway Airport:

Wait, how far is it from Minneapolis to Midway airport??

And I guess I’ll ask now—are any of you interested in a TR for our spring break trip to Texas and New Mexico? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

:wave:
 
THOSE AREN'T PILLOWS.

+1:thumbsup2 I was waiting for someone to make that reference.

A. Aren't you always wrong? and B. First mistake of the year?

A. According to some people, and B. why does everyone have trouble believing that?

That is one of those "Don't push this button" signs.

::yes::

Agreed. Many hours of enjoyment watching his work when I was kid. OK, even as an adult.

Chuck Jones never gets old! I've enjoyed introducing my kids to the joys of Looney Tunes.

Now that is cool. You have me a little worried though, first your kids launch a nuclear attack and now are blowing up caves.

Would you really expect anything different?

Calling you the Griswalds from now on.

Honestly, you're not far off.

Housekeeping: I'll send you a PM this week on the Everglades trip.

Sounds like a plan!

Ha! The virtual dynamite and the "help the war" assembly line sound really cool. I was going to say "bomb" assembly line, but then realized that could sound really bad if I were ever investigated for something and this post was found. And now I've gone ahead and said the word "bomb" anyway. Whoops.

Really, anything with explosions usually counts as a win in our book. We're not hard to figure out that way. Tell the authorities I said hello!

So what is the color code for pins on the above map?

Blue = Place we've spent the night
Red = Significant place visited/significant amount of time spent in this location
Yellow = Julie and me traveling w/o kids

Also, seeing as your kids (most of them) have covered 40 states, I'm somewhat impressed that I can say I have been to five your kids have not! (TN [?? - That one pin is super close to TN], AL, OK, WA, and OR.)

The big kids actually have been in Tennessee--we drove through on one trip down south. We'll be picking up the deep south this summer. If all goes as planned, we'll be up to 47 states by the end of the summer with only Oregon, Washington, and Alaska to go.

Wow... one small move and that will be a painful way to wake up.

It makes you cringe just looking at it, doesn't it?

Oh... that's disappointing. I thought you went there mostly to make more dam jokes.

Well, that pretty much goes without saying. They never get old!

Way to man up and admit you were being a *******... :rolleyes1

Like I said, first mistake of the year. I made it to July.:rolleyes1

And he looks awfully proud of it too!

Must've found some gold!

No!!!! I don't wanna go!!!!

Same reaction as when we leave Disney.

Ok... this is cool. But I think I'd rather have Wile E Coyote type detonations. You know, the big spectacular kind where you blow things up over and over yet nobody gets hurt.

If you can actually pull that off, I wholeheartedly agree.

Awesome gift!

We thought so!:thumbsup2

That looks amazing...

Mmm...melty cheese...

What? No drooling Homers?

Sorry. Sometimes I forget.

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Hey, Ryder can drink that way... :rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:
 

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