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

[pkondz]

In the interest of not wasting your time, I’m going to blitz through the rest of our Hilton Head diversion in this update

Thank goodness


er... I mean... You're not wasting our time!

We really did a whole lot of nothing on our last full day and I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m going to struggle to make it seem interesting.

Nothing wrong with doing nothing when you're on vacation.
Sure, it may not be stellar TR material, but... sometimes you have to sacrifice the good of the many for the selfishness of the one.

One might wonder why I didn’t recognize this fact sooner when it came to, oh, just about any part of my previous trip reports.

Because you're an excellent TR writer and you can make staring at a blank wall entertaining.


Got it?

We slept in once again (read: 7:00 a.m.)

i.e. you have small kids. Totally get this.

Or got this.

and our friends spoiled us rotten with yet another Giant Bag O’ Bacon. We are indebted to them forever.

You can't go wrong with bacon.



never.

I think we picked this course because it had a couple of holes in and on top of a big fake cave

Only the best mini-golf courses have them.

It’s a little hard to see Drew in the shadows in this photo, but he’s bending over next to the hole. Drew can’t be bothered to waste time playing golf as it’s meant to be played. He has no interest in tee shots, approach shots, or strategy. Drew likes to pick up the ball, walk to the hold, place the ball next to the hole, and then knock it in. He shot a course record 18 for the day.

I hope you got a plaque for him or something!

So, if you’re keeping track, we refuse to give our kids free s’mores at the campfire but do pay extra for tye-dye shirts.

Sure. Makes total sense.
One you can convince your kids to skip, the other you must bow before the pressure.

It’s this kind of crackerjack decision-making that has led us to be the envy of parents worldwide.

Yup. You're very well known in Canada at least.
Your name comes up quite often. Usually accompanied by an eye-roll.

Meanwhile, back at the room, I got Drew down for a nap and then did something wild, crazy, and completely out of character. In fact, I don’t know if this has ever happened before on an Oblivious Family Vacation. You are hereby witness to history. Are you sitting down?


I took a nap, myself. It was nice.

I knew it! I hadn't even gotten to the end of the first line and I thought "He's gonna take a nap too."

I woke up in time to go out on the balcony and see everyone enjoying the horseshoe pits below.

Was it "woke up in time to go out on the balcony and see everyone enjoying the horseshoe pits below" or was it "was woken up by an infernal clanging sound and went out on the balcony to yell at everyone playing horseshoes"?

After they returned, the kids got changed and we headed up to the swimming pool. They wanted to test out the CM’s claims about the water being heated. I did not go in. I remembered that the air was not, in fact, heated, and wasn’t ready to test the limits of my endurance

Wuss.
Real men go in... and then have to re-live the whole "I was in the pool!" scene later.

It looked nice from the outside, though.

Actually... it does!

All of the kids had a good time in the pool. And the adults were quite happy outside of it.

They sure look happy. Great shot!

Awww.... Even better shot.

We just ordered pizza to the room so we wouldn’t have to attempt to go anywhere with six kids.

Takes the easy way out again.


you're really letting everyone down here. just so you know.

This was Drew’s first meet-up with a Disney character. Thankfully, he wasn’t freaked out and did really well.

Good! I remember one of our DD's first time (not a Disney character though.)

Tuesday was my birthday, and we chose to celebrate by driving 7.5 hours (not including stops) to Virginia Beach. I didn’t want to drive all the way back home, which would have been a huge haul, but finding a place to stop along the way became a problem. If I’d stayed somewhere along the I-95 corridor, I would have had to drive home the next day on I-95—and that would have been the day before Thanksgiving, one of the worst travel days of the year. Driving a little longer to Virginia Beach gave us an alternate route to Delaware along US 13, which would be much less crowded.

Huh. Never would've thought of that. Especially with your Thanksgiving being in the wrong month and all.

Also, I could get an oceanfront hotel cheaply in the offseason for my birthday.

Score.

We went inside and got some free coffee in the lobby. Our friends were disappointed, however, as they had been hoping for more hot apple cider. So a CM took it upon himself to run all the way down to the snack bar (near the pool) to get them cups of hot cider. Yeah, they’re sold on Disney magic now.

Now that is good customer service!

Drew had suckered convinced his parents to buy a stuffed Pluto in the gift shop after meeting him the night before, so he made sure his Pluto was well-fed.

Totally worth the $832 you paid for it!

We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express (because cinnamon rolls)

Excellent reason.

I ended up getting a Texas Brisket burger, mostly so I could have BBQ and a burger together.

How was it?!?!?!

I think I was more taken with Sarah’s decision to order BBQ Brisket Nachos from the appetizer menu as her meal. I remember my teenage days when I used to be able to eat like that. Good times.

So that's what that is. It looks like chili & cheese fries (or what we call 'Greek' here.)
And did she like that???

The Virginia Beach Christmas light display was up on the boardwalk, so we chose to drive through. They close off the boardwalk for several blocks and line the drive with Christmas lights. For a small fee, drivers can drive right on the boardwalk and enjoy the display. They even have a radio station playing Christmas music you can listen to as you drive. It was a nice way to cap the evening.

Nice! That really is a nice way to cap off the evening.

No Christmas light display is complete without Horace, the Christmas Dinosaur.

Goes well with the nativity scene.

Don’t believe me about our view: Here is the sunrise the next morning:

Beautiful.

The most interesting part of the drive was at the start: to cross the Chesapeake Bay, we had to drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It’s a 17-mile combination of bridges and two tunnels that crosses the bay from Virginia to the Delmarva Peninsula and a fairly significant engineering achievement.

Cool!

The tunnels are present to allow shipping to move from the bay to the ocean without interruption. This gives you the unique opportunity to drive along a bridge and see a ship crossing directly in front of you, appearing to block your path. It’s hard to see in this photo, but a ship was crossing the tunnel at that particular moment.

I see it. That is really cool. A very cool feat of engineering.

I have yet to stay at a Disney resort where I didn’t feel like there was something special about the place that made it rise above your standard resort. This place felt special, too. I would still rank Aulani, the Wilderness Lodge, and the Animal Kingdom Lodge higher among my personal favorite Disney resorts. But after that top 3…this one might be next.

Whoa. That's very high praise.

Hope this little South Carolina diversion was worth it to you!

Actually... yeah! it was!

 

[pkondz]

Well, look at that. I distracted you long enough with that Hilton Head side-story to get through the mind-numbing drive that is I-80 in Nebraska. You’re welcome.

Truly, this was an impressive gift to all mankind.

We found ourselves parked next to The Old Spaghetti Works.

Any restaurant with the word "Spaghetti" in it is worth visiting.

Well... maybe not if it's "We serve everything except spaghetti".

The Old Market is the historic district of the city, and maintains its character with cobblestone streets, preserved historic buildings and even some covered sidewalks. The neighborhood has a lot of character, making it a nice stop for weary travelers.

Looks nice.

Sometimes you just get in the mood for an old-school Italian meal, where one dish could feed three people. I had my go-to dish, chicken parmesan. Very tasty.

Looks really good too. How was the spaghetti?

While we were dining, a woman came around making balloon animals for kids at various tables. Now I ask you parents out there, if someone comes to your table and offers your kids balloon animals, is there any way you can possibly say no?

Yeah. "Go away, we're trying to eat."

Well, sure there is. You just say, “No.” It’s not quantum physics. Stand your ground and say, “No.” If you want to be polite, you can say, “No, thank you.” What, do you need a flowchart or something?

Well, I already know how... but I want to see the flowchart anyway.

I liked Dave’s fish on a pole the best.

Alas, poor Spidey was decapitated in the van shortly after this photo was taken.

Green Goblin I'm betting.

But we never admit defeat in this family—we give lame excuses instead.

we found a parking space next to a National Park HQ building that was definitely signed EMPLOYEES ONLY. VIOLATORS WILL BE TOWED.

Curious to see how this turns out.
Tempting the fates are we?

In our quest to get to all 50 states, this was our best chance to cross Iowa off the list. Just as a refresher, our rule in order to take credit for visiting a state is that our feet must touch the soil in the state. This rule is in place basically to keep us from taking credit for airport layovers in which we never leave the terminal building. Now, this still means some states (like Iowa) can get short shrift, but at least it requires us to physically cross the border and get out of a car.

Actually... that's not bad.
May adopt that in the future.

You might think this is too big of a loophole, and that we can’t really say we’ve “visited” the state. And in the sense of truly getting a taste of Iowa, I can’t argue with you. All I can say is, cut us some slack. This is a huge country, and we’re based on the East Coast with a limited budget. It’s hard to pull this off. And you can’t say we weren’t physically in the state.

Nope. I totally support this.

Cool! I hadn't realized in the first photo that it was curved.

In a particularly genius moment, we’d decided that Drew needed to stretch his legs and had left his stroller in the van.

Uh, oh...

There’s a helpful line drawn at the center of the span to show where you cross the border into Iowa.

Probably exactingly drawn.

"Fred? Where'd'ja want that there line drawn in?"
"Welllll... I'm eyeballin' it and I figure right around where ya'll are standin' is alright."

This tragic photo depicts the exact moment a family abandoned their young son in Nebraska while they were crossing into Iowa.

Looking at that photo, you might be curious to know what it feels like to stand in two states at the same moment in time. I’d say it mostly feels like you’re being crowded by other people trying to take the same dumb touristy photo as you.

Here’s the view from the other side, offered as proof that yes, we actually were in Iowa. Cross another state off the list!

Proof? Nope. Not buying it. I think you just walked past the bridge and took the shot from the other side. Same State, different angle.

“Sucker!”

We got in the van and tried to dry off as best we could. Thankfully, there was no parking ticket on the windshield.

"But there was a boot on the tire."

How did you get that off, anyway?

Coming Up Next: I’m serious. You haven’t lived until you’ve done this.

This sounds interesting!
Looking forward to it.

 

[Allison Joy]

Joining in, enjoying your report so far! I live in St Louis so I can't wait to see what you thought about STL! We are definitely a baseball town! We try to make a couple games each summer but it does get pricey... we usually buy the $15 promo tickets that come with a free hot dog & soft drink.

We did the drive out to Colorado and South Dakota last summer and it was a long trek down the Iowa/Nebraska border to get back to St Louis! We stopped at the same bridge so we could cross Nebraska off our list!

Woohoo! St. Louisians (And Cardinal fans) unite. I'm tempted to ask you the classic St. Louis question.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

You've probably already covered this, but...you're not going to even mention the Cinderella carriage?!

I wanted to see who would notice. Liesa was the first one to call it out. Clearly, Cinderella enjoys Omaha.

That looks really cool! Now I feel stupid for throwing out our old toilet when we remodeled our bathroom.

Seems appropriate for a salad bar!

Like what you did when they were handing out free s'mores at Hilton Head.

Right. Pretty slick.

It was Hulk who did it, wasn't it? I can see him reaching for Spidey in the picture.

It does look like that! I think Drew is the real super villain here.

That's a great motto! Movie quote?

Nope, that one is 100% Oblivious.

Well technically, you are an employee. Just not of that place.

Good point. I bet the cop would've totally bought it.

Let's just say that some states deserve short shrift.

You were edging right up to a Delaware joke there, weren't you?

You've been to more states than he has, but he's the only one who can say he delivered a pizza to Iowa.

Why do you even bother to post stuff like that?
It's painfully obvious that you did indeed eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Gotta keep you on your toes.

Nah. Not buying it.

I believe you had a fridge... the sandwich part is unbelievable.

Hey, a ham sandwich is an EVENT in this family. I had to share.

Depends on your definition.
This:

Is not a cute dog.
That is a toilet bowl cleaner.

Or a puntable, depending on your preference.

I can't NOT see a toilet brush now. I always thought cats were for punting.

Nah. I buy it.

Well, that was easy.

Huh! That's a pretty cool talent to have, actually.

He was really good! I enjoyed his company.

awww....

How much slapping happened afterwards?

Hey, I wasn't kissing the other girls.

I'd be interested... if we still had a VCR.
Never have seen it. And I'd like to.

I saw it years and years ago. Can't say I remember much, to be honest. But yeah, no VCR for me either.

Aw... I remember being pretty shy around that age.
Mostly with girls.

Me too. He comes by it honestly.

Sure. Parenting 101.

What?
Parenting fail.

Just add it to my tab.

Or who knows. Maybe he'll remember listening and be inspired.
You just never know what will do it.

Hopefully he'll come out of his shell. I used to be ultra-cautious like that, but I've learned the hard way to try and avoid having regrets later.

Hardly even. Come on. Who are you trying to kid.
You're obviously hopelessly outmatched.

This was just before I flipped the game board in anger.

Anything? More putting?

Well, except that.

Daddy's boy obviously.

I'm so proud! (sniffle)

That's a talent in and of itself, isn't it?

He has one job. He is paid to catch footballs. And he does not catch them.

Not bitter at all. Good for you.

Well, I am a Philadelphia sports fan.

Looks pretty good though. How was the mac 'n' cheese?

Pretty good! I liked the meal. Just not the best bbq I've ever had.

They look absolutely horrified.

It's hard to look angry at a campfire.

Don't you hate how inviting it looks?
Must be what a fly sees when he looks at a Venus Flytrap.

Great analogy! You just can't help but go in.

Can't wait! I wonder when you'll post it!!!



oh.

You came through with a Herculean effort to catch up. Nice work!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Thank goodness


er... I mean... You're not wasting our time!

Uh huh. Just as I thought.

Nothing wrong with doing nothing when you're on vacation.
Sure, it may not be stellar TR material, but... sometimes you have to sacrifice the good of the many for the selfishness of the one.

I'm gonna have to steal that one sometime. Once in a while, you just need to collapse.

Because you're an excellent TR writer and you can make staring at a blank wall entertaining.


Got it?

Wow, thank you! I appreciate that. And the check's in the mail.

You really don't want to test that blank wall theory, though, do you?

i.e. you have small kids. Totally get this.

Or got this.

Exactly. I know I can't complain about lack of sleep when you're around.

You can't go wrong with bacon.



never.

Rules of Life.

Only the best mini-golf courses have them.

No windmills, though. They're too cliche.

I hope you got a plaque for him or something!

What an achievement! He gets his cheating skills from Mommy.

Sure. Makes total sense.
One you can convince your kids to skip, the other you must bow before the pressure.

Hey, you explained it better than I did! You're hired!

Yup. You're very well known in Canada at least.
Your name comes up quite often. Usually accompanied by an eye-roll.

Just like my daughter! I didn't know she was Canadian.

I knew it! I hadn't even gotten to the end of the first line and I thought "He's gonna take a nap too."

Uh oh. I'm getting predictable. Except for the ham and cheese sandwiches.

Was it "woke up in time to go out on the balcony and see everyone enjoying the horseshoe pits below" or was it "was woken up by an infernal clanging sound and went out on the balcony to yell at everyone playing horseshoes"?

You guys really think I'm a cranky ol' b------d, don't you? Well, you're probably right.

Wuss.
Real men go in... and then have to re-live the whole "I was in the pool!" scene later.

You Canadians and your complete lack of regard for normal temperature ranges.

Actually... it does!

I bet it's nice in summer.

They sure look happy. Great shot!

Thanks! Can't believe they were all looking at me.

Awww.... Even better shot.

We don't get too many with the two of us.

Takes the easy way out again.


you're really letting everyone down here. just so you know.

As the Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley once said, "Get used to disappointment."

Good! I remember one of our DD's first time (not a Disney character though.)

Did it involve projectile vomiting? It did, didn't it?

Huh. Never would've thought of that. Especially with your Thanksgiving being in the wrong month and all.

Hey, our Thanksgiving was there first! I think.

Now that is good customer service!

Disney. They're the masters.

Totally worth the $832 you paid for it!

Every penny!

Excellent reason.

Cinnamon rolls justify a lot of things.

How was it?!?!?!

Really good! That was an excellent burger joint. I'd go back, for sure.

So that's what that is. It looks like chili & cheese fries (or what we call 'Greek' here.)
And did she like that???

Loved it! Couldn't quite finish it, though.

Nice! That really is a nice way to cap off the evening.

Yeah, you could do much worse.

Goes well with the nativity scene.

Doesn't it? Just puts you in that Christmas spirit.

I see it. That is really cool. A very cool feat of engineering.

It really is! Neat solution to the problem.

Whoa. That's very high praise.

We really loved it there. It felt like a true getaway.

Actually... yeah! it was!

Whew! That's a relief!

Truly, this was an impressive gift to all mankind.

You've driven in the Midwest before. You know how badly a distraction is needed.

Any restaurant with the word "Spaghetti" in it is worth visiting.

Well... maybe not if it's "We serve everything except spaghetti".

I can get on board with that. Man Law!

Looks really good too. How was the spaghetti?

Pretty good! I mean, it's a side dish here, so it was fine.

Yeah. "Go away, we're trying to eat."

Ah, I see we have an expert here.

Well, I already know how... but I want to see the flowchart anyway.

I walked into that one. I'll work on it, but it might take a while. A loooooonnnggg while.

Green Goblin I'm betting.

Drew has the perfect disguise as a cute kid. He's the villain! I'm sure of it!

Curious to see how this turns out.
Tempting the fates are we?

More like giving up on finding anything else.

Actually... that's not bad.
May adopt that in the future.

Cool!

Nope. I totally support this.

Awesome. I was expecting more pushback.

Cool! I hadn't realized in the first photo that it was curved.

I had the same reaction. Didn't realize it until I walked up there.

Probably exactingly drawn.

"Fred? Where'd'ja want that there line drawn in?"
"Welllll... I'm eyeballin' it and I figure right around where ya'll are standin' is alright."

You're probably more right than you know.

This tragic photo depicts the exact moment a family abandoned their young son in Nebraska while they were crossing into Iowa.

Proof? Nope. Not buying it. I think you just walked past the bridge and took the shot from the other side. Same State, different angle.

But...you can see the National Park building! On the other side! No Photoshop, I promise!

"But there was a boot on the tire."

How did you get that off, anyway?

Told the kids they could have frozen custard at Culver's if they got rid of it.

This sounds interesting!
Looking forward to it.

I think you'll like this one.

Woohoo! St. Louisians (And Cardinal fans) unite. I'm tempted to ask you the classic St. Louis question.

Ok, I gotta bite. What's the classic St. Louis question?

 

[Allison Joy]

Ok, I gotta bit. What's the classic St. Louis question?

Hehe "Where did you go to high school?" It tells you where they grew up, and... well... pretty much any demographic type information can be assumed from there. There's that aspect, and the fact that despite St. Louis being a major metro area, it has kind of a small town feel to it at times, and there's the whole "Oh, do you know such and such?" questions, and... yeah. Most people who live in the area grew up in the area too, even if they've moved around, or went away to college.

 

[pkondz]

Gotta keep you on your toes.

I'll borrow Elle's pointe shoes.

Hey, a ham sandwich is an EVENT in this family. I had to share.

I can't NOT see a toilet brush now. I always thought cats were for punting.

Uh, oh. Hope orangecats2 doesn't see that.

Hey, I wasn't kissing the other girls.

Interesting. I never said it was you.

But you went there anyway.

Hmmmmm....

Hopefully he'll come out of his shell. I used to be ultra-cautious like that, but I've learned the hard way to try and avoid having regrets later.

This was just before I flipped the game board in anger.

I believe you!

It's hard to look angry at a campfire.

Truth.

I'm gonna have to steal that one sometime. Once in a while, you just need to collapse.

Oh... I know.

Wow, thank you! I appreciate that. And the check's in the mail.

You really don't want to test that blank wall theory, though, do you?

Give it a try. I'll let you know.

Exactly. I know I can't complain about lack of sleep when you're around.

Sorry... dozed off. What were we talking about?

No windmills, though. They're too cliche.

so 60s.

Just like my daughter! I didn't know she was Canadian.

Tuque's in the mail.

You guys really think I'm a cranky ol' b------d, don't you? Well, you're probably right.

Yup.

You Canadians and your complete lack of regard for normal temperature ranges.

What are you talking about?
We love normal temperature ranges. -40 to +40.

Fahrenheit.

Did it involve projectile vomiting? It did, didn't it?

No. Just screaming and face hiding.
The usual.

Hey, our Thanksgiving was there first! I think.

The first Thanksgiving service known to be held by Europeans in North America occurred on May 27, 1578 in Newfoundland, Canada.

Loved it! Couldn't quite finish it, though.

No surprise. Looked huge.

You've driven in the Midwest before. You know how badly a distraction is needed.

Oh, yeah. Trust me... I know.

I walked into that one. I'll work on it, but it might take a while. A loooooonnnggg while.

I'll give you 48 hours.

Drew has the perfect disguise as a cute kid. He's the villain! I'm sure of it!

But...you can see the National Park building! On the other side! No Photoshop, I promise!

Nah. Still not buying it.

Told the kids they could have frozen custard at Culver's if they got rid of it.

That'll work. Nothing more destructive than a small child.

 

[GoofyFan1515]

But he didn’t play a note. He just wouldn’t do it. So, we chained him to the chair without any supper.

Father of the Year stuff right there!

As you can see, my kids hated it and begged to leave.

Especially that big kid on the left side of the picture.........

All in all, a very relaxing, enjoyable do-nothing day at the resort.

One of the great things about HHIR!

Drew likes to pick up the ball, walk to the hold, place the ball next to the hole, and then knock it in. He shot a course record 18 for the day.

Been watching Dad play has he???

We did some early –evening family photos near the playground.

That's a great picture!

We had dinner at a place called Lager Heads, a burger joint on the boardwalk. They had some neat combinations on the menu and good burgers. I ended up getting a Texas Brisket burger, mostly so I could have BBQ and a burger together.

Can't beat THAT!!!

I have yet to stay at a Disney resort where I didn’t feel like there was something special about the place that made it rise above your standard resort. This place felt special, too. I would still rank Aulani, the Wilderness Lodge, and the Animal Kingdom Lodge higher among my personal favorite Disney resorts. But after that top 3…this one might be next.

Can't argue that reasoning.......

Your pasta looked good, and for knocking Iowa off your visited list!

 

[franandaj]

Now I want Italian food. Everything you guys ate looks really good!

Good job on standing in two states at once! Drew sure gets away with murder! First he's got his pizza and now he won't stand in two states!

Then he plays you for a free ride back to the car!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hehe "Where did you go to high school?" It tells you where they grew up, and... well... pretty much any demographic type information can be assumed from there. There's that aspect, and the fact that despite St. Louis being a major metro area, it has kind of a small town feel to it at times, and there's the whole "Oh, do you know such and such?" questions, and... yeah. Most people who live in the area grew up in the area too, even if they've moved around, or went away to college.

Ah, I see. Well, imagine that kind of feeling translating to an entire state, and you have an idea of what it's like to live in Delaware!

I'll borrow Elle's pointe shoes.

Sounds very uncomfortable.

Uh, oh. Hope orangecats2 doesn't see that.

Interesting. I never said it was you.

But you went there anyway.

Hmmmmm....

It was heavily implied.

Oh... I know.

How many times do you collapse per day, on average?

Give it a try. I'll let you know.

Well, I did describe some of those long midwest drives. That's basically like staring at a blank wall.

Sorry... dozed off. What were we talking about?

I don't remember, either.

Tuque's in the mail.

Gesundheit.

What are you talking about?
We love normal temperature ranges. -40 to +40.

Fahrenheit.

Look, I know everybody hates moving, but it can be done.

No. Just screaming and face hiding.
The usual.

That's like an everyday occurrence around here.

The first Thanksgiving service known to be held by Europeans in North America occurred on May 27, 1578 in Newfoundland, Canada.

Oh, yeah. Trust me... I know.

There's that blank wall again.

I'll give you 48 hours.

I think I already blew this deadline.

That'll work. Nothing more destructive than a small child.

Especially one that is motivated by ice cream!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Father of the Year stuff right there!

Darn right! That's one vote. Anybody else?

Especially that big kid on the left side of the picture.........

One of the great things about HHIR!

It was such a nice place to stay!

Been watching Dad play has he???

Hey, we have to finish sometime. If we keep playing by the rules, we'll never get the ball in the hole.

That's a great picture!

Can't beat THAT!!!

Mmmm...cow....

Can't argue that reasoning.......

Now we need to go back!

Your pasta looked good, and for knocking Iowa off your visited list!

Maybe someday we'll go back and explore more. Maybe.

Now I want Italian food. Everything you guys ate looks really good!

Hard to beat Italian food!

Good job on standing in two states at once! Drew sure gets away with murder! First he's got his pizza and now he won't stand in two states!

Then he plays you for a free ride back to the car!

It's that "spoiled youngest child" thing. We're just too tired to fight anymore.

 

[pkondz]

Sounds very uncomfortable.

I may... may have broken her shoes.

It was heavily implied.

It was heavily read between the lines.

How many times do you collapse per day, on average?

Not as often as you might think.

Well, I did describe some of those long midwest drives. That's basically like staring at a blank wall.

Oh, God. Yeah........

Look, I know everybody hates moving, but it can be done.

Can you change your electoral process first?

That's like an everyday occurrence around here.

I've seen your photo. So... not surprised.

I know. There, there. It hurts, doesn't it?

Especially one that is motivated by ice cream!

 

[afwdwfan]

Dinner hit the spot very nicely. Sometimes you just get in the mood for an old-school Italian meal, where one dish could feed three people.

I'm pretty much in the mood for that meal just about all the time.

Drew seemed especially proud of his Spider-man. Alas, poor Spidey was decapitated in the van shortly after this photo was taken.

Oh no! Poor Spidey. No mention of a Drew meltdown, so apparently he takes balloon figure dismemberment better than my kids would.

We had a hard time finding a parking space, due to the fact that both the College World Series and the U.S. Olympic Trials were being held in Omaha that week

Who planned this trip?

It looked like it would provide two crucial benefits to us: 1) it looked like a nice place to hang out and let the kids run around for a bit, and 2) it gave us a cheap way to set foot in Iowa.

Nobody's better at finding cheap ways to set foot in another state than you!

You might think this is too big of a loophole, and that we can’t really say we’ve “visited” the state. And in the sense of truly getting a taste of Iowa, I can’t argue with you. All I can say is, cut us some slack. This is a huge country, and we’re based on the East Coast with a limited budget. It’s hard to pull this off. And you can’t say we weren’t physically in the state.

I'll allow it. You were physically there. Loophole or not, you can't argue with it. If you were there, you were there.

Looking at that photo, you might be curious to know what it feels like to stand in two states at the same moment in time. I’d say it mostly feels like you’re being crowded by other people trying to take the same dumb touristy photo as you.

Actually, looking at that photo, I'm wondering what that guy on the bike is thinking about all these morons blocking the bridge so he can't get through.

“Sucker!”

Drew knows how to play the system.

We got in the van and tried to dry off as best we could. Thankfully, there was no parking ticket on the windshield.

And more importantly... the van was where you left it.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I may... may have broken her shoes.

If she's like my wife, she probably has 49 more pairs.

It was heavily read between the lines.

But that's what we do on the internet!

Not as often as you might think.

Good for you! Less snow shoveling these days?

Can you change your electoral process first?

I don't know how to answer this without getting kicked off the DISboards!

I've seen your photo. So... not surprised.

Yep. Accurate.

I know. There, there. It hurts, doesn't it?

It does. It really does.

I'm pretty much in the mood for that meal just about all the time.

Can't blame you there. Me too.

Oh no! Poor Spidey. No mention of a Drew meltdown, so apparently he takes balloon figure dismemberment better than my kids would.

Well, Drew was responsible for the dismemberment, so there was less disappointment. He's good at destroying Lego builds, too.

Who planned this trip?

Obviously an amateur.

Nobody's better at finding cheap ways to set foot in another state than you!

Thanks!



Wait a minute...

I'll allow it. You were physically there. Loophole or not, you can't argue with it. If you were there, you were there.

Whew. Dodged a bullet there.

Actually, looking at that photo, I'm wondering what that guy on the bike is thinking about all these morons blocking the bridge so he can't get through.

If he's a regular there, he probably sees it all the time.

Drew knows how to play the system.

Truth. It's that spoiled youngest kid thing.

And more importantly... the van was where you left it.

Yeah, that's kind of a big deal.

 

[Steppesister]

I was wondering who would notice that!

Well, a princess does tend to notice things like that.

One, actually. It goes along with the job of Fun Police.

oh, I see how this is...

Only an ogre! Or maybe Barry.

Of course not! When have my instincts ever failed us?

When you thought driving through Nebraska might be fun.

But the COUNTY??? Seriously? That's just...wow.

I know. Unbelievably, they've never been to our beaches- only an 75 minute drive away. The good news, is that Mike and my kids are taking the girl (12) on their road trip this week to the Jedidiah State Park to see the big trees, Cape Arago and Crater Lake. So at least she'll see SOMETHING fun soon.

Getting away with murder, huh? It feels unavoidable.

It kinda does. But, age breeds a defeatist's attitude at times, no?

 

[afwdwfan]

Ok... I've been seeing these AT&T commercials on TV over the last couple of days. Every time I see them, it reminds me of your skills when it comes to using movie quotes.

 

[pkondz]

If she's like my wife, she probably has 49 more pairs.

Nope. Not those.
Maybe... 2?

Good for you! Less snow shoveling these days?

Yes, thank God.

I don't know how to answer this without getting kicked off the DISboards!

Probably no way.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Ok... I've been seeing these AT&T commercials on TV over the last couple of days. Every time I see them, it reminds me of your skills when it comes to using movie quotes.

Yeah, I've seen those. Should I be ashamed to say I was calling out the responses before he said them?

Nope. Not those.
Maybe... 2?

I feel disappointed somehow.

Yes, thank God.

Excellent. And now it's Disneyland time! Have fun!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Nothing to see here.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

You can go about your business. Move along.