DIS Dads Rust Belt Road Trip (2 UPDATES--1/18)

[KatMark]

Hey look at that...Barry is alive.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Hey look at that...Barry is alive.

Yes, but just barely. Out of town last weekend, kitchen remodeling still in progress, and getting ready for our cruise - we fly out on Friday. I may just sleep the entire time on the ship.

 

[afwdwfan]

I remember my brother had some art of his displayed in a show back when he was in junior high school. One picture showed the earth in the palm of somebody's hands or something like that. As a joke he titled it, "Flying Screwdriver of Death". Nobody questioned it, either.

That is just awesome!

One of these days, I'll have to tell you the story of our New England vacation back in 1999. We refer to it as National Lampoon's New England Vacation.

One of these days? There's no time like the present...

They're pretty interesting. I wonder if they generate enough power to make them worth the cost.

From my understanding... it's debatable. Our local REMC has a wind turbine and some solar panels that they use to power their office as an example of renewable energy sources. They say that the wind turbine doesn't even generate enough power on a windy day, but the solar panels can run the office on their own on a cloudy day. It is smaller than the ones you saw though, so I guess I don't really know the answer to your question.

I'm sorry it didn't work out. We actually made an unplanned stop off the Shelbyville exit the following day to fill up on gas, but we were tagging along with friends to Louisville and didn't have time to leave the highway.

If you came down I-65, you could have seen where I work from the Interstate. I'm about 2 minutes away from the Flat Rock/Edinburgh exit. I thought about calling you back to see if you wanted to meet for breakfast the next morning or something, but I know you said you were in a convoy for that leg of the trip.

Julie's been training and running 5K's all year. I had faith in her to hunt anyone down!

So if you get robbed while in a big city, your reaction is going to be "Go get them, Julie!" You should be proud of yourself.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I know where you live.

Really? Could you let the Post Office know?

Are Dole Whips and Ohana good enough reasons?

Yes. Yes, they are.

Wait till I get going!

I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.

Hey look at that...Barry is alive.

Somebody better let Tim know that his nemesis is still out there.

Yes, but just barely. Out of town last weekend, kitchen remodeling still in progress, and getting ready for our cruise - we fly out on Friday. I may just sleep the entire time on the ship.

Just like my in-laws did!

Seriously, I hope everything settles down in time for you to enjoy the cruise.

That is just awesome!

One of these days? There's no time like the present...

Well, it's a long story. It would probably fill out its own TR. The short version is that it involved 2 bouts of seasickness, 1 air-conditioner malfunction, 1 trip to the Emergency Room and a whole lot of fog. Not to mention vital, life-changing tours of a teddy bear factory and a historic site devoted to the most exciting of Presidents, Mr. Calvin Coolidge.

From my understanding... it's debatable. Our local REMC has a wind turbine and some solar panels that they use to power their office as an example of renewable energy sources. They say that the wind turbine doesn't even generate enough power on a windy day, but the solar panels can run the office on their own on a cloudy day. It is smaller than the ones you saw though, so I guess I don't really know the answer to your question.

I'd really love it if they did work well. Whoever invents cheap, mass-produced renewable energy will have the next huge industry on their hands.

If you came down I-65, you could have seen where I work from the Interstate. I'm about 2 minutes away from the Flat Rock/Edinburgh exit. I thought about calling you back to see if you wanted to meet for breakfast the next morning or something, but I know you said you were in a convoy for that leg of the trip.

Yeah, we were actually running a few minutes behind our friends and were trying to catch up so they wouldn't get there too far ahead of us. But now I'm kicking myself for not asking how close you were to the interstate.

So if you get robbed while in a big city, your reaction is going to be "Go get them, Julie!" You should be proud of yourself.

Absolutely! Especially if it involves me having to put down my food.

And I've seen Julie angry. Honestly, I think most people would prefer to be on my bad side than hers. You're married; you probably know what I'm talking about.

 

[theduck619]

Hell hath no furry........

BTW, Coolidge Rocks!!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Somebody better let Tim know that his nemesis is still out there.

Oh, he knows. I was as at a wedding this past weekend, and the DJ looked exactly like Hurley from Lost. I texted Tim a picture of him at his DJ equipment, saying something like "Tim! I found your twin!"

 

[KatMark]

Somebody better let Tim know that his nemesis is still out there.

Nobody would believe it...since he only "hangs" on your TR.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Nobody would believe it...since he only "hangs" on your TR.

Really!

Wa'd up with that B?!?

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Nobody would believe it...since he only "hangs" on your TR.

Really!

Wa'd up with that B?!?

Yes, it's true. It's far easier and less time consuming to come over here and post a few snarky comments than to work on my own TR.

 

[afwdwfan]

Yes, it's true. It's far easier and less time consuming to come over here and post a few snarky comments than to work on my own TR.

Should we ask Bambi about Panera in your TR? You know, to at least get some kind of discussion going?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

BTW, Coolidge Rocks!!

He does? I wouldn't know, I fell asleep in there.

Oh, he knows. I was as at a wedding this past weekend, and the DJ looked exactly like Hurley from Lost. I texted Tim a picture of him at his DJ equipment, saying something like "Tim! I found your twin!"

Nobody would believe it...since he only "hangs" on your TR.

Wa'd up with that B?!?

Barry's my homey! (Do people still say "homey"?)

Yes, it's true. It's far easier and less time consuming to come over here and post a few snarky comments than to work on my own TR.

Thanks for driving up the post count, too!

Should we ask Bambi about Panera in your TR? You know, to at least get some kind of discussion going?

Nah, keep it here. Then it looks like my TR is still active without my actually having to do anything.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

The Indianapolis Children's Museum claims to be the largest children's museum in the world. And I believe it, because the building was massive. I guess it has to be, what with all the dinosaur visitors they receive each year.

You'd think those guys would be a little more careful with the buildings.

The dinos were on display as part of a fairly recent addition to the museum: the Dino-Sphere. This is a huge exhibit that showcases anything your kids would ever want to know about rocketry and space travel.

Just kidding. It's about dinosaurs. Duh.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. We entered the lobby after finishing our gourmet meal of cheeseballs and cow pies and found Bumblebee there waiting to greet us.

If you've read about my previous trips, you know my feelings on Children's Museums. Why do they charge adults full price to enter? All I'm going to do is sit there and watch my kids explore. I'd get yelled at or thrown out of the building if I tried to go on the slides or climb on the exhibits. And they don't charge kids full price to go into more adult-oriented museums.

Of course, we all know the real reason: it's a money-maker. All I ask is that if I have to pay $15 to get in, please let me play on the slides.

That being said, it was obvious that the Indy museum puts that money back into the museum itself. Every exhibit was very well-done, with a lot of detail, freshly updated and modern. Check out this Mona Lisa made entirely with jelly beans:

Once we were inside, we immediately headed for the Dino-Sphere. Sarah is our resident dino-geek and was anxious to see the creatures. The display was impressive: a huge room full of fossils and dino exhibits, featuring a "sky" that cycled through day and night with an occasional thunderstorm.

We got to play with touch-screen exhibits and even touch a dinosaur egg. A couple of scientists were on hand to talk to the kids about how they care for fossils and re-construct the skeletons.

Heading into the basement, we found another huge model train, which included some tracks suspended from the ceiling. Dave immediately asked if he could set up something similar in his bedroom. Next door, there was a traveling National Geographic exhibit called Treasures Of The Earth, featuring exhibits on pirate treasure, Egyptian tombs, and the Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors. Scotty and Sarah decided to try and join their ranks.

I'm just glad they didn't try to imitate the headless guy in the first picture.

It was here that we first ran into what would be a recurring problem on the day. The place was packed with people, and we later saw that several buses full of summer camp kids had pulled into the lot. The problem here was that many of the kids appeared to be pre-teens and teens, and many of the exhibits were aimed at a younger crowd. So, they did what all bored pre-teens do and decided to horse around and play in ways the exhibits were not meant to handle. At one point, Sarah got hit in the head with something being thrown from the pirates exhibit. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time in there.

The stairwell had a huge glass sculpture stretching to the ceiling, called Fireworks of Glass in a rare example of a title for artwork making sense.

I was running around a bit with the cell phone, trying to coordinate a couple of meet-ups. This was more difficult with a weak signal inside the building. Eventually, I was able to accomplish one: meeting up with fellow DisDad David (theduck619).

David works right around the corner from the museum and was able to duck in for a few minutes to say hi. We had a nice chat about the museum, the DIS Dads Club, and...(you'll never believe this) Disney World! It was great to put another face with a name. Thanks for taking the time to meet up with me, David! (also: you have impeccable taste in polo shirts)

Behind us in that picture is a Water Clock, which was incredibly nerdy and cool at the same time. It was by far my favorite part of the museum. Watching the water constantly flow and change position with the time was fascinating.

I finally was able to meet up with the other folks in the building--our friends Jay and Donna and their 5(!) kids. They're some of our best friends from Delaware. We had happened to find out that they would be in Indianapolis for a wedding over the previous weekend, and they'd decided to accompany us for a portion of our trip. The museum was the meet-up spot we designated. Once we were together, the kids had a blast running through the exhibits.

We found an Indy car that Scotty had to try out:

Another room had waterways and model boats, plus a huge playground and slides. Unfortunately, it was overwhelmed with pushy out-of-control teenagers and we were losing track of our kids, so we made like a tree and got out of there.

We found a mirror maze that had a blacklight room:

We were able to finish the maze just before some more pushy kids started roughhousing in there. Other exhibits we explored included a huge one on Egypt, a Dora the Explorer area, and...sigh...Barbie.

Looks like Scotty had a bit more fun than I did.

Our last stop in the museum was a planetarium show. That's right--they have their own planetarium! We were pretty excited, since this would be a first for the kids. Unfortunately, this was the only part of the museum that felt a bit dated. The show was dim and kind of slow, and Scotty even fell asleep in Julie's lap.

I know you'll never believe this one, either, but the museum was set up so that you had to exit through the gift shop. Somehow we ran that gauntlet without buying anything, even though our family consists of 5 science geeks. We split up with our friends for the day, making plans to meet up for the drive in the morning. They headed to their hotel while we went to downtown Indianapolis for yet another DISMeet.

Coming Up Next: a meeting with the Esteemed Historian of the DIS Dads Club.

 

[theduck619]

The Indianapolis Children's Museum claims to be the largest children's museum in the world. And I believe it, because the building was massive. I guess it has to be, what with all the dinosaur visitors they receive each year.

You'd think those guys would be a little more careful with the buildings.

The dinos were on display as part of a fairly recent addition to the museum: the Dino-Sphere. This is a huge exhibit that showcases anything your kids would ever want to know about rocketry and space travel.

Just kidding. It's about dinosaurs. Duh.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. We entered the lobby after finishing our gourmet meal of cheeseballs and cow pies and found Bumblebee there waiting to greet us.

If you've read about my previous trips, you know my feelings on Children's Museums. Why do they charge adults full price to enter? All I'm going to do is sit there and watch my kids explore. I'd get yelled at or thrown out of the building if I tried to go on the slides or climb on the exhibits. And they don't charge kids full price to go into more adult-oriented museums.

Of course, we all know the real reason: it's a money-maker. All I ask is that if I have to pay $15 to get in, please let me play on the slides.

That being said, it was obvious that the Indy museum puts that money back into the museum itself. Every exhibit was very well-done, with a lot of detail, freshly updated and modern. Check out this Mona Lisa made entirely with jelly beans:

Once we were inside, we immediately headed for the Dino-Sphere. Sarah is our resident dino-geek and was anxious to see the creatures. The display was impressive: a huge room full of fossils and dino exhibits, featuring a "sky" that cycled through day and night with an occasional thunderstorm.

We got to play with touch-screen exhibits and even touch a dinosaur egg. A couple of scientists were on hand to talk to the kids about how they care for fossils and re-construct the skeletons.

Heading into the basement, we found another huge model train, which included some tracks suspended from the ceiling. Dave immediately asked if he could set up something similar in his bedroom. Next door, there was a traveling National Geographic exhibit called Treasures Of The Earth, featuring exhibits on pirate treasure, Egyptian tombs, and the Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors. Scotty and Sarah decided to try and join their ranks.

I'm just glad they didn't try to imitate the headless guy in the first picture.

It was here that we first ran into what would be a recurring problem on the day. The place was packed with people, and we later saw that several buses full of summer camp kids had pulled into the lot. The problem here was that many of the kids appeared to be pre-teens and teens, and many of the exhibits were aimed at a younger crowd. So, they did what all bored pre-teens do and decided to horse around and play in ways the exhibits were not meant to handle. At one point, Sarah got hit in the head with something being thrown from the pirates exhibit. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time in there.

The stairwell had a huge glass sculpture stretching to the ceiling, called Fireworks of Glass in a rare example of a title for artwork making sense.

I was running around a bit with the cell phone, trying to coordinate a couple of meet-ups. This was more difficult with a weak signal inside the building. Eventually, I was able to accomplish one: meeting up with fellow DisDad David (theduck619).

David works right around the corner from the museum and was able to duck in for a few minutes to say hi. We had a nice chat about the museum, the DIS Dads Club, and...(you'll never believe this) Disney World! It was great to put another face with a name. Thanks for taking the time to meet up with me, David! (also: you have impeccable taste in polo shirts)

Behind us in that picture is a Water Clock, which was incredibly nerdy and cool at the same time. It was by far my favorite part of the museum. Watching the water constantly flow and change position with the time was fascinating.

I finally was able to meet up with the other folks in the building--our friends Jay and Donna and their 5(!) kids. They're some of our best friends from Delaware. We had happened to find out that they would be in Indianapolis for a wedding over the previous weekend, and they'd decided to accompany us for a portion of our trip. The museum was the meet-up spot we designated. Once we were together, the kids had a blast running through the exhibits.

We found an Indy car that Scotty had to try out:

Another room had waterways and model boats, plus a huge playground and slides. Unfortunately, it was overwhelmed with pushy out-of-control teenagers and we were losing track of our kids, so we made like a tree and got out of there.

We found a mirror maze that had a blacklight room:

We were able to finish the maze just before some more pushy kids started roughhousing in there. Other exhibits we explored included a huge one on Egypt, a Dora the Explorer area, and...sigh...Barbie.

Looks like Scotty had a bit more fun than I did.

Our last stop in the museum was a planetarium show. That's right--they have their own planetarium! We were pretty excited, since this would be a first for the kids. Unfortunately, this was the only part of the museum that felt a bit dated. The show was dim and kind of slow, and Scotty even fell asleep in Julie's lap.

I know you'll never believe this one, either, but the museum was set up so that you had to exit through the gift shop. Somehow we ran that gauntlet without buying anything, even though our family consists of 5 science geeks. We split up with our friends for the day, making plans to meet up for the drive in the morning. They headed to their hotel while we went to downtown Indianapolis for yet another DISMeet.

Coming Up Next: a meeting with the Esteemed Historian of the DIS Dads Club.

I am in a Captain O trip report

I can't wait for the royalties to start pouring in

We are members of the museum and you can probably guess how excited I was to hear that Barbie has been extended

 

[KatMark]

Wow, what a great update, Mark, and some really great pictures. That is one cool museum. I love how your kids get into all that science stuff (our kids never did).

You look like YOU are ready for a nap in the Barbie section.

I love how Sarah's t-shirt looks in the blacklight room.

I agree...why do we have to pay adult price at these places when we can't do all the neat stuff the kids do?

 

[afwdwfan]

The
You'd think those guys would be a little more careful with the buildings.

Yeah, but in all fairness, they were there first.

We entered the lobby after finishing our gourmet meal of cheeseballs and cow pies and found Bumblebee there waiting to greet us.

Nobody told me Bumblebee was at the Children's Museum!

I'd get yelled at or thrown out of the building if I tried to go on the slides or climb on the exhibits.

How do you know that?

Dave immediately asked if he could set up something similar in his bedroom.

So, did he?

So, they did what all bored pre-teens do and decided to horse around and play in ways the exhibits were not meant to handle. At one point, Sarah got hit in the head with something being thrown from the pirates exhibit. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time in there.

That can ruin a good day at the Children's Museum... Sorry you had to deal with obnoxious Jr. High kids.

The stairwell had a huge glass sculpture stretching to the ceiling, called Fireworks of Glass in a rare example of a title for artwork making sense.

Once in a while, even artists display a little common sense.

David works right around the corner from the museum and was able to duck in for a few minutes to say hi.

theduck... duck in... it kind of feels like Barry is still having an impact on the writing of this TR.

Behind us in that picture is a Water Clock, which was incredibly nerdy and cool at the same time. It was by far my favorite part of the museum. Watching the water constantly flow and change position with the time was fascinating.

I know... I love that thing. But then it always makes me have to pee.

We were able to finish the maze just before some more pushy kids started roughhousing in there.

Great picture! Scotty seems to be having too much fun though.

Our last stop in the museum was a planetarium show. That's right--they have their own planetarium! We were pretty excited, since this would be a first for the kids. Unfortunately, this was the only part of the museum that felt a bit dated. The show was dim and kind of slow, and Scotty even fell asleep in Julie's lap.

That's a bummer. I always enjoyed the planetarium, but I haven't been there in a few years.

We are members of the museum and you can probably guess how excited I was to hear that Barbie has been extended

Yeah... DW wants to go see it sometime.

 

[theduck619]

Yeah, but in all fairness, they were there first.


Nobody told me Bumblebee was at the Children's Museum!


How do you know that?


So, did he?


That can ruin a good day at the Children's Museum... Sorry you had to deal with obnoxious Jr. High kids.


Once in a while, even artists display a little common sense.


theduck... duck in... it kind of feels like Barry is still having an impact on the writing of this TR.


I know... I love that thing. But then it always makes me have to pee.





Great picture! Scotty seems to be having too much fun though.


That's a bummer. I always enjoyed the planetarium, but I haven't been there in a few years.


Yeah... DW wants to go see it sometime.

Great place for a Disdads meet

We can head to the science area while the girls get their Barbie fix!

 

[afwdwfan]

Great place for a Disdads meet

We can head to the science area while the girls get their Barbie fix!

How about taking Bumblebee for a test drive?

 

[glennbo123]

Now that's downright cool!

The dinos were on display as part of a fairly recent addition to the museum: the Dino-Sphere. This is a huge exhibit that showcases anything your kids would ever want to know about rocketry and space travel.

Wha?

Just kidding. It's about dinosaurs. Duh.

Oh. Whew.

Check out this Mona Lisa made entirely with jelly beans:

Mmmmm....art.

....so we made like a tree and got out of there.

Back to the Future!

Other exhibits we explored included a huge one on Egypt, a Dora the Explorer area, and...sigh...Barbie.

Looks like Scotty had a bit more fun than I did.

Looks like Dave is having a little fun too.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

You'd think those guys would be a little more careful with the buildings.

No opposable thumbs and a brain the size of a walnut is not combination made for gentleness.

The dinos were on display as part of a fairly recent addition to the museum: the Dino-Sphere. This is a huge exhibit that showcases anything your kids would ever want to know about rocketry and space travel.

Just kidding. It's about dinosaurs. Duh.

Dinosaurs in Space? Cool! Dinonauts!

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. We entered the lobby after finishing our gourmet meal of cheeseballs and cow pies and found Bumblebee there waiting to greet us.

Well, I'm sold. Best Children's Museum ever.

And they don't charge kids full price to go into more adult-oriented museums.

Wait, just what kind of Adult-oriented museums are you going go?

Check out this Mona Lisa made entirely with jelly beans:

So THAT's the reason for her odd smile! BEANS!

Heading into the basement, we found another huge model train, which included some tracks suspended from the ceiling. Dave immediately asked if he could set up something similar in his bedroom.

...and?

Scotty looks a little to giggly to be a good soldier. Sarah, however, looks like she's about to rip Atilla the Hun a new one.

The stairwell had a huge glass sculpture stretching to the ceiling, called Fireworks of Glass in a rare example of a title for artwork making sense.

And it looks cool, too!

I was running around a bit with the cell phone, trying to coordinate a couple of meet-ups. This was more difficult with a weak signal inside the building.

You know what's good for that? Text messaging. Requires far less bandwidth (and thus, signal strength) than a voice call. Have one of the kids show you how to do it.

Eventually, I was able to accomplish one: meeting up with fellow DisDad David (theduck619).

David works right around the corner from the museum and was able to duck in for a few minutes to say hi.

Rimshot! Ba dum tssshh!

so we made like a tree and got out of there.

That's about as funny as a screen door on a battleship.

and...sigh...Barbie.

Did they have a display with 30 naked Barbies in a pile on the floor? If so, I can charge admittance to my kids' playroom in the basement.


That's museum looks really cool! Indianapolis has been added to my bucket list!

I am in a Captain O trip report

I can't wait for the royalties to start pouring in

Yup. I've been in like 3 or 4 chapters so far. I'm living the dream, Dave. Living the dream.

 

[Moira222]

FINALLY I can slack off a bit at work and catch up on DISboards.

Barry, the kids and I were headed back downtown on the train. The heat wave was still going strong, and we'd just spent most of the morning wandering around a non-air-conditioned baseball stadium in our sweaty t-shirts and ball caps. Naturally, this was the perfect time to eat lunch in a swanky upscale downtown restaurant.

LOL sounds like good timing to me!

We were on our way to meet Chicago native Kathy, known as KatMark here on the boards, at the Grand Lux Cafe on Michigan Avenue. .......

Kathy was a ton of fun. Full of great stories and energy, and she was a sweetheart to boot--she had brought gifts for all of our kids. Toys and t-shirts! She had made a special trip to the Disney Store ahead of time to load up on goodies. This included specialized Mickey/Minnie Chicago t-shirts that are only sold in the downtown location. You'll see them later in this TR.

The restaurant was swanky as promised, but somehow we managed to get ourselves and the boys past the bouncers and seated in a booth. I kept expecting a manager to come over and point us out to say, "We don't serve their kind here," but we slipped through the meal under the radar. I forget what everyone had, but Scotty got a hot dog from the kids meal that was placed on two rolls such that it looked like train cars hooked together.

what a great looking hot dog! Sounds like you had a great meet up with Kathy...

Madison had a little waterproof camera and was having fun playing with that.

love this picture!

As early evening approached, we got changed and ready for dinner. Dinner was going to be an historic event: a meeting with my Official DisDads Nemesis©, Brian (middlepat).

...... Now that we are sworn Mortal Enemies, our duties involve poking even more fun at each other, and taking each other out for dinner when we're in town. It's sort of like the relationship between Doofenshmirtz and Perry the Platypus.

I think that the Doof and Perry are the ultimate nemesis team.

Hidden Mickey!

how cool is that! I saw a hidden mickey in an oil stain but then thought that I must have truly gone over the deep end and resisted taking a picture of it. LOL

We wandered down to the restaurant, all 14 of us, and put our names in for a table. It would be 45 minutes' wait, according to the hostess. No problem, we said--we have a large group, that's understandable. We decided to take a look at the menu and place our order ahead of time--deep-dish pizzas take some time to make and cook, so we figured this would save time in the end--with 8 young kids, this is crucial. Then we hung around outside the restaurant and waited.

And waited.

The kids sat in a circle and amused themselves by playing with Madison and Sarah's American Girls. I was amazed at how well they got along. All of these kids, basically strangers, were playing with each other as though they'd known each other forever. I attribute this to terrific parenting. Or cool kids. Or blind luck.

We waited some more.
.....

The kids might be getting a little tired of waiting.

Julie decided to get a little artsy-fartsy:

Coming Up Next: Giant windmills, dinosaurs, race cars, and....Barbie?

Your kids (and the adults) should get prizes for waiting that long and being that good natured about the wait. I can't even imagine waiting for two hours. really. we would have walked. what a bummer that the food was eehhh once you finally got it.
but it was all about the meeting of the nemesis anyway, right?

You forgot a step here. They first brought out a large bowl of salad, on the house. I recall saying (not too loudly, due to there being children around):
"Salad? We waited for two hours, and you're trying to buy us off with a f**king salad?" I don't think anyone on the staff heard me, but maybe they did.
Compared to that, the dessert was a much better way to try and win us over.

Now THAT is a response you would have heard from DH and I!

I forget, was it you or Kathy who ordered the Soylent Green sandwich?

I have never heard anyone else outside of DH and I refer to soylent green at dinner time. LOVE IT!

that is a great photo...will be good for blackmail in a few years too

Sarah got a picture of Julie and me in front of The Bean in which we look exactly like two people who got up at 5:30 a.m.

naaah, you totally look like you slept to at least 6:30

Those photos are cool, glad to see Julie was enjoying her new camera.

Right around lunchtime, we pulled into the parking lot of the Children's Museum. Since we'd had our fancy-pants lunches the day before in Chicago, it was back to PB&J + Cheeseballs. And, thanks to Barry and Bambi...

Chocolate Cow Pies!

Say it with me now: Mmmmm....cow pies...

are they like PA Moon Pies????

The Indianapolis Children's Museum claims to be the largest children's museum in the world. And I believe it, because the building was massive. I guess it has to be, what with all the dinosaur visitors they receive each year.

those are really cool photos, the museum looks cool even if you over pay as an adult.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. We entered the lobby after finishing our gourmet meal of cheeseballs and cow pies and found Bumblebee there waiting to greet us.

what does a transformer have to do with dinosaurs????

If you've read about my previous trips, you know my feelings on Children's Museums. Why do they charge adults full price to enter? All I'm going to do is sit there and watch my kids explore. I'd get yelled at or thrown out of the building if I tried to go on the slides or climb on the exhibits. And they don't charge kids full price to go into more adult-oriented museums.

Of course, we all know the real reason: it's a money-maker. All I ask is that if I have to pay $15 to get in, please let me play on the slides.

Oh,you're not supposed to play on the slides? oops



I am so enjoying following your TR even if I do it slowly. Sounds like you had so much fun --due in doubt to your awesome family--they look like great kids!

back to work