Ever Been To A Museum Where Everything Is "Please Touch Me"?

Wednesday 6/11/2014

Lincoln NE

We only had an hour to drive and the kids were excited; we were going to the Lincoln Children’s Museum and everything is “please touch me”.  Lincoln is a big city and the only parking was in a parking garage 2 blocks away.  Driving into a parking garage was a whole new experience for them.  Entering the museum stopped them in their tracks!  This place is awesome to say the least.  Three floors consisting of a tree house that reached all three floors; a vet’s office with pets to care for; a fire truck they could get in and pretend to drive with all the sirens and lights; a police motorcycle again with all the lights and sirens; a bank; a grocery store with carts and registers for check out; a small but real plane they can get in and pretend to fly; the cab of a tractor trailer with the sleeper they could drive; a train engine and even the space shuttle with the moon buggy to drive.  Most locations had the clothes they could put on.  We spent 3 hours going from one play station to another and up and down the elevator.  Getting back to the car I realized I had lost the parking ticket but the lady was so nice and only charged us half price.  Getting out of Lincoln we follow I80 and then take NE2 which is a scenic byway known as the Sandyhill Byway and this is not how I had Nebraska pictured.  Well over 200 miles of nothing but large hills with sparse grass and cattle roaming.  As I looked off in the distance it reminded me of the desert locations we traveled through in 2009.  And the wind – oh my goodness – the wind was just like in the lower states as we traveled cross country in 2009;  blowing from the south and strong enough to move the van.  We noticed tumbleweed blowing across the highway.  Trains are the major means of transporting coal; we must have passed 20 + trains with more than 100 cars each all hauling coal.  Well, most towns on NE 2 are not more than a cross roads (not even a traffic light) and we wanted to get as many miles down as possible so we opt for a motel in Thedford.  Little town has a gas station, 2 motels but only one looks decent, a bar and grill and about 5 houses.  It was either stop here or travel another 100 miles so here we are and what a surprise!  A very nice, clean motel and they even have a guest laundry.  We are trying to stop no later than 4 every night to give the kids time for baths and to play a bit.  And they are doing very well.  Oh no trains are going past the motel and blowing their whistle.  Wonder how sleeping will be. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Swimming Pool

Tuesday, 6/10/2014

Winterset, IW

188 miles put us in Winterset by 11:15 AM.  Where we grabbed a quick lunch at Hardee’s and then a few blocks more and we were at John Wayne’s birthplace.  Now John Wayne doesn’t mean much to Zoey or Todd but he does to Don and I must admit I like his movies too.  However, Todd was paying attention to the guide and said he had a good time.  Traveling on I was impressed with the vastness of the fields all around us.  Corn and more corn as far as the eye can see.  I wouldn’t call it mountains but rolling hills are everywhere with what looks like fuzzy snakes twisting and curving down the hillside joining here and there.  A closer look shows these to be drainage ditches throughout the fields.  And windmills dot the hills; some locations have lots of windmills that obviously supply electricity to a town or region and other places we see one or two servicing the local farm.  And the distance between farms – wow you have to drive several miles down dirt roads to reach your neighbor.  Tomorrow we will be visiting the Lincoln Children’s Museum where everything is geared to kids and hands-on.  How cool will that be!  We wanted to get within an hour of the museum so we wouldn’t have too much riding to do and we have stopped for the night in Council Bluffs at a really great hotel.  Room is nice, clean and spacious but the cool part is they have an indoor pool and make homemade chocolate chip cookies every night at 5:30.  Kids are impressed.  Hope Zoey didn’t get any water in her ears – just praying daily that we don’t have to deal with an ear infection.

National Motorcycle Museum

Monday, 6/9/2014

Anamosa, Iowa

Back on the road by 7:20 AM and reached Anamosa by 12:30 (crossed our first time zone – try to explain that to a kid!).  Traveling through Iowa we see lots of open space with field after field of corn.  Indiana was very flat but we are beginning to see rolling hills again and lots of dirt roads.  Anamosa is a very small town; really just a cross roads with a McDonalds, 2 hotels, a Subway and one family restaurant and then the largest national motorcycle museum.  This place was packed with history.  All the manikins are freaking Zoey out.  She said she didn’t like all those people staring at her.  When she walks around a corner and comes upon one suddenly you hear a little gasp.  We are in the hotel right now and Zoey is in her glory because the TV has Sponge Bob.  She is tucked under the covers after eating her fill of grapes, carrots and an apple; and it’s only 5 PM.  Well I guess her tummy thinks it’s 6.  Don and Todd have run to the Walmart – yes even a town of less than 300 people has a Walmart.  Well the first 3 days we traveled over 300 miles per day and the kids have done very well.  The next few days we will travel 200 give or take a few and then stop to see things.   

Our Little Grease Monkeys

Sun, 6/8/2014

South Bend, IN

The hotel last night had a window seat with a nice cushion and Todd insisted he was going to sleep there.  He did and about 2 AM we heard a thump and he had fallen off the window seat into the floor.  Awful way to wake up!  On the road by 7:10 AM and traveled through some pouring rain for several hours.  With only one stop for lunch we reached the Studebaker Museum by 2:15 PM.  Very interesting and the kids liked seeing the old cars, trucks, tanks and horse drawn wagons but what they really liked was the small hands-on garage for kids where they could change tires; replace mufflers; fill the antifreeze; drain the oil; and do all types of automotive work.  There were work orders and a desk with a phone to take customer’s calls.  They had a ball.  Reserved a motel yesterday near the museum and it is a roof over our heads and that’s about it.  I’ve stayed in worse but not very often.  Kids are doing great!  I couldn’t have asked for better kids today riding 374 miles. 

 

 

 

 

Cross Country Again - With Two Kids - Are We Crazy?

Sat. 6/7/2014

Full day of driving; car was packed yesterday afternoon and we were up by 5:30 AM and pulling out of the driveway at 7:09 AM.   Stopped for breakfast just before the Bay Bridge just like we always do on the bikes.  One or two more stops to stretch and we arrived at the hotel by 3:30 PM.  Would have been a little earlier but we are off the freeway and in town so we had to deal with some traffic delays.  I sure wouldn’t want to live in a city as crowded as Pittsburgh.   One of our rest stops was in Hancock where we walked by the Canal.  And we had to use a “port-a-potty” which was something Zoey was very interested in. Had the GPS set for shortest route for a while so we got off the interstate and traveled a few miles on great mountain roads – could almost make the van lean – until Don made me stop.  Zoey was in the back saying “wee”.   Kids were impressed with the mountains and that we were riding on top of some and going through tunnels to get through others.   Nice motel and kids were impressed the room even has a bathroom!  They don’t remember staying in a motel last year.  Toys are all over the room right now as well as popcorn.   Kids traveled good; took 3 short naps in the car. 

Few pictures of our Bahamas Cruise 2014



So much food every where on deck 9



Don , Lois and Ken



Don



Carnival Pride

Always waiting on me



Ken and Lois



Don and me

Cruise To Bahamas 2014

Sunday, Feb. 23, was a beautiful day with warm temps and plenty of sun.  Not the usual on the Delmarva Peninsula this time of the year.   We boarded the Carnival Pride around 2 pm and waited an hour or so before heading to our staterooms to unpack and settle in.   Had to do the emergencies drill (don’t want a “man over board” you know) and then we set sail in search of warm weather.  Dinner was next on the agenda; the menu had lots of choices and we just picked anything that sounded good. No limits and no prices – how great is that?

Monday and Tuesday were days at sea but as we sailed down the bay and along the eastern coast of the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida it began to warm up and we shed the jeans, sweaters and sneakers and put on the shorts, summer tops and sandals.  Every day was filled with activities and you could do as much or as little as you wanted.  Grab your Kindle or a book and rest in one of the many chairs or sofas on decks 2 or 3.  Or head out to one of the many pools and rest in a lounge chair or at a table on deck 9; perhaps take a Zumba Dance class, watch ice carving, participate in a game of bean bag toss or watch the judging of the Mix Masters competition.  Or survey the food choices available at the 7 or 8 food bars in preparation for lunch.   I mean let’s face it; it has only been 3 hours since breakfast!  If you are hungry it is certainly not for the lack of food that is available 24/7.

When we docked at our ports of call Ken and Lois took a bus to tour the Kennedy Space Center while Don and I headed for a pontoon boat ride through the many lagoons to see Dolphins, Manatee and various birds playing.  We shared our experiences over dinner before heading out to  play bingo and watch a stellar show. 

Nassau was our next port and as we pulled in to dock the water is the most beautiful shades of blue with warm breezes blowing.  We catch our tour guide just off the ship for a day touring the city, visiting a local beach and the Ardastra Gardens.  Hours later we are walking down Bay Street near the port shopping at Del Sol with a stop at a great little shop on a side street to get some wonderful Rum Cakes.

Freeport was a bit overcast with slight drizzle but that didn’t stop us from shopping the straw market and other shops near the port.  Ken and Lois even got in a quick dance in the market place to music being provided by a local artist.

Another day at sea and as we sail up the coast and into the bay you see the sweatshirts and jeans again and talk of a snow storm.  We check with friends we have made onboard (Needles and her husband) to see where they are flying to and how the weather might be for them.   There are raffles being drawn and Ken wins a lovely charm bracelet and Lois wins that last game of Bingo ($1000) and Don brings home close to $200 from the Casino; while I just contributed to all the Bingo games and slot machines.  

In true UTR style, we might not have had a lot in our group but we had good fellowship, lot of laughs and got to know each other better.  We shared bike stories and adventures; discussed rallies past and future and needless to say we missed each of you.