Vacation

We just got back from a week long vacation, and it was wonderful! We all needed to get out the house, out of our town and as a matter of fact out of our State! The four of us needed a break from all of the things going on around us and just time for the four of us to be together and enjoy eachother's company while seeing things that we have never seen before.

First day of our road trip we stopped in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and spent the night in a really nice Best Western. We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesday and then the kids enjoyed a dip in the indoor pool at the Hotel while the Hubby and I sat and chatted.

The next morning we got up, ate our breakfast and headed to see Lincoln's birthplace and boy-hood home in Hodgenville, Kentucky(which was only 10 minutes from our Hotel). It was very interesting seeing where Lincoln was born and where he grew up. After touring we headed toward Chicago, Illinois to see my brother and his wife and to spend a few days with them.

We arrived in Chicago mid-afternoon on Monday. We checked into our Hotel, another Best Western, parked the van in the Hotel parking garage, unpacked our luggage and then called my brother to come and pick us up. He came and picked us up and took us over to he and his wife's home. We had never been to see them before, so it was wonderful to see where they lived. They gave us a tour of their home and then we were off to have a picnic while watching a movie in the park and one of their many local parks, Lincoln Park. It was very fun. A(my sister-in-law, not using her whole name for security) packed a wonderful picnic! It was very yummy and the movie that they were showing in the Park was "Annie". J(my brother, not using whole name for security) had a speech to give to incoming freshmen at his work, so he had to leave, but he came back and joined us before the movie was over. It was a wonderful evening, with great company, great food, a good movie, and a wonderful few of Lake Michigan!

Tuesday morning we were up at breakfast and back in J and A's car for a day full of sightseeing in Chicago! First stop, Wrigley Field, second stop, Moody Church! Yes, Moody Church, the Hubby was so excited that we were stopping at Moody Church! We were able to go inside and we had our own personal tour guide! The inside of the Church is beautiful and has all of it's original features including the seats which are all wood and have the metal rack under the bottom of them in which men could put their top-hats! Beautiful, beautiful Church. I will have to post pictures of it once I upload them! Next stop was downtown Chicago! We bought tickets and took part in one of the Hop-on Hop-off tour buses. It was definately the way to go! We first got off and ate lunch at one of the favorite places of J & A, a place called Pinolli's. It was wonderful. We had the Chicago beef sandwhich which was dip in aujour and it was magnificent! After lunch we hopped back on our tour bus and headed to the Willis Tower(formerly the Sears Tower). It was the best thing that we did! It was so wonderful to go up to the top and look at all of the wonderful views!! Plus it was extremely nice to have my brother as our personal tour guide, he pointed out things and told us all about them! We had a full day of touring downtown Chicago, seeing Millineum Park, The Dome, The Buckingham Fountain, going to the Hershey Store and of course to Garrett's Popcorn(you have to have this popcorn, it's amazing!). We also had the opportunity to run by my brother's office and to see it and where he works, it was nice to see where he works at, I am very proud of him! After our full day of touring downtown, we headed back to freshen up and to we went over to my brother and sister-in-laws home to eat Chicago pizza and play PIT! We had a wonderful time hanging out with them! They are absolutely fun to be with!

Our last day in Chicago we decided to hop in the van and drive to Wisconsin since we were so close and get some cheese! It was only a 45 minute drive to Mars Cheese Company. We enjoyed a German lunch of brawts and german potato salad at the Cheese Place, it was devine! We also goofed around trying on the cheese hats that they had in their store.....it was fun! After returning from Wisconsin, we picked up my brother's wife A and we headed to Margie's for ice cream sundaes. They were so good and the best and biggest ice cream sundaes that we have EVER had! YUMMY!!! After sundaes it was time to head back to the room and freshen up, let the kids swim and get ready to go to Navy Pier for dinner and fireworks for the evening. Navy Pier was nice, we had a good dinner and the fireworks were wonderful!

Thursday morning we were up, ate breakfast and loaded up the van to head back south taking a stop in Cincinnati to see Granpa, the Hubby's Granpa. It had been 8 years since we had seen him, 6 of those years we were stationed in Europe, and not until this year have we had a chance to go and see him. It was a nice drive from Chicago to Cincinnati, and it was wonderful to see Granpa. We had a nice lunch with him at Skyline Chili, and enjoyed wonderful conversation at his home with him and Uncle E. It was nice to see Uncle E too, he always takes the time to come and see us whenever we go up to Cincinnati.

After our visit we headed south, not sure where we were going to stop for the night. We finally stopped at around 9:30 and found a Hampton Inn to stay at. The kids enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool for awhile and then we all crashed.

Friday morning and we decided that we would sleep in, eat breakfast and then hit the road to home. 4 hours later and we met my Dad to pick up our dog and then we were home! What a great vacation we had......8 states in 6 days! We are already planning next years vacation! And getting ready for our last little mini trip in a couple of weeks before school starts back!(and if you are friends with my on FB, you can view more of our 8 States in 6 Days Vacation pictures:)