On Friday morning the kids and I began our drive around 8:00; we made only one stop (for gas and a bathroom break) en route to the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland. The four of us got into the museum for free because of our ASTC membership. We only had to pay for parking ($8). I found it interesting that in both Cleveland and Pittsburg the science museum is right next to the football stadium (Browns and Steelers), next to a river, and in the river was a ship that could be toured in the summer months as a part of the admission to the museum. On the bottom floor they had a temporary, traveling exhibit featuring Legos. That was a hit with my kids. After spending almost 3 hours in the museum, we drove about 45 minutes south to spend some time at my cousin Sam's house. Sam is two years younger than me and is one of my mom's sister's eight children. He and his wife Heather have two girls who will be turning 8 and 10 next month. They are in 2nd and 4th grade. So Lauren, Megan, Nadia, and Ian are all between the ages of 7-9. With our five kids we had one first grader, one second grader, one third grader, one fourth grader, and Oliver. The kids also enjoyed their boxer, Rocky, although I noticed Ian was definitely allergic to the dog as his eyes were bright red and he was sneezing quite a bit.
Sam grilled some burgers and hotdogs, and the kids had a wonderful time playing together. We left around 8:30 on Saturday morning. It took about two hours to get to the Imagination Station in Toledo. It was also free for us to visit this museum although the Lego exhibit cost an extra $4 each at that museum so we skipped it because of the cost and also the fact we weren't planning to stay in the museum for more than two hours. I would say that parts of the museum were like a science museum and other parts more resembled a children's museum. We attended one show, and as always Nadia volunteered to participate. The show was about Newton's three laws of motion. She knocked a plate off which caused an egg to drop into a glass of water. There was also a ride that cost $2 each that we skipped. There were a couple of neat things there that our kids couldn't do because you had to be at least 54 inches tall. It's only 10 minutes off of I-80 so if we're ever coming out to Indiana or Illinois again, we could visit it again when the kids are taller. We definitely could have spent more time there, but we were getting very hungry for lunch and also wanting to finish our drive to Chicago. One thing that was free at that museum that often costs extra was the hurricane simulator.
We stopped at a Panera for lunch. I had packed our lunches on Friday, and we used a gift card for Panera so thus far after three days of our vacation our only costs have been tolls, parking, and gas. I have no idea how much we have paid for tolls because we have been using our EZpass. With the one hour time difference, we arrived at my sister's house a little after 4:00. I am very pleased to say that the drive went very smoothly. Oliver didn't cry at all. Yay!!!! We listened to Guinea Dog book cds for a few hours, and the kids also read a little, played with toys a little, played on the iPad, and watched a couple of dvds. The weather changed drastically during the first three days of our trip. It was snowing while we were driving on Friday morning. They actually got four inches in the Cleveland area! On Saturday it was in the 30's when we left, but by the time we got to Chicago it was in the 60's, and today it was 74 degrees this afternoon! Thankfully we brought a wide range of clothes (short and long sleeve, light coats, heavy coats, etc.).
This morning we went to church with Drayton and their kids. Wendy had a violin gig at another church. Drayton packed our lunches, and we ate lunch at the school playground. Their church meets in a public school about one mile from their home. Then after the kids played on the playground we walked to the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago. It contains many artifacts from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Nubia, Assyria, etc. It's not particularly geared for young children, but having Drayton serve as our tour guide was a big plus. The rest of the day was spent at their house - playing outside, playing inside, and watching Alice in Wonderland. Tomorrow we are planning to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Nature Museum!
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