Usually the kids have been sleeping in this summer. The kids had to get up earlier than normal this week (M-TH) because art camp started at 8:30; Oliver also had to get up earlier because he rode with us to take Nadia and Ian to the middle school. Yesterday morning they got up even earlier because we were attempting to be out the door at 6:45. We didn't actually leave until closer to 7:15. After dropping Milo off at our friend's house, we drove 5 hours to Springfield, Massachusetts. Probably the most well known attraction here is the Basketball Hall of Fame. Our first stop was Springfield Armory where the kids each earned a Junior Ranger badge and patch. We spent a little over two hours there. Paul could definitely have spent more time there, but we wanted to have enough time to spend at the Springfield Museums. Everyone gets into the Springfield Armory for free. We got into the Springfield Museums for free because of our ASTC membership. The kids enjoyed the Dr. Seuss museum the best. Usually they love science museums, but this one wasn't much to write home about so to speak. We skipped the history and art museums there. We ate breakfast at home and had packed lunches to eat during our drive, when we arrived at the pizzeria I had selected for dinner we found out it was closed for a couple of weeks for a vacation. We found another pizzeria en route to Six Flags. We ordered a large (18") cheese pizza and five glasses of water. The pizza was delicious, and at the end we found out that another customer had paid for our pizza! We paid it forward for someone in the drive thru behind us at Dunkin' earlier this summer, but this was the first time we ever experienced a stranger paying for our meal. It was very kind of him! He left before we found out what he had done so we were unable to thank him.
Lastly we spent about three hours at Six Flags New England. The parking lot is GIGANTIC. We literally had to walk almost a mile to get from our vehicle to the park entrance. Since we're planning on arriving at Six Flags shortly before it opens this morning, hopefully we won't have to park quite as far away. Paul and the kids rode a wooden roller coaster. Next, Nadia and I rode the Superman (a metal coaster) while the boys rode something else. After that Nadia rode two other metal roller coasters by herself while the boys rode the swings four times in a row. When we first got there, the lines were longer, but as we got closer to the closing time the lines became nonexistent.
Our only expenses yesterday were gasoline and one night at Red Roof. It was very challenging to find affordable lodging in this area. We usually stay at places that have two queen beds, free breakfast, and a swimming pool. This place doesn't offer breakfast or have a pool, and we slept on two double beds. Nadia slept on an air mattress we brought from home. Because we don't plan to purchase lunch and the motel doesn't offer breakfast, we walked across the street to Donut Dip to purchase breakfast sandwiches and donuts for our brunch. Paul, Ian, and Nadia are planning on spending time in the water park at Six Flags today. Oliver can't get wet because of his stitches. This morning we didn't need to get up early because Six Flags doesn't open until 10:30, but when we all share a bedroom the boys usually get up very early. We watched some Olympics on TV after we ate our breakfast and had our devotions. Yesterday we all had to wear masks inside the Dr. Seuss museum. The kids had to wear masks in Springfield Armory because they aren't vaccinated. The rest of the day we were all mask free, and we won't need to wear masks at all today. The Springfield Armory had been closed for t he past 16 months. Paul was very glad they recently reopened!
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