Day 42

**Clearly we are back home by now as I have NO time to write! There are only a few days left that I hope to get to finishing today.***





We knew we wanted to get back downtown pretty early so Grammie had waffles all ready for us before she left to walk Lola and shower. The kids were up pretty early and easy to motivate to get ready because they knew the plan for the day was to visit one of their all-time favorite museums and the Arch.

It was Sunday morning so there wasn't an issue parking downtown and we were at the Arch within a few minute walk. It is currently under construction so pictures were challenging but I did make sure to try to get the same picture as I'd gotten 5 years earlier on our very first trip!

That year we hadn't had time to go up in the arch so we made sure we made time this year. Our first stop of course was grabbing junior ranger books. This would be our last national park for this trip. And our second stop was the movie about the creation of the arch. We were all once again blown away by the ingenuity, creativity, and sheer bravery in the creation of this marvel, especially more than 50 years ago!

After the movie the kids had a little time to work on their books then we headed to the elevator to head 600-ft up to the top. We were all a little curious as to how the ride up would be. Grammie and I were teasing the kids that by the top of the arch we would be laying down and have to roll out! It was actually much easier being lifted in our own little private car that adjusted beautifully to the angle as we climbed.

Just as expected the view at the top was wonderful! The kids spent time spotting different landmarks and watching the cars and boats go by. There are about 10 different windows so we all popped back and forth checking out the different views.

We made our way back down to chat with the park ranger and were on our way. There was a museum that was currently under construction that looks like it's going to be pretty awesome once it's finished next year so we'll have to return to St Louis again real soon.

Dave had another stop for us on the list today - Ted Drewes. We arrived there around 11:30 and smiled as there was quite a line for their famous custard.  This store had been open since the 1930s and was a popular stop along the historic Route 66. We'd all never had custard before and were very pleased with our decision to stop here!



Once we were all satisfied with a little sugar we headed to the place the kids had been waiting for - Magic House. We'd been 5 years earlier and spent so much time there but only experienced about 75% of the museum in 4 hours! I knew this time the kids would be too old for some of the exhibits so we would be able to see the whole museum. There also wasn't a traveling exhibit right now which was where we'd spent our first 2 hours then playing in the Magic Treehouse books.

It was fun to see the looks on their faces when they saw very familiar exhibits. It was also interesting to see the same exhibits updated with technology in the last 5 years. Those of you that know how my children love the grocery stories with working registers also know the top museum on their list in that category had actual register tape. Well, this one went even further knocking that one into second place with touch-screen registers and credit card machines!

 The kids ran around this area of the museum remembering all the places they'd spend so much time the last time. They played a little bit in each place but moved on quickly to keep exploring.

 We did spend quite awhile in the art area of the museum which I'm pretty sure we didn't even get to during our last visit.  My favorite was the interactive exhibit where the kids could draw a vehicle or building, scan it in, the instantly see it driving or built in the town on the giant screens in the room. It was such a cool and creative idea!






















We spent a little bit longer in another art area but I could tell Ryan was fading and needed real food soon.  She wanted to keep going but tempers were flaring so we kept kids separated and went downstairs to the America exhibit. The kids sat in the oval office, made a speech in front of congress and decided a case in court before it was very obvious we needed to head back.

Ryan had been asking for quesadillas for days so I made them as quickly as possible and they were devoured practically before I sat down! I made 3 more for the hungry monsters and we enjoyed talking about our very full day. While I wrote for a little while Dave made a fire and we roasted some cinnamon rolls for dessert - gooey and delicious!

I popped our last load of laundry on the road to keep us clothed on the way home and we enjoyed the quiet of the campground. There were only a few campers left since it was a school night! I stayed up tending to the laundry and writing as I'd be driving the last few days while Dave worked. We were leaving the next day for a couple of quick overnight stops then we'd be home.

Day 41

I do believe once we made it into Missouri, we also made it past the invisible line of humidity. We were all pretty warm all night and I have moved all the cold weather clothes back up into the roof cargo carrier and exchanged them for tank tops and short pjs.

I woke up this morning and immediately got on my phone to check out the riot situation. There were a couple dozen arrests and there wasn't any news of anything happening this morning, so I chatted with the other adults and we decided to go into the city.  Ever since our first trip in 2012 I wanted to go to this museum but I knew there was no way I would be able to do it by myself with 3 kids. Now each kid had an adult and I was just hoping we could keep up!

We arrived at City Museum a few minutes after they opened and were in awe of everything we saw. We decided to go outside first in the cooler part of the day to climb and explore.  Our first stop was a giant ball pit!

Ryan was my partner for the first few hours and she must of lost me about 43 times.

I found Laney climbing toward me and Grammie and Brayden climbing above me!

We found a bunch of slides and things to climb through. After all the adults started complaining of painful tunnels Dave found easier ways around just about all the fun stuff.  We were all sweating within about 45 minutes so we headed inside to explore.

The girls were the most adventurous taking Grammie on underground tunnels and exploring above us in the ceiling.  Brayden found Laney, Ryan, and Grammie in the tunnel underneath him!

We decided to head to the roof next for more slides, the ferris wheel, and the bus hanging off the side of the roof!

All three kids even opened the door of the bus to look out! Although I'm not sure Brayden actually looked out.

 

This was by far my favorite slide!

Next we went to what looked like an indoor skate park where the kids tried a 9-foot version of a warp wall. All of them made it up after quite a bit of frustration and practice!

By this point the kids all needed a break so Dave found a fascinating little room where people were cutting extremely intricate snowflakes. Every year the kids decorate our house with at least 100 snowflakes so this was right up their alley. 

By the time they were finished we were all starving. Fortunately on the way into the museum we noticed a pizza and beer place just across the street so we headed there to refuel and catch some college football. Dave and I added a few beers in hopes it would numb our already throbbing knees! The vegetarian pizza there was outstanding and one more thing to add to our list to make once we got back home. 

We had about 45 minutes until the next project from the snowflake lady - this time native american dolls with real bows, arrows, and birchbark quivers - so we all switched partners and explored a bit more. Brayden and I headed back outside for my other favorite slide and what became his favorite slide once he actually tried it. My slide was the long one, his was the deceptively short but crazy fast one!

We spent about an hour crafting then we switched partners once again for the last 45 minutes. I had planned 3-4 hours here and already we'd been there 6!  My partner this time was Laney and we headed back up to the roof! We found a new slide that was super fast and rode the ferris wheel again. I may have also made her go down favorite slide one more time!  Here are her feet on the ferris wheel and a fun selfie to see the city behing us!

We met everyone in the gift shop for post cards and t-shirts. The kids were exhausted so you know the adults were about to pass out! I was incredibly impressed with Grammie's perseverance to hang with each of her partners all day! I do believe the kids would have stayed until closing, but there was no way these adults would make it to midnight!

We made it known we would be attending the nocturnal animals program at the campground that evening. Once we made it back to the campground, we had a quick dinner and joined everyone for the program. The naturalist speaking appeared very young so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was seriously impressed with her animal knowledge. All the kids at the program enjoyed it and we all learned at least a few things!

We watched a little bit more football they retired for the night. I wouldn't recommend sleeping on the ground after a day at City Museum. It was going to be a long night of flipping and flopping with all our emerging bruises! Ouch.

Day 39

We hadn't been really staking our tents down much the last few stops because we were only staying one night and the weather had been very calm. All three adults were up half the night last night however because of some wicked wind. It woke me up about midnight so I closed the windows anticipating some rain. It didn't stop until around 4am. I would just fall asleep and the tent sides would start flapping. I was just waiting for them to cave in as they had in Oklahoma. I was listening for voices from the other tent.

Once the wind calmed I went back to sleep but Grammie didn't! She thought rain was coming to so she hopped up to pull in her rug and other things from outside so they didn't get soaked. When she checked her phone for some weird reason it was an hour ahead so she thought it was 4:30am. She decided to stay up and get a few things done then realized a little too late the time difference. We were going to be some cranky adults today! And we had a drive set for across the entire state of Nebraska, oh boy.

When I woke up it was still dark outside but I could hear birds so I knew it would be time to get up soon. We were camping along the water at this site but it was the longest walk to the bathroom I believe we have ever had. I was about halfway through my trek when I noticed bright, glowing orange through the trees. I knew it would be gone by the time I went to the bathroom and came back for the camera so I doubled back to grab the camera. Once I got there I realized the cows had an excellent view of the sunrise every morning!

We decided on an easy cereal breakfast because of the long drive. My kids look forward to these breakfasts all year long - what a treat! It helped me being amped up on cereal sugar so I'd be able to stay away for a least a little while. Dave was working today so I'd be driving the full 6 hours. We grabbed a Redbox movie for the kids and got on the road.

About 4 hours into the drive we stopped in Lincoln for another of Dave's stops on the list. A bakery winner from the Cupcake Wars show just happened to be on our way so we picked out a dozen flavors - one for lunch and one for dessert that night. This was definitely a day of sugar! I had also planned a stop at Trader Joe's there but we weren't feeling it so we just got back on the road to our site.

We were getting to critical levels of laundry so Dave found me a 24-hr laudromat relatively close to our campsite. I was hoping they had one of the huge washers that can handle our giant bag in 8 minutes.  I need one of those at home!

I usually peek at Grammie's atlas the night before our next drive, but I hadn't on this trip. I saw we were approaching a border and assumed it was Kansas. The kids laughed as we got out to discover it was actually Iowa! They decided their teacher doesn't know her states!

As we got off the interstate I had flashbacks to Illinois a few years earlier driving down the road completely surrounded by corn. All we could see was the road in front of us, a wall of corn on either side, and the horizon above.

We were once again set on the lake - camping on the water is kinda my thing. Once we got set up and Grammie started cooking I made the trip to the laundromat. I hoped I would be there only about an hour, but that was definitely not the case. Usually laundromats have change machines or the actual machines take credit cards but no luck. I noticed there was a bank next door so I checked the time at it was already 5:30pm. And there was no ATM.

I decided to go to the gas station across the street and fill up then get cash back, but that was not an option at this station. Next I decided to walk to the tiny grocery story next door and buy some bananas and get cash back. I made sure there were credit card machines at the check out as I walked in and started silently celebrating. As I paid for the bananas the clerk said to press "no" on the blank screen as they don't offer cash back. Sigh. I was trying to avoid going to the ATM but it seems I would be forced to. I drove down the street to another bank and withdrew money then took that cash to another gas station (of course I couldn't go back to the other one!) and asked for quarters. As the guy was looking at me trying to figure out how to complete this transaction I was about to give up and go back but he took my money and handed me my treasured quarters and change.

All this running around had cost me about 30 minutes and the laundromat only had regular washers and dryers so I knew I would not be able to make dinner. After I stuffed a few machines I grabbed my laptop and began to write. Ninety minutes late I was finally able to fold all the laundry and head back to the campsite. On a good note, I was able to catch a gorgeous sunset on the way home over the corn.

While I was away I left the camera with Dave and the kids. Not only did they eat dinner (and cupcakes!!) without me, they had entirely too much fun!

By the time I finished my dinner it was dark so we all just retired to bed. The adults definitely need a good night's sleep tonight.