Day Eight

Day eight was full of fun for everyone. We went to the Mississippi River to take some pictures. The night before we crossed over it, all the boys were sleeping so we drove over it in the morning.

Next stop was the Mall of America. Wow! This place was huge.

We headed to the center of the mall to look around at the amusement park. Then went to the Lego Store.

Then we were off to the food court. They had some great food. We tried some resturants that I have never heard of. I had a hamburger from Johnny Rockets and the kids had some great Japanese food. Matt chose Chipotle over a burger.

Next we headed back to Nickolodeon Universe for some rides. I fit in some shopping in between all of this. Sarah and Danielle did some shopping then came back to watch the boys on the rides. It was Toddler Tuesday so we got more tickets than we had planned. It was a pretty good deal, plus the chaperone for Josiah got to get on for free.

Brian, Matt, and Danielle went on the big roller coaster. It was going to fast to get any good pictures, but they seemed to have a good time. Sarah is the only one who did want to go on any rides, but she did find a cute sweater.

Josiah would have stayed all day. He absolutely loved all the rides he went on. After getting an extra large smoothie to share, we headed for Sioux Falls.

Day Seven

On day seven, Brian headed over to repair a part on the bus. He accomplished that rather quickly and then we packed up. We had all been looking forward to having some deep dish pizza in Chicago, so we headed to Giordanos.

We ordered a deep dish pizza and a pepperoni pizza. We really enjoyed our pizza. It was so filling we packed up half of each pizza to be devoured later. Matt only had one piece of each and was full. That says a lot.

Then it was time to hit the road for another long day of driving. We wanted to make it to Bloomington, Minnesota for our next hotel. We did find some nice rest areas that had playgrounds. This was a fun time to get out and stretch for the boys.

Day Six

Day Six found us driving through Ohio and Indiana for most of the day. We stopped at every other service plaza, but other than that we drove and drove. When we got near Chicago, Brian noticed a small diesel leak. We were hoping to get to our hotel so Brian could look at it again. While going through Chicago, in crazy traffic, the check engine light came on. We prayed our way through the Chicago highway traffic and arrived at our hotel after about an hour.

Then we were able to attend church at Marquette Manor Baptist Church where our former assistant pastor is now the senior pastor. We enjoyed our time with them.

Day Five

Day Five saw us heading to Hershey Chocolate World. Originally I had crossed this off of my list. After adding the Atlantic Ocean, it put us near Hershey on our way to Gettysburg so we added it back in.

We took the virtual tour which the younger guys thought was great. I enjoyed the gift shop. They were overpriced, but it was fun to see things you can't get in the stores around here. Then Matt and Brian went to a car museum for a Shelby exhibit. Matt really enjoyed that and the boys played in a large grassy area while I made lunch in the bus.

Next it was off to Gettysburg. We walked around the visitor center, then did the driving tour. Again, it was a lot of area to cover. We saw where a lot of the fighting took place, the famous copse of trees near the high water mark, and the cemetary where Lincoln spoke. It was quite a somber experience.

Then we headed to the Ohio border to make as much time as we could to get to Chicago the next day.

Day Four

Day Four had us doing a lot of driving. First we went to a couple of stores, then headed to the Jersey Shore to see the Atlantic Ocean. Josiah especially enjoyed playing in the sand and running around.

Then we headed to Hamburg, Pennsylvania to visit with Brian's friend Mo, who happens to live near the Cabela's. We did some shopping at Cabela's and visited with them, then went back to their house to visit some more. It was great to see him and meet his family. I hadn't seen him since our wedding.

Then we drove to Hershey to check into our hotel for the night. I told you we did a lot of driving, but it was a fun day.

Day Three

Day Three had us up bright and early for a trip down to DC. The kids were pretty excited, especially Noah. He was really looking forward to this trip.

Our first stop was Arlington National Cemetery. We went inside the visitor's center. It was quite a zoo. There were several school field trip groups coming and going. We picked up a map and them headed to the Marine Corps Memorial. This was Brian's first time to see it.

Then we, but mainly I, decided we were going to walk across the Potomac to the National Mall. The kids wanted to take the subway, but it was actually quicker to walk.

The next stop was the Lincoln Memorial. We went downstairs first, then up to the main area inside. I think Matt read the entire wall while I waited to take a picture.

Next stop was a little gift shop, then off to a food cart for polish dogs and pretzels. Then we were off to the White House.

After wearing myself out, we quickly went to the Washington Monument, The World War II Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial.

We get back in the bus and head to our hotel. Dinner at Ruby Tuesday tops off our day.

P.S. Never order a milkshake around Josiah if you aren't willing to share. This was actually Matt's milkshake.

Day Two

Day Two of our trip had us heading into the historic district of Philadelphia. We headed to our first stop, the Liberty Bell. On the way we passed right by Christ Church. This was where some of the founding fathers attended church. One of the most famous was Benjamin Franklin.

Next stop was the Liberty Bell. We all passed through security with no problems. The boys were starting to get used to all the uniformed security officers, they were everywhere near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

It was really quite an experience to be so near such an historic piece of our nation's history. Our next stop was across the street to Independence Hall. Again, we passed through security with no problems. We took the tour and saw the assembly room where congress met and the Declaration of Independence was signed. It was a beautiful room that looked untouched since the 1700's.

Next it was off to lunch at a food court for the kids and Philly Cheesesteak from a street vendor for Brian and I. Everyone enjoyed their lunch.

We headed back to the bus and walked by the graveyard where Benjamin Franklin is buried.

Next stop of the day was Valley Forge. We spent quite a bit of driving around the grounds. They have a auto tour route around the park.

Finally, we head down to Baltimore to get ready for Day Three. We get to our hotel and order pizza from Pizza Planet and watch a DVD together. Then we collapsed into bed having thoroughly enjoyed our day.