Chicago- the Windy City, Second City

Chicago is beautiful. I didn’t expect it to be right on the water. I didn’t do any homework on the city so it was nice to be surprised by all the water. There’s even a beach right in town! There are parks everywhere and the city plants a million plants each year so even nooks and crannies looked pretty. It was clean and didn’t smell either so that made it even more pleasant.

Chicago got the nickname “The Windy City” not after the breeze, but after politics, according to our tour guide. It was quite windy near Soldier Field though right near Lake Michigan. The Second City nickname comes from building the city on top of itself after the fire in 1871.

Tuesday was rainy so we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. That place is cool! We stayed til it closed touring a coal mine, learning about the German sub U505 the US captured during WWII (only one ticket to tour was available so we missed that) and Jacob participated in a production about digestion holding the 22ft long small intestine. (It's considered small because of the 1" diameter instead of the 5ft long large intestine which is 2" in diameter.)

Jacob and Faith driving the sub

Wednesday we toured the city by bus seeing all the main sights. Then we headed to the Field museum to see Sue, the most complete T-rex ever found. Our afternoon was spent on a boat tour through the river looking at architecture. We had dinner with my aunt, uncle, cousin and his girlfriend at an iconic diner. It was great to see my cousin since I hadn’t seen him in about a decade.

If you click on the photo and look closely at the top of the Sears (Willis) building you can see the plastic rooms on the outside of the building for photo ops. We did not go up there.

We drove past the Federal Reserve building and found out much of our money is printed in Chicago. Rick pulled some money out and there it was - the G7- showing that it was made in Chicago.

Sue the T-Rex

Dinner with cousin Mike and the family


Thursday we drove through the city looking at Soldier Field, Wrigley field, Hull house (Faith learned about it in school last year). We’d planned on going to the Art Institute, but there were still more things to see and do at the museum of science and industry. Plus I figured the kids would have more fun there. I knew I would catch grief from my dad if we left Chicago without having some pizza or a hot dog so we grabbed some pie at Gino’s East. I feel the need to get a hot dog too, but I’m not sure if I’ll get one before we leave.

Learning about lightning and electricity at the Museum of Science and Industry

Jacob, Faith and Rick volunteered to be "skyscrapers" in the tornado demonstration to show how the big buildings break up the swirling wind, that's why tornados aren't in Chicago- they prefer wide open spaces.

We learned how combining different chemicals gives off different flame colors- that's how fireworks are made.

The girls inside a tube with 70-80mph winds

The kids could combine different chemicals from the periodic chart to "make" things. They made salt, water, explosions, etc. It was really neat.

Great exhibit- Body Works. Different models of different systems in the body.

Smoker's lungs compared to non smoker

Nervous system

Rick and I using our brain power (or lack thereof) to move the ball towards the other person. The bands on our heads sensed brainwaves- the more brainwaves, the more the ball moves to your side so the object is to think of nothing to move it to your partner's side. We did really well. There were people waiting to try it and I knew that so I didn't want to take forever. The man running the thing finally came over next to me and out of the corner of my eye I saw my brainwaves acting up. Game over. He said "Another thoughtless husband wins." ha!


We decided to have Friday be a stay at home day to catch up on school and laundry. Aunt Betsy wanted to come see the RV so she came out to visit. She also wanted to be a visiting professor so she made up a quiz of ten questions “Facts Aunt Betsy thinks YOU should know about the United States”. Luckily, we all passed the quiz. We ended the day having dinner with my aunt and uncle and finishing our laundry in their what-seems-large-to-us washer and dryer.

Feel free to take the test (ages 9 and up). Adults should go for the extra credit by listing all five states, all countries touching the US, all oceans, etc

Welcome to Illinois?

We arrived in Illinois Thursday evening. I had my camera in my hands ready to take a photo of the Welcome to Illinois sign as we crossed into the state, but no sign. The only sign we came to said “Welcome to the Illinois Tollway.” I wish I would’ve taken a photo of that! We paid our fee and continued on our way. The toll roads were were great, by the way.

We spent our fist night at Camping World to get the oil changed and have a dryer vent put in. When the pantry was stuck in Wisconsin and the guys were working on it there was a lot of lint coming from that area. Rick and I both thought it was strange until we realized that the dryer vent was not hooked up to the outside and was just venting behind the pantry. Oopsie! If the pantry wasn’t stuck I don’t know if we would’ve known it didn’t go out because it’s not supposed to have much lint. We are thankful for the stuck pantry to make us aware of that problem. 1Thess 5:18 In everything give thanks

My son spent part of his 12th birthday at Camping World and the other part playing video games at our campground once we were hooked up. He suggested we have a stay home day on Saturday. So his celebration continued through the next day- eating his favorite foods, playing video games and watching movies. I searched online to try to figure out how to get from A to B in Chicago the following day.

Sunday we had a bright, sunny day wandering around Chicago. First stop was Millennium Park to see Cloud Gate aka as The Bean and Crown fountain.

Then we wandered to Navy Pier and had some lunch. After that we hopped on a trolley, then the L train to take us to the theater to see the Blue Man Group. We had great seats and it was great fun. We were laughing before it even started. In the bathroom they played “bathroom, you’re in the Blue Man group bathroom”. We were in a downpour on the way back, but that makes for good memories.

Jacob suggested we have a stay at home day Monday. (He likes to be at home) We were soaked to the bone and I wasn’t sure our shoes would be dry the following day so I gave them the good news/bad news- we were staying home Monday, but we were starting school. We had received all our school supplies in May before we left Texas and they said we could start then- doing two school years at once!- or whenever we wanted. I figure it’s better to start early rather than late because I’m not sure how we’ll fit it all in each day. We completed day one on day one- yeah! Then we went to my aunt’s house for dinner.

My aunt and uncle have lived here for years. I know their address by heart, I’ve seen pictures of their house and now I was able to put it all together. We enjoyed good food and good conversation. And we were happy to pick up packages we’d sent there- including my computer we’d dropped off a week before in Wisconsin. I felt naked without all my documents and photos at my fingertips! So now I’m fully dressed and ready for more sightseeing!

World Famous Wisconsin

After spending 12 days with our friends, we are back on the road. We had a great time on the lake fishing, boating, swimming, playing games, etc. We also fixed the pantry. And when I say “we” I mean Rick and Ringo. Our sliding pantry right next to the frig became jammed on day one of our adventure! Waaaaaay back on May 17. Rick and I had tried many things over the past two months to dislodge whatever was stuck. Ringo removed something under the pantry area and was able to look up when Rick shined the flashlight and see the area where it was stuck. Then Ringo grabbed a variety of items that might be long enough and thin enough to slide in to dislodge it. Rick and I had done this as well, but to no avail. We had researched the problem online (many others have run into this) and called Winnebago. They told us to take out the frig and cut part of the wall so we decided to wait til we got to Wisconsin to deal with it. But with an old hand saw and some brute force the pantry became unstuck. Wondering what the item was that partially fell over causing the problem? Nutella. A Costco size two pack of Nutella. The bonus of having Ringo help? He’s a cabinet maker so he stained our shelves to hide the scars we created while trying to get into the pantry. So our next task was to figure out how this would not happen again. After considering many materials, we went with small sheets of thin plexiglass that fit in the shelves therefore making them a few inches higher and less prone to have items tip.

The other “fun” thing Rick and I did in Wisconsin was to take the van in for a brake recall. It took Honda and hour and a half to fix that and change the oil and we were on our way. We made a phone call in the parking lot and Rick commented about how tight the pedals were now. Then a warning light came on in the parking lot so we went back in to have them fix it. The fella tried to reset it several times and Rick asked “Could it be related to what you just fixed?” No, we were told. After if wouldn’t be reset Rick asked if maybe there was actually something wrong. There was and we ended up being there for another two and a half hours and having lunch from the bowling alley next door. Rick and I haven’t spent time alone since May when we went to pick up BBQ in Tyler for dinner (so much better than the bowling alley food, by the way), so we decided to enjoy this excruciating amount of time in the dealership watching back to back episodes of Walker Texas Ranger. We found out that out of the 600 brake recalls they had fixed ours was the only “fix it” pack that was faulty. I told Rick we needed to buy a lottery ticket.

On to the “world famous” part- in the tiny town of Minocqua there’s the world’s largest penny. Our kids were slightly interested, but not enough to leave the lake to drive half an hour and then watch Max scrimmage at hockey camp, so Michele and I went alone to explore. We learned about Dr. Kate NewComb wanting to build a hospital for the area in the 50’s. It was started, but not completed due to a lack of funds. Students in an area school wanted to see a million of something so their teacher suggested they collect pennies for the hospital. Dr. NewComb ended up on “This is Your Life” and people all over the world sent money and the $106,000 collected finished the project. So now a giant penny stands to commemerate it.

Michele and me. I drug the kids there the next day on our way out of the area.

Michele and I also went to a cranberry bog. I learned that five states are responsible for most of the nation's cranberry crop and Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington are in the group- I didn't know that! I'd love to come back and watch the harvest when they flood the fields. They freeze the fields during the winter as insulation, monitoring them to make sure they don't get too warm or too cold.

In Mt. Horeb, we visited the Troll capital of the world. Who wouldn't want to go there? We walked around the cute little town snapping pictures of various trolls. There are about 20 in town so I figure if you want to become the troll capital you'll need to have at least two dozen in your town to overtake Mt. Horeb.

The kids with Mayor Troll of Mt. Horeb

Jacob playing the accordian with his troll friend.

Jacob getting his teeth checked out by Dentist Troll and his assistant Faith.

Our next world famous stop was the Water Park capital of the world- Wisconsin Dells. This place is like Las Vegas for kids. There are themed amusement parks, water parks, hotels, etc. After careful consideration the kids chose Mt. Olympus, a greek themed water and theme park. They had indoor and outdoor water parks and amusement parks. This made it nice during the heat of the day to be inside playing until it cooled off a bit.

I wanted to tour a cheese factory, see the breweries in Milwaukee and Lambeau field in Green Bay, but we didn't make it this time. I don't drink beer and I'm not a Packers fan, but beer, cheese and the Packers are what I used to think of when I thought of Wisconsin. Now I'll have fond memories of playing with friends on the lake, cranberries, trolls, giant pennies and Culver's creamy custard!

Wisconsin Wildlife

Becca spotted these in the backyard. We saw them several times. Michele saw an albino deer on the road, but we didn't see that one.

The boys silent as the ducks go by.

Loon on the lake after the sun set. It was amazing to get this close to the loon and then to get a great shot- even more amazing!

Deer fly- these guys bite! There were larger horse flies that bite too and mosquitoes, of course!

Teeny tiny frog. There were regular size frogs and giant bull frogs too. We heard them every night but didn't find them so no picture. I heard they hiss at you though.

Happy girl with Mr. Ringo. She loves to fish!

And the story of the one that got away. She almost had it pulled in net and it broke the line. Ringo said it would've fed all ten of us.

Wisconsin days

Sunset on the lake. Click to enlarge photos.

Jacob driving the boat

Faith and Makena on the paddle boat

Becca focused on fishing

Our lakeside camping spot

On the lake in Wisconsin at The Shack

Our friends, Ringo and Michele, live in Hawaii, but spend July in Wisconsin near family. Years ago, Michele asked Ringo to build a shack so when they camped here on the family property she could use a regular bathroom instead of a port a potty. He bought some land and built a house, a big house they call “The Shack”. They have great amenities here like two ply toilet paper and a huge washer and dryer! Well, they seem pretty fabulous to us :)

We are having a blast here. They have many toys to keep the kids, big and small, occupied- pontoon boat, paddle boat, raft, water trampoline, inflatables to tow behind jet skis, fishing poles, a creek, wildlife, games, video games and lots of movies.

This is pretty fun because 1) our kids haven’t spent time playing on a lake and 2) it’s great to be with friends! Michele is one of my best friends and between the two of us we have six kids in matching grades.

I’m so looking forward to our extended stay to relax, try to get some things done on my checklist and in the rv, but also just to hang out with Ringo and Michele. We would get together in Hawaii, but it was never long enough because life/work/school was always in the way, so it’s fun now to have lots of days to play.

Click on photos to enlarge

Michele literally jumped up and down AND did a cartwheel as we were driving down the road toward her! What love!

"The Shack"

The "toys"