Family Vacation 2013: Indy, Pt. 3

My life--and the lives of my four children--flashed before my eyes in Indianapolis. I was pushing Chip's umbrella stroller in the parking garage of the Children's Museum--the other three children crowded around me like ducklings--when a gray-haired woman very nearly backed into (over?) us with her car. I screamed bloody murder, and Jim ran bellowing up to the car and--enraged by his own fear--punched its roof with both fists. The woman and what I assume was her granddaughter looked through the passenger-side window to the place where the children and I stood (having passed safely behind the car by mere inches), and I waved sadly at my babies. Here they are...my whole life...my whole world...you very nearly took them from me in a careless instant.

The driver didn't roll down her window or step out of her car; she was probably intimidated, for good reason, by my husband. She honked at us, driving away.

It took some time for me to stop shaking like a leaf. I offer praise to the Lord for our safety.

When I told my mom this story, she got hung up on the age of the woman: "Well, how old was she? Was she my age? Was she older than I am?" Good grief. I don't think of my mom as being gray-haired or a grandmother, even though she's both.

Anyway. Daleen had given us a coupon for the Children's Museum, so two of the children got in for half price. Still, it was the second-most expensive activity of our trip (the most expensive being Jim's and Cade's visit to Enchanted Castle). Totally worth it. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is so amazing that--if I lived in or near Indy, with or without children--I'd almost certainly buy a membership.

All of us (seven months to forty-one years) had a great time. We split up for a little less than an hour so I could take the little kids to watch Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale in the museum's Lilly Theater; otherwise, we stuck together.

Avatar Exhibit

Set of Rapunzel! Rapunzel!

 

Chip's First Carousel Ride

Charleigh's so random. She hates this sort of thing, normally.

From the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, we traveled to the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indy, where we ate dinner at 3 Sisters Cafe; you may recognize the name from Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

 Oh. my. word.

Charleigh with Carly: a banana bear-face pancake

Amazing how long a kid will stay quiet if you give her butter and a butter knife!

Jim's Breakfast Burrito...on a Full-sized Plate

Cade with His D'Nai, as featured on DDD

The Inside of the D'Nai (slow roasted fresh ham with low-country braised kale and pepper jack)

My Green Grilled Turkey (turkey, pesto, avocado, red onion, and swiss on rye)

Of everything he ate on vacation, Jim liked my potato salad best. It was delicious; I'd call it the best garlic overdose I've ever experienced. Like, if there are any vampires around, I'm still all good.

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Brandee's and Jim's Travel Tips

1) Coupons: check online, coupon books (from area rest-stops, travel centers and grocery stores), and with area friends for them. Also check with area friends regarding deals to specific attractions. For example, I remember that--a few years ago, when we wanted to visit Hershey Park--Aunt Ellie advised us to buy our tickets from an area grocery store instead of at the park, itself: cheaper.

2) Even if you don't plan to eat out, take the time to research which restaurants you'd like to visit if given the opportunity. I'd done this, but--thanks to rush hour and rain--the kids needed to eat in route, one night. Jim's and my one and only regret from vacation is spending good money (more money, Jim moaned, than we spent at 3 Sisters) on nasty food at a family restaurant somewhere between Chicago and Indy.

Family Vacation 2013: Chicago Land, Pt. 5

The evening before our family's last day in Chicago Land, we ate a chicken dinner prepared lovingly in our friends' apartment and swam in their complex. My little kids were a bit wide-eyed over things commonplace to three-year-old Mira: the elevator, the ample pool and patio; I laughed, thinking about Country Mouse and Town Mouse.

We met up, next day, at Oz Park, which--given that I'm a huge Wizard of Oz fan--was high on my list of things to see in the area. It was well worth the stop. I'm still loving my photos; here's just a small sample.

After eating lunch at Oz Park, we drove the short distance to Lincoln Park Zoo. We stayed until closing time (5 pm), which wasn't much time, at all, in a zoo of that size. We enjoyed watching the sea lions and polar bear, in particular: animals we don't have in our local zoo.

 

African Wild Dogs

It was thrilling to be just on the other side of the glass from this enormous polar bear and its bone.

Here, we said goodbye to our friends and headed back toward Indianapolis: during rush hour, just as it started to rain. I didn't feel like we had any right to complain, though; Chicago Land and its skies were very good to us.

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Brandee's and Jim's Travel Tips

1) Jim and Cade had spent big chunks of the previous two days away from the rest of our family. I think it's worth saying: the point of vacation is for everyone to have a good time. Time together is important but, in my opinion, doesn't need to be constant. We're (obviously) a family of six with a nine-year age gap just between Child #1 and Child #2, and the little kids' and my idea of a good time isn't necessarily across the board. Jim and Cade had hung out with Dave, also visited a place called Enchanted Castle. (Jim had bought a last-minute Groupon.) Jim had also visited a casino (for the first time since Clementine was born) while the rest of us slept and had come back to the hotel room $525 richer. I'm just sharing in an "it is what it is" kind of way. I told him: if he couldn't own it via my blog, he shouldn't have done it. The extra $525 was nice.

2) The zoo pictures reminded me: we didn't use a cargo carrier or luggage rack at all, on our trip, which is to say: we fit six people, a large cooler, two cots, an umbrella stroller, Chip's blue sit-up seat, enough clothing for eight days, etc. in our minivan. Part of our strategy was to use duffle bags instead of (more rigid) suitcases. Jim and Cade had separate duffles for their clothing. I tried something new and packed gallon-sized Ziplocs in the huge duffle I shared with the little kids: each with one outfit per little kid, plus a diaper for Chip. This worked out nicely because I like to color-coordinate somewhat, also because--if I wanted--I could simply grab a Ziploc and an outfit for myself and leave the huge duffle in the minivan. I also took to carrying one Ziploc of clothing in my diaper bag for emergencies. It wasn't a perfect system, but I'll do it (or something like it) again.

After the girls played in the splash section of the zoo, I went to change them and realized that Charleigh had already used her spare pairs of underbritches and shorts. The shorts she's wearing in the last photo are Chip's (size 6 Months): can you believe it?! They're a little hoochie mama on her, but, hey, I'm glad I had them!

Family Vacation 2013: Chicago Land, Pt. 4

50% chance of rain on my family's second day in Chicago Land, but I convinced Erin to try Santa's Village Azoosment Park once more. I'd let it go, I told her, if we got rained out again; I knew the forecast for my family's third (and last) day in the area was good, but I wasn't willing to give up our plans for that day.

As it turned out, we chose the perfect day to go to Santa's Village. Only a handful of people were willing to chance the forecast, and no kidding: end of June, and we saw, maybe, four other families? No lines whatsoever, and no rain: sweet!

The similarities between Santa's Village Azoosment Park and Santa's Land Family Theme Park & Zoo in Cherokee, North Carolina are multitudinous, as you can well imagine. I can't say which I prefer. The latter offers so, so! much more in terms of kitschy, tacky, vintage structures and stuff, which I love. At Santa's Village, there's little beyond concrete mushrooms, and I'm not so much into concrete mushrooms.

Eat Up and Affected

Santa explained twice why the mushrooms make sense, but I failed to grasp his words. Something about elves being descendents or relatives of different, small beings who love (live in?) mushrooms. Santa explained about everything. Which goes to my very favorite thing about Santa's Village: Santa himself.

Santa at Santa's Village can tell you about its mushrooms, North Pole, and artwork. He can tell you about every Santa who's ever worked there. He can show you his bells, keys, and (best of all) his map: explaining how he zips in and out of time zones so as to travel the world in one night. ("I kind of teared up," my Erin said, later, "when he was explaining how he does it; it was just so magical.")

Santa at Santa's Village can turn a Santa hater into a Santa hugger so gradually, so quietly, that she doesn't even realize what's happening. No one does. It's just like magic; it really is.

(Since returning home, I've learned: Santa from Santa's Village has a blogspot; check him out!)

Here are some additional photos from our day:

 

 

 

The North Pole at Santa's Village is frosty!

 

 

She was so very proud of herself for riding the pony; she really was saying: "I'm a cowgirl!"

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Brandee's and Jim's Travel Tips

Jim and I are big fans of deal sites like Groupon and Living Social. Jim had purchased Groupons for Erin's and my trip to Santa's Village; we were able to take all the little kids for a total of $40 in admission.