Columbus Day 4

This was travel day, and we were tired!  I took a little snoozer for the first part of the trip but then we got stopped in the middle of the boonies by a train.  And, by looking at the road maps there was no way to turn around and get around it either.  I'm not sure why Maps took us a different way home than they how they took us there, but they did and this way was much less awesome.  It was a lot of 'highways', by which I mean two lane roads in the middle of nowhere.  We weren't on expressways so there weren't exits or places to eat or anything.  We wanted to stop and get some food but then were in the middle of a HUGE rain storm.  It was intense.  We finally got around to stopping and we thought we'd try a Cracker Barrel.  A lot of people I know rave about how amazing it is and the only time I ever had it I got sick after (now, I don't know if it was motion sickness or the food so I was willing to give it another shot).  Needless to say, I will not be dining there again.  I think that most people must like the store that is in the front of the restaurant but the actual restaurant itself is overpriced and the food isn't that great.  Now, I know I like to eat a lot of food but even their portion sizes were tiny.  I was grumpy from being in the car and then we paid a lot of money for not good food, and I left hungry.









Back on the road we had to stop in Kalamazoo because we had signed Lucy up for the mud run months ago but then realized that it was the same day as the Half Marathon that Holly, her friend Elizabeth and I were running.  So, we just went and picked up her packet which had her shirt in it and her bib.  She was pretty thrilled about that!

Back on the road to GR because I was going to stay overnight at Mom and Dad's as Holly was picking me up at o dark thirty the next morning to get to the race.  G and the kids were headed home so that they could get a good nights rest and meet us up in Ludington afterwards.  I was exhausted and pretty happy to be not in the car.  It was a long day, but the kids did really well!  On to the next adventure...

JVG

Columbus Day 3

This was probably our busiest day yet.  Luckily, G didn't have to go in to the conference anymore so we hit up the zoo in the morning.  They had a continental breakfast at the hotel but it closed at 9... so I usually got up grabbed some breakfast for myself with Norah (who was awake before the others) and then came back to wake the others so they could eat too.  For being a continental breakfast it was pretty extensive, which was good for a horker like me!
















The zoo in Columbus is MASSIVE.  It's also attached to a water park which was quite large as well.  We probably, and I'm not even joking spent the whole week just looking through all their stuff!  As it is we were there for a couple of solid hours and didn't even make it through half way of a quarter of their zoo.  The set their zoo up in four parts and we didn't get through half of one... it was ridiculous. It was also really hot that day so I wanted to make sure that the kids didn't overheat.  Norah LOVED the reptile house.  She was fascinated with the snakes and even got to touch a Kenyan boa.  I didn't mind staying in the reptile house because it was air conditioned and out of the sun... I always get a little worried when the girls cheeks so bright red.  The lady who was holding the snake gave instructions on the best way to touch the snake and Norah and Lucy did such a great job.  Eventually Dude touched the snake but he was more apprehensive.









































In the zoo they had aquarium stuff too which the kids liked.  There were beluga whales and sting rays which were awesome!  There was a nice play area, similar to structures at like Jungle Joe's that they played awhile at but it got a little hard when Norah would find herself in the corner somewhere stuck... We eventually had to quick make it back because we were meeting a friend to hang out for the rest of the day!





















I know that its silly that we keep meeting up with people that we've met off an app, but in large numbers I feel like we are safe.  Kat brought her husband and son as well, so it was a nice family outing.  We swam for quite a bit and then decided to get some ice cream at the place that I wanted to take the kids the day before.  This place was awesome because they make all their ice cream right there so we can watch their process!  They also had an indoor play area so the adults could enjoy their lovely treats and they could burn off some of that sugar energy.  The place is called Graeter's, and they're around more in different parts of the US just not in MI :(












We hung out until she had to drive home since she still lived a few hours away and the kiddos were exhausted from all their fun.  We really didn't have any trouble with them going to sleep at the end of the days because we would swim until the pool closed which was around 10... and I think that they understood that they were getting to stay up late so they were good and tired.
















We didn't have any plans for the next day because we had to check out and drive home.  All in all I had a fantastic time... the kiddos were so good and the things that we did was a lot of fun.  We found out that there is a train that goes to Columbus and we didn't get a chance to see other things like the COSI and the rest of the zoo.  We liked the hotel that we stayed at too, and the price was decent so we would probably go back there again!  Yippee!  Even though it was fun I was definitely ready to be back home and in our own space :)

JVG

Columbus Day 2

There were a few things that we researched to do while we were there and depending on the day and how everybody was feeling we decided what to do which day.  This day when G got back from his talks and stuff we tried out their conservatory.  We had visited a place like this in Chicago, and the kids loved it, so we thought we'd try this one.  It was pretty cool!  It turned out to be a pretty hot day but all in all I think they enjoyed it.























































































The exhibit they liked the most was the butterfly room.  Just like Frederik Meijer Gardens they have a room full of butterflies that just fly around.  These particular kinds were not native to the area so they were all new to the kids.  My favorite was this brilliantly bright blue one on top of the wings but when it sat with its wings closed up it was a dull brown color, and it blended in quite well.  Dude loved chasing them around and seeing all the different colors.
































































The day ended up being a little too hot so after we saw all the grounds we went back to the hotel and swam some more.  I think the kids would've honestly been happy enough to stay in the hotel and just swim the entire time!  It was amazing though, because we were in the water so much Lucy became more of a confident swimmer and can now swim without any flotation devices!  :)  Norah became more comfortable with her puddle jumper and can get around the pool by herself now, which was adorable to see.









I think that afternoon G had to go back to the conference and I was going to take the kids to this ice cream place that had a playground inside, but they misbehaved so badly that we ended up having to stay at the hotel, which was much more difficult and way less fun.  :( They had a little down time in the hotel room and watched some Sesame Street which they LOVED.  We had tried them on it before but they didn't seem too keen, but they thought it was hilarious this time.  We haven't had TV in such a long time it was a bit of a shock to see commercials.  The kids didn't understand why their show was being interrupted but they got over it rather quickly.






After G got back from the conference we had some dinner and swam some more.  Onto day 3!

JVG