WARNING! PICTURE AND WORD OVERLOAD!
Saturday morning, the boys and I hit the road and headed south to Iowa to go and visit Craig. We knew it would be a long trip, but for some reason, it felt a lot longer than we anticipated. First stop: Sauk Center, MN. Yes, only 25 minutes into our trip. The boys were doing fine, but we needed to buy tickets for Craig and Hunter so they can go and see some monster trucks this upcoming weekend. Next stop: Redwood Falls, MN. My bladder just couldn't hold it any longer, so we pulled off at a Wal-Mart. Typically we go to gas stations, but I always feel like in order to use their bathroom you have to get gas or buy something. And, I packed snacks, water, juice, pop so there was no need to go to one. We walked in and found $1 on the floor. So, Wal-Mart paid me to use their bathroom. Next stop: Windom, MN. I finally convinced Hunter that we needed to stop for lunch somewhere. He didn't want to stop because he was eager to see his dad. After arguing with a 5 year old (you don't always get very far) and a phone call to his dad, we decided we better stop or else we would be really hungry. Next stop: Sioux Rapids, IA. It was so nice to finally be in the same state as Craig!! We stopped, went to the bathroom and bought some water to refill the sippy cups. We kept trucking...oops! carring according to Hunter since we weren't driving a car. Next stop: Carroll, IA. We went to Wal-Mart again and used their bathroom. I wish I would have taken a picture of their sinks because they were so cool! We tried to get together with our old neighbors in Carroll, but they were busy. Next time. Next stop: Atlantic, IA. This is the town Craig is currently living in. I had to go to the bathroom again so we stopped at a Wal-Mart before heading out to the site. I promise, I'm not pregnant, but that bathroom breaks sure felt like I was! Next stop: Massena, IA Rolling Hills Wind Project. We were able to meet some of Craig's co-workers, see his office and he gave us a small tour of the site. They are busy and at the end of the project there will be 193 turbines. This is one of the biggest wind projects in the country and is also Mortenson's 100th wind project. Kind of exciting!
Here is a picture of a base-mid (the lower 2 sections of a wind turbine, a 19 axle trailer that hauled a nacelle, and a blade in the background. Next week they will start topping off turbines which means it will look complete with the top section, nacelle, hub and blades. We then went with Craig back to Atlantic and saw the "dirty hotel" aka Craig's apartment. The halls were in need of some cleaning but Craig's apartment was in decent order. We grabbed Subway and were off to Council Bluffs, IA for the night. As the sun set, we arrived at our hotel...the new hotel in Hunter's words...and slept for the night. The next morning, we packed up and headed to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE. It was amazing! We arrived there around 9:45 AM and didn't leave until 3:00 PM. Granted, we ate lunch there, but there was so much to see! If you haven't been there and ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it.
Craig and the boys feeding the goats in the petting zoo.
Hunter and Brody ready for the steam engine to give us a tour of the zoo. They boys loved it. Brody was a little hesitant at first, but really enjoyed himself.
Hunter and Gerry the gorilla. The zoo person was telling us some info about him and told us that Gerry likes to scare people by charging the glass and banging on it. He told us that Gerry thinks it's funny. Little did we know that it would happen about 5 seconds after this picture was taken. And even though we were half way expecting it, you never dream it will happen. It was so neat though.
Here is a picture of the steam engine that took us around the zoo.
The boys and I in front of the giraffes. I like giraffes.
Brody checking out sharks, sting rays, sea turtles and fish as they swam around him in a tunnel. It was very cool. I told Craig, "Isn't it crazy knowing that these things were swimming with us every time we went to the beach in Texas." I don't like to think about it.
Epcot? No. It's the Desert Dome that houses lots of animals from the desert.
After the zoo, we went to downtown Omaha. We found a park to walk around and then went to a street fair and checked out lots of art from different vendors. It was a gorgeous day and we were able to walk around the little river thing. Very relaxing. Not a bad family picture for a self timer, huh? We are all looking and smiling!
While walking around, we came across this really cool slide. You had to wait in line just to go down it. There were two and that was the only playground equipment. It was huge and something we didn't expect to find downtown. Hunter had a blast going down it twice!
After a day in Omaha, we headed back to Atlantic, picked up some things from the dirty hotel and then went to the new hotel. We were exhausted! The next morning, Craig left for work before any of us were up. It was up to me to get the boys ready, fed, and out the door with all of our luggage. The day started to Hunter waking me up because he was sick to his stomach. Great. Just what we need. Thankfully he wasn't throwing up...it was the other end. Not ideal, but I think throwing up is worse. So, we got up, I ran downstairs to the breakfast room while Brody was in his pack and play and Hunter was watching him/cartoons. Grabbed a few things to eat and headed back with my hands full. I gave Hunter very specific directions not to answer the door for anyone, but with my hands full of food/drinks, I couldn't reach my key in my pocket. So I kicked the door with my foot and after a couple of minutes of that and convincing Hunter I wasn't a stranger he opened the door. We ate breakfast, finished packing up and headed out. Let's just say it is rather difficult when you're on the second floor of a hotel with no elevator, two kids, three bags of belongings, a diaper bag, a purse and a pack and play. But somehow, we made it out and nobody got hurt. Phew. So we were on the road. First stop: McDonald's in Atlantic, IA. I needed a boost to my day so I got a large pop to start it out. It's so nice they only charge $1. Next stop: Carroll, IA. About 15 min. before we got there, Hunter told me he had to go to the bathroom really bad and his tummy hurt. We were no where close to a bathroom! Ahh. Thankfully, we made it to a gas station and it was obvious that he was a sick little boy. How were we going to make it the remaining 6 hours drive time. That is not including stops. We drove by our old house in Carroll and headed to Wal-Mart. I bought some big boy diapers for an emergency and we were down to one wipe so we got more. As we were in there, the rain started to pour, the lightning was flashing like crazy and the thunder was booming and cracking loudly. We were stuck. So, we went and picked up an umbrella. The rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was very strong. There were many people standing in the entry way and we did too. After about 5 minutes, I realized we couldn't wait for the rain to let up, we had to go for it. I grabbed our bags, grabbed Brody, told Hunter to stay close and opened our new umbrella. We quickly went to the car, but the wind was catching our umbrella and we ended up getting wet.
Hunter thought it was fun running through the storm. Brody wasn't a fan. And he wasn't thrilled to be back in his car seat. As you can see we were a little wet. Not too bad though. So, after 45 minutes in Carroll, IA we set back out on the open road through a thunderstorm. It let up about 20 minutes down the road, thank goodness.
Here is a barn that I like along the way that is north of Carroll. Many barns/out buildings in IA have quilt blocks on them. Kind of neat. We drove and we drove. We stopped to get some gas and we had a bathroom break. After our break and Hunter assured me he didn't have to go to the bathroom, we were on the road. Five minutes later, it hit and he had to go. So, we pulled over on a gravel road to put on a diaper. We finally got it on after 15 minutes of tears because he knew he wasn't a baby, but I convinced him it didn't mean he was a baby, it was for an emergency. So, we got it on, but then he didn't have to go. False alarm. We kept it on just in case. We drove until we got to Okoboji, IA where we stopped for lunch.
When we used to live in Carroll, we would stop here often for lunch. It is Los Pueblos and it has really great Mexican food. Not as good as the place in Texas, because nothing will compare to that, but it's decent. After filling up on chips, salsa, tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, and rice, we were on the road again. We finally crossed back into MN. We were getting ready for another break, and we came across the sign for the Jeffers Petroglyphs. Curiosity finally got the best of me, so we took the road to it and ventured the 4 miles off our path to see them. As we pulled up, we saw a visitor's center. Hmm...not what I was expecting. I thought it was a park where we could get out, look at some petroglyphs and we'd be on our way. Wrong. After digging out the stroller from the trunk, we were on our way. As we walked in, I noticed it would cost me $6. Ok fine. Whatever. I drove this far, I've always wondered, and it would help preserve history. I asked the lady if we could go out to the site. She suggested we watch the 8 minute video to learn more and look around the visitors center. And we had to wait a few minutes because the guide had another group out already. What?! This is a guided tour?!? What did I get myself in to!!?? Hunter really wanted to watch the video, so he went into the theater. I tried with Brody, but he was terrified. After a couple of dirty looks, I left the little theater and we looked around some more. Hunter thought the video was interesting. The lady then showed us some of the tools the Indians used. Hunter was very interested and asked questions. Brody was bored. Finally it was time for us to walk the 1/4 mile out to the site. Once there, our guide told us more info about the petroglyphs, we could ask questions, she showed us the petroglyphs since they can be hard to see. And we had to walk on a two foot path that was roped off so we didn't ruin any of the petroglyphs. Brody hated this. It was not how he imagined stretching his legs and it was obvious he wanted to run. Hunter had no clue what he was looking at besides some rocks. Had I been there alone or with Craig, I think I would have enjoyed it and would have appreciated it more. But I was so frustrated and irritated and was ready to get home.
We made the 1/4 mile trek back to the visitors center and interrupted a ceremony that was going on by a group of 15 or so Indians. Oops! We went to the bathroom, changed a diaper and walked out to a very smoke filled, funny smelling visitors center. We got to the car and I realized that I just spent $6 and one and a half hours there. Ahhh! No more stops, please!!
This is one of the petroglyphs she pointed out. It is a turtle. It is fascinating, but not ideal for small children. On the road again we were. Right before Olivia, MN, Hunter had to go to the bathroom again because his tummy hurt. False alarm again and it was just gas. Phew. We grabbed Subway to go and finished our journey home. We finally arrived to our house at 7:30 PM. It was a full day of travel and adventure.
Even with how busy we were and all the curves along the way, we had a great time visiting Craig, seeing his site, his home away from home and being able to cross off another state on my list. Hunter and Brody's too. Not sure when we'll make the next trip down, but I definitely hope it is less eventful.
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