Our LONG Vacation (Part 1)

We just got back from a really long trip that took us all over the central United States to visit family and friends. We were gone a total of 11 days and put over 3000 miles onto our Rav4. So I have lots to blog about. I think I will have to split it up into more than post.

We set off on Saturday, August 4th.

First stop: Omaha
We rolled into town around 11 o’clock Saturday night. I hadn’t made any hotel reservations for the night beause I figured, hey, it’s just Omaha. What could possibly be taking place in Omaha that would book up all the hotels in the area (other than the College World Series). What a mistake. Apparently American Idol Tryouts were to take place in a few days, and so the hotels were booked.

We drove around awhile, trying to find a hotel with vacancies. An employee at a Super 8 took pity on us and volunteered to call a bunch of hotels in the area and finally after about 15 calls found one for us. Even though the motel (an Econo-Lodge) ending up being a not-so-pleasant experience due to the window-unit air conditioning that continuously sounded like a large airplane taking off and their internet service was down, I was glad we were able to find an available room. But we probably won’t be staying at another Econo-Lodge again by choice.

On Sunday, we spent some time relaxing at the Oak View Mall. After a quick nap back at the hotel, we went to visit Steve and Heidi VanVoorst and their daughter, Katelyn. Heidi cooked us some authentic Italian-recipe lasagna for dinner, and it was delicious. Katelyn is about 7 months younger than Adrianna, and they got along quite well. There was just one quick moment of tears, and that occurred only because Katelyn was admiring the pretties in Adrianna’s hair and attempted to pull them out to admire them closer, which resulted in Adrianna’s hair being pulled too.

On Monday, we met Rebecca Marks and Jason and Angela Slininger for dinner at GodFather’s Pizza. (We always visit GodFather’s when we are in Omaha.) Jason and Angela have three adorable children; Emma (4), Jonah (2), and Clara (8 months). Emma, Jonah, and Adrianna enjoyed playing together at the restaurant while us adults caught up. I was very glad to see them all. I have such fabulous memories with each of them from my college days. Ang and Becca were friends and roommates of mine since 1997 (we had a lot of fun together) and Jason and I were in Ambassadors together which was also happy time for me.

Second Stop: Des Moines
On Monday afternoon we met up with Chris and Anja Whitehead and their two children, Keelin (4) and Liam (almost 2), in Des Moines. We had reserved hotel rooms right next to each other and what a great idea that was! After walking a block to dinner at Bennigans, we came back to the hotel and all went swimming together. Afterwards, we all went over to Chris and Anja’s room and Adrianna had her first sleepover. She and Keelin were the best of friends during our stay there; they had a great time.

After a lot of giggles and jumping on the bed, we wheeled Adrianna’s Pack ‘N Play into the room and put her to bed. After all three kids fell asleep, we adults pigged out on cookies and enjoyed talking until late into the night.

On Tuesday morning we parted ways after brunch.

Third Stop: Minneapolis
We got to Minneapolis on Tuesday evening. After taking a detour through downtown Minneapolis due to some misinformation we received about where to find the Mall of America, we made our way to Bloomington to stay in a nice hotel across the way from the Mall of America. Our room was really nice and had a walkout right to the outdoor pool.

We were also by the airport, which meant we saw (and heard) many, many airplanes fly overhead. Adrianna enjoyed pointing out every one. This also happened to be Greg’s 33rd birthday. We will celebrate our birthdays together tomorrow.

On Wednesday, we caught a shuttle bus (much to Adrianna’s delight) to the Mall of America to do the touristy thing. We really enjoyed it. It is four levels and has a small amusement park in the middle and a large legoland with tables of legos to play with. Adrianna rode the “train” which was really a bunch of little semi trucks joined together. Each seat had a steering wheel and a horn to honk, both of which got a lot of use. In fact, the entire time the ride is in motion all you hear is the many honking of horns. Notice Adrianna’s hand on the horn even in this picture.

Here is the view of the atrium from level 3.

And get this; there was a PEZ Convention at the hotel we were staying at. Yes, PEZ. There were maybe 15 to 20 rooms containing PEZ fans displaying their huge PEZ collections. One of these happened to be right across the hall from our room, so we got to peek into their room often to display their PEZ collection to other PEZ admirers. They called themselves The Purple Cow and were really nice and friendly. I did a google search and they even have a website. LOL.

On Wednesday evening, we went to dinner with Greg’s friend and former band mate, Eric Smith. He took us to this great little cafe in Minneapolis called Cafe 28. It was a hip little place and he knew the manager, so the experience was really great. I also enjoyed the best tuna melt (with a wee jalapeño kick) in the world. It truly was one of the greatest things I have ever eaten. Even the burps several hours later tasted good.

After dinner, we took Adrianna to a playground near a lake. Then we went back to the hotel and parted ways. Greg and Eric went out for the evening and Adrianna and I stayed in, went swimming, fed the bear a snack, and just generally relaxed. For the record, Adrianna put the bear in the booster chair and strapped him in herself.

On Thursday, we met my friend Tom Nechodomu in downtown St Paul for lunch. I was SO excited to see Tom; we haven’t seen each other since we both moved away from Omaha back in 2000. I cannot even explain just how happy I was to see him again. I really have missed him very much; he was such a big part of my Omaha life and many of my happy memories from there include him. We were also in Ambassadors together for two years.

Fourth Stop: Chicago
Thursday night, we arrived in Chicago and were glad to spend some time with Jeff and Jess and Charlie. Adrianna has been talking about “Baby Chayee” and “Aunt Jess” since our last visit with them. For Adrianna, “Aunt Jess” can refer to either Jeff or Jess. Although I think she is now getting to the point where she sometimes will say “Unco Jess” and “Aunt Jess.”

On Friday, Jeff and Jess took us to this delicious pizza place called Giordano’s. Yum, yum, yum. It was wonderful. After spending some more time with Jess and Charlie (Jeff had to go back to work), we headed out to Indiana to meet up for our family reunions.

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More to come!