Spring Break Road Trip (kind of, but not really) 2011.

 So, a few years ago we started a family tradition (or maybe it's more of a lofty goal) of taking road trips every year during Spring Break in hopes of getting the kids to see every (continental) state.  So far, we've covered over half....maybe 26 or so.  Which is great, but we've just about exhausted all states in the center portion of the USA....which means road trips for us may now have to include some air flight in order to be feasible during our time constraint.   

Basically what I'm saying is there's not enough medication in the world for me to travel say, from Alabama to Oregon, on a road trip with my husband who thinks he has to drive the whole leg in one stint.  Just to see if he can. And to annoy me in the process. Because he gets a kick out of it.  :)    

All this to say that this year, due to rising gas prices and a lack of funds for 5 airfares, we did a different kind of road trip here at House of Bowling.  We actually went to a state we've all been to before, but a place we had not.  A place where dreams really do come true.  A place where magical moments occur all day, every day.  A place where memories are made, laughter is deep, and family fun abounds around every corner. 

We saw her castle.

And toured the neighborhood as well as the gorgeous gardens.

(Look, I'll just be honest, my boys are not interested in stopping to get photos taken

 when, clearly there are better things to do....so Baby Girl stands alone.)

We rode rides.

(lots and lots of rides, over and over.)

Might I say, riding them during the day is fun....but riding them at midnight is AWESOME!

We saw lots of characters.

(but didn't want to stand in line to get our pic made with them.

Again, my kids saw bigger and better opportunities on the horizon.

So, we have several pics of random people) Hey, it's just how we roll. :)

Oh, how I love Woody and the whole Toy Story clan!

We stopped dead in our tracks to watch the parades.

And of course, life would not be complete withour seeing the main man himself....MICKEY!!

He's great, but Minnie was really showing her backside.  Women. Hmph. I dont' know, maybe she's mad because he gets to ride at the tippy top every. single. time. I'd get a little miffed too. 

I mean when two are joined together, they become one, right? 

So share the limelight a little, dude.

Of course if you yell loud enough, Minnie will turn around and become all embarassed by her unbecoming actions....and Mickey, like any man, will pretend that he was getting ready to give her a swift kick in the....well, you know, aren't these parades just a bundle of fun for the kiddos?    

And the night parade....well it's amazing.

While I know part of the reason was due to extreme exhaustion and they were just happy

to take a break from ALL THE WALKING,  but I do believe my Baby Girl and Middle Child

would have sat on the front lines watching the Electrical Parade for hours.

Before the stroke of midnight we even went inside the castle too. 

 Please excuse our grunge look.  We were pooped.

Some of us were so pooped, they had to be carried out of the park.  And there were others

who were just that pooped as well, but unfortunately, we may be too big for anyone to carry.

(I'm gonna feed Elder Son as much as I can and put him on a

strict workout regimen to remedy this problem before next time.) :)

Oh it was a grand time.  I mean a real dandy of a trip. And a family memory to cherish for a lifetime. Watching tinkerbell in the light up parade, meeting so many interesting folks in the lines, riding Space Mtn. with celebrities, the castle digital photo show from pics taken during that day at Disney, and the fireworks, and tinkerbell flying out right before our very eyes, riding thunder mountain deep into the night, pineapple aloha float treats, giggling every hour.....priceless.

In the words of Porky Pig...ttttthat's All Folks!!

The sun was setting on Day 6 as we were heading home to Alabama.  

House of Bowling Spring Break Road Trip 2010....was in the books.

No reservations. No schedules. No agenda. Just the open road waiting for us.

---We saw some pretty fabulous parts of our America. Big tourist spots, small town local flair, farmland galore.

---We ate some pretty fabulous food....only local places, sometimes hard to find, but worth the drive.

---We made some memories, together as a family, that won't soon be forgotten.  In fact, I dare say, and it is my fervent prayer, that these road moments will "stick with us" forever.

We all had the best time together, and that is just what we set out to accomplish. 

I appreciate you sticking it out through these past few days of POSTS GALORE!!!  Certainly, I wanted to share with you all to see and enjoy, or learn something you didn't know, or get a smile from the American stops our family made.....however, as with all things on the blog, it was primarily for our family to scrapbook, to document this travel, to put another road trip down in the record book, so to speak. 

Just some fast facts:

• We were on the road for 6 days.
• We traveled over 3,100 miles.
• We made stops in the following states: Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.
• Once these states were added to the list, our kids have been in a grand total of half the states in America.  That's right, Baby Girl and Middle Boy have both been to exactly 25 states, and Elder Son has been to 27 (he has a couple extra from a 2008 hunting trip to Texas). 

Do I think they'll get the other half? Will they make stops in the future to the 25 remaining states?

Sure....but they may have to start handling the driving, and the researching, and the packing, and the funding of these trips..... :)

One last stop on our Road Trip, one more state to check off the list..... (day 6)

One of, if not THE first bridge to be built over the Mississippi River.....The Eads Bridge.

and guess what....it's still in use today.  So, we left the Gateway Arch, drove right over Eads Bridge....and found ourselves in another state...

....we entered The Land of Lincoln...Illinois!!

Mark another state off the list.... 

Gateway Arch....a claim to fame in St. Louis!--(day 6)

Now, don't get me wrong, the Gateway Arch was definitely a stop I wanted us to make.  But I kept thinking to myself, it's just an arch.  And even after we arrived in the city, driving past it illuminated at night and seeing it the following morning from atop Busch stadium, I thought in my head, it doesn't look like much....in fact it doesn't even look like it's really all that massive......it left me saying in my mind, come on, show me something,  to the "Show Me State".....

.......then we weren't looking at it from afar anymore, we walked right up to it..... my kids stood beside a panel....and they instantly looked like a scene from "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids".....

The Gateway Arch is MASSIVE!!

And breathtakingly beautiful.....

The most unfortunate news was that upon our arrival into the lower area of the arch, where the history and tours are located.  And the first sign we see...."Tours to the Top are SOLD OUT".....awwww....SOLD OUT.  No.  But yes, it was true.  They run a North and South side tram, with about an hour tour that takes you to the top....however, only one side was working that day, and thus the tickets sold out early. 

We looked around at all the history located in their museum....not just items relative to the Gateway Arch, but many aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Early settlers, Indian artifacts, etc....  we even took a picture of Baby Girl standing beside what appeared to be her PawPaw's first car!!!   We haven't shown him the photo yet to confirm our thoughts, but soon.

Not to be dismayed by the whole downer associated with the no tour to the top....I found solace in the gift shop in the form of a sweet goodness.......caramel meets nougat.  And all was right with my world again.

And we ventured back outside the Gateway Arch, and surrounding park, to soak up the gorgeous day in St. Louis.....with these 3 great kiddos!

One last look of the skyline, exiting the city....

Thank you, Missouri, for a superb afternoon!

A stop the guys will enjoy--Busch Stadium--(day 6)

Sometimes a girls gotta do.....what the guys want to do.  So, Baby Girl and I got ready for a day at the old ballpark.....the St. Louis Cardinals ballpark, that is....Busch Stadium.  

Home of "Stan, The Man, Musial".....a hero to St. Louis Cardinal fans....and baseball lovers everywhere.

Here was our hero of the day...our tour guide, "Coach".  A retired high school and collegiate baseball coach, who has lived and breathed St. Louis and it's famous ball team for DECADES!  He and his wife even go down every March to Florida to watch Spring Workouts for the MLB teams.  He was a great guide....so fun, so full of life, and so very informative who also shared some really great stories!!

The lush field.....major league baseball really knows how to make the grass look greener....for sure!!!

A fun side story on our tour.....in the "Cardinal Room", I believe.  I don't really know for sure, we saw several insider rooms throughout the stadium, including the "on air live" press room and the owner's suite.   But this room houses this funky wallpaper.  Yes, that's wallpaper.  And it was made from replicas of old baseball cards of St. Louis Cardinal players.   

Well, almost all of the players featured were a Cardinal once....except for this guy.  Satchell Paige.  He never suited up in a uniform for the St. Louis Cardinals, but he did play for the St. Louis Browns which later became the ballclub we know today as the Baltimore Orioles.  But, you ask, why is he so prominently displayed on the wallpaper?  Good question, and here's the story behind the answer:

Bill DeWitt, Jr. is chairman and CEO of the Cardinals.  He and a few of his friends bought out the franchise several years ago.  When this new Busch Stadium was completed in 2006 he had this wallpaper idea.....but wanted to also include Satchell Paige.  You see, this franchise owner had come full circle in his lifetime.....when he was only a young boy, he was a bat boy for the St. Louis Browns, and thus, a bat boy for Satchell Paige, so he wanted to make certain he was on the wall of fame....even though Paige never played for the Cardinals.  

Here's another little side story from our tour, about a previous owner, you might recognize his name...this bust sits outside a stadium entrance in honor of him....August Anheuser Busch, Jr.   He owned the Cardinal franchise from 1953 until his death in 1989.

And the story goes that when he purchased them, he wanted to change the name of the field to Budweiser Stadium....a clever marketing scheme to sell more of his beer....however, the baseball commissioner said no way.  So, he said well, how about we name it "Busch Stadium"....and everyone agreed, assuming he merely wanted to honor the family name, or himself.  

Still the businessman....he was procuring yet another clever marketing tactic.....because within a year of the stadium being renamed BUSCH.....the company Anheuser-Busch developed a new beer....known only as "Busch beer".  And after being in 3rd place in beer sales at the time, behind Miller and Schlitz....they overtook both of those companies and became the number one brewery with the best selling beer (Budweiser) in the US.  And as Paul Harvey always says....now you know the rest of the story.  

See the Gateway Arch in the background?  What a view from your stadium seat!

After touring the inside of the stadium, Champions Club, Cardinal Room, etc., we ventured out to the real seats....

And to our pleasant surprise, were even allowed to go right down on the field....the boys were so thrilled!!

Elder Son "takes a call from the bullpen"......

Seriously?  The St. Louis Cardinals dugout? You've got to be kidding....sitting where many of the Cardinal baseball greats, like Albert Pujols, sit....so fun!

It was an amazing day....even for us girls! :)  We all enjoyed the tour....Middle Boy thought it was the highlight of the trip....really cool for my boys.

Yet again, we had ice cream for supper, this time in NEBRASKA---(day 2--a little late)

Sorry, this post was lost in the road trip shuffle, and after the Ted Drewes post from yesterday, I remembered there was another time on the road trip when we accepted Ice Cream as the only choice for our supper fare.  And this evening brought us to check off the great state of Nebraska. Omaha, in fact.

Yes, call me a bad mother.  I careth not. 

I do, however, enjoy a good ice cream.  Especially in a shop as quaint as this one located in the old, historic, downtown market place of Omaha.

They have some of the neatest flavors of ice cream....all homemade right in the shop, daily, in these big wooden ice cream churns. Their ice cream makers work the old fashioned way too, with rock salt and ice!!  Different flavors, different times. Aside from the standard regulars, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry....on any given day they may be serving up-- French Toast, Guinness (yes the beer), cinnamon graham cracker, Green Tea, Margarita, Molasses, Rum raisin, Pineapple, ....just to name a few.....

Middle boy stated so cleverly at the table, that he, Baby Girl and I were representing different coutries with our ice cream choices....DUTCH chocolate, IRISH coffee and my choice of margarita....which he promptly said was of MEXICAN descent. :) 

I'm sad to say that the margarita ice cream was not my favorite, but I loved the coffee and the chocolate.  I used to always order this sorbet type stuff at Baskin Robbins called "daiquiri ice"...it was a light, pale aqua color and tasted so refreshing. Anyone heard of it???   I haven't been able to find it at a Baskin Robbin in YEARS...maybe even a DECADE!  Sad, but true.  Anyway, I was hoping the margarita would be similar, but it didn't make my tasted buds jump for joy.  Oh how I miss the daquiri ice of my youth. :)

Elder Son ventured out to be the big dog that he is, looking past the piddly cup of coffee cream Baby Girl ordered, and the chocolate filled waffle cone of Middle Boy.

Instead he bellied up to the table with a full on MAN SIZE, completely loaded, banana split.

His motto: Go big (real big, as in huge) or go home.

He worked the hardest, lingered the longest over his supper, and to our sheer but delighted surprise.....

He finished the entire concoction.  Yes, mam, or sir if you're reading, he ate the whole thing.  Including those cheeries that he'd saved til the end.

I'm sad to report that this, unfortunately, only filled up that apparent hole in his big toe for a short while.  Teenage boys....you can't fill them up no matter how hard you try.

What better to cap off a great evening of ice cream in Omaha, than a piggy back ride down the cobblestone streets?  So sweet.

Ice Cream for Supper....(day 5)

Yes, I said we had ICE CREAM for supper.  And I am not ashamed.  In fact this was the 2nd time for this phenomenon on our road trip.  And yes, I forgot to post the other time, but never fear that post should arrive in the morning....lest I forget this time in our lives, when ICE CREAM was supper. :)

This stop is pretty famous....a staple feature on Route 66 for over 70 years....and it has been featured on Food Network!!  So, of course, we HAD to try it out! 

The kids were a bit skeptical when we were riding in the elevator of the hotel, ready to go out for supper and I announced we were going to eat CONCRETE.  

Because you see, CONCRETE is the specialty at Ted Drewes place.

There were 6 lines of people, about 6-8 people deep, clamoring about to order some CONCRETE, a milkshake, or even several folks who were there with their dogs, ordering the canine a little frozen custard treat!! 

I couldn't believe all the folks, on a March night, still a bit of a chill in the air.  I cannot imagine this place on a hot, summer night in July!!!  

So, back to what we came for....the moment we could all say we ate some CONCRETE. 

As noted when you find Ted Drewes on the web:

The shop may be best known for a specialty called a "concrete". A concrete is custard blended with any combination of dozens of ingredients, served in a large yellow cup with a spoon and straw. A concrete is blended so thick that it and its spoon do not fall out when the cup is turned upside-down. Servers often demonstrate this before handing an order to the customer. Seasonal ingredients, such as apple and pumpkin pie, appear for a short period every year.

Upon inspection of the menu, I knew immediately what I would order....a concrete entitled "ALL SHOOK UP". 

No, I don't really have a huge fascination with all things Elvis related.

Yes, this is the second time in the same matter of days, that I've ordered Elvis inspired food.

I do have a love for banana flavors, and in fact, I do love a good Elvis song every now and then (Love Me Tender, anyone?).  But this ALL SHOOK UP concrete at Ted Drewes....well....it was better than anything Elvis I've ever experienced.

That Elvis.

He really knew a good flavor combination....bananas and peanut butter. 

Or as in the ALL SHOOK UP concrete---bananas and reese's peanut butter cups!!! YUM-O!

Of course we couldn't stand around outside this famous attraction and not try out the CONCRETE test for ourselves.....

Elder Son, a bit skeptical, only went half-way over with his cookie dough concrete.....

However, Baby Girl showed no fear, she turned her CONCRETE right upside down and let it hang out a while, much to her Daddy's dismay. 

I'm happy to report, the CONCRETE name help up and not a drop of frozen custard goodness was lost!