{Road Trip} Day Three - Playing Games and Winning Sights

We woke up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, played a little kubb (more on that later)...

and traveled north a couple of hours into Minnesota (a new state for ALL 5 of us!)

and the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota...

We grabbed lunch at the "Nook" and bowled an old-school game at Ran Ham Bowling Center (it's in the basement) while waiting on our food...

After lunch, we located the ever important capitol building, and Hubby took B over for his customary run up the steps...

We found all of the Peanuts statues (honoring the Peanuts creator, Charles Schultz) in a downtown park ~ the littles LOVED this...  Charles Schultz was born in Minneapolis and grew up in Saint Paul before moving west to California as an adult.

and from there, we walked another couple of blocks to the NPS Mississippi River Visitor Center to learn more about how to get to Minnehaha Falls, said to be the waterfall in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Song of Hiawatha".  We visited, and it is beautiful!

We even fit in a (brief) stop at the Mall of America, before seeking out the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture in downtown Minneapolis...

{Yes, of course, we had to eat a cherry there!}

 We left the twin cities, grabbed a drive through dinner and kissed the littles good night.  While they slept, we logged another 4ish hours up to Bemidji, Minnesota, where we turned in for the night. 

Off on a grand little adventure tomorrow!

More {Road Trip} 2014 Fun

Day One - Indianapolis, IN

Day Two - From Springfield to Madison

Day Four - To the Northwest Angle and Back

Day Five - Winnipeg and the Center of North America

Day Six - Bismarck, Theodore Roosevelt and the Center of the Nation

Day Seven - Mount Rushmore and The "Street Corner" Presidents

Day Eight - Cruising Through a Few Capital Cities

Day Nine - St. Louis and HOME!

{Road Trip} Day Two - From Springfield to Madison

We started the day in Springfield, the capital city of Illinois, as well as home to President Abraham Lincoln for much of his adult life.

We explored the grounds of the state capitol, and though Springfield came across (to me) as kind of a sleepy little town, this capitol building is one of my most favorites of the ones we've visited so far.  It is an absolutely beautiful building...

{M (4 years old) - "Don't touch him...  This is MY guy, MY favorite president..." - giving her brother and sister the "what for"}

toured President Lincoln's home...

 

and visited his tomb...

before continuing on up through Illinois making stops at both The Rootbeer Stand (it was closed) in Oglesby...



 and the grounds of the Midway Village Museum (it was closed, too) in Rockford, the original home of Rockford Red Heel Socks and the birthplace of the sock monkey...

Did you know that the instructions for making a sock monkey still come in every package of Red Heel Socks?

We soon crossed over into Wisconsin, a new state for 4 of the 5 of us.  Hubby actually made his first trip there earlier this year.

{I already love Wisconsin ~ they have an awesome sign by the highway, accessible from the welcome center, with a walkway to it and everything.} 

We made our way to Madison, the capital city of Wisconsin, and stopped by the capitol building...





and grabbed lunch (and free evening entertainment) at the famous, Ella's Deli and Ice Cream Parlor...

Everything, I mean E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, moved in this place ~ it either flew on a cable back and forth, dangled from the ceiling, spun in a circle or whirred in place ~ a mechanical wonderland, and kids' fun house of sorts, with actually a pretty good deli (this vegetarian ate my first Reuben ~ they make a version sans the corned beef) and wonderful ice cream parlor...  Sensory overload, maybe, for us parents, but the littles absolutely loved it...



Let's see...animated toys and electronics all around, an ice cream sundae with 5 spoons, a ride on the authentic 1920s carousel and fireworks off in the distance?  Yep, a pretty great Independence Day on the road...

 

More {Road Trip} 2014 Fun

Day One - Indianapolis, IN

Day Three - Playing Games and Winning Sights

Day Four - To the Northwest Angle and Back

Day Five - Winnipeg and the Center of North America

Day Six - Bismarck, Theodore Roosevelt and the Center of the Nation

Day Seven - Mount Rushmore and The "Street Corner" Presidents

Day Eight - Cruising Through a Few Capital Cities

Day Nine - St. Louis and HOME!