Once we found out we could go with him, as per my usual, I did a little trip planning research and discovered a hotel with beds for all of us AND a kitchen (yesss!!!). It is so much cheaper to pack food and cook our own meals. Buck's, of course, were paid for per diem. So that left the kids and I to chef it up while he enjoyed local flavors (take out) with us at the hotel. Did I mention the rate also included a full breakfast and there was a pool!? Why, yes, those things were also true. And even better, in my opinion, was the fact that there was a cupcake bakery built into the hotel! It had gluten free options (my current experiment) and a giant Herky statue in a chef's hat--I mean, winner winner cupcakes for dinner!! :)
But of course, we couldn't just stay in the hotel :) After Buck had napped a bit, we set out for the museums on the UofI campus. Historically, I never once actually visited these, despite my frequent class taking on the same floors and in the same halls. I knew there was taxidermy in the natural history museum, but I had no idea the number and variety of creatures therein contained! Wow! From a giant sloth (which thankfully no longer roams the plains, pew!) to stuffed rhinos, lions, a dodo bird, in fact every kind of song and predatory bird you can imagine--all frozen perfectly in time for viewing. It was pretty neat! The kids and Buck were constantly saying, "Whoa! Check this out! Look over here! This is so cool!" Yay! Fun, free, educational activity, and I took care of some sightseeing business I should have taken care of 20 years ago--although I'm kind of glad I didn't, because it was fun to experience it with my crew :)
Look! Bison for Auntie J! :)
I used to take classes in this auditorium! Crazy flashback, time tunnel, time travel kind of experience wandering these halls--remembering classes I'd taken, not remembering much of what I learned, but knowing I was for sure there :)
We thought this bird egg display was so interesting! See the teeny-tiny hummingbird egg on the bottom right? The size of a tic-tac we decided . . . clear up to that giganto Albatross egg. Around the corner, they had ostrich and emu and other REALLY big eggs. We're kind of into eggs since we have chickens now; eggs are kind of a big deal around here ;)
We had rad parking and time on the meter, so we decided to also walk through the Old Capitol building--also free, also very cool! Such stately buildings, and well-preserved. We liked the soothing colors, the heavy draperies, the incredible curving staircase, the senate chamber, and the quill pens and candles on the desks. Gabby checked out the library, Buck found some old year books (not the coolest year of graduates though ;), and of course, we found more bison for Aunt J! :)
Buck asked me what that castle towery-looking building is in the background distance. I told him, "It must be new, since I don't remember." He said, "Yeah, that doesn't look new, Miss 'I lived here three years.'" Lol. Brother Bob?? What have you got for me? :)
Back at the hotel, the next morning, a very tired Buck met us for breakfast. The kids and I went to the pool again--I got A LOT of reading done, which was super great! The kids are going to be so excited to read the book on report writing that I finished for them AND creative writing exercises for the growing mind ;) Both this morning and the day before, the pool looked like the first picture when we arrived--just us!! But not for long. On the previous day, a giant, seemingly -extended family arrived with A COOLER full of beer and a boom box . . . ummm, read the rules; my kids did :) They were pretty low key while we were there, but our kids didn't want to stay long with that many adult bodies in that small of a space. And then after breakfast on the second day, a whole flock of kiddos landed in the pool. These our kids had fun with, playing Marco Polo, diving games, Heads up 7-up, batting the ball around . . . this younger group was totally un-parentally supervised (read the sign people; my kids did! ;) and I kept a close eye on the little 4- or 5- year- old baby that the 10- to 12-year- old siblings? friends? were somewhat in charge of watching. Later, the girls told me several of the older kids didn't know how to swim!! Gasp!
After Buck's nap, and the kids' showers, we ventured out for more fun in the city--in a steady drizzle. First we went to the mall to wander and see what was happening at the ice rink. Then Buck remembered a waaaayyy distant (like kids in strollers distant) visit that included Whitey's ice cream. He is an ice cream connoisseur, so we had a little afternoon treat at his insistence (with no resistance).
Our next quest sent us back to campus in search of parking for an orchestral event at the Old Capitol building. We did not find the conveniently located open meters as we had the previous day . . . instead, we parked several blocks away in the giant church section of town (I took classes over there too, once upon a time :) We splashed through the puddles, admired the oddly-shaped Cambus, and made it to the orchestra on time. See, vacation planning is a good thing!
It just so happened that this New York-based group of extremely talented young adults were playing a selection of music primarily composed by Beethoven . . . and we had just studied Beethoven that very week in our book of famous composers. Oh, and it was free! (I'm high-fiving myself at the moment, just so you know ;)
We were seated in the lovely senate chamber on the upper level of the building--chandeliers, oooh, ahhh! The lady behind us had a very strong European accent and a VERY short temper, so we got to *enjoy* some pre-show fireworks. I think Caelan might have learned a few new swear words that she missed during the movie. Oh, people! Such a world full of people.
The concert started with just two instruments and built to seven at its largest point. There was a violin (my favorite!), a viola, a cello, a French horn, a super fun bassoon, a double bass, and a very pleasant clarinet. This group strives to keep the most complicated classical music alive by learning and performing it, so it isn't lost. They were energetic too, for classical musicians--hair flying around, facial expressions all over the place, heads bopping, arms flailing--for 1.5 hours. Now, I thought the boys might wear out after such a long time, but though they became a bit fidgety toward the end, they all expressed their enjoyment of the experience afterwards.
During the concert, I held Buck's hand and as the soothing tones lulled him to sleep, I'd feel his grip relax, so I'd kind of move a little to wake him up. Poor, tired guy! He enjoyed the performance too, and didn't snore once! He insists he was not the only man asleep in the room--and he was probably right. That music just rocks you like a baby sometimes :)
After the orchestra experience, we had to have some balance in our interests, so we went to a pub to watch NFL playoff games :) The Wig and Pen is one of the more *known* restaurants on campus, although I don't remember going there much. It seems that many of the places I went, no longer exist :) I guess I should have chosen my dining experiences more carefully for long-lasting meal opportunities, ha! Back at the hotel, we watched more football (I say *we* but I was reading my stack of books while *they* did most of the sportsball watching ;) Buck said several times that the business trip was so much better with us along than it would have been without us. Yay! And yay for valiant neighbors who will take care of the farm while we're away for a measly half dozen eggs plus one :) And yay for a blizzard that broke just long enough for us to get home, get the dog from the vet clinic, and get Buck to work safely (the drive home from work, not so great, but he made it!)
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