Illinois

     Leaving Missouri on our big trip this summer we had a decent drive all the way up through Illinois to get to where we were staying. Figuring most of the day would be spent in the car we decided to break it up with some fun stops. About and hour or so in we stopped first in Collinsville, Il. to see the Worlds Largest Catsup bottle. We're not big catsup/ketchup eaters, well maybe Emily is, but it was something fun and silly to see and on the way. I thought it'd be easily spotted, it was not. We stopped at a gas station to get exact directions after being unable to find it on our own. It is quite high so getting pictures with it wasn't going to happen. There was a building at it's foot with a celebration banner painted on it about the bottle and we took some pictures with that. We also brought home a small cardboard sign that had fallen over advertising the Worlds Largest Catsup Bottle Festival which was to be the next day. Our timing was just a bit off for it.

     About ten thirty in the morning we made it to our next stop, The Cozy Dog Drive In, Springfield, Il. They are actually a certified Route 66 Roadside Attracttion. They are the creators of the original corn dog, or as they called it the cozy dog. The place was really cool inside with a ton of Route 66 memorabilia. And we all had to have a cozy dog snack no matter what time it was. We washed them down with cool route 66 sodas, orange and lime. Yummy stuff we can't find at home. The bottles were really cool too with historic Route 66 places written about on the back. Great useful souveniers. Emily had become obsessed with corn dogs before we took off on our trip so this should have been a great stop for her. Too bad she didn't really like the real thing freshly fried up to eat. At least not that early in the day.

     A few hours later we stopped at Mcdonalds. This one was across the street from Wrigley Field. We didn't eat here but did run in for a bathroom stop before taking some pictures outside Wrigley. As it was a Saturday I thought it quite funny that two separate wedding parties also showed up to take pictures outside it. We were all getting hungry by this time again and so in Chicago we knew we had to try some deep dish pizza. In the car we checked the GPS to see what pizza places were around. Rob then jumped on the internet through his phone to find some quick reviews and pick a good one. Don't you just love technology? We wound up at The Art of Pizza, a few blocks away. We got our drinks and had some garlic bread as we waited for our pizza to cook. It was so delicious I was tempted to get more just to have it while we were there despite being stuffed already. The kids and I all loved it. Rob just called it a glorified round sicilian. Whatever. It was good pizza!

     Next up was check in time at the hotel in Waukegan, Il. Our room was at the end of a long hallway, thankfully with a door to the outside close by. We also had a great view of a different Mcdonalds drive thru right out our window. It was late enough that we didn't want to head to the next Six Flags park we had come for but early enough we wanted to do something. We decided on mini golf. We picked a place close by from the flyers and what not at the hotel. When we arrived we weren't even sure it was the right place, it seemed so small and dark. Rob looked around the back of the building to be sure before we even got out of the car. It turns out it had been someones house and backyard that were now turned into a small game room and the whole backyard was the mini golf course. Weird, but actually quite nice even if it was smushed together and in between other regular homes. you could see their backyards some from the course. We had a fun game and then called it a night at the hotel so we'd be raring to go for a full park day the next day. We had brought some easy microwavable things for cheap meals along the way and thats what we had this night. Any of us who were still hungry.

     Because we went to the Missouri Six Flags and this one here in Illinois, called Great America, so close to each other I tend to confuse them. I know that Six Flags Great America had this thing called the Skytrail. You had to pay extra to do it but not much and so I let the boys do it and they loved it. Basically your harnessed in and have to go up and around all these balance beams, rope ladders and crazy things up in the air. Emily wanted to do it too but couldn't because of her shoes. Robert and Andrew loved it and stayed up there quite awhile. They also had one of Robs favorite rides where you sit in a boat and go around shooting water at all the other people in the other boats. I can't recall the name of it. Not my cup of tea. I remember giving in and getting a bag of M&M's for the kids. And of course while trying to open it walking down the path the bag ripped and we lost half of it on the ground. Oh and I cannot forget that when you first entered the park there was a really cool double level carousel we of course rode a little later in the day.

    Although the day at the park wasn't very memorable for me I'm sure the kids could tell you a lot more about it. I know they enjoyed it. I believe it was this night before we took off for our next states that I had some crazy dreams about strange, bad things happening to us along the way. I was paranoid in the beginning we'd get into an accident or have some kind of car trouble and not be able to make it home. Or that something would happen to any one of us and we'd be spending our vacation in some strange hospital somewhere. Of course none of these things happened but it took me another few days to relax and really enjoy the trip. It was sort of like that first week of the trip I really couldn't believe we were doing it, that we could do it, it was such a crazy thing to do. But I am so glad we did, bad dreams, crazy paranoia of mine and all.