Monday, July 4th
As usual, we rented a minivan. Our two cars are a little too small to handle a vacation, especially when we're camping. Plus, it doesn't really help that I'm a heavy packer! I planned for every scenario and every type of weather! I even had two first aid kits - one for the minivan and one for the campsite, but when I needed a bandaid for Amaya on Mackinac Island, was there one to be found? Nope! Lesson learned: I'll have to pack extra bandaids for my purse next time!
Anyway a little before 9:30am, my dad took Steve out to the airport to pick up our 2011 Chrysler Town and Country with only 3000 miles on it! It was complete with all the bells and whistles, with the exception of a DVD player. We weren't expecting or planning on having one, so it wasn't a disappointment. Besides, I had packed a huge rubbermaid container full of books, Color Wonder, coloring books, lacing animals, stickers and paper to keep Amaya entertained during the drive! (She's an AMAZING traveller - didn't complain at all about being bored or sick of being in the car!)
Here's our ride! (Beautiful isn't it?!?)
Because I packed so much... Steve had a challenge getting everything in the van, plus our three bikes and bike trailer. (Steve wasn't crazy about using our bike carrier on the van and didn't want our bikes to be a temptation to anyone to steal, so it was a high priority to get it all in the van) Amazingly enough, he masterfully got everything in with the exception of our bottled water and 2 cases of pop.
Can you tell this girl is ready and anxious to go? (Her "friends" were pretty excited too!)
Shortly after noon, we were on the road and ready for lunch! We swang by a McDonald's to pick up lunch to go. Once we got across the Wisconsin border, we saw tons of signs advertising, "CHEESE!" One of my favorite stops was near Omro, WI at a garage sale in the country. Initially, I didn't want to stop and lose more time, but Steve convinced me that vacation is all about the journey - so we stopped. And we're glad we did! I found 2 books, a brand new purse, and Amaya picked up a brand new stuffed animal named, "Ducky" - all for 75 cents! Score!
The remainder of our drive to Green Bay was uneventful. We checked in at the Hilton Garden Inn about a block from Lambeau Field.
The first thing on our agenda after checking in was to find a place to eat. We had heard about Brett Favre's Steakhouse and were hoping to eat there, but it was closed. The hotel desk attendant gave us directions to one of the main roads and we ate at a Texas Roadhouse. We both ordered the "fall off the bone" ribs and they were DELISH! (And the best ribs I've ever eaten!)After dinner, we went back to the hotel to swim, Unfortunately, the pool water needed to be about 10-15 degrees warmer for me to get in, so I spent the entire time in the hot tub! Amaya didn't seem to care about the water temperature and had a great time! The shallowest part of the pool was 3 feet deep, so Amaya could walk around on her tiptoes and chase after the balls I would throw to her. After all her swimming lessons, she's getting a lot more confident in the water!
Since it was the 4th of July, we were hoping to catch some fireworks, but no one in Green Bay really knew where we could park, sit, etc. Steve noticed that our hotel room faced the Fox River - where the fireworks were going to be held - so were able to watch some amateur fireworks and then a little bit of the real production later. We oohed and aahhed over the fireworks just the same as if we were sitting right by the river. By 10pm, we were exhausted and crashed in our beds.