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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

2018 Spring Break Reflections..I don't want to forget.


I wish I had journaled each day to capture more, here are my reflections while they are fresh!

Clare’s slang- “Fake News”- in her vernacular it means:  not going to happen…this cracks me up!

Entertainment during our drive from Chicago to Indy Clare found my Shutterfly site to look up picture from last visit to Indy.  It was 2009.  She has referenced all our spring breaks this break.  She knows years and cites.  We’ve done amazing things and I must say I’m grateful for her memories and recap…DC- running the monuments, Africa- has many memories- visiting the orphanage to play with babies was the highlight…happy heart, hiking the Appalachian trail- not their favorite- someday they’ll look back…. flying to see Nana, Pap and Aunt Sarah- they each did that separately, staying home to play baseball, NYC and their own must dos and the fun we had getting there by train.

Clare had to keep telling me- I’m not picky, I’m particular.  The grilled cheese at Fair Oaks- I gave it a 9l she gave it a 7- too much cheese.  I do get that logic. And what I love, she has thoughtful analysis of all situations.  She was all about experiencing deep dish pizza.  We had it twice.  She liked it, but finds it hard to eat. She wondered- in Chicago if you host a lacrosse pizza party- do you order this to feed the masses?   What an undertaking to use fork and knife- not easy when entertaining.  Car question- what is the best pizza? GO! She knows my answer- NY Rocky’s in MD…. Sally had it yesterday for lunch, lucky girl.

Clare reads the news- on line- she wants a subscription on line to the Newark Advocate.  We have a subscription to the Granville Sentinel...I’ve been meaning to consider online options.

Peter knows everything there is to know about sports.  He can basically tell you the lineup of all MLB teams.  When I figured this out we had a calm good discussion about how he could transfer these abilities to school- Latin.  He gives Sports Center a lot of credit for his learning. We joked about a Latin TV Show or site…hmm maybe he should switch back to Spanish and watch ESPN in Spanish.

Peter is not particular about his meals.  He orders well.  Although when hungry instead of being flustered by a big menu- he went for a burger and Clare went for the Chicken Cesar Salad.

We’ve had 5 nights in 4 different hotels. We’ve had 16 meals- maybe just a coffee and pastry breakfast- together.  We’ve had to select restaurants and it has gone amazingly well. There was one amazing brunch stop, Clare had water. She had enjoyed her cereal in the room before leaving. I was going to skip the stop but something told me, don’t do it.  I’m so glad I listened to my gut and could enjoy a fantastic meal in the charming town of Saugatuck.  I’ll be back!  The restaurant was listed as- worth the drive from Detroit- it was Southern food, in Michigan and it was amazing.
I love that they ask me often- what should I get, what will I like?  They may not take my first suggestion but I love being part of the plan. They’re not overly adventuresome eaters but do Okay- Peter loved his clams on linguine at Eataly, Clare came home with new pasta.  Peter had eggs at The Southerner but he ended with a clean plate and admitted the hash browns were incredible- it was the rosemary Peter!

Music choices- surprisingly we did not listen to as much music as I would of thought. We’ve talked and I can’t tell you all the subjects we’ve covered a lot of ground.
Slap happy time is 7 pm before dinner- tired and hungry makes my kids goofy and giggly. Yes, I would get annoyed because guess what…. I was cranky too- usually after a great number of hours driving.  Although the kids are funny at this time and I would end up laughing.  The climax of this status was Peter’s ordering our Chinese food on the way home- thank goodness, they accepted it as real!

The upgrade was worth every penny in Chicago.  Our old hotel room at The Drake was huge- two bathrooms, seating area and on more room for the cot.  The room in Marshall- let’s say the fire Marshall would not have been pleased.

I love that my kids delight in the little things- the seats in the hotel’s elevator! Riding the L., I love that they navigate for me- on their own, without the Maps ap…. although I wish I had packed the atlas for their use…that would give a whole new meaning to Road Trip.  They were excited for Martha the car to ride in her own elevator in the parking garage. Disappointed when it didn’t happen- she is an oversized car.  Peter is happy just driving around the sports cites and said thank you for the extra time we took to find Lucas Oil stadium…and that route we took to avoid traffic on 94- we ended up coming out where the White Sox play- that was Peter’s first trip to Chicago for David’s wedding. He loved that. And yes, we drove by Wrigley- he loved that trip too.

They’re learning how expensive travel is- parking alone and why once the car is parked we walk and take other transportation.  We’re stayed 30 miles out of downtown Indy to save money on parking and we got a great deal!  Kids enjoyed the suite life too- again everyone had their own bed.
Why do they think they can put trash on the floor and towels in hotel rooms…this was one of the things that isn’t good/is good about spending contained time together? I used to think it was the car trip but it is the hotel time too.  And the trash in the car drives me nuts too…. Joe usually cleans it out on these trips and he too gets annoyed.

They don’t’ like to sit in traffic either and get it that I like the scenic route.
They navigate cites well on their own.  At one point they had to get a cab and meet me- it worked.  Sorry about no tip cabbie- next time they know.

Peter opens doors on college tours better than anyone- it is how he earns his t-shirt in the bookstore.

They rolled their eyes as I found Denison connections everywhere.  Northwestern Lacrosse game- the stadium gifted by a couple that includes a Denison alumna.  Driving around Butler, story shared by our host ended up being about a Denison alumnus.  We visited the Indy Motor Speedway- that was fun! Yes, we kissed the bricks. I have a picture, however have promised not to post.  Sure enough- Denison alum in the time line- Bobby Rahal!  We toured DePauw today- Denisonians and Glanvillian in many places.

I could go on and on but will stop.  We’re home now and catching up with Joe. I love how happy they are to be home and now in our lives on NG Road we have our 2018 Spring Break College tours as memories that will be recalled in future years.  Thanks for reading and sharing the trip with me.

A few photos to share....
 
 
 

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