Winter Quarters and Chicago

The Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha, Nebraska.





Winter Quarters













This is in North Omaha, Nebraska - I think the little town (just west of the Missouri River) is called Florence. The Winter Quarters Temple is there and right adjacent to it, on the same piece of land is a cemetary where many early pioneers are buried. Some have headstones, but not all and only 1 headstone is an original. It is really a beautiful cemetary with a very special spirit there.







This is the one headstone that is an original, at the cemetary in Winter Quarters.





Acrossed the street there is a visitors center. We went through the drive through at a nearby fastfood place and along with our fruit, homemade bread, and string cheese we had us a picnic dinner at a picturesque little park behind the Visitor's Center.














To me, I could feel a very powerful spirit while at Winter Quarters. It sits up on a hill. We walked through the Visitors Center. Kayla especially like conducting music, leading the Tabernacle Choir in a little interactive display they have set up there.













Sister Tonga, a very nice young missionary, gave us a tour and memorized each of our kids names upon hearing them one time! For the rest of the tour she called them by name. We watched a 15 minute movie about the pioneers and their efforts to move Westward. Then we went to a series of displays while Sister Tonga told us about each one.












One display was some minature covered wagons and there were some miniature items laying out and the kids had 15 seconds to pack their covered wagons. In that amount of time, they had to decide what was important to take as there was not enough room to take everything. And they had to do it quickly. This represented the task the Pioneers had to do.












At another display we got to see what the inside of one of their cabins might have looked like, it was a replica. It was very small with 2 beds and a kitchen. 12-15 people would have stayed in that cabin. It would have likely been 2 families or more that would have stayed there. At another place we put on bonnets and hats and aprons and vests like the pioneers would have worn. And at another station we pulled a handcart and then she put rocks (2 small ones, one under each wheel) and experienced how difficult that would have been! It was really difficult with the rocks under there, and that was with an empty wagon!







We stayed that night in nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa. We had reservations at a Super 8 but when we got there they had reserved us a Smoking Room when we had specifically asked for Non-Smoking. They recommended a Motel next door, called the American Inn or something like that and the place was not very clean (it was cheap though). We then had a tough time of getting out of our reservation with Super 8, but after about 5 phone calls they told Laren they would cancel the reservation and not charge us. Crazy, after they told him if we didn't want the smoking room we could just get a room at the neighboring hotel!


The banks of the Missouri River on the Council Bluffs, IA side.

CHICAGO

The next day was on to Chicago. But before we left we went to Sacrament Meeting. It was no easy task to find the Church. And then we finally found it and the sign on the door said Church didn't start until 10:00am and this was about 5 minutes to 9:00am. So we drove around for a bit and came back. It was Fast and Testimony Sunday and so it was interesting. The ward members seemed to be a mix of "Back Woodsy" type people and young marrieds, in dental school, law school, etc... One gal introduced herself to me, Angie, she and her husband had one little girl and her husband was in Law School and they were looking at moving to Denver when he graduates. They live in Omaha, but their Ward Boundary is such that they attend Church in Council Bluffs.

I wanted to make note of all of the rest areas through Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois that said they had Vending Machines and Wireless Internet. I thought it was so amazing you can go and connect to the internet at a rest area! Also, it was SO green and beautiful through Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois! Much prettier than I had imagined.





Church caused us to get a late start on our journey to Chicago. And shortly after we got on our way it started to rain. The rain got quite heavy at times. And then on top of that we ran into terrible traffic (it was only 2 days after the 4th of July, so I'm sure most of them were coming home from their holiday weekend) and road construction. We traveled about 10 miles in one hour. So it took us a little bit longer to get to Chicago than we had anticipated.



Marble bathrooms, and brass faucets and fixtures at the Hilton Hotel where we stayed in Chicago.







We had reserved a really nice place in Chicago, just off from Lake Shore Drive which goes right next to Lake Michigan (one of the 5 Great Lakes) on Michigan Avenue. It is in an upscale area of the city, but we got our reservation on Hotwire.com and got our room for only $85 per night! The going rate for our room would have otherwise been around $269. The only glitch was parking for that hotel was $41 per night, reminisicent of our stay the weekend before in San Francisco where hotel parking was $43 per night.

Our spacious room at the Hilton on Michigan Avenue, right off Lake Shore Dr.






Laren solved the parking dilemna by finding a spot on the street. It is free to park on the street in Chicago overnight. Then at 8:00 the next morning he went out, a block or two away from our hotel and fed the meter where our van was parked. It worked, without a problem! The next night was a different story. He parked at a different meter, not realizing it was a Tow Zone!!



He went out at 8:00 the next morning to fee the meter and the van was gone!!


This picture turned out dark, but it is part of the inside of the Hilton, then entrance to the Grand Ballroom.




What he didn't see the night before was that that particular meter needs to start being "fed" at 7:00 am and that it was a tow zone after 7:30 or something like that. Needless to say, he came back to the room and told me, "There is something interesting going on with our van." That was his way of telling me the van was gone!! I have learned that whenever Laren says "interesting" that it is usually not a good thing!

The Five Best Kids in the World!




Laren then spent the next 30 minutes on the phone trying to track down our van and finding out the fee. He spent the next 2 hours walking around, first in one direction and then another trying to find the hidden impound spot where the city of Chicago had the van. He finally found it, and there was a $160 fee to retrieve it. Ouch. And on top of that, we had a $60 ticket for parking it where it shouldn't have been. So much for trying to save $41 per night to park it!! It was a tough lesson to learn. Laren got lost a half a dozen times or more trying to find his way back to our hotel; the roads change to one way and things like that in downtown Chicago.


A polar bear swimming at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.




In the meantime I got everything packed up and the kids and I were waiting for him when he finally did make it back to the Hotel. But to back up a little, aside from that, we actually had a very nice stay in Chicago!


The camels at the Zoo.



On our first morning there, we got great showers and it was so nice to have a clean and roomy space to rest and get ready in! We were up on the 11th floor, in a corner room. Out one of the windows we could see Lake Michigan to the East. The kids took turns as to who would sleep in the beds. The first night, Kayla, Alyssa and Rilyn got a bed and the second night it was Kyle and Tyler's turn. Of course, Laren and I got a bed every night!

A Snowy Owl at the Zoo.



We went to Lincoln Park Zoo there in downtown Chicago. The parking there is very expensive, it was something like $14 for the first 30 minutes. So again, we found a free place on the street. And it is actually a very nice Zoo, with free admission as well! After the Zoo, we found a drive-through place for lunch and it was actually a miniscule amount of food. The burgers were served on little dinner rolls! So Laren and the kids were still hungry (I had eaten a nectarine and string cheese - trying to stay on a healthy diet that I blew too many times on the trip on other occassions!). Laren found a McDonald's and we dropped another small fortune for them to get more food there.





Next we wanted to go to the Navy Pier on Lake Michigan. It took us about 30 minutes of driving to figure out all the parking was very expensive and the more convenietly located it was the more it cost to park! So, again we found a free place to park on one of city side streets and walked about 2 miles (with all the kids) to the Navy Pier. Thankfully we found a tunnel to get acrossed Lake Shore Drive safely.

Leaving the Zoo. One thing is for sure, we got in a lot of walking on this vacation!

Some buildings in downtown Chicago.





I was told Lake Michigan only had a "concrete" beach, but that is not the case it has quite a few sandy beaches along it. We stopped at one of them on our way to the Navy Pier and splashed around a bit. Then we walked along the Navy Pier checking out all the prices for Boat rides along the way. We finally settled on one particular boating company with reasonable prices and we boarded almost immediately. It was fun after taking a boat ride or two in San Francisco to be on a different body of water in an entirely different part of the US to ride another boat.


Splashing around at a beach on Lake Michigan.






Again they gave us an overview of some of the major landmarks in downtown Chicago, with a pre-recorded tour guide. This included telling us about the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the US. We had been told you could take a glass elevator up to the top - but I was seriously not interested in doing that! And there are quite a few antennae's on top of Chicago's tallest buildings and I can't help but think they put them there to "add to their height" to help them in their attempts at having taller buildings than other cities. But that is my opinion. I'm sure the antennae have other functions as well.


On the Navy Pier in Chicago.



After the boat ride, we had some great laughs looking in these funky mirrors that made us either look ridiculously long and lanky or hilariously short and squatty!! We also took a ride on a BIG Ferris Wheel that overlooks the Pier and Chicago. Only 6 people could ride in each "car" so Laren and I split up and Kayla, Rilyn and Tyler came with me and Laren took Kyle and Alyssa with him.


Tyler, Laren and Kyle looking into the "Squatty" funny mirror on the Pier.



Then Alyssa went on a "swing" ride and I took Tyler and Rilyn on a Carousel. Kyle tried his hand at running a remote controlled boat. We got dinner at an Italian Place on the Pier. And after that we looked in a bunch of little shops and stores they have there. The kids each got a souvenir.


A view of Chicago from our boat ride.

The 5 Best Kids in the World in front of the Boat that took them on a ride on Lake Michigan.

My Boys on the Boat ride.

Us before boarding the Ferris Wheel on the Navy Pier.





There was a great fountain outside where the kids had a good time getting themselves soaked while we waited for a Trolley ride through the streets of downtown and onto the famous Magnificent Mile in Chicago's trendiest shopping district. The girls wanted to go to the American Girl Doll Store, but it was getting late and we just couldn't fit it in. Laren rode the Trolley a short ways and then walked to get the van. We met back up with him at the Pier and we went back to our hotel for the night.


Alyssa on the Swing Ride she took.

The Carousel ride Tyler, Rilyn and Mom took.

All of us on the Navy Pier.

Kyle, Kayla and Rilyn in the restaurant.

Alyssa and Tyler in the restaurant.






The next morning was when we found out the van had been towed. It kind of put a damper on things. But after getting the van back we went to one of the beaches on Lake Michigan for a couple of hours and went swimming. This time we paid for parking, $9 for 2 hours! :) It was actually a really nice beach and the water was pleasantly comfortable. For the most part, it was a decent crowd there. But I was disturbed by 2 heavy-set darker skinned (one looked hispanic) ladies who were obviously an item. They put on quite a display of public affections for each other both in and out of the water.

The kids getting wet in the fountain.

The kids riding the Trolley in Chicago.

Then we drove through Chicago's Chinatown, which is no where in comparison to San Francisco's Chinatown. The kids were hoping to find some cheap shops there to buy some more souvenirs, but we never did. We then headed to see the Chicago Temple. We hadn't printed off directions ahead of time and thankfully we were able to use Laren's Blackberry to Google directions. But it was a long 1 plus hour drive to the North in heavy Chicago traffic. We finally found it! It was beautiful!!

Kayla in front of the Chicago Temple.

It looked like it was during it's 2 week summer closure and they were doing some construction work. There are big beautiful trees all around the land surrounding the temple and there is one house that is just on the other side of the fence from the temple, no road or anything in between - which I thought was interesting. And there are apartments acrossed the street.

Waiting outside our hotel for Dad to come with the van.

It was rush hour by this time and it took us forever to get out of Chicago. And we had to drive on a few toll roads as well. But they were cheap compared to E-470 here in Denver. I think we only had to pay around $1.80 for all the tolls total in Chicago. I had tried to get a hold of my cousin Terri M. while in Chicago - she lives there, but somehow I ended up with the wrong number and could never reach her. I think she was on vacation then anyway - I had gotten an automated email sent from her office emai saying she would be away until the same day or so that we were leaving. This is my cousin that got brain cancer a few years ago, and so far has been successful at staving the cancer off. She is married with 2 teenage boys.

Swimming in Lake Michigan.

We headed off for Nauvoo, IL. It was a long drive but we finally made it around 10pm. We ran into more road construction and had to take a detour to get to our hotel in Fort Madison, Iowa - a short drive from Nauvoo. In order to cross the Mississippi River into Iowa we had to cross a drawbridge. At the time we entered, it was pouring down rain and had been for miles, it was dark and we had to wait 30 minutes at the draw bridge for a tug boat and a barge to pass underneath before they could put the bridge back and we could cross.

Swimming in Lake Michigan, July 2008.





Then we had to drive to the far end of town to our hotel. But we finally got there and got settled!