Chicago, Illinois/Wisconsin Dells, June 2011

A view of the city from a local park near our hotel.

Waiting for our delicious Algerian food at Kafe Icosium, which the kids actually ate and loved! We must go back here next time we're in Chi-town!

Hanging at the hotel.

Studying all things nature at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center (ignore the creepy dude staring into the camera in the background).

Studying all things physics at the nature center.

Mathieu was too young at this point to be scared of such a big beast stuffed into such a terrifying pose.

"Eh, whatever."

Learning how to operate a ship.

Tunnels are too cool - it entertained us for multiple loops.

Playing in a big tree house.

Watching the goings on in a butterfly garden.

...and figuring out how to catch them all.

Munchkin tried to sit very still and look sweet so that the butterflies would land on her.

It's birthday morning for Little Dude in the Wisconsin Dells (sorry, no water photos. The camera stayed at the hotel for our waterpark visits!) Alpha Dog put together a make-shift wrap job for his present, which she bought in Toronto.

Ooo! It's a car - surprise surprise!

And it lights up!

Uff da! Two days at the waterparks meant another day of pooped out napping children back at the hotel.

But not so pooped out to prevent smiles on their faces as they crossed the Wisconsin/Minnesota border on the way back home. Still happy after well over fifty hours round trip in the car!

And the best part is they can't wait to do it again next summer! Alpha Dog is going to be smart about it and rent an RV instead of trying to pack the entire family in her tiny sedan. Can I say that this trip has been more than a success!

~ Yours Truly Pooped Out After 2 1/2 Weeks of Car Travel

Kelleys Island, Ohio, June 2011

The most exciting part of this segment of the trip was riding the ferry over to Kelleys Island. It was a fun, yet strange feeling to be in a rocking car on the water that wasn't in danger of sinking.

The view out the driver's side window.

Life on the island was slow going. Time to investigate our campsite.

Or pull out a book and read a while.

Another beautiful lakeside campsite, this time on Lake Erie at Kelleys Island State Park.

By now the tent had become quite comfortable to all of us.

It was insanely hot while we were here - in the 90s. Not so good for sleeping but great for swimming in a Great Lake!

And great for generating big storms. We had a doozy on our second night that exhilarated all!

Loads of mayflies were everywhere - yuck!

A little ice cream and mini golf.

Travel agreed with the kids. They ate so well that both grew out of their shoes. So, new shoes for all.

Niagara Falls, Ontario/New York, June 2011

Saw both sides of the falls, American and Canadian.

Dining next to the falls.

There's a big beautiful waterfall behind me, but look! I can see myself in the window!

All this waterfall business is exhausting.

Still good friends, even after more than 20 hours in the car.

Going on the waterfall tours.

That's a wall of water you're looking at.

The view from our campsite on the New York side, Four Mile Creek. 

Beautiful sunsets right outside our tent door on Lake Ontario.