The Museum!

What a change a day can make.  This morning we awoke to a cool, damp and dreary view and we never saw the sun all day.  The temperature hovered in the 60's and a cool breeze was blowing out of the north.  It almost felt like fall.  We were all glad we made it in the lake last evening because today, the beach was closed due to rough water and rip currents.   The waves were between 2 and 4 feet crashing on the shore.

Above you can see our home away from home at indiana Dunes State Park.  We had plenty of room but decided not to set up too much given the dreary day and our trip to Chicago to Visit the Museum of Science and technology. 

Speaking of that, we had a great time there today.  We actually spent over 4 hours inside the museum.  I think thats a new record for Daniel and I!!!  The boys rated the museum a 9.98 out of 10.

Above you can see Alex and Daniel just clowning around... ha, ha.   The picture on the right is with a Navy sailor.  They had a number of them posted around the U505 Exhibit today talking about things on the ship.  Here, he is showing them an oxygen canister used to inflate life rafts from the sub.  Below is a picture of the boys with the U505 in the background.  On the Right, the U 505.

In addition to the sub, we also explored the coal mine and the huge train exhibit.  They have a model railroad that simulates the landscape from Chicago to Seattle with at least 12 separate train lines running. 

Here you can see the best view we had of downtown Chicago.  The real view was blocked by the fog all day, but the train layout is pretty close....

After a nice lunch in the museum, the  boys took some time running in the hamster wheel to burn off lunch.   

We also visited the Zephyr Train, learned about farming in Illinois and saw Chicks hatching, the Apollo 8 module to name just a few.  

This is the largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere.  It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts left over from the 1893 World's Fair.  If you ever read the Devil in The White City, you will recall this was the center piece of the fair.  

Thoroughly exhausted, we made our way back to the camper so I could take a nap!.  

This evening we saw some great wildlife.  Here you can see the boys with my favorite animal, the Moose. While I wish it were alive, it was instead on display at the local Bass Pro shop, where we stopped to check out the fishing gear, so Daniel could by a new fishing pole.   

Tomorrow is a full travel day, but with any luck, we will find a few detours along the way to Iowa.