Rollin' on the River

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...it was the Day 2 of times on our journey.  Hahahahaha.  While planning our road trips, I try to make sure we have an assortment of activity types to enjoy -- educational stuff (like museums), "fun" stuff (like amusement parks), outdoorsy stuff (like state parks), etc.  I don't even remember how I found Seven Oaks Recreation online, but when I did, I thought it would be the perfect way to spend one of our days in Iowa.  Since canoeing or kayaking seemed a bit above our family's skill level as a whole, I opted for tubing down the river instead.

The skies WERE looking a little ominous that morning.

(The bus ride to the drop-off point.)

Prior to our road trip, I made a whole slideshow presentation about each of our stops along the way.  After a family council spent going over the trip and showing everyone what we'd be doing, I assumed everything I planned was crowd-pleasing enough that there shouldn't have been any problems.  Apparently, I thought wrong. Dun dun DUN.  Hahahaha.  Seriously, though.  I don't know if it was the tubing itself, or being on the river, or the fact that it was overcast and rain had been in the forecast for the day, (or a combination of all three), but once Day 2 dawned, Alex was NOT stoked for our activity.  Given Alex's anxiety in general -- and the fact that he HAS actually been caught out on a boat in the middle of a downpour and was terrified -- I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised that he might be a no go for this particular outing.  Unfortunately, by the time we were drifting lazily down the Des Moines River and the crying and freaking out commenced, it was too late to turn back around and cancel our plans.  

Time for another felfie!

We started off with Alex's tube tethered to mine and Isaac's to Scott's, but after a brief midway stop at a sandbar (where we were able to get out and have some snacks), I decided that roping us all together would be the best course of action to help distract Alex (and Isaac at that point) and make the rest of the ride as "fun" as possible.  And it almost worked!  Hahahaha.  Having Alex encircled by everyone else, while joining in on the family wide conversation, made the next little bit as enjoyable as it possibly could have been!  However, I neglected to check beforehand how long exactly this expedition was going to be, and as we soon discovered -- it was LOOOOOOOONG.  At least a couple of miles/hours too long.  Womp womp.  The total drifting time from the drop off point to the pick up was about 4 hours over the course of 7 miles.  Whoopsie!  The last third or so of our tubing time was spent listening to Alex complain and freak out that the river was endless and neverending.  Redundant, but it was certainly how he felt.  Throw in the fact that by then Isaac wasn't having any fun either and was complaining that he was cold, and you can be sure that we were ALL glad when we finally reached the end of the road.  Or river, as the case may be.  Hahahaha.

(Sandbar stop.)

Grace was the lone holdout for joining with our tubes.  She insisted on floating alongside us separately for the duration of the trip.

So that was the boys' perspective.  I couldn't help but wondering which camp Ethan would have fallen into if he had been with us.  Part of me can see him siding with the boys -- and not enjoying it at all; and part of me can see him siding with the girls -- thinking it was the best day ever!  Actually, scratch that.  Hahaha. There's no possible way he would have been as enthused as the Grace-led contingency was.  In all actuality, he probably would have been somewhere between the two extremes, but I guess we'll never know. 

(Jane's go-to picture pose for the course of the road trip.)

When I rented a "cooler tube" along with the regular inner tubes, I didn't realize that the tube would HOLD a cooler and not BE a cooler for all our snacks.  Hahahaha.  Oh well!  It held our snacks well enough, even if we were a little worried it might flip at some point during the trip.

Isaac's face sums up the boys' thoughts on the day.  Hahahaha.

As for Grace's enthusiasm over the course of the day, it would be hard to overstate just how much she LOVED the activity.  Especially since we heard her literally declare how much she loved what we were doing far too many times to count.  Sophie and Jane also enjoyed the day, but they were nowhere near as vocal as Grace.  In all honesty, I'm pretty sure the reason why Grace loved the activity so much was because she had approximately 4 hours of undivided attention and time with a captive audience who could not escape her chatter.  And since that girl loves to talk, it was most likely the best day ever in her mind.  Hahaha.  I will admit that it was entertaining and fun to have all the kids gathered 'round (without any devices or distractions) and hearing all about everything going on in their lives.  Obviously the girls had more to say than the boys, but for a brief moment in the middle of our tubing adventure, even Alex was laughing and having fun while discussing whatever nonsense topic the girls had brought up. 

(On the bus, heading back from the pick up point.)

In the end, I'd have to say that -- while the trip was a good 2 hours too long -- I had a lot of fun and would love to do it again.  Although, perhaps with just the girls.  Hahaha.  Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Ioway.  😉

Ames, Iowa -- Home of the World's Largest Concrete Gnome

Day 1 of the road trip started out fairly low-key, with a not-too-early departure time and the not-quite-soothing sounds of Isaac's playlist.  Being a road trip planner extraordinaire, I had done some research beforehand and discovered a children's museum in Kansas City that looked like a fun diversion about halfway through the day's journey.  Unfortunately, I didn't do enough research and it wasn't until we pulled into the empty parking lot that we learned that -- contrary to the information on the website -- the museum was actually closed indefinitely.  Womp womp.  Never fear, however, because as a road trip planner extraordinaire I also had a back up activity!  Hahaha.  We turned our KC stop into a lunch-and-fill-up-the-tank break and then got back on the road, heading towards the pitstop of the day -- Ames, IA.  (Cue the first of many "we are from Ioway!" refrains.)

Reiman Gardens are associated with Iowa State University in Ames.

Thanks to the non-children's-museum-outing, we got to Ames with plenty of time to explore Reiman Gardens and flit around in the Butterfly Wing.  Although, true story -- every female in the family (myself included) freaked out any time a butterfly swooped too close.  Hahahaha.  Botanical gardens always seem to be a big hit with our family, and this time was no exception.  {I'm pretty sure that by the end of the day (and the end of the road trip as a whole), my propensity for whipping out the plant identification app on my phone was a running joke.}

I always get a kick out of taking a picture of someone taking a picture.  Hahahahaha.

In what would become a running theme, this is the first shot of many where Isaac refused to cooperate and get in the picture.

This display area used all kinds of recycled items to create the scene.  The "rainbow" is made of empty water bottles.  There were also discarded appliances and other things that were used as planters.  I loved it!

After snapping lots and LOTS of pictures, posing with the world's largest concrete gnome, and hitting up the gift shop, we were ready to call it a day and crash for the night.  All in all, it was a pretty successful day 1!  If only Day 2 were able to make the same claim.  Dun dun dun.  Tune in next time to hear all about the now infamous river tubing adventure of 2022.  Hahahahaha.

This planter had kaleidescopes attached to the sides and aimed at the flowers inside.

A peek into one of the kaleidescopes.

I think Alex and Isaac spent most of their time in this little section of the "Children's Garden."

There were all these cool art installations throughout the gardens.

In case you can't see the inserted "c-o-n-c-r-e-t-e" in this picture, it is important to note that this is the world's largest CONCRETE gnome, which therefore must mean that there is a larger gnome somewhere else in the world.  Hahahahaha.

Road Trip Superlatives

And we're off!

I'm going to be honest here, folks -- I am struggling to figure out how to recap this summer's road trip without it turning into a straight up travelogue!  And nobody wants to read that, amiright??  Hahaha.  (I know I don't even want to.)  So, instead of straining my brain any longer tonight, I'm going to ease into the recapping by handing out some Road Trip Superlatives for the highlights (and some lowlights) of our meander through the Midwest...

CATEGORY:  Pitstops 

Sleeper Hit -- The Music Man Square

Based on the lackluster response I received after forcing everyone to watch The Music Man before we left on our road trip, I assumed that our stop in Mason City, Iowa would be of little interest to anyone.  Well, color me surprised because it was kind of a hit!  Hahaha.  The Music Man Square was such a good time, in fact, that it raised Isaac's estimation of the movie from a 3 out of 10 to an 8.

Biggest Bust -- Hobo Museum

Womp womp.  Not gonna lie -- the National Hobo Museum in Britt, IA was one of the main attractions for our trip.  I even arranged the entire itinerary's timing to make sure we were there on a day it would be open!  Alas, it was not to be.  I guess it's not too surprising that having a museum staffed solely by available volunteers in a tiny little town might not guarantee regular and consistent hours. Booooooo!!!

Most Anticipated -- King's Island

I kid you not -- throughout the entire course of our road trip, I overheard more kid conversations about the rides at King's Island  than I can count.  To the point that I'm not even sure why I planned anything else for the itinerary since this was clearly the big hurrah in all of their minds!  Hahaha.  (I'm being completely serious.  Haha.)  While I hate amusement park rides with a passion, I loved seeing how happy and excited everyone was for our last stop on the road.

Most Polarizing -- River Tubing

When I planned a river tubing expedition in Iowa for one of the days on our trip, I was not expecting the extreme reaction that I got.  Alex absolutely hated almost every second of it (and it was a LONG ride down the river; endlessly so in his opinion), while Grace couldn't stop raving about how much she loved it for pretty much the entire time.  I guess you could say it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  Hahaha.

Best Views -- Mackinac Island

From the gorgeous gardens to the stunning vistas to the lovely sunsets, there were so many beautiful things to see!

CATEGORY:  Pictures

Best Sunset -- Mackinac Island

I mean, come on.  How gorgeous is that??

Favorite Felfie -- Paul Bunyan statue

Random?  Yes.  But for whatever reason, I just really love this family selfie in front of the Paul Bunyan statue in Manastique, MI and it's kind of my fave.

Funniest Re-creation -- Isaac as Meredith Wilson

Hahahahahahaha.

Most Iconic -- Selfie with a Seagull

During our 2017 road trip up the east coast, Grace unintentionally started a running bit of trying to take a selfie with a seagull everywhere we went.  Five years later, the gag is still going strong.  

CATEGORY:  Playlists  {Before the trip, I encouraged each kid to create their own playlist to rotate through while driving.  Everyone but Grace humored my request and came up with some very THEM collections.}

Most Played -- "SUS"

Seeing as to how it was only 5 songs long (and most of them veritable earworms), we listened to Isaac's playlist more than any of the others.  Titled "SUS" -- and including such classics as "Don't Call Me a Noob" and "I've Got No Time" -- this curation was not quite on auto-repeat, but it sure got a lot of mileage.  Hahaha.  Those Robloxian struggles, am I right?  Hahahahahaha.

Least Surprising -- jane's mix

Jane's playlist was almost entirely made up of Taylor Swift songs and Glee cover songs.  Given that Glee has been her summer musical obsession, and she's a diehard Swiftie, there were no surprises on the roster.

Most Eclectic -- SOPHIE SLAYS

I've got to admit -- I was not expecting half the songs on Sophie's playlist.  Along with a surprising number of 90s hits (many of which were popular when I was her age), there were also contemporary hits, some singer-songwriter-y stuff, and some more Glee covers along with Taylor Swift.  (Sophie and Jane have done a lot of bonding this summer.)  Sophie also wins the sub-superlative of "Longest Playlist," clocking in at 89 songs and almost 6 hours worth of listening time.  Haha.

And that's going to have to be a wrap for tonight!  Next time I blog, I'll be recapping the road trip for real.  ;)