Our trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota

Figured I better do a blog update before I forget all the "adventures" from our trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Barb & Ed wanted to have a family memorial for Erin and were already set to go back to Wisconsin at the end of July. Thane's family and our family headed out on June 24. We all know the wonderful luck that follows us, so, of course, this trip wasn't without its hurdles. We cut it close getting to the airport on that Thu. When Shawn checked us in, we were given security passes and had to get our boarding passes at the Southwest gate. We were lucky to get in line at the gate when we did, because by the time Thane and his gang got there, the flight was already full. We've never had an over-booking issue with Southwest, but there's a first for everything. The ticket agents started offering deals to anyone willing to give up their seats. Kristi had a seat, but they needed 2 more for Avery and Thane. One man was generous and gave up his seat, but they were still one seat short. No takers! Thane, Kristi, Avery and Jack had to wait 5 hours at Denver Airport for the next flight out to Minnesota. JACKED!!!! During the flight, James, one of the attendants, ended up coming over and talking with us and apologized for the situation. He said he felt horrible, especially when he started telling Thane "We're sorry, sir" to which Avery broke down and started balling. He said it killed him to see her crying and wished he could have helped in some way. We thanked him and explained our niece was crying because she is best buddies with our daughter and they hate to be separated. We all got a little chuckle outta that at least. When we got our luggage, we realized all of Thane's families' luggage was on our flight and spoke with the Southwest rep at the luggage carousel to make sure they were going to be able to get their stuff. She guaranteed she'd still be there when their flight arrived at 11pm. That night we stayed in one of the nicest hotel rooms at Hyatt Place just down the street from Mall of America. They had a pack & play for Inara even. It was hard leaving this hotel given what we knew was waiting us in Wisconsin.

The next morning after our free breakfast we met up with Thane's gang and enjoyed the hotel's pool. Thought we better take advantage of the amenities this place had to offer. We finally headed out for our 3 hour drive to Elroy, Wisconsin. We stopped to pick up some food for the next few days since we figured we were on our own for most meals and Elroy doesn't have much to offer. We finally arrived at the Elroy motel, complete opposite of our digs in Minnesota. The rooms looked like they were stuck in 1970. They had a definite smell to them. I was afraid to set things down on the ground since the carpet was rather dingy and dirty. No pack & plays for the kids, so we knew we were in for an adventure with Inara in a double bed. In the lot next to the motel, a carnival was going on, so I was also worried how loud thing would be at night. Not to mention the crew of bikers staying at our motel. (Thankfully, the rooms are rather sound proof and the carnival and bikers didn't keep us up at all. We did also have the window A/C blasting all night, so I'm sure that helped.) Barb, Ed, aunt Becky, and Grandma Esther met us at the motel that night. We ended up having dinner at the restaurant next to the motel. Too bad my tummy paid for the meal later. Ahhh yes, the joys of meals out in the boonies. After dinner, Thane's group and the three of us went to the park right by the motel. It was getting late, so it was kind of hard to see. Inara did very well at first, but then while climbing through a tunnel, she lost her footing and face planted. She ended up with a nice bruise on her right cheek. Ahh it's never a dull moment with kids around.

That night we learned that we had guests sharing our room: ANTS! Oh joyous! I was terrified given how dirty the room was. There was no telling what else besides ants were going to be in the room. I wasn't looking too closely because I knew I was already going to be freaking out all night sleeping in the place. When searching for where the ants were coming from, we saw the huge spiderwebs gathered behind the dresser. I SOOO wanted to leave right then. It broke my heart to hear my daughter freaking out: "Mommy, I no want ants seeping wif me." My poor baby girl. I was also repulsed when we started the bathtub for Inara only to find nice yellow water coming out. Yes, I know people lived in worse conditions in the past, but in today's modern world, there's no reason for a child to be subjected to such things. Things didn't get any better the rest of the trip. I had noticed our bathroom sink was leaky and there was a towel wrapped around the bottom of it. When I mentioned it to the manager one morning, that night I noticed all she did was wrap more towels around the base. I wasn't expecting the best service ever, but I was annoyed that Thane had to ask for more toilet paper, I had to ask for fresh towels after a couple days (considering I was using them to kill bugs), and our rooms were never once checked or cleaned. I mean we had to take our trash out several times a day, especially given our ant problem. Yes, this all prompted a nice fight between Shawn and I. Like I've been saying for years, there should never be any doubt in Shawn's mind how much I love him to make the sacrifices I've made. My new saying is I better get something pretty and sparkly that I can wear for my birthday this year.

Saturday morning was kinda slow going. I realized there weren't many plans set for the rest of our trip and just had to play things by ear. We did learn about the fun night Thane's gang had next door. Jack didn't like the sleep tent they had brought for him and cried for a couple hours straight. Then the towel rack in the bathroom came out of the wall. My favorite though was that morning when Thane was getting ready to take a shower. As he lifted his arm to take his shirt off, bang...he hit the lightbulb hanging from the ceiling and shattered it all over the bathroom floor. Guess the manager should have considered buying a cover for the lightbulb to avoid such accidents. Ahhh yes, the joys of our wonderful hotel experience in good ol Elroy.

We ended up heading over to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday to hang out and show the kids around. Grandma brought out their 4-wheeler and took the kids for a ride around their yard. We didn't make it to Uncle Steve's farm that day. Lou, his mom Kathy, and Erin's best friend Wendy arrived that night, so we met up with them and walked around the carnival that was going on right next to the motel we were staying at. Inara had a blast going on rides and we walked around to see the livestock. Poor Wendy, a vegan, had a hard time seeing all the animals in the barns. She even pointed how the big sign that said BEEF in big ol letters. "They're not beef; they're cows," Wendy sobbed. It is hard for me to see the animals knowing most are going to slaughter some day. I can't imagine how hard that was for Wendy. At least the townsfolk were good for some fun people watching. Inara didn't nap that day, so I was worried what the night would be like. The whole trip her schedule was thrown outta whack. We struggled at night getting her to sleep and had some cranky situations, to be expected given she was out of her daily routines. Once I got her calmed down that night and guaranteed her there were no ants in her bed, I joined Shawn, Thane, Kristi, and Lou sitting outside the motel and chatted for a bit.

Sunday morning Thane's gang and Shawn went to the American Legion Hall to help get things ready for the memorial that afternoon. Inara and I stayed at the motel and played games, not that I wanted to stay in the motel, but I thought it might be good to have some down time for Inara since I knew it was going to be another day without a nap. We all then got ready and headed over to the Legion Hall at 1pm. We chatted with family for a bit. One of Erin's best friends, Kelly, happened to be in Wisconsin visiting family the same week, so she and her husband drove into Elroy for the memorial. It was wonderful to talk with her. It meant a lot that Erin's friends would make the trip to be with her family. The memorial was nice, different from the one in CA with all of her friends, but good for the family who had made it to learn more about Erin.

That afternoon we headed over to Uncle Steve's farm. I knew Inara would love to see all the cows, calves, pigs, and the silo. She always talks about the Curious George story when he gets lost and looks for landmarks, such as a silo, to find his way back home. Inara liked one of the cats that roams around the barn and got to hold her. Next Shawn took Inara for a ride on the 4-wheeler, which she loved. Then cousin Nicole asked if anyone would want to ride her horse. She brought Spock, the horse, out and Avery, Inara, Barb, Kathy, and Lou got a horseback ride. Inara LOVED riding. She went twice actually and after getting off said, "I want a horse." OK Daddy, better add that to her wish list. We had dinner at Esther's that night since the few restaurants Elroy has to offer are all closed early on Sundays.

Monday a big group of us headed out for a bicycle ride starting in a neighboring town called Kendall. It was quite a chore to pick out bikes and trailers for the kids. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride at least and such a scenic route. It was about 3 miles til we got to our first tunnel. The bike route is an old train path with a few tunnels along the way. It cracked me up when we stopped and took pictures outside the tunnel. Aunt Becky said there were monkeys in the tunnel and Inara and Avery were so enthralled. Becky then started making a "monkey" noise. It scared me and I thought it was more like a rat sound. It freaked me out. Thanks, Aunt Becky. We all had to walk our bikes through the tunnel, which got really dark at one point. You pretty much have to stay focused on the light coming through the other end of the tunnel in order to make your way through. We then got to riding again, enjoying the beautiful tree-lined path. The group in the front stopped to wait for the group in the back to catch up. This is when our trip became a typical Tomlinson trip: Thane blew a tire on his bike. We had to call the bike depot to have someone bring us another bike, which meant a good 30 min delay taking the trailer off the bike, waiting, then getting the trailer onto the new bike. Inara started getting cranky, so while everyone else continued on with their ride, Shawn, Inara and I headed back to the depot. She was so tired and tried falling asleep but bike trailers are bumpy and not the comfiest places to nap. (We later learned that Inara actually got a bruise on her back from the bike trailer. The girl was pushed more so on this trip than any other that's for sure.) By the time we got back to the depot, Inara got her second wind and was energized again. Figures. The three of us went back to the motel and napped. Lou, Kathy and Wendy were heading to the airport that evening, so we said our good-byes, which is never easy lately. It was wonderful that the three of them came out to Wisconsin with us, but it sucked having to say good-bye. That night Grandma fed us all dinner again. So much for needing all the food we had bought. We ended up just bringing most of it to Grandma's house and leaving it for them since we were heading back to Minnesota the next day anyways. Inara got cranky that night and wasn't having anything to do with saying good, so we decided we'd come back in the morning before heading out to say good-bye.

Tuesday morning was a glorious day since I knew we were finally leaving this god-awful motel. We packed up and headed to Grandma's to say our good-byes. We got on the road and stopped in Kendall to check out the Veteran's Memorial Grandma had told us all about. It's very nicely done. There is a brick with the Vlasak family name on it (Barb's maiden name). Uncle Steve and Roger are both represented as Vietnam veterans on one of the marble walls. We then got back on the road for another hour and stopped for lunch at a Red Robin. Since it was Shawn's birthday, he got a free lunch. Can't beat a free meal. Once back in Minnesota, my eyes lit up to see Hyatt Place once again. Oh glorious Hyatt how I love you! We went to cousin Erik & Beth's house for dinner. It was so nice to sit and chat with them and play with baby Maya for a few hours. We ordered pasta and pizza from a local restaurant. It was one of the best dinners we had our whole trip. Erik & Beth also picked up a cake. I really didn't want Shawn's birthday to go unnoticed. So thank you guys for getting the cake.

Wednesday morning we took our time getting up and getting ready. Our flight wasn't leaving until 6pm that night, so we had all day to spend at Mall of America. I really wanted to take Inara to the amusement park in the middle of the mall, so we could wear her out as much as possible and hopefully get a nap out of her later. She had a blast! They had so many fun rides she could go on. We bought an unlimited ride pass for $30. Since the height requirement for most of the rides was 36 inches and Inara's 37 inches, she got to go on many rides with an adult who got to ride for free. Nice! It's a Nickelodeon theme park, so we also got pictures with Dora & Diego and Tyrone & Pablo from Backyardigans. I ended up walking around the mall by myself for a bit while Shawn took Inara on rides. I can't believe how much cool stuff this mall has to offer. I could spend a whole weekend hanging out at this place. They even have a live-action role-playing place where you get to go through a maze with a wand and find treasures and stuff. We will definitely need to take another trip to Minnesota just for the Mall of America.

We headed to the airport to begin our journey home. Of course, two minutes before arriving at the car rental return Inara falls asleep in the car. So Shawn and I had to pull all 3 suitcases, deal with our carry-ons and the carseat, and push a sleeping Inara in the stroller. But we made it to the airport and we got boarding passes this time. But no Tomlinson trip goes without snaffews. Our departing flight got delayed because the air pressure light came on in the plane during the previous flight. While we are waiting, Kristi bought Jack a milk and gave some to Inara, which Shawn put in a regular cup without a lid. As luck would have it, Inara ended up dropping her cup, milk splashed on Jack and Thane, and both kids ended up in tears. Kristi had to change Jack's clothes and we had to calm Inara down because she was screaming over her lost milk. Finally, 30 min later we board the plane and all was well. Avery ended up falling asleep immediately, Inara watched a movie, and Jack finally fell asleep 10 minutes before we landed. Now it's like 9pm at this point and we are all exhausted, well except for Inara who seemed to be running on Red Bull or something the girl was so wired. We take the tram from the terminal back to baggage claim. As we get off, Shawn takes the stroller from me since Inara wanted to walk. Suddenly, he yells, "Where's the pully thing?" I don't know what he means at first (mind you because Shawn was in charge of the carry-on while I had Inara, the stroller, and her backpack). We turn and see our carry-on suitcase sitting all by itself on the tram. The doors close and our luggage takes off. Holy crap! Can we please just get HOME?!?! We end up having to talk to security to find out where our luggage is. And it's got my laptop in it, so I'm freaking out. Inara even yells at Shawn, "Daddy, why did you leave my luggage on the choo choo train?" Thane's gang, Inara and I head over to baggage claim to get our suitcases while Shawn waits with security to get our carry-on. Thane's gang heads out while I wait for Shawn. All is well after another 20 min delay. The three of us head to the shuttle to get to the off-site parking lot where our car is. Mind you, it's getting close to 11pm now and Inara is still on fire. We find our car with no problems and wonder if Inara will fall asleep in the car. Nope. She kept us entertained the whole ride home, well that is until she falls asleep 10 min away from home. What else would we have expected? I can't tell you how wonderful it was to enter my home. After a long, rough, exhausting week long trip, we were all thrilled to be home and to sleep in our comfy, ant-free beds. Hope we can get pictures posted soon to share with you all.