"It's myyyyyyy kind of towwwwwwwwwn!"

One town that won't let you down, indeed. Chicago is where we met, as most of you know. Beyond the nostalgia trip, it was a blast.

I can't say enough (though Sarah and the boys insist I have said too much) about the early Americans exhibit at the Field Museum of Natural History. It's a newer wing and covers one of my favorite questions: How and when did people first come to the Americas? (Click here for the latest news on this. The boys enjoyed playing the edutaining video games in this area, also.

A famous depiction of what smallpox did. Never have I seen a museum display it, and hugely too.

There was a huge reproduction of the Aztec stone of the sun, and other cool stuff from the Incas and tons of pottery.

To help make the point that not all Indians died, recently they added a room to the end of the (somewhat outdated) native peoples exhibit. The whole room focused on a (younger than me!) Pawnee artist named Bunky Echo Hawk. Check him out. Here is "If Yoda Was an Indian":

Now, that's just cool

We saw the largest and most complete T-Rex. We have become a bit jaded re: fossils, but Sue impressed nonetheless.

Blurriness helps you feel the fear of being hunted
(P.S. I realize dinosaurs and humans did not live at the same time)

Senegal was the featured nation in the Africa wing. Here's a shout-out to the G!

Emmett got friendly with some "locals":

And the boys (much like many of the museums we have hit) cannot get enough of ancient Egypt. What explains this obsession, anyway? What is so crucial about Egypt that every kid has to study it? You would think we'd all be irrigation and mummification experts by now. Oh, wait, those skills are obsolete!

GO CATS!

There is also a stuffed gorilla named Bushman. Which I thought was racist as hell, but it was the 1930s, so that makes it OK. Right?

He WAS big, though, even with a racist name

AND THIS WAS JUST ONE DAY!

In the interest of me getting to bed by midnight, here is our next day, in pictures only. Sears Tower and Millennium Park. Enjoy! Thanks again to the wonderful Keel family for taking us in and showing us around.

We rode the train downtown

It's really tall. I laid down to shoot this

"Like"

High on Love

(no caption needed, right?)

Exit Thru the Gift Shop. Yes, it appears Desi really bit that. (Still didn't buy it!) 

Cheesy fries at Max's Take-Out (on Adams, near Wabash)

Dog had no chance

Messing around at The Bean

Give yourself a hand. Or 2

So much beauty!

Parkour action shot. CALL PULITZER, BAYBAY!

Several attempts---> one good photo. Kids slept like babies that night, I tell ya.

This one blurred but still reminds me of this album cover:

Don't worry--merely an ILLUSION

Get it? His name is Emmett. And the restaurant is named Emmett's. And those are the same

NU Reunion for the Pear(mine)(Vo)lz family

After 18 years, we came back to Evanston, Illinois on an absolutely perfect fall day.  The same kind of day that wooed me to Northwestern.  I (we?) got hit with waves of nostalgia and a little weirdness, realizing that we've been out of college longer than some of these current Wildcats have been on the planet.  Wha?  

fall beauty on the North Shore

the boys at the beach

Gar with the current game room employee at Norris

We couldn't capture the beauty, but the sunset over the Alice Millar Chapel

We were able to have a long, fun weekend in Chicago thanks to the hosting of the fabulous Keel family, our dear friend Katie's parents.  Kate and the girls changed their plans and joined us!  Many, many pics to follow.  Right now, it's dinner here in Indianapolis, then I need to get on the phone for my MentorCoach class.  Just wanted to get this Chicago party started, with a heartfelt thanks to the Keels and a hearty GO CATS!!!!!!

Holy Cow!

First off, we are thinking about the poor folks in the Philippines. Our old nanny Lyn lives in Manila, and we assume she is safe and sound. But more than 10,000 people died in the storm, and many more will be needing help to get food and water. Story here. Donate here via MercyCorps, which is way better than the bloated Red Cross.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled (and a few days overdue) update. On our last night here in Chicago (Downers Grove, to be exact), we feel happy that this city we loved so many years ago still stirs our hearts to joy. Snobs that we are, only a few cities in the US make our list of places we would happily live. Like the Sears Tower, Chicago looms over that list. (Bozeman is making its way up, btw). We saw much of what we came to see, but I bet we'll return before the Phield Trip ends. Gotta take the boys to Wrigley Field, right?

Before the rundown of Chi-Town, though, here's a look at the tour we were treated to in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Our friend Kristina, who had hosted us in Minneapolis, AND hooked us up with her family's cabin, ALSO arranged for her family friend to show us around her dairy farm. It was so cool. We got to see the cows up close, drive golf carts, and feed young calves with giant baby bottles.

Cris points out the HUGE pile of ground-up corn 

MOO

MINI MOO

Cris showing us the business end

Do unto udders as they...

Whoa! 1877 was, like, before Dad was even born

Our drive down from Grantsburg to Madison involved a stop at Norske Nook (thanks to Mark and Ann Hefte for that tip). Delicious apple pie. The drive also involved a bit of wackiness at the gas station. I was squeegeeing the windshield, so by the time I got to the pump, it was too late to push "Yes" in reply to "Do you want a receipt?" I tried to get it to print one, as we use them for Desi's math sometimes, but no luck. So I walked around and got in the passenger seat. Sarah began to drive forward when we heard a loud noise.

If you go back and read the last paragraph, you might notice that it lacks "and then I pulled the gas hose out of the tank." So it broke off and was hanging out of our tank. Luckily, it's made to disconnect safely. I went inside to tell the attendant, and he thanked me for at least saying something. It seems that often, people just drive away in shame and the next customer has to deal with reporting it. In essence, then, my screwup enabled me to do a good deed.

Anyhoo, Madison for one night was fun. We saw the largest state capitol in the US, and the only granite-domed one. UW campus was nice, and we walked it for a couple hours. 

Ahh, the hotel life. Moving so fast, we're a blur.

Getting ready to watch The Hobbit, on the ceiling

Yep, that's made of granite

When Desi was young, he said he wanted to be a cop. I asked why. "Get your hands up! Then, BANG!" True story.

This photo and the next are strictly for the benefit of Miss Kristina Awesome. No disloyalty to Northwestern!  

Those rocks are real. It's art, pretty sure.

Delta Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We spared the poor young sisters a request to tour the facility.

We also saw a car all got up to look like a pig. 

Check the snout. Only in 'Murca

This blogger's goal is to be one city behind. That means the Chicago post will be up after we hit Indianapolis tomorrow. BEST children's museum in the nation, we hear. Plus, Ender's Game at the movie theater. Just finished the audiobook last week. Can't wait!

Sing it Willie!

We're on the road again. After 2.5 weeks at Lynn and Charlie's house, we have moved on to Wisconsin. And just like Willie Nelson's band of gypsies, we go down the highway (specifically: to Chicago, tomorrow).

Huge thanks to Lynn and Charlie for hosting and feeding us. We played a lot of games, did Halloween right, and laughed like fools.

So we were sad to go:

One last hug of Rocky the cat

And we were welcomed to Wisconsin.

We spent 2 nights in a cabin in Grantsburg, way up north. That's as far north as we will be for a few weeks. Getting snowed on there brings the total to 4 states where that has happened to us. Time to get warm, so it's all southbound for a while.

Here's what that fresh snow looked like today:

HEADS UP!

Holding his Staff of Power

On the road for 5 hours today, listening to The Hobbit. We got far enough into the book that we could watch the movie! I rigged up the mini projector and we watched half of it on the hotel ceiling.

Wow I am tired. Must be the snowball fight. More pics tomorrow, I promise. We have over 3 GBs of data left to use on our phone this billing cycle, so I will post from the road. Sing it Willie!

All Hallow's Eve scariness

Scooby Doo and the gang. Aaaaand a duct tape cowboy.

"I do." If you ask me, she is scarier.

Happy family!