The first sounds that we heard this morning were our alarm clocks going off. We didn’t want to over sleep today so we both set our clocks to go off in plenty of time. Today we did things a bit differently, in that we loaded up and all left the room at once. Reagan and Anderson went with Robby to help him load up the car while the others and I ate breakfast.
My Reagan and Anderson are getting really good at getting breakfast by themselves. Oh, they probably could have gotten breakfast for themselves at the beginning of the trip but I do feel comfortable now that they can get it neatly and properly. Graham now quickly decided what he wants but my Campbell everyday it takes her a while to figure out what she wanted. Today, it took her 15 minutes to pick out if she wanted orange or apple juice.
We were in the car in plenty of time to make it back to Greenfield Village before they opened at 9:30. But there was traffic and construction everywhere. Traffic, traffic, traffic. So glad we don’t live in a big city. Robby would get off the main road and try to go around the traffic but then we would come upon more traffic. We were getting antsy because we so wanted to be there when they opened.
But there was no cause for concern because we were there in plenty of time. Robby ran in guest services quickly while the kids and I quickly unloaded and headed to the front. Robby met us and we went into Greenfield Village one last time. Robby asked the kids last night if they had the choice between the Model T and the carousel what would they pick and everyone but Campbell picked the Model Ts.
So we quickly walked down the Main street and we were the first ones on that Model T ride. I rode with Campbell, Anderson and Whitman. Whitman and I were the only ones that sat in the back and this left Campbell and Anderson squished with the driver. At lunch, Campbell told me that if we ride the Model Ts again that she wants to be sitting in the back. I asked her why and she said “I don’t want to sit by that man again.” Today the Model Ts were all different than they were on Monday-one was even a truck.
After the Model T, we decided that we would let the kids ride on the carousel one last time. We like to spoil them a bit like that-ha. (Or we can just call it getting our money’s worth) We then toured a few houses that we didn’t get to see yesterday-the Ford family home, his workshop and an office of a doctor. This office was completely shut up after he died. And it wasn’t rediscovered until the 1960s and then it was moved to Greenfield Village. How very interesting-it all was completely stocked with his medicines. Robby really wanted the sweet shop to be open but it didn’t open until 11 so we had to move on.
Then we walked over to the Henry Ford Museum. It was absolutely huge and though we were there until 4, we probably saw about 3/4ths of it. Each day they completely take apart and reassemble a Model T. They had already assembled it for the day but how neat is that?
Then the next area we saw had an assembly line where you could put together a model of a Model T. We did that and the kids enjoyed it-but since we didn’t have enough folks we just put our cars together ourselves. But before the assembly line work, we watched two films: the first one was a film about something another Ford related (I used that opportunity to rest my eyes) and then the second film clip was of Lucy and Ethel working the conveyor belt in the chocolate factory. Of course Robby and I had seen that before but we laughed even harder watching the kids laugh at the clip.
After our Model T making, we saw a copy of the Declaration of Independence, the chair that Lincoln was sitting in when he was shot, Rosa Parks’ bus and a whole lot of other historical stuff. Then we saw a Weinermobile and put all of the kids in a hot dog. We did also see Reagan’s limo, the limo Kennedy was assassinated in, Eisenhower’s limo and a Roosevelt carriage. By this time it was nearly lunch so we had ourselves mac and cheese in the cafeteria.
Next up, we starting looking at the travel area. They had signs from a Holiday Inn, old campers and an old motor court cabins. Then there were all kinds of cars-old cars, new cars, little cars, big cars. The kids really enjoyed this section and then at the end of it, you could make your own car out of knex (a lego type toy) and race it down a ramp. Also in this area somewhere, there was a place that the kids could fix a car-put pretend oil in it, but the wheels on and lots of other things.
Then we ended up in the plane section and saw a few planes-replicas of Spirit of St. Louis and the Wright Brothers plane. During this section, I had to take someone to the bathroom so I missed most of it. But we did make it back in time to make paper airplanes. And then you could go and fly them to see how far they went.
Pretty soon after that there was a Dymaxion house-a house of the future in the 40s that never really took off-only 2 were made but it was still interesting. We briefly went through a dollhouse section but completely had to miss a whole section on furniture and farm machinery along with probably a lot of other things.
Whitman was incredibly fussy this afternoon and would not go to sleep. Since he was fussy, we kept giving him drinks and since he kept eating drinks, he kept needing new diapers! I guess he thought there was too much to see to take a nap. So I was changing his diaper while the kids looked at the trains. They had an engine that had a huge snow plow on the front of it. And there was even miniature trains and one of them had a camera on the front of it. That was a lot of fun for the kids-watching the train and then standing in front of it so they could be on the tv.
It was nearly 4, so we knew that we needed to leave to miss Detroit traffic getting out of town. Robby really wanted to stay and I was pretty sure that we would end up back in the Village for the last hour it was open. But we didn’t since the 4 hour drive was looming in our minds. It was just the perfect little visit to the Ford place-we are now trying to figure out the perfect time to come back
We were making good time on our drive until construction. Then we came to a standstill all due to a merge. This made Robby incredibly frustrated-so much so that he decided that he needed a bus. I am not sure how driving a bus will help get him out of traffic so I just smiled and said “okay.”
Today is our 14th anniversary and I thought that I would see if the kids knew this. I asked them what happened 14 years ago today. And my Campbell replied “somebody got shot.” And to continue our big anniversary celebration, we ate at Skyline Chili in Dayton, Ohio. They are known for their chili and cheese topped spaghetti but I ordered a baked potato...and they were out. And I didn’t even get dessert there-what kind of anniversary meal is that?
After our supper, we drove by the Wright brothers’ bicycle shop but it had been closed for hours so we just had Graham jump out and take a quick picture. That wasn’t the last time that Graham had to jump-he had to have a potty stop. The last time we sat down to eat for supper and then were in the car for a while, Robby swore that he would never take the kids to a restaurant again before a long drive. Well, tonight not only did we sit down and eat but we also let the kids have not one but two glasses of coke.
As we drove into Cincinnati tonight, I told Robby that even though our hotel was dated last night, I would much rather have it than a big city hotel. And would you believe but tonight we are practically in a big city hotel-downtown, on the river (those things aren't bad) but also had to search the lot of parking, lots of floors and a smaller than average room even though it is a "suite" (meaning 2 beds and a couch) This silly room is nice but it has so much furniture in it that there is not 10 square feet in this room that doesn't have something on it (or someone laying in it!). It is almost midnight and the kids are just getting to sleep-wow, we are creating a bunch of night owls!
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