Roadtrip Chapter 3- To Louisville and on to Nap Town.

We had fully intended on stopping in Cave City, KY on our way to Louisville. They have a Dinosaur World there that we had stopped at when we had driven home after my commissioning two years ago. The kids had loved it then and this time they could actually go through under their own power! It was alot of fun. I am going to have to find the old pictures and show how much the kids have grown since then. We got there right after a rain storm had come through so there were exactly 4 cars in the parking lot and I am pretty sure 2 belonged to the guys running the gift shop. The kids scored some Dino Christmas ornaments emblazoned with Dino World Cave City, KY. It was nice to break up our trip a little as well.

When we got to Louisville it was already way past all the Nielsen's bed time but we were all starving. So, after we all got our stuff upstairs I ran (ok drove) across the street to pick up McDonalds. One of the best McDonalds I have ever experienced - they gave the kids fountain drinks like I had ordered but put apple juice in the happy meal box as well, and they put in fries and apple dippers that really made them both pretty happy. Its always fun to get free stuff!

Next morning the plan was to wait for Jake's younger brother Adam and his son Wylie to come down to Louisville and go to the Zoo with us there. They got there around 9ish and we were all ready to rock. We spent  a few hours at the Louisville Zoo and I think that Jake would agree - Of the free zoos that we toured this was by far the best! They had really cool exhibits and a huge selling point for me was that there were indoor observatories for just about everything you could want to see. The highlight of the day was early on while visiting the Orangutan Exhibit. The large male was up on the fence far away from the window but there were several smaller females eating and hanging out close to the windows. When Thor walked over to the corner to get a better look at the "dominant male" as he called him (Dominate male orangutans have large face "plates" to indicate their position in the community) the big guy came right down and sat by the glass and allowed Thor to get a really fantastic pictures of them together. Then when Thor moved the orangutan got up and moved back to his hiding spot on the fence. Thor is a HUGE fan of Orangutans  and has been for a long time - he has a stuffy orangutan named "Ran" who has been a constant companion for many months now. The funniest thing that he says is when talking about the level of someones intelligence - if someone is really smart is he or she is "smart as an orangutan"- its a compliment, really it is! While at this zoo Thor fell in love with a stuffed Golden Lion Tamarin. He ended up coming home with us- is name is "Tam".

By the end of the day mommy was pretty zoo-ed out and Baleigh was having a hard time with the heat. It wasn't as bad as Nashville but every time we got the opportunity to hit the misting areas we did so.

We had intended to go to the Louisville Slugger factory while in town and get a picture with the worlds largest baseball bat. However, by the time we had gotten some lunch Wylie needed a nap and I was pretty sure our kids (or at least Baleigh) could use one too. Jake and Thor loaded up in Adam's swagger wagon and Baleigh and I turned on Cinderella and were on our way to Indianapolis. Its been a while since I took a roadtrip without Jake. Baleigh fell asleep before we exited the Louisville city limits and I was left in a very quiet car. Typically when the kids fall asleep - so do I. So it was hard to keep alert while on the road. I figured I would call some friends and catch up since I rarely get the opportunity to call anyone anymore while I have quiet time. Pretty much no one was available and I realized that I have very few "friends" numbers in my phone these days. Mostly its SGT so and so or LT what's her name. Only a handful make the "friends" category and they were all on vacation as well. It was a pretty sad realization.

Upon arriving in Indy we unpacked what we NEEDED out of the car and then the kids played the rest of the afternoon away in the yard with all the neighborhood kids. We had a picnic of Jimmy John's (oh how i miss that place) in the front yard and then called it a night. Or some of us did. Our former neighbors the Carlson's were preparing to leave for Fort Campbell in the morning and I hadn't seen them in 2 years! So, I drove over to our old neighborhood and sat on the front steps with Angelique and we talked for hours. It was just like old times - except I wasn't holding a baby monitor. She is one of those people that when we met it was immediate friendship. WE spent alot of time just hanging out back when we lived there and it is what kept me sane in those very difficult 6 months before I joined the Army.

In the morning we headed out to the Indianapolis Zoo. Adam had a family membership that allowed him to get the kids in free. I didn't pay anything  because I am Active Duty and that just left one admission to pay. The Indy Zoo was full of cool stuff. We got to see an elephant get a bath and then were able to touch him on the way out of the bathing are. The kids were able to pet Dog Sharks and that was a serious high point for Thor. Baleigh wasn't quite brave enough to actually touch a shark but she did put her hand in the water near one. We took in the dolphin show that was really cool and then we watched the walrus get some exercise. The most entertaining part for my was watching the kids race cheetahs. In case you didn't know they are the fastest land animal. Being home of the Indy 500 some of the race car drivers funded the enclosure and the cost of bringing three beautiful Cheetahs to Indianapolis. Right outside their enclosure is a track that allows you to see how far you could run before a Cheetah would pass you. The kids each got about a foot. The really fascinating part was when Thor went up to the track and was preparing to run. Two cheetahs came up to the window and trotted the length of the track with him! Then they turned and went back to the shade. I don't know if its coincidence that the animals were just curious in Thor or if there is something about him that draws them to him- either way it made for some interesting experiences.

Again  it was toddler nap time - I wanted to wear our kids out so that they napped on the way to Chicago later that day so we grabbed swim gear and went to the splash park that Thor loved as a little kid. Jake went out and grabbed some more Jimmy John's for us and we had a picnic in the park. One of my besties from college Rachel R. came with her friend to visit us there. Rachel is an paramedic in Indy and were were fortunate to be in town on one of her random days off. They had fun teaching the kids about geo-caches and Baleigh even got to find one in a tree!

The original intent was to go to the Children's Museum in town as well. However, it would have been pushing it to try and get  that much activity into one day. We headed back to Adam and Sarah's house and packed up the remaining things we had their and were on the road to Chicago by 3PM.