chicago trip

realized i neglected to add a blurb about our somewhat recent roadtrip to chicago to see jean (casey's godmother).......we drove.......16 hours each way........split it up over 2 days out and 2 days back - which was a good thing because i don't think any of us could've taken anymore time in the car per day........on the way out, we took the northern route - over the great lakes into canada......saw niagara falls for about literally 5 minutes.......stayed at a quaint little holiday inn express in hamilton, canada.......on the ride back, we went south of the great lakes and stayed over in erie, pennsylvania at a nicer, but not as homey, courtyard marriott.......it had a pool which was a nice change of pace for us all - especially since we actually checked in an hour before casey's bedtime so we had some time "to spare".......we spent 3 days with jean in chicago.......it was very nice to not be in the car, although we did make quite a few trips to the grocery store while we were there!.......it was fantastic though to have homecooked meals that i didn't have to prepare or clean up from too much and it was great seeing jean........i'm glad she and casey are going to be close even though they're not living near each other.......casey wasn't as sure about jean's cats though.......she liked to see them from a distance, but wasn't too psyched when they came to check her out........didn't really warm up to them like we thought she might over the 3 days.......jean's house is really neat - all kinds of decorations and fountains and cool little knick-knacks and it's situated on a lake which was great to be able to take casey around........it was so nice to not have to drive to a nice place to walk.........the path around the lake had 2 playgrounds so we made sure to visit each of them........one day we went to this sturbridge village like place that had some animals, mini tractors, a carousel, a train, and a hayride that casey took part in.......we forgot her stroller and kept her out a bit too late (missed naptime) but otherwise she loved it........and we survived 32 hours in the car.........now we'll have to see how camping goes next month!.......