There and back again

It should take about 5 and a half hours to get from Chicago / Evanston to Cincinnati. Molly and I did the drive in about 8. Each way!

Molly was actually an excellent travel companion. On the way down, we did stop for a longish dinner at Steak 'N Shake (her favorite) and had to take a few extra bathroom breaks, but she never complained about being in the car and I only had to break out the DVD player at the very end of the drive. What set us back on Friday, aside from traffic in Chicago and Cincinnati, was that I rear ended a car on the highway. Scary! It was a very mild fender bender, as far as those go. Traffic came to a sudden halt and I just couldn't stop in time. We didn't hit the car in front very hard, but it had a hitch on the back, so there is a little damage to our car and the truck we hit has a big dent in the bumper. Everyone was okay, but I just hate that it happened.

The drive back was drama free, so you'd think we would have shaved off some time. Nope. I saw the signs for Fair Oaks Farm, a dairy farm about 80 miles south of Chicago, and decided that Molly needed a treat. The original idea was to just poke around a little bit and get some ice cream. But then I found out that tickets for the tour were free for mothers and kids under 3, so decided, why not? We took a bus ride around the dairy farm and saw the cows and learned about the milking process. It was actually pretty cool. The farm is completely sustainable, so the guide spent a lot of time talking about how they convert the cow manure to energy for the farm. At the end of the tour, I asked Molly what she learned and she proudly (and loudly) announced to the entire group, "That cows poop!" Ha!

I am so exhausted, I'll save blogging about the weekend in Cincinnati for another day. But here are a few highlights from our girls only road trip:

All packed up and ready to leave. Molly was SO excited to go to Dana's house

First taste of Skyline Chili -- Molly liked the cheese

Nothing runs like a Deere

Checking out the cows -- they had Molly's full attention