Excursion to Dayton

Mamie had a free overnight stay at a Mariott Courtyard. The closest one she could find was in Dayton. She picked Good Friday because the kids were off school, and she had to pick a weeknight. I had wanted to check out the Boonshoft Museum, so I decided to take the day off, and add that to our trip.

We left Cincy around 10:30a. Along with Mamie, me, Cam, and Megan, Cedric and Aidan came too. One of those times that I loved the van! We were all able to fit comfortably. Ten minutes into the trip, before we even got on I-75, Cam's Leapster's batteries died. But he was happy acting silly with Aidan all the way up.

We got to Boonshoft about 11:20a. I stayed with Cam, and sometimes Aidan, and mom followed the older ones around. There was a fun slide, and an area with a surprising number of animals. (otter, meerkat, bobcat!) Everyone was pretty happy, but there was nowhere to eat lunch. We dragged the kids away from the Lego area about 2:45p.

We checked into the hotel, then ate at Steak n Shake. We got half-price drinks and shakes (happy hour!) The kids sat nicely, and quietly. After our late lunch, we got into our suits. Not before jumping all around the room, though, of course. It always amazes me how much jumping kids can do without hurting themselves. I took all 4 down to the pool while Mamie set up an Easter egg hunt in the room.

Cam was too afraid to put his feet down in the pool. Since he is 3'6", and the shallow end was 3', I told him he could stand. But he wouldn't believe me. He ended up swimming around the hot tub some, but he turned bright red and we decided he had to get out. He took our decision surprisingly well. We sat around the pool a little longer, than he and I headed back to the room. Mamie was back to watch the older kids.

Cam found his six eggs and was very good about not grabbing more. I had told Mom "I'll head back to the room and entertain him." He was very interested in how I was going to "entertain" him. It was cute.

After the other kids got back, and had their Easter egg hunt, we started talking about heading to Walmart so they could spend their change (each egg had about 20 cents inside) We also tried to decide sleeping arrangements. We had a big pillow fight, and even Mamie got in on the action. Finally we did head out, to Walmart, then Cracker Barrel. Again, everyone was on their best behavior.

Since the pool was open until midnight, we went for another swim after dinner. (it was about 9p) I didn't feel like putting my suit on, so Mom and I went down in our clothes. I didn't think Cam would get in. Of course, this time he did. He could stand in the shallow end. But the pool bottom gradually got deeper. He doggy-paddled a little way out, then realized he couldn't stand. He was treading a bit, but kept going under. I tried to get Megan's attention, but she was under the water and couldn't hear me. I jumped in and grabbed him. Jeans, gym shoes, and all. Luckily I had taken $20 and my cell phone out of my pockets earlier. Cam was more scared by my jumping in than he had been trying to tread water. After that, he wouldn't go in the rest of our stay. (even though the next day I put my suit on) The young girl running the front desk at the hotel was super-nice, and dried my pants and shirt for me. Those industrial dryers are fast!

We got a rollaway bed, and I told Megan she could sleep in that. Aidan and Cam were going to share a bed, and Mom and I the other. That left Ced on the floor, but he whined about that. Aidan is a poor sleeper, so I asked Cam if he would sleep on the floor. He cheerfully said okay, and set up his "bed" right in front of the door. It was the perfect locale, completely out of the way. When Mamie finally settled in around 11:30p, we turned out the lights. I laid with Cam on the floor until he fell asleep (which was fast), and then crawled in with Mamie. Shortly after that, I heard Megan "mom... I can't sleep". So I laid with her, and she fell asleep quickly too.

The next day, we headed to Bob Evans. Even though the service was super-slow, the kids were great again. One more dip in the pool, and we headed back. All-in-all, a great trip!