vacation - part 1

We started out our trip heading to Nashville, TN!  Kevin and I have been through Nashville but neither of us had ever visited there.  On the way he wanted to drive through Champaign and show the girls the house he did most of his growing up in!  I think he was in 5th grade when he moved there with his Mom and Dad.  He easily found it and had lots of good memories and remembered where his neighborhood friends lived as well.  The house has changed a bit.  He couldn't get over how big all the trees were.  I suppose we will be saying that about our house here in Frankfort someday. :)

2711 Rolling Acres Drive  Champaign, IL

The "downtown" area of Champaign has changed a lot.  Most businesses he knew of were no longer there but for the most part, they have updated it for the better.  If only Garcia's Pizza was still around...he could relive his days as part of the ground crew for the Flying Tomato Brothers and their hot air balloon that flew across Assembly Hall during the football games!  We're glad we took the time to drive through Champaign and show the girls that part of his youth.

No road trip is complete until you stop at such ridiculous places like Metropolis, IL!  It is why we drive instead of fly, right?!  It is at the very tip of IL, just before you get to Kentucky.  We spent a bit too much time there but I think we were all ready to stretch our legs and just move around a bit.  There really is not much else there.  Well, that's not entirely true...Big John lives there, too!

 Not sure why the grocery store mascot statue is bigger than Superman but whatevs. 

We were getting pretty close to our destination and made it to Nashville Sunday night!  We found a great hotel right away and really all that Jess and Sara cared about was whether it had a pool. :)

They should know by now we only stay at hotels that have pools!!  We had a nice surprise in the morning when we found out that they served a full breakfast and it was included in our stay!  Stay tuned, there is more to come...