Trip to Tallahassee

 A couple of weeks ago we loaded up the kids and headed to our new state capital.  Now, many of you already know this, but the ultimate goal for visiting Tallahassee was to eat at the nearest Chipotle.  (Which was totally worth it...and it was near a Hungry Howie's so we got the kids a large pizza for $6 #winning) We figured we might as well visit the capitol building, too, since we were in town and all.

 

As we walked towards the capitol building, I was a little disappointed to see a rather ugly structure.  We quickly learned, however, that this was the 'new' capitol built in the 70s and the old capitol building was on the other side and had been turned into a museum.  It was a really neat place to visit.  And Dom kept saying how much he thought Mary Ann and Rose would like it.  All of the rooms had exhibits of various legislative cases unique to Florida.  As well as a lot of general state history.  They had a scavenger hunt for the boys (who entered into a friendly competition with some girls who arrived around the same time...though I'm not sure if the girls knew they were in a competition.  Which was just as well, because they lost anyway.)  But, the highlight for everyone was the House Chamber. 

 Hence the only pictures from our time spent in the capitol building are staged legislative debates.  Pretty accurate, eh?

 We'd plan to visit a science museum, but as it was closed, we headed to Florida State's campus.  And Molly fell asleep.  So, I stayed in the car with her while the boys explored a little bit.

 I love the expression on Will's face.  Actually both boys don't look thrilled to have to get their picture taken.  What's not to like?  Isn't it fun to stand in the hot, humid air for countless photos? Kids these days... 

And Dom is dreaming of going back to see a Florida State game.  Keep dreaming, son!

Another highlight of the trip, at least for me, was that we did the whole thing without movies or tablets.  At one time, this would have been the norm, but as most of our trips are well over 10 hours, we generally plug in the kids as soon as they get in the car.  This trip was a little over 2 hours one way, so we just packed a few books and hit the road.  We sang songs and the kids played with each other.  It was like one of those old fashion family vacations that we all have fond memories of.   The kids did great and we eventually went the whole weekend without tablets or tv.  It is something I've wanted to try since realizing how much we really rely on various devices to stay entertained.   Now that I know we can do it, I'm hoping to implement at least one device free weekend a month...Schau ma moi!