Enjoying More Family time in Wisconsin and A Near Disaster Averted

We started off our Wisconsin portion of the trip traveling down from Minnesota with Erica's parents Garry and Gaylene.  We boondocked in their hotel parking lot in Eau Claire after a day of travel. We didn't plan to spend the next three days together but it was worth it for a few reasons.  

One, the kids really enjoyed their grandparents company. It helped greatly for good attitudes to know that family would be waiting right away wherever and whenever we stopped. Mimi and Papadoe spent a ton of money on the kids at Goodwill in Eau Claire and then treated us all to a fun day at Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wi just south of our campground in the Wisconsin Dells. What a highlight since we have been watching the Greatest Showman a ton on this trip and singing all the songs on our car rides.  The Ringling Brothers were innovators in entertainment and got their start right there in their hometown of Baraboo.  It has a circus that performs twice daily and clown demonstrations. Erica and the kids rode an elephant and we watched tigers do their thing too.  While we have not made attempts to go to the circus as adults, we all remembered going as kids and felt melancholy about the closing of this classical style of circus when it permanently closed last year. Now, the circus space belongs to Cirque du Soleil.

Two, the fear of many occurred to Garry and Gaylene the next day when leaving their hotel. They had their right front tire completely come off the axle on the highway.  Luckily they were physically ok and able to get to the side of the road safely. It helped that it happened in Madison, WI, just 10 minutes from my brother Joel's house. We were just 15 minutes away when it happened as we were driving down to Beloit to see my mom. We helped problem solve and get them to a safe place at Joel's to work out finding their rental car and insurance claim. We were lucky it wasn't more of an issue and that they were only shaken up mentally.  We never made it to Beloit and spent the day with Uncle Joel and Aunt Jen.  The kids played with their cousins Emily, Nolan and Madeleine. They were so excited that it all felt perfect in the end.

We said our goodbyes to Mimi and Papadoe as they headed south in their rental car to their home in southern Illinois.  They left the truck at the tow and repair shop in Madison to await the insurance claim process.  The kids now have both of their grandma's phone numbers plugged into their gizmo gadgets to call whenever they want.  Boyd has already spent time talking to them at length and making future plans to meet up.

Peace and Love