jhawks

Hey friends! We've done quite a bit in the last few days! We left on Wed. we had to travel a long time! We were all VERY tired when we finally got to our hotel. The next 2 days we traveled a LOT less! On Thursday we got to Mt.Rushmore! Me and Grady became jr.rangers! On Fri. we went to Little Bighorn, and became Jr.Rangers there to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now we're just laying low! Hope to see you soon, Cristiana... read more

After the field, we stopped at the Palmer House for cocktails in the beautiful historic lounge. Then we returned to the hotel to freshen up. We ate dinner at the Alahambra Palace. Fantastic food and entertainment. We packed a lot into the day.... read more

We arrived in Chicago with a special ride waiting to take us to the hotel.... read more

November 27, 2008 Happy Thanksgiving! We made it to Palermo after an exhilarating day at the Valley of the Greek Temples in Agrigento yesterday. We were able to explore several Greek temples overlooking the Mediterranean outside of the city. It was spectacular! It is truly amazing that such structures could remain fairly intact after 2000+ years! After hiking around the ruins, we were able to take a nice cappuccino/gelato break down by the lido. After snacking, the kids put on their swimsuits and went for a dip in the sea! There is a real advantage of touring this time of year because there are not many people and the temperature, although not hot, is really quite pleasant! The beach was deserted with the exception of a handful of other tourists doing the same thing as us! ... read more

Sunday, November 23, 2008 Day 3….Spoleto to Rome We arrived on Friday morning and have packed an entire vacation into 3 days. After arriving in Rome at 8:00 am we hopped into our rental car and drove towards Spoleto…typically an hour and a half trip. Unfortunately, we missed our turn and routed ourselves through Orvieto and Todi. Not a bad alternative to trip taken many times! It afforded us the opportunity to see a few new sights. Upon arriving in Spoleto we were shocked to discover the main corso in total disarray…torn from end to end. Hopefully by December the road will be repaved and perhaps a new sewer system will be in place…who really knows! Because of the construction, Bar Vincenzo’s was closed so we were unable to have a cappuccino at one of our ... read more