New Years Vacation

Usually on New Years Michael and I take a vacation, just the 2 of us. We usually go someplace like New York or Chicago and see some incredible broadway shows, or we go south and enjoy the warmth. This year we decided to take Simone with us. My mom and a few others graciously watched River. We didn't want to drive too far away, but far enough to make it feel like a vacation. We started in Indianapolis. We went to the Children's Museum. It was incredible! We spent 6 HOURS there. It has changed so much since I had been there in my teens. Simone absolutely enjoyed herself and Michael and I enjoyed seeing her eyes light up...especially in the dinosaur exhibit. That evening we went and had dinner with Jen Jackson. It was great to see her and her new place. We had pizza and Simone enjoyed seeing her kitties. That night we stayed in a hotel. It had been a long time since Simone had stayed in a hotel, so this really was the first experience for her...she thought it quite cool that she had a big bed all to herself.
The next day we were off to Lexington, Kentucky. We visited the aquarium. Simone wasn't as thrilled with the aquarium as she was with the museum. She did get to see Santa swimming with the sharks. She also got to see a special penguin parade. We didn't stay at the aquarium long but, ventured on to a nice seafood restaurant where Simone had her first taste of swordfish. She actually liked it.
Our plans for the next day were to visit and tour a horse farm. On the internet, they said, they were open, but when they got there, they were closed. We were very disappointed as Simone loves horses and we were excited for her to see some up close. We were scrambling to find something else to do for the next day. We saw that the Louisville Zoo was opened year round so we made that our plans for the next day. When we got there, we showed them our Potowatomi Zoo pass and they let us in for free. Praise the Lord...It was nice out, about 50 degrees. Many exhibits were closed, since it is winter, but we got to see many animals and a great exhibit called Gorillas in the round. You go into a room and the gorillas absolutely surround you. We stayed there for a long time. It was lots of fun. We stopped early that night. I thought Simone would enjoy swimming in the hotel swimming pool. We stopped at a couple of local stores and they didn't have any swimsuits. I know it's out of season, but what do people do who are going someplace warm on vacation or want a suit to swim at the "Y"? Well we ended up buying a leotard...on sale for $2. She swam in her leotard and had a great time.
We arrived home to mounds of snow and horrible road conditions. We were very thankful for the nicer weather and traveling conditions we had. It was a great vacation.