FUN MONDAY

Our hostess this week is RDH Mom. the assignment is to talk about a vacation
we have taken.


Now, pictures would probably make this more interesting, but I am not a
picture taker or keeper. I got a camera for Christmas this year, because I
wanted to take pics of the kids playing sports and make my blog nicer. Well
that stinking $700 camera is about to make me crazy. The pictures seem to be
getting worse no matter what I do. I have resorted to grabbing Adrian's camera when I want to take a picture anymore. He also has a better zoom. So I am borrowing some pictures from other places on the web!







Anyway. I have done quite a bit of travelling in my day. I have white water rafted in Nepal, walked on the Great Wall of China and paid my respects at the tomb of Jane Grey's mother in Westminster Abbey.







All before I was 18!

I live life a little slower now. I actually don't like to leave home if I can avoid it but there is one place we have gone as a family on vacation that I love. I loved it so much I made us go back a second time a couple of years later!

Old Nauvoo is a beautiful town on the Mississippi River, in Illinois, where Illinois, Iowa and Missouri meet. We actually drive in Missouri for a lot of the trip, which doesn't really make sense since we are going from Tennessee to Illinois. But that is just how it works.

Here are some of my fave things to see and do in Nauvoo:








This first one is the Robert Browning house. Yeah, the gun guy. Now,
I have never even shot a gun, but I am the only one in my family that has
not. The kids are pretty good shots. Even though I am not a "gun" girl, I love looking at everything in this house.
Next is the Scovil Bakery. It is tiny. It has my dream: a bustle oven.
And sweet older ladies make gingerbread men cookies in it. And I LOVE to eat them!

And then there is this awesome place. I will copy the description straight from the web site so you can see how much fun we have here.

Visitors can watch missionaries as they demonstrate timeless skills
in producing everyday items made from wood, metal, clay and other materials.You can view demonstrations in a wide variety of 19th Century trades such as spinning, bread making, candle making, pottery, rope and barrell making. Tie everything together as you help the Rope Maker create another length. Finish it all off with the
baker, and taste delicious bread from the brick-oven. A must stop for the children!

In Nauvoo we have watched inspiring and funny musical productions. We have ridden in ox pulled carts. We have made rope, yarn, candles, bread, and Prairie diamonds. We have played pioneer games for hours. We have toured dozens of houses owned by very interesting and important people. We even sat through a lesson in a one room school house. Our answers had to be neatly written on our slate!

Now travelling with 6 kids can be expensive, so I might as well tell you how much it costs to do all this stuff in Nauvoo.

Nothing, Nada, zilch.

That's right, it is all free! We just have to pay for a very reasonably priced hotel room. The first time we stayed in Keokuk Iowa at the Holiday Inn. The second time we stayed at the Nauvoo Family Inn. Our room had 10 beds. For only $125 a night and we had a full kitchen. It was heaven.

And of course an indoor pool.

Next time I want to stay at the Inn at Nauvoo. It looks pretty posh. It may be a trip when we just need one regular room. You know, when there are less than 8 of us travelling together.

We can do 3 nights/4 days in Nauvoo for under $500 for our family of 8.

Maybe that is why I like it so much!

EDIT**** Lucy took pictures of our trip to Nauvoo and Rachel put them on her Fun Monday post, so head over to my daughter Rachel's blog, The Pink Basement Dweller, to see our family pics, if you want to!