Last weekend we took off for my eldest to audition at a college ballet program in Indianapolis. We were expecting COLD weather and snow, but somehow luck was on our side and the weather was about the same as it was here when we left – about 37 to 34 or so. (Didn’t even have to break out the new long underwear we’d bought!)
The younger ones and I toured the Indianapolis Museum of Art while she did her audition. It was free! We even got free parking because our art museum here has reciprocal membership. Fantastic museum and we only got to see two floors before we had to meet back with dad and Emily at Butler. It was a beautiful campus and the people are so incredibly nice. Now to wait and see if she gets in!
After Indy we drove to Chicago for a fantastic welcome weekend for prospective students at SAIC (the art institute.) She was accepted there with a pretty good scholarship, and being one of the best art schools in America we decided it was worth the time. I’m so in awe of the school! I wish they had dance also, BUT Jeoffry Ballet and Chicago Ballet are within walking distance so I think she’d be able to take some classes if she decides to go there.
Chicago was not bad as far as weather goes either and we got to walk around a bit and hit some of the top kid spots (Science Museum, Millenium Park, Lego store…)
We stayed at another Historic Hotel, the Palmer House Hilton. We try to stay in Historic Hotels (if they have rooms large enough for the six of us) wherever we can. The prices are usually not any more than a “box” hotel and you get a totally different experience.
This summer we wanted to take a road trip that consisted of touring colleges that my daughter is considering next year, with some fun thrown in.
The plan was to make a giant loop and hit every school from here (central Arkansas) to DC and back with good dance programs- BUT of course with only one week to do it, we ended up with a MUCH smaller loop… (only 1300 miles… so glad we opted for the small trip!)
Day 1:
We made it to Memphis by lunchtime and stopped by the Memphis Zoo.
Goofing off with the Panda bears at the zoo
Boys +5 years at the zoo
Next we headed a few blocks over for a quick tour of the beautiful
We pushed on and got to Nashville for the night. (I’d made reservations as we drove in the car on hotels.com. We stayed across the street from Vanderbilt.
Vandy @ night
Day 2:
We’d made arrangements to tour Vanderbilt after lunch, so we visited the Parthenon in nearby Centennial Park. My kids are huge Rick Riordan fans (author of the Percy Jackson series) and we like to make “Percy Jackson” stops when we travel. In Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Percy and the gang stop by the Parthenon to obtain a magical pearl. The museum inside the Parthenon even has some notes from the movie and props, which the boys loved.
Parthenon Fun
After a quick lunch at a quaint old diner(place was cuter than the food was) then headed to Vanderbilt for the tour.
Elliston’s Diner
Wow.
What a gorgeous campus. No wonder it’s so expensive!
The tour was fantastic in itself.
This is a DORM @ Vanderbilt
After the tour we hit the road. Emily’s Butler tour was Thursday morning and we had to make it to Indianapolis!
