Saturday we only had one thing planned- a trip to Mud Island River Park. Saturday was also the day we all wore our matching reunion shirts. Leigh did a great job coming up with the design and getting these for us all. Mud Island is a small island (or is it actually a peninsula?) the Mississippi River and at the park they have a to scale replica of the Mississippi River that you can walk through. It's really neat because it shows you the depth of the river and the cities and tributaries along the way. We also got to ride a monorail to get to the park and went to the museum that is there. It rained on us a little while we were there, but that was okay. We thought it was going to pour on us, so we were happy with the light rain we encountered.
Everyone gathered in the lobby in their matching shirts.
Welcome to Mud Island!
The start of the Mississippi River.
Paige and Virginia gingerly stepping into the "river."
Wandering along the river replica.
My toes on the Mud Island replica on Mud Island.
Paige and Virginia walking along the edge of the river with Mimi-
and you can see the actual Mississippi River in the background.
A tug boat pushing a barge down the real river.
The museum about the Mississippi River was pretty neat, but I didn't get to read much of anything, except in the beginning. After the first room or so I took the girls over for Ben so he got to see more of the museum than I did, but that's okay. The best parts of the museum were the (replica?) riverboat that you could walk on and look at and the kid's section at the end with stuff to play with and an aquarium.
Paige all dressed to go work on a barge, while Mason smiles at her.
Paige and Justin ready to go to work.
When we finished at Mud Island we went back to Huey's (the restaurant where we had dinner Wednesday night) for lunch and then went to see the house where Nana and Gramps lived when Ben was a kid.
Cousins in front of Nana and Gramps' old house.
Rob, Ali, Lloyd and Ben
And the little cousins in front of the house.
Paige, Carson, Elizabeth, Justin, Mason, Caleigh and Virginia
The little ones hanging out in the hotel lobby before dinner.
Virginia, Paige, Carson and Justin.
That night we decided to get carry out barbecue with the thought that we would eat in the hotel lobby, but they wouldn't let us. So we ended up all eating together in Mimi and Pops' hotel room. It was an adventure, but it worked out well. We had delicious barbecue from The Commissary. After dinner we went downstairs to the hotel patio for birthday month pictures for the calendar. Then we just hung out down there for awhile. The kids played hide and seek and the adults got drinks from the bar. Pretty soon it was bedtime so we said goodbye and headed to our room. Sunday morning we got up early and flew back home.
This was another wonderful family reunion! I think the plan for next year is to go back to Berkeley Springs. We definitely look forward to it- and to Thanksgiving. It's always fun when we can get the whole (or most, at least) of the family together. Maybe one of these days we'll be able to do the same thing with my family.
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