You should go to the Illinois Train Museum in Union IL +2

Background: Before James loved animals, he loved trains. He spoke about them all the time. In particular was a train movie we got from the library that he must have watched 30 times.

I ended up driving up their with James on day, and Megan stayed home.

Best reasons to agree: +3

1. Kids like trains. 
2. The Illinois Train Museum has lots of trains. 
3. Trains are cool. Trains are some of the biggest things that people will see move. Trains have changed a lot over time. Trains used to be very important to our county's development. Learning about trains will also allow you to learn a little about what our grand parent's lives were like.

Best reasons to disagree: -1

1. Union Illinois is 59 miles from Chicago. It would be cooler if it was a little bit closer. 

Score:

# of reasons to agree: +3

# of reasons to disagree: -1

# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: +0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0

Total Idea Score: +2

Don't like the score? It is easy to change the score. Just post a reason to agree or disagree with the overall idea, or any of the reasons and the score will change.

Best webpages that agree: +

1. http://www.irm.org/ Biased score: 10/10

Best webpages that agree: -

1. 
   

This is my favorite picture, I think.
He just looks so small compared to those giant trains.  

This is in an area with no moving trains...
Don't worry...
I typically don't let my kids play on train tracks.

A very big train

Yes. I did let him climb the trains. 

This train was used to cut through snow. 

• Near Chicago Tourism

Images that agree:

I hear steam engines are coming back

Related Links:

The Chicago Morton arboretum is a good place to take your family

Background: 
July 2009 with Megan's Mom 

The Chicago Botanic Gardens in Glencoe, Illinois are a great place to get family photos. Just let the kids walk around, take photos, and save all the money of going to a studio.

Its fun taking pictures in the same places, and seeing the kids get older.

Images that agree:



Al

September 23rd 2009, When my parents drove out, after Philip was Born.





Phil's tough guy look

Fountains
August 11, 2012

Trains

Chicago has a lot of stuff to do

Reasons to agree:

1. Trips to the zoo are good for kids. Chicago has good zoos. 
2. The Indiana Sand Dunes are cool, and close to Chicago. 
3. Chicago has good opportunities to watch sports.
4. Chicago has good museums. 
5. People watching is entertaining around Chicago.
6. Naperville Last Fling is Fun

Images that agree:
April 2005, with James on the train

Tony and Tina's Wedding, November 2006

2007 Highland games. Very HOT that day.

2008 at the Shedd Aquarium with the baby beluga. James' first animal.

When KC came to visit, I invited myself along for the trip to the city.
We ended up walking, with 3 kids, all the way from the train station, to Millenium Park, and to
The Hancock Tower. We walked back to Navy Pear and caught a water taxi to the train station.

2006 Nextfest

Tastes of Chicago

James on our death march from union station to the Hancock building

Trips for work can be interesting

June 4, 2006 to Las Vegas Lightfair

From my window in Las Vegas

THE FLIGHT

Our plane was supposed to leave at 6:05, but it left the ground at 10:15, leaving me stuck with Red Necks on there way to a pool tournament in Vegas for 7 and a half hours. They took up the plane and acted like it was theirs. They whistled at the stewards the first time she walked buy, and one of them used their camera-cell phone to take a picture up her skirt when she went buy with the cart. These guys were low-life’s. They had BO, BB (bad breath), long skanky hair, tattoos, and big ugly girl friends.

We watched King Kong before we even got in the air, and last Holliday (Queen Latifa) once we were no loner run-way-bound.

Cathy Ed and I get out of the airport almost 2:00 in the morning. I woke up at 6:30 with my tonsillitis hurting and I couldn't go back to sleep.

LIGHT FAIR 2006

Lightfaire was pretty cool; however I wish I would have spent more time. I only had time to hang out at the big exhibits: Lithonia, Cooper, Square-D, GE, and a couple of others. Also I’m not a very sophisticated traveler. For instance, I cut my floor time short on Wednesday to check out on time when I could have had an extended check out.

You should put all your photos from your kids 2nd birthdays on the same page

Images that agree:

Alison turning 2

It was a good choice for me to work at Camp Morrison in McCall Idaho in 1993, 94, and 95

Reasons to agree:

1. I learned how to row. 
2. I got good at canoeing, small boat sailing, and snorkeling.
3. I met some cool people.
4. I learned how to Eskimo roll in a kayak.
5. I learned how to live on my own, and take care of myself. 
6. You get a sense of who you are living alone and in a new place. 
7. You get to know people pretty well living with them. I met a lot of cool people (Gomer, Lumpy, Bryan, Brad, Nathan, Emily, 

Reasons to disagree: 

1. I made less than minimum wage. I worked more than 8 hours, but got paid minimum wage for an 8 hour day.
2. I met some cool people, but I didn't spend time with the most important people in my life, my family and the people I was going to school with. 
3. Rowing, canoeing, small boat sailing, and snorkeling are not marketable, or used very often. 

I worked for 3 summers in McCall on the aquatic staff of Camp Morrison. While in McCall I:

• mounted a potato gun to our sail boat
• A potato gun is made with PVC. A small section with a large adapter. You spray hair spray, or other combustible material (not sure if hair spray is as combustible any more) into the large section. Using a lighter ignite (we used a kerosene lantern igniter) shoots the potato that is crammed into the small end. Mount this to a sail bloat and you are a fricken pirate. 
• broke helmets while wearing them,
• Above Fall Creek McCall are some very steep trails. Going off jumps on these mountains causes you to go up in the air, at the same time that the mountain falls out beneath you. Go to the peak, and you'll go past the jump that I broke my helmet on. 
• worked as a life-guard.  Taught: Canoeing, Row-Boating, Small Boat Sailing, Swimming, Life-Saving, snorkeling
• played a lot of hackey-sack, 700
• rode my bike 2 or 3 miles to every meal, 
• used an outhouse and took a shower in the outdoors, 
• chased deer, 
• listened to a lot of Nirvana, Primus, 
• had my first room-mates,
• recorded my first sleep-talker
• and constantly feared running into bears when ridding back to my tent at night on dirt roads

Below are some photos.

On the way to Kayaking down the Middle fork of the Salmon. 0 for 3 combat eskimo rolls. This truck had an 8-track, that played Nirvana nonstop. The year Kurt took his life. 

The row boats tied to the dock. The lake is very smooth, as it typically was this time of night. A troup could borrow the canoes and go to Cougar Island. They could take their tents and backpacks, or just go for the evening. We would help them get into the canoes, and shove off.  

Chris Gonzales trying to look tough. He was the aquatics director after Gomer Williams. 

Me trying to look tough

Me with cosmetic glasses made from spiral notebook and the
shirt that Megan and I picked out from Sadie Hawkins

Me watching a snorkeling outing on North Beach

There was a hill on the beach with a log and a table to sit and draw, and
write. It was a great place to think about stuff.. 

The entry to the water front. The buddy system/swimmer board, flag pole,
look out tower / storage cabinet.

I'm the 2nd from the right. Adam ?, Nathan Fisher, Brad Bishop, me, Bryan Rich

The Canoes looking @ cougar island. Lake is usually calm like
this in the morning. 

A couple of family of geese on the calm lake

Bryan, behind the life-guard tent