For the first time, Pete took some vacation the same time the kids had spring break. We decided to go Madison to visit his brother, go to a restaurant Pete wanted to go to and for me to get a new cane at the Wisconsin Council of the Blind.

You know you have married a long time when you talk about what you WOULD have argued about. We always have problems with directions in the car but now he has a phone with GPS. The only problem was the GPS was not working when we needed it to work. The Wis. Council of the Blind is located near the capital so we decided to get on the highway and head toward the captial but we had no idea where we were on the highway and in the past, we have often gone way out of our way only to realize we are heading in the wrong direction and the next exit is 20 miles away. So, I asked him to get off at the next exit so I can go into a gas station and ask for directions. Usually he waits a couple exits in hopes to see something that will point us in the right direction but I think he knew he should get off asap. Of course, the gas station attendent barely spoke english and had no idea what I was talking about(although he seemed like a very nice fellow and really wanted to help me). Back in the car, I called the place and being the council of the Blind, got someone who does not drive but really wanted to make sure we got there so after much talking and map reading, told us what we needed to do.

As we take the exit, the GPS starts working and we get to our destination. I got a new cane and looked at other things they had at the store but did not purchase anything. Since it was a nice day, we decided to go to the zoo, which is free, and according to the GPS, only about three miles from where we were.

We went to the zoo where my favorite part was the polar bears and the camel which looked at us like "why aren't you stopping to take our picture?" It was great because for the first time, my son was actually interested in the animals (probably because he was not stuck in a stroller not able to see over the fence like in the past). Some of the buildings were too dark for me so I waited outside and 'people watched'...saw a lot of frusrated parents with toddlers who did not really want to be there and I felt their pain!

Back to the hotel for another swim and calling my brother-in-law who either isn't checking his messages or does not want to see us. Knowing him, he will check his messages some time next month and finally call us and we'll both be sorry we missed each other. Next time we will try to contact him via smoke signals weeks before we plan on visiting him.

The biggest thing that happened was my six year old finally took off his swimming vest and swam on his own! I tried for awhile to talk him into doing it but finally gave up and he did it on his own terms. I just wish he wouldn't have done it a half hour before we were about to leave for good! I was so excited I wanted to stay another day but we were due to pick up the dog (looks and smells great after a bath and grooming) and Pete has come down with the WORST COLD EVER!!!!

Poor guy, not the way I would want to spend my vacation. He is a real trooper.