Tuesday, April 29, 2008
John Deere World Headquarters!
John Deere World Headquarters was an amazing place. Very picturesque and peaceful. Noah still talks about it and repeatedly asks to go back to "Nois" (Illinois) to see "John Deere World Headquarter." As you walk into the first building the center of the floor is open so you can look down at the display of equipment. Stairs in the center or on either lateral outer wall lead you down to admire and play on the machines. There is also a walk way on the upper level. Employees were using the layout of this building to do walking laps.
We were the only ones there to view the equipment, so Noah had his fill for the moment!
Check Out Time- April 7th
Noah found many ways to entertain himself...err...help us out on this trip! We had little sleep the night before since Noah does not fit into his pack-in-play anymore and does not like sleeping on a real bed OR a make shift one on the floor. Only a crib will do! We figure he'll be in his crib until at least he's 10 the rate we're going! But we are happy he's safely snug in his crib these days rather than getting nightly visits or having him wander the house while we're asleep.
Hanging out at the hotel after dinner
Can you name all the Cars characters? Noah WILL correct you if you are wrong! Left to right:
Mater, Doc, Lizzy, Filmore, Sheriff, Radiator Springs Lightening McQueen, Lightening McQueen, Flo, Sally, and tractor
John Deere Pavilion!
After a 6-7 hour drive mostly through drizzle and rain, we finally made it to a pleasant day in Moline! After checking into the Radisson http://www.radisson.com/molineil on John Deere Pavilion http://www.deere.com/en_US/attractions/pavilion/index.html , we headed over to visit the display across the street.
April 6th- Off to Moline, Illinois
All packed and ready to go! A little over an hour into our trip we plugged the portible DVD player in, only to smell an awful electrical odor. Oh no! Crisis...a useless DVD player. Thank goodness for an emergency stop at a Walmart in Owatonna for a replacement!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Noah's first brush with fame
Noah encountered a bit of Hollywood while on his big excursion to Moline, Illinois, enroute to Ohio. Moline is pretty important to Noah since it is John Deere World Headquarters. This is the second year we have stopped there overnight to allow Noah to get his fill. While there we stay at the Radison on John Deere Commons. It's a pretty spot on the Mississippi River (Sippy river as Noah calls it.) Most importantly it is right across the street from the John Deere Pavillion, which is an indoor/outdoor display of John Deere equipment that is meant to climb and play on.
The morning of our departure from Moline, we entered the dining room for a continental style breakfast. In walks a group of people, one of whom was a funny sounding man in designer jeans, cowboy boots, blue tinted glasses, lots of big rings and a silly hat. The group sat down at the table next to ours and Noah proceeds to turn in his seat, look at him, and say, "That's a farmer." I guess it was the hat! Luckily the man was on his cell and did not seem to hear. Later when the funny man was getting some food, one of the other's in the group told us who he was. I was still clueless since he did not look familiar to me, and I did not remember him in the Fugitive or Matrix.
So...who was this guy? Joey Pantoliano. Besides the 2 above movies I guess he was in Risky Business with Tom Cruise (Puke) and numerous other movies. He also received an Emmy for his role in the TV series The Sopranos. If you want to check out more click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Pantoliano
I also found this interesting: http://www.apbspeakers.com/themes/defaultview/SpeakerPages/Joe%20Pantoliano.aspx
Why was he in Moline? Well, I guess he joined up with The Help is Here Express bus tour sponsored by the Partnership for Prescription Assistance. The partnership is a nationwide effort of American pharmaceutical research companies to get no-cost or low-cost prescription drugs to uninsured or underinsured people who are dealing with chronic diseases while struggling financially.
Here is an article about his event in Moline:
Learning more about him on the Internet, I'm now more impressed with his stand on mental illness and his committment to helping people get prescriptions, than his actual roles. I still have no clue which parts he played in these famous movies. And I'm not a Sopranos watcher. We'd love to hear if any of you remember him!
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