Chicago Trip - Day #4

We picked the worst day to do our outdoor sightseeing.  The Windy City really lived up to it's name on occasion.  Rain, too.

We packed for home, then left the hotel and walked for 20 minutes to hit up a pancake restaurant I had previously researched.  We all enjoyed what we had.  Kids had oreo s'more pancakes:

 Wife had the berry crepes:

I had the signature "Berry Blitz" pancake stack:

Even the butter and syrup was displayed nicely:

Thereafter, we were energized to get back 

out in the wind and the rain to check out the sights: 

Then home on the train.  The station was right under where we were standing in this last picture.  It was a good trip overall.

Chicago Trip - Day #3

Day #3 of Chicago.  We enjoyed the Science and Industry Museum so much we wanted to go back, so we did.  We jumped on the bus for the 20 minute trip there.

Hamster getting zapped:

On a giant hamster wheel:

 The International Space Station is the perfect size for a hamster:

By later afternoon, Kiddo #3 had all he could take

 and fell asleep in his stroller:

The most popular place was the kid playroom.  

They spent alot of time there.

Chicago Trip - Day #2

We ate a nice breakfast of bagels at the little shop in the lobby of our hotel - Einstein Bagels.  It was great.  Then we took the bus down to the Field Museum campus for the day.

Sue the T-Rex was great:

Worth another picture.

Another dinosaur bone intended for hands on (or other):

Kids got a bit board, so we walked down to the Planetarium:

Rocket simulators were good:

Then the bus ride back to the hotel:

Pizzeria Due for supper.  I picked it up as the kids went through the tub.  Chicago Deep Dish was very filling.

Chicago Trip - Day #1

We hopped on the train at the Gary Station around noontime.  This is the first time kids had ridden on a train.  It took us into the city, and we hopped off at the Museum of Science of Industry.

 

The big German submarine was cool:

Periscopes were fun:

Anchors are neato:

 

Astronauts make kids smile:

Then, we took a bus to our hotel.  We stayed downtown just 2 or 3 blocks east of Michigan Ave and just 4 or 5 blocks north of the river.  It was a nice location with lots of dining options within walking distance.  Here are kids showing off the 16th floor where we stayed:

We had a nice view of the street below.  

We all spent alot of time at the window.

Saturday's Adventure Trip

This past Saturday, I loaded up 2 of the 3 kids, about 50 stuffed animals, and headed north in the pick-up to pick up another Craigslist purchase.  

I have been searching for quite awhile for a sickle bar mower as a project.  My list of demands were high - it had to be light-weight, mostly functional, and perhaps most important of all - super cheap.  I finally found all 3 attributes in one machine, but it was way up north 90 miles away.

No worries, though.  That's where the adventure trip comes in.  With 2 kids and 50 stuffed animals, we had a fun afternoon travelling through the countryside.  

Upon seeing the sickle bar mower at the seller's 

barn, #2 Kiddo exclaims, "Is that it?!"!"

Well, yes.  That is all it is.

Nothing too flashy, and it will need a bit of work, but that's expected.

This sickle bar is a 1950s vintage Farmall Cub C22 60 inch mower.  It was originally a belly-mounted mower that was powered off the rear PTO of the small similar-vintage tractor.  My plan is to convert it to a front mounted mower for my larger 1980s JD garden tractor.  By having a cantilevered mower, trimming my creek banks will be a piece of cake.  Inspiration for this project originated with my Canadian Cousin with this picture:

I have a bit of designing and engineering to do.  Now that I have the actual mower in hand, I can start drawing and designing a way to attach, power, and raise this unit.  It looks like a fun and challenging project.

Big Changes

Start with this "before" picture of the two older kids: 

Here is Kiddo #1 after yesterday's big haircut:

And here is Kiddo #2 after his very first tooth fell out tonight:

(And why is that moustache hovering beside him....)

We can't leave out #3 Kiddo.  He found a new place to nap.

Extraction

One of the float bearings on my 1938 JD A carburetor was very stuck.  After a month of soaking, and multiple attempts to loosen it with heat, I had to resort to drilling it out.

The float bearing is brass, so I drilled out 90% of the diameter, and then finished it up with a left handed drill bit.  It broke loose and backed right out.

This is always a good sight to see after an hour of work: