“Why does Papa live so far away?” I asked mom and dad fifteen times en route to Mukwonago. “Will Cha-Cha and Nay-Nay be there?”

Finally, three hours, a couple snores, and one stop at the Outlet mall later, we arrived at Papa Florence’s house! And it’s a good thing we visited… not only do I love gettin’ my Papa time, but there were also two Christmas gifts sitting in his living room, waiting for me to open them! (Papa says Santa must have gotten lost looking for my house.)

After helping Papa open the Christmas presents that I brought him (because he’s a senior citizen, not because I thoroughly enjoy the thrill of unwrapping gifts), we ate a home-cooked meal, exchanged lots of stories, and then got a good night’s rest before heading out to the Mitchell Park Domes the next morning. As you’ll see from the below photos, I was a bit underwhelmed at first.

Luckily, I woke up in time to tour the third dome, where I experienced the magic of Christmas once more before year’s end.

But that wasn’t the end of our fun day. Next, it was off to the Harley-Davidson museum to view and test-drive display-only motorcycles (because my parents said that’s as close as I’ll ever get to owning/riding one).

Then, after a yummy meal at a new smokehouse restaurant, I was disappointed to learn it was time to head back to Melrose. It was another short, but always-wonderful visit. In fact, before getting myself settled into the carseat that would become my bed for the next 190 miles,  I repeatedly asked, “Why are we leaving Papa at his house?”

Clearly, I miss my Papa Florence already.