We're meeting some Wisconsin friends in Chicagoland tomorrow. We're using the trip to do some basic sight seeing, getting the lay of the land a bit better and find some positives to our move.

One of the things is where we're meeting our friends. They're adopting a 1 month old baby boy next week and we'll be handing over a load of clothes and toys. The site for this exchange is the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, only a couple minutes from my wife's new office.

The Children's Garden looks like a wonderland. We'll find out. It might be a bit windy and one camera is on the fritz. Hopefully I can get some video and photos on my Handycam tomorrow.

i have only spent a few days in Chicago but had a ball. Saw James Brown in an old Theater and ate numerous Chicago Dogs so that sums it up. Friends adopting a little one Rock On. Good for you setting them up with the baby swag. Are they gonna raise the child as a Packers Fan? Does that bother you?

So does this mean that the move has been finalized?

DC- We mostly wanted to meet our friends from way up into WI. They're a couple or three hours West of Green Bay. But since it was a good meeting spot, we tried to mix it with some frestyle scouting. 2 for 1 if you will. Still waiting for the relocation offer to arrive. They estimate mid-October, maybe before Thanksgiving. We estimate after New Year's. There's a strike looming on the horizon.

So, the arboretum rocked. All we saw was the Children's Garden and not all of that in the four hours we spent there. The whole property is immense. It's 1700 acres on the West side of Chicago. As you drive I-88 from the city out toward Naperville, the buildings just disappear on the North side of the highway. This happens for minutes. It's amazing.

Where we entered the Children's Garden there is a hill that at least 30 kids were climbing and then rolling down. Across the path from it, scores of kids running through a full sized hedge maze. The hedges were over my head. There were three or four water play areas, concert grounds, playgrounds, discovery activities and kid-friendly plants.

I learned that Duncan can climb a ladder better than his old man. We were able to team up to corral better than I usually can so that adult conversation actually happened.

I'll post some photos and video once I've got everything ready. Getting back on schedule is taking some time. The boys come first, after all.

What a great trip.