Day 187

After work, I had to run a few errands.  At the same time, some monsoons opened up in  Springfield making my return home pretty hairy.  I felt like I was driving more by intuition than by sight as the road was barely visible due to the pounding rain.  Of course the rain let up about the time I pulled into the garage.  Since it was a dreary & wet night, Crockett suggested that we visit the new Scheels store in town.  He and LilCrockett visited the store on opening day (Crockett had been dying for it to open) a few weeks ago, but I was still feeling crummy at the time and wasn’t in the mood to deal with the crowds.  I’m glad I waited because there wasn’t a crowd tonight.

Once inside, Crockett took the kids on the indoor ferris wheel (they are in the Coca-Cola car in the photos).  I was slated to ride with them as well, but when we got to the front of the line, there was only one car left before the wheel was full.  I volunteered to sit it out and take photos.  It was probably a blessing in disguise as the wheel looked fun when it was going, but it took a long time to unload car by car. 

Another big attraction inside the store is the large saltwater aquarium.  It really was gorgeous and photos just don’t do it justice.

Crockett had to take me over to see the high-end baseball gloves.  He is coveting one; but until he does more than help coach a little league team, I hardly think he can justify the purchase!

Then LilCrockett had to check out his favorite section of the store…the skateboard area.  He kept asking if he could get one, but they all had stickers on them that said “must be 18”.  We explained that it meant he had to be 18 to get it.  Fortunately he was satisfied with that answer, not realizing that we could have bought it for him.

Next we hit the Kodak Moment area….several backdrops in which to pose for photos.

We had received a few free tokens before the store opened, so LilCrockett & GothGirl each tried their turn at the shooting gallery. 

Then it was on to the habitat exhibit. 

From there, we encountered a moving, talking wax Lincoln figurine.  Our friend’s daughter absolutely loves old Abe so I had to get some photos just for her before we left. 

Before we got out the door, we passed the bike section of the store.  We perused their goods and LilCrockett begged to take one home.  He liked one that was around $800.  We just laughed at him.  But then we came across this sign, which made me laugh even more.  6 month financing for bikes.  I told Crockett that you know the price has to be big when you have to finance a bike.  Crazy!  This particular bike was around $1,500 and I’m sure it was not even close to being the most expensive.  Of course bikes are to some people like cameras to me….worth a little investment. 

All in all, it was a fun & cheap way for the family to kill a few hours on a gloomy day.  I’m sure we will be back plenty of times over the coming years.