The Reason for the Trip

Our trip to Chicago was motivated, in large part, by Cameron's fervent desire to go to Legoland. He loves Legos and came home from school a few months ago reporting that his friend had gone to a fantasy land of Legos called Legoland. Shortly after, another friend went. And then another. With each friend's trip, Cameron's dreams of Legoland grew more vivid, his need to see huge models made of tiny plastic pieces more pressing. So when we learned that there is a Legoland Discovery Center in Chicago, we couldn't pass it up.

It didn't disappoint. Cameron could hardly sleep the night before and kept saying, "Hey guys, want to talk about Legoland?" When we arrived at the doors at last (the MINUTE they opened), Cameron's smile filled his whole face. The first room we entered was the city of Chicago, recreated in Legos. It was so convincing that when I looked through our photos after our trip, I thought for one moment, "Wow, did David take this one? What a great view of the city!" before realizing, "Ohhhh, those are Legos!"

Then it was on to Jungle Trails, filled with Lego hippos and monkeys and snakes and tarantulas. And jaundiced jungle explorers, of course.In the Hall of Fame, the boys posed with Star Wars characters,Harry Potter characters,

and flexed their muscles with Batman.

Yes, Matthew is flexing his muscles. And dancing at the same time.

I even got to pose with my favorite Legoman.

Then Cameron and David rode a medieval-themed ride with dragons and skeletons and monks who apparently spit "wine" at unwitting riders. (Slightly perturbed by this . . . alcohol swilling religious figures on a children's ride?)

On a Lego "factory tour," we saw how Legos are made and Cameron and Matthew each got a souvenir Lego. Cameron thought the factory tour was fantastic, although we grown-ups found it a little disappointing. I suppose our previous tours of breweries and such had left us with higher expectations than a man dressed as a crazy scientists, a single room and cartoonish machines that made sounds like "Zoop!" and "Plop!" I somehow imagine that the actual Lego factory looks and sounds a good bit different, although possibly not as child-friendly.

We spent ages in a room where you could build and test your own Lego creations on huge ramps and jumps. When, after several failed attempts, Cameron and David built a bumper on their car and it sailed down the ramp and over a pit, Cameron was bursting with pride.

The final stop was a 4-D Bob the Builder Lego movie. Cameron was adamant. He did NOT want to go. No amount of encouragement was effective in swaying him and the reason for his resistance was unclear. "I JUST don't WANNA go!" he said over and over. Finally, we broke for lunch and after a little talk about how we had driven hours to come to Legoland and he wouldn't have another chance to see a Lego movie, he gave in. And . . . he LOVED it. He and David came rushing out of the theater, laughing about how the beam Bob had been holding almost hit them in the head and how Bob had sprayed his water bottle at them. Cameron now says that the movie was his favorite part of Legoland.

Well, maybe his second favorite. The best part of Legoland, without a doubt, was the visit to the bathroom. It was every little boy's dream bathroom. No need to worry about embarassing bathroom noises here -- they provide a soundtrack of embarassing bathroom noises sure to get any preschooler laughing.

So, today, Cameron was able to go to school and tell his friends that he, too, has now been to Legoland. And now we can have a new discussion. "Hey guys? Want to talk about Legoland?"