Ohio Trip August 2010

Our final trip for the summer was a drive up to Ohio for a friend/co-worker's wedding. The 7 1/2 hour drive seemed speedy compared to the 8-->11 hour drives we had from NC to PA to Canada a few days earlier. We did take a slight detour on our way up to visit Coshocton grandparents and uncle. We had a nice Mexican dinner at the Yucatan restaurant with the Smith grandparents and then surprised my uncle Chuck by visiting his home. After that, it was on to Canton where we stayed with my "orphaned" sister Heather has her apartment. It's nice to see that she's in the real world now and getting by.

The following day we went to the McKinley library and museum with Heather. It was actually really cool and a place I could see myself spending a whole day in if we had the time. We still got to learn all about dinosaurs, the Victorian age, and McKinley's life. The grounds were also really beautiful with lots of runners and people going up and down the many steps. Then we headed back toward Heather's place for lunch at Steak and Shake. The chocolate chip cookie dough shake was delicious!

After lunch, it was on to the main event- Brandy and Trevor's wedding. It was held outside at the J.E. Reeves Victorian home. It was beautiful and we made it just in time. The ceremony was very short. There were no objections, so now Ms. Milburn is known as Mrs. Grant :). The reception was also a lot of fun. A few other friends of our from NC came up for the wedding so we all got to catch up on the summer. There was also an open bar, so after a few hours you could tell it was taken advantage of. The dance floor was packed with many white dancers. There were only a couple people that looked like they knew how to dance. So I fit right in. I did, however, get to do the electric slide, cupid shuffle, cha cha slide, and slow dances very well (I didn't step on any of Jenn's toes). And Jenn was able to do her chicken dance she was so distraught about after Mavis and Will's wedding, in which Mavis put the chicken dance on the "no play" list.

Brandy and her dad walking down the aisle

Trevor kissing his bride


Driving off in an old-school jeep

Jenn boogies to the chicken dance

That night we went back to Heather's place before driving out to Sandusky in the morning. We were able to spend a nice relaxing afternoon/evening with my parents, going out to a lighthouse and having a nice cook out dinner. Then we were their first "house guests" as their trailer is now their home. Yes, my vagabond parents have sold their home and do not have any intention of buying another in the near future.

Cook-out dinner at the parents' "house" (I think my Dad has the cabin fever already)

The following day Jenn and I went to Cedar Point. We were going to meet up with our friends from NC, but the day before we found out that one of our friends was going to need to head home and get her gall bladder taken out, so she and her boyfriend would not make it. Jenn and I tried to reach the others coming out a few times, but were unable. So we went and found out later that none of them were coming. Jenn and I had a lot of fun just the two of us. Who needs friends when you have a wonderful wife, right? We rode lots and lots of coasters and travelled the park up and down multiple times. Jenn was a good sport and rode the bumper cars with me even though she is not a fan. We tried winning Leo a stuffed animal at the Tic-Tac-Toe game where I won Morris 22 or 23 years ago, but I didn't even get close. 1 of my 3 tosses bounced entirely out of the tic-tac-toe board both times I tried. Jenn got all hers in, but not in a row. I even got to eat some Panda Express Chinese food for lunch, which was great. Near the end of the day, my head was hurting from so much bumping around so we took it relatively easy and enjoyed some ice cream and a light show they put on around 9 PM. The Christmas lights were coordinated with music and different areas of this section of the park were different colors depending on which season was being represented (each area had a blow-up Peanuts scene showing the season: ex.- the autumn photo below was in an area of the park that had all orange and red lights on the trees and roofs). After the lights, I was ready to head home but Jenn begged for one more ride on the Gemini coaster, which is similar to the Racer coaster at Kennywood for you Pittsburghers reading. As there was no line, I reluctantly agreed. It turned out to be the best ride of the day. As soon as we were climbing up the hill, it started to sprinkle down rain. When we were at the top about to descend, it unleashed a downpour. It felt like hail hitting us because we were moving so fast. No one could see where we were going because we had to shield our eyes from the rain which made the ride that much more enjoyable. So after spending the whole day avoiding the water rides because we didn't want to get soaked, we still got doused.

Bumper cars

On the carousel

Jenn playing the Tic-Tac-Toe game

Picture on the Ferris wheel

Jenn displaying the Mantis' standing harness...yes, I married this woman

A float during the light show at Cedar Point

The day after Cedar Point we slept in until a whopping 8 o'clock before having a nice breakfast and heading out to Put-In-Bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. Apparently I was there when I was two years old, but I don't remember it. Our original plan was to rent bicycles and pedal around the island, but my dad crashed his bike the previous Friday and couldn't bike so we rented a golf cart instead. It was a lot of fun to drive, even though it only went about 10 mph. South Bass Island is really neat in that there are very few motorized vehicles. The streets are almost entirely inhabited by bicycles and golf carts. It was great. We cruised up and down the island all day, taking breaks to sample some local wine, see Perry's monument, ride on a wooden carousel (one of only 100 in the U.S.), eat some ice cream, have lunch/dinner, and visit the island's lighthouse.

Our speedy wheels

Our wine-tasting

The lighthouse on the island

After we returned from the island, Jenn and I decided to take a few hours off our trip back to NC by driving down to my grandparents for the night. I think they were both tickled to have guests and we were thrilled to get the chance to spend some more time with them. They told us stories about some of the trips they have been on and I helped grandma with her computer a little bit. She should now be able to get her pictures from her camera to the computer and print more than one picture on each of her printing pages. She was eager to learn new things and she was an apt student. I had to assist her when the printer jammed, but otherwise her "test" of printing pictures went well. I gave her a C. She also knows how to email and she used the word "lol" in her latest email to me. I was impressed.

Anyway, it's a week until school starts and Jenn and I are planning on one final outing- camping at Lake Norman. We hope the weather holds out and we can enjoy a few days of relaxing.