Interview with the Road Trippers

With this trip, we've visited 86 of the 397 National Park Service units, and the boys have earned 68 junior ranger badges! In keeping with tradition, here's the debrief of our latest adventure...

In the 3 amusement parks we've visited, what are your favorite rides (top 3)?

M / R: Millennium Force (CP), Tatsu (MM), Raging Bull (GA)

J:  Maverick (CP), Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth (MM), Ninja (MM)

Me: Millennium Force (CP) x3, because it's the best one of the few I could ride that didn't make me sick!

Growing Like Weeds

For our last day in Morton yesterday, the highlight was R getting a haircut in town. Woohoo, fun times! It figures that the heat is finally starting to break, just as we are leaving. My guess is that it will be hot in CA when we get home... the irony of it all!

One last pic of the boys with the grandparents before we hit the road.

Just some of my parents' roses

5 Pounds Later...

It's been a couple of uneventful days here at my parents', just resting, relaxing, and eating lots of good food! Just perfect!  

On Saturday, Mom made one of the family's favorites for lunch -- Chinese green onion pancakes, for lack of a better translation. R took the boys to the Morton pool in the afternoon. They swam, jumped off the diving boards, and went down the slide. M seemed to really enjoy going off the high dive! For dinner, we went out to eat at Busy Corner in Goodfield. My parents and R love their fried chicken. Sorry, no pics!

Hail to the Orange!

From Dayton, we hopped onto I-70 and drove about 2 hours west to Indianapolis. Another 2 hours farther, and we were in Champaign-Urbana! It's been nearly 20 years since R and I have been back to campus, so we were eager to see what had changed (or not!) and to show the boys around. I just wish it hadn't been so hot today -- we could have walked around to see more!

Dayton History

For our last day in Ohio, we went to visit the rest of the sites in the Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP. Starting out at the Wright Dunbar Interpretive Center, the boys worked on the other half of the Jr. Ranger booklet that was relevant to this location in order to earn another patch.

The Heat Is (Still) On

We spent Wednesday night in Canton, while K went back to Cleveland since he had appointments with customers on Thursday and Friday. I stopped looking at the weather forecast because, really, what difference does a few more degrees make once you've moved beyond "cooked" on your way to "well done"?! Ugh. So thankful that the A/C works well in the car and that most of the places we're going to are indoors!

Da-Da-Da Dun!

From southern end of Cuyahoga Valley NP, it was only about 45 minutes farther to Canton, OH and the mecca of the gridiron... the Pro Football Hall of Fame! Cue the heavenly chorus! *Aaaahhhh!*

Hello, Sweetness!

Crooked River

For this Independence Day, what could be better than visiting a national park?! Yes, there is an actual national park (the same designation as Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, or Yosemite) just outside of Cleveland -- Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland. Cuyahoga is the Mohawk word for "crooked river". For us, this visit is #24 of 58 national parks. Making progress on that bucket list!

Too hot, so no one would get out of the car for my pic!

Cleveland Rocks!

We checked out from Hotel Breakers first thing in the morning and grabbed some breakfast to eat on the road. About 90 minutes later, we were in Mentor, Ohio (~30 miles northeast of Cleveland) to visit James A. Garfield NHS.

Wheeeeeeee!

One of the benefits of staying “on Point” is entry into the park an hour earlier than the general public. Thanks to one of my friends from high school, we were armed with all kinds of information about the park (i.e. which rides to hit in what order). We ate breakfast at the Perkins restaurant in the hotel and headed over to the gate for early entry.

After the national anthem was played, the gates were opened, and it was off to the races. At least that’s how it felt with the throngs of people running towards the back of the park. Haha!

Here's the final installment (for this trip) of the Saiki-delic Awesomeness Review...

Five for the Road

As per their usual custom, Uncle K took the nephews with him to Starbucks before church this morning. Hot chocolate for J and a double chocolate chip frappuccino for M (just how many calories are in that thing?!) We caught up with them at church – so nice to see so many familiar faces this morning!

After church, we grabbed a quick lunch and loaded up the car. K is coming with us as far as Cleveland, where he’ll stop in to visit some of his customers before flying back to Chicago. Until then – it will be a cozy ride in the back seat of our full-size car.