May 04

May 4 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Allan Freed EulogyMay 4 – We took our sweet time get up and around this morning. Relished our leisurely cup of slow drip coffee by Amy, and she fixed a delicious vegan breakfast.

We headed to Cleveland to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Amy drove and I was able to sit back and watch the scenery go by.

We rolled up, went inside and set Han up with a wheelchair, then proceeded to begin our walk through the history of music. It was better than I had figured on. I love music but Han is the HUGE music lover. So I was happy that we both equally enjoyed ourselves. The stories, the music playing, the outfits, the instruments and amazing amount of memorabilia kept us interested and even the design of the building was quite unique along with the surrounding areas to gaze at through all the windows. It is right on the water which made it all the better for us.

Of course the one person who stood out from the rest was “Prince”, since he was the most recently passed artist and I have always been fond of his music.

I could hear doves cry in the distance.

Afterwards we headed back towards Willoughby and had lunch at the Willoughby Brewing Company. Amy and I had the Erie Street Tacos and they were small but filling and OH SO good. We ate every little morsel. Han ordered the Secret Recipe Fried Chicken and he thought it better than his other favorite fried chicken. Believe it or not, that would be Publix Supermarket.

We dropped Han off at the house so he could do some work and us girls took off for some sightseeing. I had wanted for Amy to show me her beach where she collects sea glass, but the weather did not cooperate and was too cold and drizzly.

We drove around, took in some breathtaking scenery, looked at some HUGE homes aka possible hotels, went to the first Mormon Temple in Kirkland, Amy shared some of her childhood memories and then we went shopping at this very cool store in town called “Enchanted Grove”. I purchased four gemstones that now travel with me wherever I go. They each have different qualities and every time I see them I think of my dear friend Amy.

After we had played hooky long enough, we went back to wind down with beer and pizza. Amy’s mom, dad, son and daughter-in-law stopped over. I had previously met everyone else besides her dad, and he is just as great as I had imagined. Really enjoyed sitting around and just cutting up being silly.

Sooner or later the party has to end (especially if you are above a certain age) and hit the bed to get ready for another 3 day of driving to Forida. Boo-Hiss….

May 03

May 3 – Cleveland Ohio is Big, Beautiful, Loud and Proud

Entering Ohio from the NorthThe trip from Whitehall south turned morbidly sad through Ohio. We have now traveled thousands of miles, on many different roads across the US and never have we seen so many dead deer and other evidence of roadkill, than we saw in Ohio. It seemed like at least every other mile there was a dead deer and every half a mile a dead possum or skunk or squirrel. So many deer in fact that I purchased deer horn alerts off Amazon for our friends Amy and Jeff to place on their vehicles. We have them on our car and had not even close calls through many wild life areas.  But sometimes in the high plains areas of Wyoming we actually saw animals in the distance lift their heads to look around. Are they hearing the horns? I don’t know but it certainly cannot hurt to install these simple, inexpensive and possibly life saving devices. You can get them at http://www.amazon.com/Custom-Accessories-17381-Chrome-Alert/dp/B000BO71UC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462897814&sr=8-1&keywords=deer+horn+alerts

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May 02

May 2 – A Week to Rest in Whitehall, Michigan

Chicago Skyline

Dreary, cold and dangerous Chicago

Got up this morning to high tail it out of town, destination “Whitehall, MI”.

We will be staying with Greg, who is my daughter’s husband’s dad. Got that?
The trip down, around and up the shores of Lake Michigan was great for the most part, except for the nightmare drivers and traffic of Chicago. It is now at the very top of my list as most dangerous and worse city to drive in. If you are driving in Chicago, you had best be on top of your game and be able to make split second decisions and reaction time be fine tuned. That is one scary ass place to deal with. Construction directions are confusing, drivers are beyond the realm of aggressive, roads are in desperate need of repairs, infrastructure must have been laid out by a toddler and driver rudeness prevails. I was extremely grateful that we came out on the other side unscathed.

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Apr 25

April 25 – Catching Up with Dave and Mom Pat

DSC_2226Today we checked out late from the motel in Lake Geneva, drove around some so Han could take pictures, drove into Twin Lakes to see our friends lake front cottage (it is beautiful) and then began our very short trip into Kenosha, Wisconsin.
For old times sake, as I had previously lived in Kenosha for 11 years, we stopped at the Brat Stop to have lunch.
Not the best restaurant if you don’t eat meat. We both had Caesar Salad and shared a side of fries. The fries may well  be the best in the world.
https://www.bratstop.com Continue reading

Apr 24

April 24 – Re-Creating More Memories From Previous Lovely Ones

Bill MurrayWe were able to be lazy and take our sweet time in the morning because our next stop was only about 90 minutes away. We are re-visiting Woodstock IL, where we were married 10 years ago in May. Han and I kept trying to get it right with others and we felt we finally did when we met each other, so we married in the gazebo where they filmed Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. We loved the idea and figured it fitting. I even purchased my gown in Woodstock.

We had our reception and honeymoon at an outstanding B&B called Alexandria House and loved every second of our festivities. The innkeeper was exceptional and it was all a fairy tale beginning to a fun interesting life together. Continue reading

Apr 23

April 23 – Looking Back Does No Good, but Take The Time to Be Thankful

100_1423This morning as we were getting packed we learned via Facebook that a previous neighbor, wonderful person and friend succumbed to her sickness and passed away yesterday. It tore through my heart as we finished packing the car and got on the road. Really worried about her dedicated, loving husband.

On the way out of town we crossed the Mormon Bridge and drove into Iowa.

The wind immediately started kicking up, shoving the car around and making it difficult to drive. My arms were getting fatigued holding it on the road, so Han suggested going some of the back roads. We went through an extremely rural area of Iowa, roads up and down like a rollercoaster and sharp corners to add to the excitement. Guess what? The wind was about the same but at least there was very little traffic and no semi’s, so it was all good, however it took us a bit longer. Good thing we are not in a hurry anymore. Continue reading

Apr 22

April 22 – Omaha Nebraska Small Town Ambiance with Big City Attractions

100_1374I checked online for the top ten sides to see in Omaha and then figured out which ones would be doable with my sweet hubby who needs to be taking it easy with his knee. He pushed the limit as usual, and we were busier than expected. He wanted me to have a good time too.
Our first stop was the Mormon Trail Center. Being raised in the Mormon Church, but no longer practicing, I still find some of the history intriguing, especially during the pioneer times and this was about their trails, trials and tribulations but also the wonders that made them special and the blazing of trails that others would follow.
There was a short movie and then an explanation of individual exhibits portraying pioneer scenes. Omaha was the middle stopping point between Nauvoo IL and Salt Lake City UT, while they waited out the brutal winter, then they turned it into a staging point for future pioneers. We were not able to make it up to the cemetery but could see it from the overlook window. There is also the Omaha Temple next door.

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Apr 21

April 21 – Buffalo Wild Bill Cody Fort Began Our Fun-Filled Day of History

DSC_2120Slept good, no mountains in sight, a couple cups of coffee and I was ready to begin the day, which turned into an enjoyable day of some “Wild West” history; after all we were following the trek west of the early history of the Oregon Trail in reverse.
We visited Fort Cody before heading out of town. I had a blast doing some shopping for my son Cody, taking some silly pictures, chatting with the two lovely ladies who run the fort, mailing a postcard which I actually got to slip into an authentic Pony Express leather mail holder and receiving some history lessons. One of the sweet ladies at the shop and museum is a retired school teacher. Buffalo Bill had a farm a little ways up the road in the later years of his life. In the early days he was an army scout and pony express rider.

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Apr 20

April 20 – Today We Hit The Highest Elevation On This Trip

Entering NebraskaToday Hit The Highest Elevation Experienced During Our entire Trip across the USA. How high? 8640 feet. 5280 Feet is ONE MILE so this is 1.64 miles up in the air! Thin air!

I swear I am not trying to dwell on negative thoughts but I think the elevation is eating my brain cells or at least the good mood ones.
Slept like crap, left the hotel fairly early, did not even bother with breakfast and headed east out of town.
Literally the second we got to the edge of town on the interstate, we saw a semi sitting on its side, perfectly straight, like it was simply tipped over. Seeing something like that does not build one’s confidence in what is coming up ahead. A wind gust must have blown the entire rig over, as there were no signs of a crash.

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Apr 19

April 19 – Thought The Largest Mountains Were Behind Us?

end of I-84Woke up refreshed, enjoyed a much better complimentary breakfast than normal in a grand acoustic lobby setting, dragged our feet getting ready, finally loaded the car and got on our way.
By the way I would highly suggest Ben Lomond Suites in Downtown to anyone visiting Ogden Utah. Ladies the bathrooms are huge.

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