Back to Reality

Well, we returned from our two-week road-trip vacation over the weekend, and now it's back to reality. We had a good trip, driving a total of 2644 miles and spotting license plates from 44 states. We visited my sister and her family in Cincinnati, OH, for a few days; my parents in Mansfield, OH, for a few days; and DH's folks in Attica, OH, for a few days. The highlights:

• geocaching around Mansfield,
• visiting the Ohio Bird Sanctuary,
• spending a fun day at Malabar Farm State Park (OH), which included a wagon ride and visits to all the farm animals,
• riding the unique hand-carved carousel at Richland Carrousel Park (OH),
  
• a day at King's Island, a major amusement park near Cincinnati, where my thrill-seeking kiddos rode the world's longest wooden roller coaster, The Beast, multiple times,
• camping for several days at Silver Lake State Park (MI) on the shore of Lake Michigan, where the big natural attraction is 2000 acres of sand dunes, including a sizable off-road vehicle area perfect for my FIL's hand-built dune buggy. He gave all of us thrilling rides around, over, under, and through those constantly shifting and changing dunes. And we still have the sand in our hair (and ears) to prove it!
• and a day at Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH), which has been voted best amusement park in the world for 12 years running. DH and I have many fond memories of visiting Cedar Point each summer with our families while growing up, and DH worked there several summers as a teen. We figure it had been 16 years since we last visited! It was fun to see how things have changed--and what has stayed the same all these years. Cedar Point boosts 17 roller coasters, and among the four of us, we hit 14 of them--all except the two "kiddie" coasters and the stand-up coaster that we'd heard was pretty uncomfortable to ride. Our thrill-seeking offspring loved every second of their extreme rides!!

We had beautiful weather and easy travel. It was wonderful to get away together, but good to be back home again and sleeping in our own beds. We're still trying to catch up, though--unpacking, laundry, mail, bill-paying, email, errands, yardwork, housework, re-stocking the fridge and shelves. You know how it is!! Time to get back into our routine. I'm hoping to get in some time for cardmaking this week, but I'll have to play it by ear. The kids go back to school a week from tomorrow, so just one more week of "summer" for us, and I know it's going to be busy--and that it will fly!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll see you back here again soon. :)