VACATION Part I. Today we left for Ohio. Its gonna be wild.

8/15 Tue

Drove to Bloomsburg, PA. Left TJ’s hat for the cleaning people.

8/16 Wed

Drove to Cleveland and stayed in a Red Roof Inn. It was the nicest RRI in the entire world. I didn’t know they had nice hotels. Price was great too. Even took a dip in the indoor pool. Completely stuffed our faces at Red Lobster. Probably not a good plan the day before going to Cedar Point.

We spent a few hours at a small amusement park called SWINGS AND THINGS. Go karts and batting cages. Not bad. We got absolutely soaked on the bumper boats which led to a very soggy day. We were so hungry by the time we left, we didn’t even stop to change before headin out to dinner.

8/17 Thu

CEDAR POINT. The new TOP THRILL DRAGSTER is pretty awesome. 120 MPH in 4 seconds is definitely a rush. However, the MILLENNIUM FORCE is still the biggest, baddest roller coaster in the world. Its out of this world. Not a single line was more than an hour so we were able to hit all the rides we wanted. The RAPTOR is still a good ride.

We also like to see a few shows there when possible which also provides a much needed break between major rides. We saw Snoopy on Ice (not bad) and a rock musical at the Red Garter Saloon. It was crowded and there was only one seat left right at the base of the stage so we said ‘what the hell.’ Little did we know we would be practically in the show. Both of us were targets of the singers at some point which was cool.

8/18 Fri

LONGABERGER. Is that spelled right? Today was Stacie’s day. A small reward for putting up with the boys at Cedar Point. We visited the Longaberger Homestead. Store is huge and the factory tour was ok. We even saw the biggest basket in the world and hopefully the only basket shaped office building in the world. Not much to say about this trip to Dresden, OH except if you are a dude and could care less about baskets, bring a book or golf clubs.

8/18-8/20 Fri thru Sun

Once the tour was over and the baskets were bought, we finally headed to Kenton, OH for the family reunion; the real purpose of coming to Ohio in the first place. The annual reunion is great for catching up with relatives and just relaxing in a lawn chair with a beer and a sloppy joe. Health and fitness is not on the agenda here.

8/20 Sun night

CHICAGO. We arrive in Chicago at 9:30 PM and there is still significant traffic and construction in progress. Crazy. We get to my sister’s bachelorette pad around 10:30 and stay up late playing Euchre. Candy has so much energy, I don’t know how she does it.

8/21 Mon

We roll out of bed at a spritely 9:30 AM and grab some much needed showers. I never feel clean after the reunion. Anyway, we head further into downtown Chicago for some good ole fashioned sightseeing. We visit Navy Pier first and it was a good pick. Very interesting place and centrally located. The stained glass exhibit there is amazing and we loved the fountains in the arboretum. I can’t really describe the fountains but they were really cool. Like little slugs of water shooting from one fountain to the next. There is a similar fountain at the Water Tower on Michigan Ave which is worth a quick visit.

Chicago style Deep Dish pizza at Gino’s East Pizzeria is a must for any visiting Chicago for the first time. It’s a long bake, as we found out the hard way, but well worth the wait. After the gorging, we strolled along Michigan Ave for a while shopping. Too many shops. How many department stores do you really need?

We freshened up back at Candy’s and then went to Dave and Buster’s for some kid friendly entertainment. The boys hit the arcade while we played some eight ball. Here we met Seth, Candy’s bo, for the first time. Cool guy and decent pool player. I had a little too much to drink and couldn’t tell if he was missing shots on purpose or nervous. Either way he seemed better than he was and I think I won every game. That’s always suspicious. I am good but not that good.

We dropped the boys off at the apartment so we could sample some of the adult nightlife. First place was ROCK IT. Good mix of eighties to current rock. Crowd was mostly late twentysomethings to mid thirtysomethings trying a little too hard to be cool. It was fun to watch.

The second place was BUZZ. A more trendy place with a true nightclub feel. Music was good and drinks were fat. They even kept a couple of professional (?) dancers up on the blocks to give the wallflowers something to look at. This crowd was definitely not as desperate as the crowd at ROCK IT but there were some that still just looked like they needed help.

3:30 AM is way too late for us these days. Especially after drinking Jagr Bombs and Lemon Drops all night. Kids. They love to torture us old people. Futon was very comfortable this night.

8/22 Tue

Today we saw THE BEAN. A very large, very cool, very chrome, kidney bean sitting smack dab in the middle of Millennium Park in the heart of downtown Chi-town. If you don’t know what this is, then you have to see it for yourself. Honestly its well worth a visit despite the $13 parking.

We did some shopping in some trendy part of town near Wrigley. Funny thing happened as we headed for our car. We were parked right at the ballfield...Wrigley...and there is a game later in the day. Sold out but we are leaving town today anyway. So we see a small yet motley crowd near the entrance...45 feet from the car. We stroll along aimlessly and then suddenly...the crowd starts to move excitedly. We cant figure out why. Another guy in front of us also notices the crowd...has the same bewildered look as us...except he has a 3 carat diamond in his ear. Oh and he is dressed up a little for the afternoon sun and he built like a Mack truck. Suddenly the guy is surrounded by the motley crowd...apparently he is a Cub player walking to the game! Cool. We still have no idea who it was but it was exciting nonetheless.

Undaunted, we visit another trendy part of town and eat dinner on the sidewalk at a nice bar and grill, Moonshine. Excellent food and a nice finish to a whirlwind tour of Chicago.

Next stop, Motown.