No more posts for a while.

Screen on my phone is shattered 

Wednesday

UpToday we drove to sesame place. Smooth ride getting there. (Other than a semi who tried to kill us). There was some thunderstorms when we hi there so it cleared out and there were no lines. It never got warm.but we had a great time. 

Now we are in Lancaster, PA aka Amish country. 

We have a very nice place. There are seriously horses and buggies all over! They do have lights and turn signals. 

More fun

With not much planned we decided to go to Gillette castle. This is a cool old place. 

Then lots more time in the lake. 

CT lake house

Sunday it rained but no big problem. We went to church and came home and played some games. We enjoyed spending time with Mimi, grumpy, Lex, Michelle, Grammy and aunt Diana. We played some minute to win it games in the afternoon. Aunt Diana made some awesome authentic tamales for dinner. 

Minute to win it!

We did have a campfire but it was short because of the rain. 

Monday we went back to gram McHugh's house. I still had some things in storage from growing up so we picked those things up. Then we visited Grampy's grave. We celebrated Maggie's birthday (a little early) and my friend James from new York came to visit with his wife and son. All of the kids played in the water. I cannot believe how much kayaking our boys gave done!

A few more days

We left Niagara Falls early on Thursday . We crossed the border at buffalo, NY. The kids dipped their toes in the last of the Great Lakes. Lake Erie. 

Then it was on to Letchworth state park. Very nice waterfalls. 

We did some hiking and viewed all 3 waterfalls. Our campground was a few miles away. Friday we stopped at Watkins - Glen state park and looked at more waterfalls! 

 Over 800 stairs but it was a great place to visit! Next on to Wappingers falls, this is where I lived from 1-4th grades. 

 We also visited my good friend Andrew's parents. It is nice to know that you can always just stop in there :). Then on to CT

First we visited gram McHugh. 

 And then on to the lake cabin. The kids have been having a blast canoeing and kayaking (which they have never done before) and playing with Alexis. 

We had a great time yesterday when the Piscitellis came to visit. Gram and aunt Diana are staying at the house with us. We are Having a great time! 

Niagara

We spent a good part of today on the American side. We crossed the border then did the maid of the mist boat excursion.

Lots of fun. Definitely recommend it. Next we ate at Donatellos pizzeria.  Delicious! Then we walked around goat island which is on top of the falls. We stopped at the point that we got engaged fifteen years ago. 

  Afterword we crossed the border again and came back to the cabin for some swimming/playground time eh. For supper we headed up to Niagara on the lake. A small fancy community eh. The kids poked their feet In the water (their 4th Great Lake) eh. 

You can see Toronto across the lake eh!  Supper was ice cream cones. The kids agreed this was the best meal since getting on the road eh. On our 50 km drive back we stopped at the whirlpool. 

We got back to the falls in time to park and see the fireworks. 

All in all pictures can't do Niagara Falls justice day or night eh. 

We have been blessed to have wonderful weather (sunny and upper 70 light wind) for most of the trip ehh. I hope this continues when we go back to 'Merica tomorrow. 

Continuing eastbound.

After a great visit with my friend Andrew (from elementary school) we headed east. Finally had my first DD coffee on the trip. Note to self, don't order coffee in flint , MI. I think there was a problem with the water. Then we crossed the Canadian border eh. Unfortunately we had no cell coverage in Canada. Unfortunately we were using my phone for navigation. Unfortunately there are no roadsihns in Canada (like Niagara Falls that way). Luckily, we still made it hear eh. Checked in at a campground and headed to the falls. Jade some poutine 

 And watched the falls eh. 

What day is it?

Ok so it is easy to lose track of the days! I think today is Monday. Great day today!

First we had a wonderful breakfast at the train Depot bed and breakfast 

 Next we went back to the lakeshore. The kids and mary played in the sand for a while. For those who don't know me, this thought still gives me anxiety. After we headed to Grand Rapids to visit my friend from elementary school, Andrew Bostwick. Hard to believe it has been nearly 30 years that I have known him. We don't talk often but certainly nice to see him again. We went to a baseball game and the whitecaps won! Good times. Then we came back to their cool farm. The kids had a blast. 

The evening campfire included entertainment from Andrews flaming juggling act. 

Chug chug choo choo

So I found out how much the room(s) cost last night; we left immediately following. Luckily it was time to go anyway. We headed to the museum of science and industry. We happen to get membership to science museums by being EAA members so it only cost $22 to park. It would have cost $130! Lots of fun things at the museum including a section on flight, weather, farming and lots more. 

After the museum we went to Indiana dunes national lakeshore. First we checked in at our room which is at an old railroad depot. We are staying upstairs. The railroad is still active so it is a bit noisy but we slept well. We also took in the sunset at the lake last night. 

The kids loved this place. It was a little sandy for me. The weather was great and the sunset was nice. 

Milwaukee

Our day started with gas and some pictures at the pink elephant 

Mary and I stopped here before we had kids on a similar trip many years ago. 

Next stop Historic Pabst Brewery. 

 Included is a complimentary beverage which is always a good way to start a tour. Lots of history but not much walking. The kids got a little bored but they were good. There was a small fee. 

Next on to the Miller Coors brewery. This one was free and lots of walking. Got to see much more and 3 free (small) samples at the end (of the 6 options 3 were leinies and coors was not an option?)

Then on to jelly belly!

 Of course this was a hit. Nate tricked me into eating "skunk spray". We left with a large bag full of deformed jelly beans. 

Finally we went to church and on to Chicago. Nice day! 

Our hotel in Chicago is huge! 2 bedrooms 2 bath and a kitchen, I don't want to ask how much I am paying for this!

2016

This year we are starting out a little different... No Super 8!  Judy will be our wheels on this trip. 

We hit the road at 8:07. With our first stop at the Fargo air museum (because really we have to have some aviation on this trip). 

Then on to Wisconsin where we stopped at one of those roadside cheese stores. Had a picnic dinner and of course bought some cheese. 

Then on to our hotel. Just outside of Madison, we put in about 12 hours of driving.