Day 15

What a fun day we had today with John's family!  We picked up John's dad, Jerry, and the three of us went to the Harley-Davidson Plant Tour.  It was a really cool tour of the plant and they showed how they built two different bikes.  Of course John bought himself another Harley shirt (I think it was number 4).  After that, we met up with John's sister, Sella, and her family at the mall and we went to the new aquarium.  The kids just loved that, and we had fun looking at all of the unusual fish they have there - seahorses, jellyfish, sharks.  All of it was really interesting!  We walked back to the mall and had delicious cinnamon rolls for lunch (yes, I said for lunch).  We did a little shopping - too much fun taking a 7-year old niece shopping!  Later we went to Sella and Sean's house and just had a great time hanging out and getting to know each other, taking lots of pictures, and eating Sean's famous spaghetti!  It was wonderful having a home-cooked meal!  And then the big surprise of the night - we celebrated 4th of July a little early with a big fireworks show!  Uncle John went a little crazy at the fireworks store!

John & Jerry at the Harley-Davidson Plant Tour.

This is the only time I'll be on a bike!

Jerry and I at the Harley Plant tour.

Zane, Ivy and Mady at the aquarium.

John and his sister, Sella, at the aquarium.

John's nieces and nephew.

Mady loved her Uncle John!

John's sister, Sella and her family.

Just the girls - Ivy, Sella, Alexis & Mady.

John's Dad, Jerry; his sister, Sella, and John.

John and his baby sister, Sella.

John and Jerry.

One big happy family.

John and Zane watching fireworks.

Sella and Mady doing the sparklers.

Early 4th of July!

Day 14

I can't believe we've been on our road trip for 2 weeks now!  We arrived in Missouri and went to St. Louis to see the Gateway Arch.  John talked me into going to the top, but it was an easy ride up, and the view at the top was amazing!  After the Arch, we wanted to have famous St. Louis ribs for lunch.  John had found what was supposed to be the best ribs in St. Louis, but when we found it, it looked a little scary.  Very small in a not-so-great neighborhood.  We decided to chance it, and boy are we glad we did!  They were the best ribs!!  And the young man, John, who worked there, was so friendly and came to visit with us to make sure we loved everything.  After a little more drive, we arrived near Kansas City, MO.  We met up with John's dad, Jerry, and his sister, Sella, her husband, Sean, and his parents and sister for dinner at Cracker Barrel.  It was such a fun night hanging out with everyone and laughing over stories.  John's sister is so much fun!  Tomorrow we'll be hanging out with everyone for the day, so we get a little more time.

Arrived in Missouri today!

Choices, choices!  John at the fireworks store.

The Gateway Arch, St. Louis

The Mississippi River

Close-up of the Gateway Arch

John at the top of the Arch.

Laura at the top of the Arch.

Sky view of St. Louis and where the Cardinals play.

John and his sister, Sella, after dinner at Cracker Barrel.

Day 13

I drove the first few hours, and it poured the whole time I was driving.  We randomly stopped at this really neat candle/gift shop and bought a few candles and a sign for the cabin.  John took the wheel after that stop, and of course, the sun was shining!  We drove to Parke County, Indiana, an area with the most amount of covered bridges.  We drove two sections of the covered bridge tour, and were actually able to drive through some of the bridges this time.  Very cool!  These bridges are beautiful, especially since most of them are over 100 years old.  It's unbelievable that we can still drive through them.  The majority of the scenery in Indiana is corn fields, for miles and miles, all at different levels of development.  We ended up in Illinois and had dinner at a great steak restaurant, then went to the movies to see "Men in Black 3."  It was nice to take a break from driving for a while, but tomorrow we'll be back on the road to head to Kansas City, MO.

The Warm Glow Candle shop we stopped at.

Corn fields for as far as you can see!

Driving through these beautifully shaded roads to find the bridges.

West Union Bridge - the longest in the area - 315 feet!

The inside of the West Union Bridge.

Rush Creek Bridge - we could drive through it!

John driving through the Jackson Bridge.

Crooks Bridge is the oldest bridge, built in 1856!

Straw fields.

Close-up of the straw.

The Bridgeton Bridge and waterfall.

John & me in front of the Bridgeton Bridge.

Day 12

Happy Memorial Day!  Today was a day that was mostly driving - from Pennsylvania, through a little bit of West Virginia, back to Ohio.  It was a pretty easy drive, but John decided to keep it at the speed limit because there were so many cops on the road, because of the holiday.  We ended up in Columbus, OH, and checked into our hotel.  We had already made plans to get together for dinner with our friends, Brad and Marsha, who live in Ohio.  We met them two years ago when we went to Italy.  They were on the tour with us, and we really connected and had fun together.  They are leaving for vacation tomorrow, so they decided to stay at the same hotel we are at. The funny thing is that when I texted them to tell them we arrived, Marsha texted me back that they were in the room next to us, and then came a knock on the wall between us!  We went out for dinner and then went for drinks.  Even though we had two years to catch up on, it was just like two years hadn't passed.  We had such a good time talking and catching up on things.  We're hoping to have breakfast with them tomorrow at Cracker Barrel.

First state of the day - West Virginia!

And where we ended up - Ohio!

Drinks with our friends, Marsha and Brad.

Marsha and me enjoying our time together.

John and Brad sharing a beer.

Day 11

What a great day we had today!!!  We spent the day with my Uncle David, Aunt Susan, and my cousin, Becky, in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  Yes, that's the town of Hershey, where Hershey chocolates originated.  We went to Chocolate World (love that name!) and had such a great day doing everything with chocolate!  The smell there is amazing!!!  We took the little tour and learned all about how chocolate is made (yes, I actually learned something).  Then we took a class on tasting chocolate.  Very fun, except when it came time to sample the very dark chocolate.  That was too bitter, almost like baker's chocolate.  It was the perfect end to several wonderful days with family.  We are now checked into our hotel and we're relaxing.  Soon, I think we're going to Panera for dinner.  I sure miss Panera!  LOL!

All of us in front Chocolate World! 

John and me at Chocolate World!

My Uncle David, Aunt Susan, and Becky at Chocolate World.

OMG! These are two half-pound Reese's peanut butter cups!!!

John and the king-sized Hershey syrup!

Heaven!!!!

I thought this was hilarious!!!

My cousin, Becky and I waiting for the Taste Testing.

My Aunt Susan, Becky, and me in the Taste Testing.