Ohio Road Trip: The Way Home - Part V

Our ride home was all well and good until we reached the Skyway into Chicago. I've got to say that it is the worst part of our trip. Over seven years motion sickness has been an ever increasing illness. It's to the point where I cannot sit in stop-and-go traffic for long periods of time. The nervous energy in Chicago, the methane from landfills, carbon monoxide from vehicles, and a jerking back and forth motion made me violently ill. This is why I hate the city of Chicago, and why I will never live there. It might be pretty, but it's not worth my health. San Diego, nor Madison are even close to the monstrosity of Chicago. I've been to Detroit, Portland, and New York City. None of those cities kill me more than Chicago. NYC has marks for the craziest traffic, but it never made me sick.

Thank goodness for the Des Plains Oasis! That was a stop I needed for some necessary walking. Nevermind food or any other sort of reason to stop, we were walking.

We decided to get food at Buffalo Wild Wings. Unfortunately we had to wait until Crystal Lake. Believe it or not those suckers are hard to find. We were originally thinking Hooters, but they weren't anywhere north of Rand Road. Well, Yelp didn't find one. The dinner there was very good. I had the Mango Habanero Chicken Salad. Mango Habanero is their best sauce for wings. It's just right. The Parmesan Garlic ones are good, too, but I prefer Mango Habanero. Of course the kid had a hamburger. Peter had wings and ribs. Everybody was happy.

While at BWW I text messaged my sister to see if Isabella wanted to spend the night. Izzy and Stephanie missed each other so much over the course of the school year. So, I arranged to have Izzy spend the night as a surprise to Stephanie. That was a lot of fun. Isabella played the "I miss mommy" routine, but this time we didn't give in. I read them the first chapter of Matilda. Then we played Phase 10, Uno, and Go Fish. Before bed we also did some yoga.

The next morning we were up and ready to go to church really early. I put on The Princess and the Frog for the girls. Who am I kidding? I put it on for myself as well. They were good. While they were here they saw Bailey and pet him twice. Izzy was so happy about that. Bailey is a good cat with the kids. He even rolls over to let them pet his belly. After church we went to the play ground next door. The kids had fun. We played red light green light, swung on the swings, climbed the jungle gym, slid down the slide, and even had some obstacle course races. Let's talk about the slides for a minute. I tried to go down the slide. To much sadness my hips barely fit in the first slide. The second slide was big enough, but how depressing is it to not go down a slide because you're old and fat? Ugh! The swings were much of the same. The back and forth movements made me very sick. That made me want to cry because I love to swing. We had fun anyways.

After the park we visited at Northwind Perennial Farm. The farmers market had officially opened that day! We went to talk with the vendors and take a walk on the grounds. They had some new paths there. It was amazing. We found frogs, koi, and kitties. Gordon is still the king of the farm! We had a good time there, too.

Then we went home. I had some work to do and they needed a rest! Shortly after we got home, I realized it was my night to do dinner. Holy smokes! So, we got back into the car and went to visit Wal-mart. This time I remembered to bring Stephanie's gift certificate from Christmas. She decided to get a playground ball, frisbee, and Headbandz. I picked up the ingredients to make stuffed shells, breadsticks, salad, and some fruit for dessert. While I made dinner we played Headbandz. Peter even played with us. That was such a treat. Amazingly enough Izzy, the 5 year old, won! I say amazingly because the game is for players ages 7 and up. Not bad for a little one, huh?

After dinner I took Izzy home. Then it was time for sleep.

I hope our adventure tickled your fancy, and made you laugh.
<3

Ohio Road Trip: New Philadelphia, OH – Part IV

We made it! We are all checked in and relaxing, but not before some antique browsing at the mall behind the hotel. At the Riverfront Antique Mall we found a lot of different things, including old time fiber arts!

The fiber arts: 

Some needlepoint

Yarn winder and walking wheel

A lovely tapestry

Peter found an antique boat shuttle.

Desktop Dye Container $300 FIRM (WANT!!)

The inside chart of the table top dye container.

Llama Lovin'

A mini swift

Another shuttle

Old sewing table

The Fez collection!:

 Oh, the geekery:

Collection of mint condition Star Wars action figures

More mint condition action figures.

 Some odds and ends you don't see everyday:

All of these M&M pictures are for Gimpy Kozel!

Here is what Ron of Tea with Wheatley needs! 

This would be awesome for our nephew, Jonathan.

"Give me gum gum, dum dum."

WWII Artillery anyone?

Bombs Away!

Some Springer paintings for Dad and Deb

A bank that Peter's brother used to have

It took a long time to go through every booth. There was a ton of colored glass and china. About one third of the building was full sets of dishes. Don't forget the tea pot collections. It's amazing how many people could have the same items. The unique stuff like the artillery is amazing, but that table top dye box from Diamond Dyes is my favorite! I really would like to have that. We don't have $300. So, unless some anonymous generous benefactor would like to purchase this within the next 12 hours for us to pick it up, I won't be picking it up.

We did score some books. Peter got some history books that are no longer in print.

I picked up three books on the Hebrew language and writing. My hope is to translate the postcards my great great grandfather wrote to his family. That side of the family were Russian Orthodox Jews. It died out with my grandfather's generation. We don't know whether they were true Jewish bloodlines or not, however, we would love to know.

Speaking of genealogy, I found this book:

Now, I may have an easier time locating records of my father's side of the family.

When we got back to the room we began watching stupid cartoons like The Regular Show. I really like that stupid cartoon.

Overall we had a good ride in, and some good times along the way. For now it is time for dinner at Denny's. Enjoy your Friday night!

<3

Ohio Road Trip: Akron, OH Milestone– Part III

After some well needed Boggle time we stopped in Akron/Copley, OH, for some lunch at Chili’s. Exit 137B off of I-77 South is a really screwed up intersection!  It is a right turn only. That wouldn’t be so bad if all restaurants were in that direction. As we turned around by the hospital I saw this sign below.

This language confused me at first. Mainly because I thought it stated, “actual signal”. This is not terminology I’m not used to seeing.

Lunch was fabulous! The food, as always, was terrific. We ordered the Triple Dipper with Boneless Buffalo Chicken, Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip, and Southwestern Egg Rolls. Peter had the Grilled Chicken Sandwich, while I had the Santa Fe Chicken Salad. Everything was delicious. Our server, Damiano, was a hoot!

The manner in which he suggested a margarita was superb. His service skills were tremendous. If I had to choose three words to describe Damiano they would be friendly, exuberant, and delightful. The support staff was fantastic as well. We enjoyed our time at Chili’s immensely. Thank you!

While at lunch all those rain storms we passed had caught up with us. They are sticking around a bit longer because we are now traveling directly south, which is perpendicular to the storm cells extending from Pennsylvania to Kentucky. Luckily they are not severe storms.

Some of my readers may be asking, “What does this have to do with fiber arts?” Nothing, absolutely nothing, Sam and Sally.
“Well, where does the fiber come in?”
To tell you the truth, I’m not even sure it will. I was sure to pack a prayer shawl project and some cotton for a peace pal. I’d like to hit some yarn stores on the way, but they are so out of the way. Some are out of the way by 20-40 miles from the highway. * sigh * Does anyone know of any knitting or spinning shops on our route? We’re on I-90E/I-80E through Indiana/Ohio. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and find a small shop in the town of New Philadelphia. Knitmap doesn’t show everyone out there, nor does Local Fibers.

More later!

<3

Ohio Road Trip: Genoa, OH Milestone– Part II

I finally downloaded the BoggleDroid app. I can only play Angry Birds in the car for so long before my cerebellum becomes severely disoriented. Sever to the point in which motion sickness sets in. Thank you, Garbage Collector!

We gassed up in Lake Geneva, WI around 5 a.m.  Our second tank of gas was filled in Genoa, OH. Fred is getting amazing gas mileage for her age(330 mi/10 gal=33mpg)!  Right now Fred is getting the same range of gas mileage as my father’s 4-year-old Honda Civic. Winifred is my 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier. We’ve taken round trips from Hebron, IL, to San Diego, CA, to Portland, Or. Our travels have also taken us from Home to Ohio, Iowa, and Northern Wisconsin. She’s been my companion all of her years and hopefully many more years to come.

I’m grateful that my reasoning skills and delayed curiosity has improved with age. There were four Amish girls at the rest stop. I was about to ask them what reenactment they were going to. * face palm *  Wouldn’t that be special? Yeah, okay, not really. 

We’re hoping to put off lunch until Cleveland, but we’ll see. There are plenty of snacks in the back seat. At the store I found this stuff called Buddy Fruits. They are pouches contains 100% blended fruit and nothing else. It’s perfect for our travels and no soy! One pouch is considered one serving of fruit. This is one of the ways we are getting our healthy foods in on the trip. The other is drinking V8 Fusion. They make two flavors in a can, Pomegranate Blueberry and Strawberry Banana.

Yay! Only 53 miles more until we get to Cleveland! I have only one gripe about this part of the toll way, construction! They have those huge barriers up and it’s raining. I get extremely anxious when Peter drives in the left lane next to the barriers. What makes matters worse is when he goes to grab his iPod rather than just asking me to do it.  I’d prefer he has undivided attention on the road. Two hands on the wheel in this crap would also help decrease my anxiety. And, yes, I have asked told him so several times in the past and now. He replies, “Then you drive!” Ugh! That is my cue to play Boggle and ignore the things going on around me.

<3

Ohio Road Trip: Destination New Philadelphia, OH – Part I

Good morning! Our trip is going well!

The drive into Chicago wasn’t too bad this go around. There was hardly any traffic or road construction! Woohoo! The cement tunnels still get me, though. I buried my head into some Angry Birds through Chicago. That was until Peter showed me something rather awesome. The ceiling level of overcast clouds was below that of the surrounding buildings. I’d love to hear about the view from people working on floors above the ceiling.

Then it was naptime. Peter does majority of the driving on road trips.

During our first stop prior to crossing into Ohio I broke my no caffeine and no sugar embargo. This last week I decided to quit caffeine and sugar. My weight has gone back up again to 190 pounds. Disgusted with this, I vowed to give those two things up, as well as drinking at least 40 ounces of water every day. The 3:30 a.m. wake up was enough to clinch the embargo for today. On the bright side of it all, I can barely stand the sugar in the chai tea latte.

I’ll be blogging our entire trip. Expect a few more posts today and tomorrow. With some luck we’ll have pictures, too. We’ve been following the weather from our home in Elkhorn, WI, which is nothing but rain. It’s nothing exciting or easy to photograph in, but I’ll see what we can do.

<3