Ohio Trip

Our summer vacation/trip to my cousin's wedding finally came, but it went way too fast! On July 10, 2008, Kasey, Anne, and I flew from Salt Lake City to Columbus, Ohio. I was nervous that Anne wouldn't do well on the plane, but she ended up sleeping during most of the flight. It was I who was most nervous because it had been three years since I had flown and we were on a teeny airplane as commercial airplanes go! It was one of those planes with one aisle, 18 economy rows of two seat per side, making 72 seats. There was no first class and the plane was so small, we had to walk onto the tarmac and climb the stairs into the plane. We sat in the 17th row, in front of two boisterous ladies who had been drinking alcohol during the entire flight. Ugh. I've been on one of those planes before, but not for a four hour flight to Ohio! I bet the fuel tanks were near empty once we arrived. Anyway... here is Anne getting ready for take-off. She kept saying "airplane move!" and "airplane broken!" "airplane up in the sky!" whenever we stopped, awaiting take-off.

DAY ONE: Columbus/Cincinnati

We arrived in Columbus at 4 PM and were greeted by my mom and dad, my Aunt Sharon, and Uncle Jim. We drove to a nearby restaurant called the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant to have our dinner. I was still on western time and wasn't quite up to a big dinner at that time. I ate a little then had Kasey take us to a Big Boy in Cincinnati for our second dinner. :) At that Big Boy, Anne learned how to drink through a straw!

DAY TWO: Cincinnati

Friday, July 11th was our first full day of vacation. On that day, we went to the downtown Cincinnati Museum. We saw a lot of neat things and wished we had more time to spend there.!Anne really loved the children's section of the museum, and so did Kasey and I. :)

Later that afternoon, my family, who also came to Cincinnati for my cousin's wedding, arrived. They were my Grandma Jo and her friend Barry, my parents (again), my brother Jason and his wife, Delisa, and the groom's family, my Aunt Sharon, Uncle Jim, and cousin, Zak. We all stayed in the same motel, but unfortunately didn't get to see much of my aunt, uncle, and cousin because they were quite involved with wedding preparations! That night, we ate at Max & Erma's and swam in the hotel pool. Anne loved being in the pool, which she called "big bath," because her Uncle Jason tossed her around and played with her to her great delight.

DAY THREE: Cincinnati/Wedding

On the third day of our trip, we drove to downtown Cincinnati on the Kentucky side to walk across the People Purple Bridge back into Ohio. It was a hot, muggy day, but still a lot of fun. Later that evening, we went to the Clough Pike Baptist Church to witness Kris and Jessica's wedding and later to a VFW hall for the reception.

DAY FOUR: Cincinnati/Serpent Mound/Clarksburg, West Virginia

The fourth day was a Sunday, so we found a local LDS church, attending sacrament meeting, packed up, and began our drive into West Virginia. It was such a beautiful drive! I told Kasey that our trip back to the mid-west was making me want to move back to the mid-west where I grew up. It is so pretty and lush. Utah just isn't pretty. Majestic, yes. Pretty? No.

Along the way, we stopped at the Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio. The Serpent Mound is a mound approximately three feet high and 1,300 feet long created by Native Americans around the year 1,000 A.D. It is in the shape of a snake and is believed to be a burial and religious ritual site.At 5:30 PM, we arrived at my Grandma Jo's house in Clarksburg, West Virginia. It was wonderful to be back! I had not been there in seven years and I used to go every summer with my family. That is where we were all born and where my mom and dad grew up. West Virginia is so beautiful, making it ironic that there are so many trashy houses and junk laying around the state. (Yes, many of the stereotypes of West Virginia are sadly, true. But, I must say on a positive note, the people are extremely neighborly.)

We ate sandwiches and strawberry shortcake with my Grandma and her friend Barry that evening, and spent a lot of time sitting on Grandma's pretty porch. Anne loved that Grandma Jo had a large United States Flag in her yard and claimed a seat on the porch as her very own. If anyone sat in that chair, Anne got a hurt look and her face and protested.

DAY FIVE: West Virginia

The next morning, Monday, we went to Tomaro's Bakery in downtown Clarksburg to get buy their WV native pepperoni rolls. Mmmmm! I love pepperoni rolls!

Next, we went to the mall in Bridgeport, just north of Clarksburg. There, we ate T&L hot dogs, another favorite West Virginia food. I was surprised T&L had a restaurant in the mall.

Next, we drove to two cemeteries where members of my family are buried. We also went to see my deceased Grandpa Gay's vacant house, in Wilsonburg. We even walked around inside for awhile. That evening, we relaxed and visited with other members of my family that live near my Grandma Jo.

DAY SIX: Clarksburg/Wooster, Ohio

On day six, we had to say good-bye to Grandma Jo. :( We didn't feel like we had enough time to spend at each of our destinations on our vacation. In the late afternoon, we arrived in Wooster, Ohio, where my mom and dad live. It was a lot of fun to see the Amish country again. We got to see buggies drawn by horses, Amish farms, and Amish people. That night, we even ate at one of my favorite restaurants; an Amish restaurant called Des Dutch Essenhaus in Shreve, Ohio. The family-style meals are delicious and served by Amish girls. I think Kasey was about to pop! It was hard to stop eating that yummy food.

DAY SEVEN: Cedar Point/Wooster

On Wednesday the 16th, Kasey went to Cedar Point with my brother and dad. It is a crazy-awesome amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio. Most people have heard of it because it is very popular and boasts many world records regarding roller coasters. Kasey will have to make a special blog entry just about Cedar Point and his trip there. Since I'm not a fan of thrill rides, Anne and I stayed with my mom that day and toured around Wooster. Wooster is a pretty city with green rolling hills and many maple and oak trees.

DAY EIGHT: Cleveland

On our last full day of vacation, Anne stayed with her Grandma Pam and Grandpa Bob while Kasey and I went to Cleveland for the day. We toured the house where the movie "The Christmas Story" was filmed and went to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Both were worthwhile experiences! Picture taking is not allowed in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. If it was, we'd have a lot of picture of some really neat artifacts and memorabilia!

DAY NINE: Columbus/Utah

Awww... we had to leave. I am such a homebody that normally I can't wait to get home when we are on vacation, but this time I was sad. We flew out of the Columbus airport that afternoon and arrived at our house at 9 PM MST. It was actually quite an adventure to get home because we rode on almost all types of vehicles. First, we drove to the airport. Second,we flew on a plane (which was a teensy bit bigger than the one we flew to Ohio in.) Third, we took a bus to downtown Salt Lake. Fifth, we rode the Trax trolley to the Salt Lake Commuter Rail station. Sixth, we rode the train to Roy, Utah. Seventh, Kasey's sister picked us up in her suburban and drove us home. It wasn't an easy task hauling around two suitcases, two backpacks, Anne, a large stroller, and a car seat. PHEW!