The Midwest Road Trip 2016
Travel Day
From Alabama we headed north, through Tennessee, Kentucky, and into Ohio. We met up with two more good friends, Robin and Michelle (and her family) at Skyline Chili in Cincinnati. Word of warning...don't eat the chili. We expected it to be different from Texas chili, but this was not chili. It was an interesting experience and I loved visiting with my gals! By the way, I searched for blue grass while in Kentucky and never saw a blade. So mad. |
Sandusky, Ohio
For whatever reason, there are no major highways that travel north from Columbus to Sandusky in Ohio. So by the time we got there it was dark. Did I mention that there are no major roads? AND the freaking wildlife there is HUGE (why, I don't know!). We actually made it to the house safely, thankfully we didn't hit that jackalope or moose - whew! We pretty much crashed into the sleeping areas of the house that night. We were up bright and early the next morning and explored the area of Sandusky and Lake Erie. We visited Island Adventure Family Fun Center in Port Clinton for some miniature golf, Marblehead Lighthouse, and Nickel Plate Beach, to swim in the lake. Beautiful place. Everyone was nice and their accents entertained us :) |
Cedar Point Amusement Park
The ultimate destination of our trip was Cedar Point. Cedar Point is known as the Roller Coaster Capital of the World and has been on our radar for the last few years. We planned a trip for Bill's 40th birthday, but ultimately the plans fell through. Three years later, we made it! On our way out we stopped for breakfast at Berardi's. After several hours of rides, we called it a day. In hindsight, we really needed 2 days at the park to experience it all, but 1 day was all our brains could take. We found a local pizza place for dinner and chilled out for our last night in Sandusky. |
Travel Day
The next leg of the trip took us through Indiana and Illinois, and into Missouri. We were in the middle of Farmtownsville, IL when I swear a tornado tried to take us away - I thought that was supposed to happen in Kansas!!! It really was scary and I can joke now because we survived, but those midwest storms are nothing to joke about. (I'm guessing that's why we don't have a picture near the Illinois sign. Somewhere along the way we stopped at a White Castle. Those are the smelliest, most disgusting things in the world. ***GAG*** |
Saint Louis, Missouri
Our first full day in St. Louis started off with musical bus stops. Seriously, I think we sat at 3 different ones before we got it right. So confusing, but we got there...eventually. We went to the St. Louis Arch, cruised the Mississippi on a river boat, ate toasted ravioli (YUM!), and learned that the FBI building was next door to our hotel. SCORE! Oh, we also went to the City Museum which is a definite MUST if you are ever near. Have I said how hot it was? IT WAS HOT! So the next day we went to Grant's Farm (aka the Budweiser place) and the St. Louis Zoo. Grant's Farm was better than we expected. One half of the park is the Budweiser area. This is where you can see the the World Famous Budweiser Clydesdale Horses as well as the stables and a few other things. After crossing the street, you visit the other half of the farm. We boarded a small tram which took us to the back of the farm and then slowly worked our way forward visiting several historical sights, etc. In the middle of the farm there is a petting Zoo and even an opportunity to ride a camel! The St. Louis Zoo is huge! It is also FREE! which makes it incredibly crowded all of the time. It was so hot it was almost miserable. Being from South Texas we are acclimated to extreme heat and humidity, but within the sea of humanity that is the St. Louis Zoo, it was unbearable. Nonetheless, we spent several hours enjoying the animals. |
Travel Day
With our trip in the books, we set out early in the morning for Oklahoma City. We made a pit stop in Kansas City for some good food (Joe's Kansas City BBQ - which was delish!) with some of my good friends, Jennifer and Beth (and their families). After lunch, we hit Tulsa for dinner with another good friend of mine, Leslie and her gang, at a local dive called Brownie's (yum). After dinner we made the confusing journey to Oklahoma City, where we stayed overnight before the long trip home. |