Minnesota July 2011

July 1st we departed Duluth in the morning to drive up the North Shore Scenic Route. Unfortunately, the State Parks were all closed due to not agreeing on the State budget - bummer. However, that did not stop us as many of the very scenic waterfalls were right along the North Shore route and we were able to pull over and do some hiking up the falls and then down to Lake Superior. The most impressive falls we saw were Temperance River Gorge Falls and the Cascade Falls.











We went all the way to Grand Portage, MN which is right before you cross over into Canada. Lake Superior was totally fogged in on the 1st and it was only around 49 - 52 degrees. Still a very scenic drive. We spent the night in Tofte, MN.





July 2nd was bright and clear with temperatures in the 80's, so different from the day before. Lake Superior was beautiful with clear blue waters. We went back to Temperance River and did some additional hiking on some of the cliffs as it leads into Lake Superior - very impressive. We also went to Gooseberry State Park as well as several others. Parks still closed but we were still able to access the falls (just went around a little fence, that is all). Gooseberry had 5 very impressive falls. Rusty and I just love waterfalls. The North Shore Scenic Drive (Rt 61) is well worth it and very scenic. They have lots of forests, cliffs and waterfalls along the way. From here we drove to Hudson, WI on Rt 35 where we spent the night.


July 3rd we were forced to go to The Mall of America. HUGE is the only way to describe it. We spent several hours walking around the Mall in amazement. It even has an indoor amusement park. From here we traveled down Rt 61 in MN along the Mississippi River - we saw a lot of small town America along the way, very cool. Spent the night in Winona, MN right on the river.



July 4th we departed Winona after a short stop at Gavin Park Scenic Overlook - well worth it. Winona is a nice, old river town and the view of the valley and river was amazing. All the small towns along the river were really cool - Redwing, Hudson, Wabasha, Prairie du Chein - a lot of old buildings and churches; great parks. Drove to Bloomington, IL, most of the way along the Mississippi on the Great River Road. A lot of beautiful scenery with huge cliffs on both sides of the Mississippi. Stopped in Cabelas in Prairie du Chein along the way, because why not?

July 5th we departed Bloomington for home. It was a great trip, we saw some beautiful amazing scenery, but it was good to get back home. Not sure where we are headed next but I'll be sure to update our blog. Bye for now.

Wisconsin June 2011

Left Adrian, MI on June 26th and headed to Milwaukee. We traveled through MI, IN, IL and WI and spent our first night in Glendale, WI. Went to an awesome mall called Bayshore and ate at a Cheesecake Factory - YUMMY. The next day we went on in to Milwaukee to Miller Valley and the Brewery Tour. It was pretty awesome and at the end we were forced to consume some FREE beer.




After the tour we went to downtown and walked along the Riverwalk and took a harbor/river boat cruise - very relaxing and scenic. While on the water, a bit of fog and rough weather moved in and then out again.








From Milwaukee we drove to Green Bay. We took a scenic drive to the Door Peninsula along Lake Michigan. Stopped in some of the small shops in the small towns along the way as well as a winery for some tasting. They have a lot of farm land as well as parks and beaches along this drive - very scenic.




As we departed Green Bay we made a stop by Lambeau Field. It was pretty awesome. Went in to the pro shop and into a small section that is open to visitors - pretty impressive.










Drove to Ashland, WI where we stayed at a hotel right on Lake Superior. We did some hiking in Copper River State Park where we saw 3 beautiful waterfalls and crossed over 5 different bridges. That evening we sat on the patio and had S'Mores while we watched the sunset - AWESOME.



We left Ashland and drove to Bayfield, WI where we took a boat cruise of the Apostle Island National Lake Shore. There are 22 islands on Lake Superior. It was a very scenic boat ride, we saw some amazing scenery and some great lighthouses. Bayfield was a great small town. Saw 3 eagles over the lake. Drove on to Duluth, MN and spent the night.

Akron June 2011

We headed to Akron on June 11th to spend some time with family and friends. We were busy the two weeks we spent there. The first week we stayed with Bill and Debi. While there we went to Salem, WV for a day and a half to see Ruth Lawlis - her and her husband Tut (deceased) were best friends with my mom and dad. We spent the day with her reminiscing and looking at old photos. It was so great to see her.




We ended our first week by going to the McGarvey Family Reunion at Wingfoot Lake. It was good to see cousins I hadn't seen in quite a while.


Also had the opportunity to go to Kathy and Frank's for a fish fry - yummy!!!







After the reunion we moved over to spend a week with Terri and Andy. While there we had an opportunity to go to Margarita Madness @ Pancho's with many of our great friends in the Akron area. This is always a good time.











One morning we went to breakfast with Terri and Andy as well as some of their friends who went to school with Rusty. Always good to see them. Terri and Andy also had a family picnic for us so we got to see the Wood family too.










On Friday the 24th we went to Dietz's to help Barbie celebrate her 50th birthday.


















On Saturday the 25th we left OH for Jackson, MI.
Scott was going to be there for an MTV appearance and we wanted the opportunity to have dinner with him as well as Terri and Andy.





Our visit with family and friends in Akron is now over until we venture back north.

Feb2011 Western Caribbean

Rusty and I headed to FL to go on a Western Caribbean cruise with some great friends from Akron, OH. We left Nashville on February 2nd to go to Stuart, FL so Rusty could spend a day with his daughter Christine. Christine and her husband Bill live in Port Salerno. Rusty had an opportunity to fish with them and have dinner. He had a great visit.




Saturday the 5th we drove to Miami to board the Celebrity Eclipse (awesome ship) and meet up with our friends - here are the girls lounging in the pool.








Our first sunset aboard the Eclipse was awesome.










The 6th was a sea day and the Super Bowl. We loafed all day around the pool with Kathy & Frank Racco, Barb & Dave Gray and Gail & Dave France and just caught up. We had a great dinner and went to the theater to watch the Super Bowl.

Frankie didn't quite make it to dinner right away because he had to check out the Super Bowl - so, being the friends we are, we started without him.




Grand Caymans
Monday the 7th we went to Grand Caymans. We caught a taxi (as you can see by the picture, they loaded us in like sardines) and spent the day at Seven Mile Beach. The beach was beautiful - wasn't a great swimming beach but it was awesome for snorkeling. Another lazy day just spent laying around.














Playa del Carmen
Tuesday the 8th we went to Cozumel. Frank's cousins were staying in Playa del Carmen so we took a ferry over to spend the day with them. The waters were really, really rough on the ferry - I didn't think I was going to make it. We spent the day with Frankie's cousins just browsing the shops. We walked along the beach and stopped at a beach bar for snacks and drinks - awesome.



Costa Maya
Wednesday the 9th we went to Costa Maya, Mexico. Royal Caribbean has built a port here with shops and a pool with bars and restaurants. We spent the day - you guessed it - again laying around the pool with our friends.







Roatan Island
Thursday the 10th we went to Roatan Island, Honduras. What a beautiful island. We went to the West End Beach - it was small but nice, again it was great for snorkeling. What did we do, we laid on the beach and drank yet again.






Friday the 11th was our last sea day, sad to see the trip come to an end. It was warm but rained on and off most of the day - but we still hung out around the pool with our friends.

Did you notice a theme - it was a very lazy, pool/beach driven vacation but we had a great time and it was wonderful to spend the time with our friends.

South Beach, FL
Saturday the 12th we landed back in Miami - it was raining but Gail had plans for us to spend the day in South Beach. A service picked us up at the port and took us to South Beach. We wandered around most of the day until it was time for them to catch their flights back to Akron. We did a lot of walking and people watching. We stopped at a place called Tequila Chicas for snacks and margaritas. Then we had lunch at Joe's Stone Crab. Here we are headed to check out the beach.





St. Augustine
Rusty and I departed Miami and headed for St. Augustine's for a couple of days. St. Augustine's was really cool, there is a lot of history and interesting places there. We took the trolley and got on and off as we liked.












There are a lot of really old churches in the area with a lot of history, as well as Flagler University. Lots of cool shops and restaurants too. We had a really good time.















Headed back to Nashville on the 15th. We had a really good time doing a whole lot of nothing.