No wifi??

Days 23, 24, and 25

What happens when you visit your 88 year old grandfather? You don't have internet for two nights! My grandpa does not own a computer so of course he doesn't have internet for us to use. I'm going to have to backtrack a little and catch everyone up! 

On day 23 of our trip we left Linda's house and headed for North Canton, Ohio. First, below are a few more pictures from our time with Linda and the other ladies from Capitaland Chorus. 

Dinner with everyone 

After saying goodbye to Linda our first stop was Niagara Falls, New York. We found a parking garage to park in and we walked about 5-10 minutes to Niagara Falls State Park. We first saw Lake Erie which is the water that feeds the falls. The rapids were so fast and strong! You do not want to fall in it! 

Niagara Falls. Before you tell me that the Canadian side is prettier let me remind you that we saw that side 2 years ago on our last epic adventure. I do agree that they are prettier but I'm glad we saw this side of them. 

When you offer to take a picture make sure to get the landmark you came to see in the background. The lady was very kind to offer to take our picture but you can't see Niagara Falls! 

Niagara Falls round 2 with this chicka! 

The sun was so bright!! 

After seeing Niagara Falls we headed for North Canton, Ohio. Look how big the Pennsylvania sign is!! 

After getting stuck in traffic we finally made it to Ohio. The only restaurant open at 9:00 at night was John's Bar. This ended up being a GREAT experience. Our waitress was so much fun! Her name was Anna (not pronounced like the Disney princess) and it was so much fun to talk with her about our trip! A big shout out to Anna from North Canton, Ohio!! 

After a restful evening we had a full day ahead of us in Ohio. My grandpa had the entire day planned. We started out by going to the Barbershop to get grandpa's hair cut. After that we headed to Heggies to get some amazing chocolates! There may be 8 pounds of chocolate in the back of our car... or more. After chocolate we headed for Amish country. It was so fascinating! We stopped and picked up some Shear's potato chips at the bulk store. Then came an interesting experience. We drove to an Amish farm for some brown eggs. You literally see a "sign" and go up to the house. Eli was waiting inside and we asked for 2 dozen eggs. His daughter got the eggs for us, we paid him, and then we went back to our car. We kept asking grandpa, "so, we just go up to the door and ask for eggs?" We were really surprised! After eggs we had to go to a different bulk store for some more items. Then, it was finally time for lunch/dinner!! We went to the Der Dutchman. They have very delicious food!! We were stuffed at the end of lunch. 

There was this amazing peanut butter spread for bread. My grandpa had never tried it before. Let me tell you, he loved it! 

This was the amazing view from the restaurant. 

After lunch we went to my Great-Aunt Helen's home. She is 93 years young. I love seeing this woman! 

210 years of experience in one photo! 

Thanks Celeste for the wonderful picture! 

After seeing Aunt Helen we needed to get some dessert from Milk and Honey! This is a must do every time I'm in North Canton! 

I'll have my usual! Rocky Mountain Sundae :) 

We had a relaxing evening on the swing listening to stories from grandpa. We even saw skunks walking around the backyard. I didn't panic though... I just waited for them to walk away while I didn't move or breath. After they were a safe distance away I high tailed it inside. 

Pink clouds! 

Today we ate breakfast with grandpa and then headed for our final destination. I'm not going to tell you what state we are in tonight in case we do a postcard challenge from here tomorrow! On our way though we stopped and saw Celeste's cousin in Columbus, OH. We had a great pizza lunch with him. We then stopped near Cincinnati to see my cousin Chris! I was so glad to see him for like 10 minutes!! Better than nothing. His wife just had triplets about a month ago. All are doing well. I love that we got to see family. 

The wifi at our current hotel is not the best so I'm off to bed. We have a busy day planned tomorrow

Make New Friends

Day 22

Today we spent the day in Albany, New York with our new friends from Capitaland Chorus!! Linda opened her home to us for 2 nights and made us feel so loved and welcome in our new surroundings. Linda and her husband Tip have a beautiful home outside of Albany. This morning, Dodie came over to eat breakfast with us. We had this amazing Broccoli cheddar quiche dish, bacon, english muffins and orange juice. It was so amazing to have a home cooked meal and great conversation. 

We had such a great and relaxing morning. We left for the capitol around 11. Linda and Dodie took us around Albany. It was so nice not to have GPS screaming at us and we were driven around. What a great break from driving. 

We made it to Albany!! This capitol city has Dutch origins. Dodie was a great tour guide. It was so nice to have a real photo taken! 

Dodie and Linda with us! I love these ladies!! 

 Fire Fighter memorial. 

Number 42 baby!! 

A beautiful day in Albany! 

After walking around we went to the New York Museum. I found Sesame Street! 

Hudson River! 

We went on a solar powered boat. 

These are the friendly people who rode the boat with us today. These ladies are from Capitulant Chorus and are amazing ladies! Celeste was driving the boat. :) 

This boat was really cool and totally solar powered. 

After the boat ride on the Hudson River we ate a wonderful lunch/dinner and then headed back to Linda's house for a dessert party. It felt like Thanksgiving with all the laughter and good company and food. Even though we all just met yesterday and today it felt like we have known them forever! 

Thank you for an amazing time in Albany! So glad to take these memories back home to Texas! You all are welcome anytime!!

Thanks for following along.

What's in your Hair? E Coli??

Day 21

Today we had a very busy day!! We spent the majority of the day touring Vermont. Let me tell you, Vermont is AMAZING!!!! We left our hotel in Rutland around 8 and headed to our first stop of Warren Falls. The water here was about 53 degrees. To get to the falls you have to walk about 400 feet and then climb down to the water. Oh, and there was a sign that said the water had E Coli in it... No thank you! However, Celeste and Natalie said "yes!" and they jumped into the water! This is where I watched from and took video/pictures! 

 I did "hike" down to my perch. It was tougher than it looks! The ground was soft and muddy. My feet got a little muddy. 

 The two jumpers! 

 Figuring out how to get to the slide

 Meanwhile, back up the mountain, I decided to take some pictures! 

 After the fun at the falls and changing clothes we drove a couple miles to the Warren Store. It was so cute! We bought sandwiches and chips and ate a cute lunch outside near the river. 

 Where we ate lunch! You can see the picnic tables and umbrellas on the right side of the photo. 

 After lunch we headed to the capital which is Montpelier. First, we had to cross this covered bridge! Vermont reminded me of a fairytale. Everything is beautiful and you don't know what you are going to see around the corner! 

 We drove through some rain but finally made it to capitol building #41!!!! Again, it was like a fairytale. The building just sort of appeared and the sky was fantastic! 

 Yet again we found my love, George Washington!! 

 When we were done with our tour of the capitol we started talking to the volunteer in the capitol. He told us we had to go to Morse Farm which was about 7 miles from the capitol. They make syrup at the farm and other maple treats. I bought some syrup for my family and some maple candies for friends. 

 The beautiful scenery. 

 Not sure why this head is under the store...

 Got my sap buckets! Going to make maple syrup! 

 I've got the whole capitol in the palm of my hand! 

 After leaving Morse Farm we drove to the Ben and Jerry Factory. It was time for some wonderful ice cream! We bought our tour ticket for $4 and had about an hour to wait until our time. First, there is the Flavor Graveyard! It was so cute! 

 If you wanted to play a prank on friends you could buy one of these for $12.99.

 The line for ice cream was so long but so worth it!! 

After the ice cream factory we headed to New York to meet our host for the next two days. Check back tomorrow to hear about this amazing experience.