We are home!

Hello everyone! Sorry I didn't post after Day 2, but the hotels we stayed in either didn't have internet or the internet connection was crap..so I just decided I would have to wait until we got home... So I'll give the details of our trip Day by Day.. I'm sorry if it's boring to you, but it was fun for us: )

Day 3
On Day 3 we rodefrom Harriman, TN to Concord, North Carolina. The mountains were gorgeous. We had to drivet through South Carolina as well to get there. I think this was the most beautiful of the places that we drove through. For all of you racing fans, you know that this is the Mecca of Nascar. We arrived there around 1pm and decided.. heck we're already here, let's see the race track and tour Hendrick Motor Sports. At the Race Track we took a tour there. They take you around in this van and describe the seats, the track, the pit, the winners circle... etc.... That was cool. Did you know the seats are multi-colored at that track because it makes it look like there are people sitting in the stands? They have filmed movies like Days of Thunder and Ricky Bobby there and I guess it really makes a difference! The tour lady drove us around the track 2 times at about 75 miles/hr. That was awesome. She then stopped on a turn at a bank of 45 degrees. She literally sat there and stopped and it felt as if the van were to fall over, but it doesn't. She said that if we were in a van bigger than the one we were in, it would have fallen over. I'll post pics on facebook. Posting pics here is a pain sometimes. We also got to stand in the winner circle and take pics. After we left the race track we went to Hendrick Motor Sports. That place was huge. I loved Junior's building. You could see all the cars getting built and of course a ton of memorabilia. After the tours, we were wiped so we went out for dinner at Texas Roadhouse, then went to bed, for it would be an early ride again, to chase the rain the next morning.

Day 4
We had to leave super early this morning. We found out about a cool website called www.intellicast.com. This website breaks down the weather for you into hours, and we used it and for the most part it was pretty accurate. So we found out that the rain that the midwest was having was finally creeping East, and we we would have to drive before it hit us. So we checked out the map and chose to driven to Marriman, OH. We had to travel through VA, WV to get there. What we didn't know was that ALL OF WV IS MOUNTAINS :) . It was beautiful, but a little stressful on the motorcycle. We had one man who got on the ramp and didn't even look to see if there were cars,and well, he almost hit us. That was 1 of 2 scary incidents we had, but it just makes you more on your toes. Thank goodness the guy heard me scream and Ryan swear (it's nerve racking) and of course apologized, but it was definitely a scary moment at 70 mph on a mountain road!! We arrived in Marriman and we didn't do a whole lot. We had to do laundry because we only had about 2 changes of clothes with us (you can only pack so much!). Then we went to dinner. After the stressful day, we went back to the hotel and just watched TV.

Day 5
We again had to get up and chase ahead of the rain. Our destination was Sandusky, OH this time. So about 187 miles. This was probably the shortest ride we took all week. That ride actually went super smooth except fot the fog. It was super foggy in the valleys, so we just had to be on our toes and watch for deer. We arrived in Cedar Point only to find that it would rain. We were looking forward to going to the amusement park. Check out www.cedarpoint.com. We went back and forth a few times to try to decide if we should go to the park today or tomorrow. So, we decided we would wait because the weather was SUPPOSSED to be nice the next day. We discovered that it was Ohio Bike Week, so we went and visited some of the things that were going out with that, but weren't very inspired by any of the events going on, especially in the rain. So, we had a relaxing day and hoped for the better.

Day 6
We stayed in Sandusky, OH again for the day, but this time we went to Cedar Point. We were disappointed in the weather at first. We had to stand in line in the rain, but as the day went on it ended up to be beautiful, not sunny, but the temperature was perfect. Here, we went on 2 of the best roller coasters ever. One was called the Millenium and the other was the Dragster. They are fun, fast, and thrilling. They both had 300-400 foot drops and all you had on you was a seat belt and lap belt. I posted pics of those on Facebook already. I wish the boys were more into roller coasters because I would take them back there in a second, but they're not quite ready for something that intense. They are beginning to enjoy them a little more, but I think Cedar Point for the boys will have to wait until they are a little older. A lot of the rides are similar to the Six Flags Theme Parks, but there are a few that are different and a lot of fun.. So if you have kids that like that sort of thing.. TAKE THEM THERE:) After our day at Cedar Point, we grabbed a bite to eat and decided that the next morning we would leave for home.

Day 7
We arrived at home at about 12:30 pm. We went to pick up the dogs, and then to see the boys for a few minutes. Benjamin was with my brother. I asked him if he wanted to come home, but apparently he wasn't done with his vaccation yet and was enjoying the time with my brother and was looking forward to spending the night with my mom that night, so I gave him a big hug and let him go. I could tell he missed me, but didn't want to miss out on his visit with Nana. He is now at his Dad's house until later tonight! Caden was at Ryan's mom's so we stopped there and saw him. His mom was picking him up and he wanted to spend more time with Grandma so he stayed there until his mom came and got him. He too will be home tonight!


So, 1937 miles, traveling through and to 9 states, and seeing 1 (MI), we had an awesome time and are going to plan another trip for next year!! Our vacation has been awesome, but I miss the boys a ton. Today we are headed to a Milwaukee Brewers game and get to sit on the Harley Deck there. Then, we'll go home to meet and greet to meet the boys and hear about their vacations with Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles, and friends!!! I hope everyone else had an awesome week :)

The Unkown Destinations

So, Ryan and I began our motorcycle trip yesterday. I wanted to post from my phone, but apparently, they won't let me :) ...

So
Day 1: We left Woodstock, IL at approximately 6am. This was to beat the rain that was coming and thank goodness.. WE BEAT THE RAIN!! :) We drove through Illinois, Indiana and into Louisville, KY. We arrived at about 3pm. The ride was honestly quite boring, but we totaled 405 miles for the day. THAT IS A LOT.. and we are not planning on doing that again. We at dinner at a local restaurant and went to bed.

Day 2: Today's ride was beautiful. We left around 7am and headed toward Cave City, KY. We forgot that the time changes when you drive back and forth in KY, so we could have slept a little later.. BUT OH WELL! :) .. We arrived in Cave City at about 8:15am. We drove through Mammoth Cave National Park and found the tourist center. It was beautiful..and also smelled really great too!! We then took the historic 2mile, 2 hour tour of the caves. It was absolutely amazing!! We literally had to duck walk through some parts of it because it was so small in some parts! I can't wait to take the boys there! Ryan and I are planning to do that next summer. I would do it later this summer but the boys are already taking a trip to Florida with my mom (THANKS MOM) and they are super excited about that!! A trip with NANA.. no parents :)!! We were also quite amazed that a blind man chose to take the tour through the caves as well! I thought that was pretty cool to watch. He did really well!! It's too bad he couldn't see some of the awesome sights that were there!! I will post pics on my facebook and here when I get home!! Did you know that the Mammoth Caves sometimes flood?? Well, now you do :)
We got back on the motorcycle after the 2 mile hike and rode about 200 miles here, to Harriman, TN. We are on our way to Charlotte, NC tomorrow to take a tour of Lowe's Motor Speedway and Hendrick Motorsports!

Well, that's it for now!! If I don't check in tomorrow I will try to do it every few days!!!

The boys are with Ryan's mom currently. They were in the pool out in Woodstock where it was 71 degrees!! Oh To be a kid again!!! :) Oh.. by the way.. it's 90 degrees and sunny here :)