In Ann Arbor.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thanks Hung!
Yay! My phone is back online here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We are leaving now on our way to Normal, IL. Thank you Hung for putting us up for a night, it was great to see you.
Hi from Ann Arbor, MI
Uncle Hung! Thank you for the place to stay and the pizza dinner. Alas my phone is still out of commission, so no photos...On to Illinois...
-Annette
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Hi from Brampton, Ontario
My phone stopped working in Canada, so I haven't been able to make any updates since New York. Sorry!We drove up to Montreal and visited Joyce & Erick (thanks!). We stopped by the Benedict Labre House where I used to live, and they happened to be open so we got a tour of the soup kitchen, and invited to stay for dinner. We also toured McGill, Old Town, and played at a water park. On to Toronto, where Elizabeth has a friend, Johnny and his family (Brampton), where we were treated like royalty. We are getting ready for our drive to Ann Arbor, where we'll be hopefully touching base with Hung. I can't wait for my phone to work again! Over and out...-Annette
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Hello from Plattburgh!
We'll be in Montreal in a couple hours. Time to dig out the passports and prepare for a border crossing.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Learning About Slavery
The Dismal Swamp was a key place in the underground railroad. Slaves dug the canals of this area.
Dismal Swamp
This swamp was recommended by Tom and Ann from Illinois, and just happened to be on our way!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
E2's photoswill see the light of day sometime...
She is using her camera faithfully, but can't blog by phone like I can...
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Day #2 at Disney
Yesterday's trip to Animal Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon will be followed today by a trip to the Magic Kingdom and Blizzard Beach. I'll likely be offline all day as my phone has a short battery life.
Typhoon Lagoon was very fun, but we didn't realize how BIG the waves would be! Poor E. We were waiting in the middle of the wave pool for the first wave to come (carefully not crossing the black line, which seemed ridiculously far back from the wave generator). Then, finally, we heard the "poof!" of the first wave, and a pang of fear struck both E and I as the 10-foot tsunami rose and started co,ing toward us. (E is afraid of waves, but we coaxed her in anyway). Terror-stricken, she started beelining to the shore, but I held her (it was too far) and gave her 5 seconds of advice before the huge wave crashed over us. We came up spluttering and then swam to shore, where the wave crashes are only knee deep. J, our water baby, stayed out with E2, happy as a clam.
Besides the usual waterslides and lazy river, the other interesting area was snorkeling with sharks. There was a deep, cold saltwater pond with lots of fish, sharks, and stingrays that we were allowed to go in. It was amazing. The fish would swim right up close, and we had to be careful not to step on the 6-foot ray that decided to visit the entry area.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Hi from Florida!
The drive through Georgia was very pleasant. The Smoky mountains in the north were noisy at night due to the cicadas, and we called them the throbbing forests. It felt like we were in the middle of an organ. The weather has been cool the past few days in IL, IN, KY, TN, and GA, BUT HERE AT THE NORTHERN BORDER OF FL we can already feel the heat and humidity setting in. I look forward to noticing al the Xanth references as we travel. Hopefully we are in Orlando by midnight for the first of 3 nights in a motel, before we start our trek northward to Montreal.
I hope everyone is keeping cool, we are thoroughly enjoying our trip!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Camping in Georgia
E2 with J&E at Cloudland Canyon State Park. We are enjoying a campfire and pocket rocket dinner of beef teriyake with rice. The cicadas in the trees are singing us to sleep. Our friendly neighbors lent us their lantern. E2 did all the driving from Illinois! Thank you!
Hello from Teutopolis
This is the lake behind E2's parents' house in Teutopolis, IL. We left on the 18th.
Fountain in Indianapolis
We walked around the historic neighborhood near E2's friends' house. Thank you Kaela and Joe! Doolie is adorable.
Amy's miniature wands
We stopped in Nashville, TN today to let Elizabeth me up with her friend Amy. Amy is an avid wand maker, and is showing off her collection of miniature wands.
Hello from Indianapolis
Sorry no photo this time, my phone doesn't work in this area! Either T-mobile has poor coverage, or there is a technical problem. I hope it's the former and photos will resume as we move on.
Indianapolis is just as green and pretty as St. Louis. We toured a historical district with beautiful old houses. J&E were ready to move on the spot. The fireflies were beautiful!
We are heading to Georgia today.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
SIUE sign
The university near Elizabeth's house, at night. We'll drive through campus tomorrow on our way out of town.
We leave Edwardsville tomorrow for Tutopolis, where Elizabeth's parents live, in Eastern Illinois.
Ethan and Emily
Elizabeth was very happy to see her little brother this evening! Here, Ethan is inspecting a can of "Beaver Buzz", an energy drink from Canada that Elizabeth got for him.
We are having dinner at Joanie's again this evening. Thank you Joanie's & Paul! Tom and Ann are also excellent hosts. Thank you for letting us invade your house for a couple days! You have the most wonderful two dogs. I also appreciated watching a game of Arkham Horror in action. You are all welcome to crash at our house if you are ever in California.
Minnie
One of Tom and Ann's two dogs. Minnie is very quiet and shy, but a top notch squirrel stalker.
Guess what's in this box!
"Crayons?"
"A paint set?"
"Instruments?"
Nope, nope, and nope.
Pokemon Cards! E is in heaven. Thanks for letting us play with your cards E2!
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