Vacation part 2

After Cincinnati, we headed north to Berea to spend a couple of days with my brother and his family. Phil and JoAnn have a 6 year old, Lily, and 2 year old twins, Rose and Tom. We had so much fun with them. Chris and Tommy bonded very quickly over "Baby Einstein" and the DVD shelf. When Chris wasn't available, then Tommy would recruit Fred. Their home is full of laughter and fun.

We took the boys to Cedar Point on Monday. Chris and I used to go there when I was in high school, but it's been 20 years since we've been there. Phil and Lily went with us. What a great day! Everyone got along, everyone wanted to ride pretty much the same rides. It was one of the best days of our vacation. When we got there, it was cold and wet. It rained on us twice, but we ducked into a shop for a few minutes and then it would pass. Because it was in the upper 60's and overcast all day the lines were short and the crowds were minimal. That was great for us! Lily wanted to ride EVERYTHING before we got there. Phil doesn't really do the huge roller coasters, so he had been preparing her that they wouldn't be riding everything. The first ride we road was an old wooden coaster called the Blue Streak. It's jerky and hilly and fun. That coaster did Lily in and she no longer wanted to ride the huge rides. Phil breathed a sigh of relief. Peter the daring and Chris rode the Demon Drop and the Millennium Force (way too big for me), but other than those, we all stuck together. One of the last rides we rode was the Gemini. It used to be one of the largest coasters before the days of stupidly high coasters. I remember the first time I rode it. It was the tallest thing in the park. We all ran up the ramp and jumped right in the waiting cars (how great is that?) It's a wooden coaster as well, with two trains that race each other. As we rounded the last curve the car suddenly jerked to the left, taking my head with it. That pretty much did it for me! The chiropractor fixed me yesterday!

The next day we visited our great friends, the Bocka's, in Mansfield. Liz and Joe lived in Maryland while Chris and I were there. We had our babies 9 months apart and spent a good deal of time together. They moved back to Ohio about 14 years ago, but we stay in touch by visiting when we can. They have a basement that resembles an arcade, so the boys were in heaven. We enjoyed relaxing, eating, and catching up for a couple of days. Fred, Ben, Sam and Peter all want to move there now. It certainly was a nice break.