Across the Miles: Put-In-Bay

I've been stewing over this since we arrived home from our 12-day trek up north, and finally came to the conclusion that it is not humanly possible to choose only a few of the 100+ pictures in my camera for display. Nor is it possible to relay the highlights of the last 2 weeks in one post - unless it held the record for "longest article ever written on blogspot". So, I'm going to write about a different location every day (That's the plan, but don't hold me to it!), and we'll see where it goes. . . .

Put-In-Bay: Wednesday, June 25 - Friday, June 27

We drove up to the Sandusky, OH area, and took the ferry to an island that arguably contains the most bars, taverns and golf carts per capita of any place in the USA. There we met up with the fam: my parents, my sister Hannah, her husband Kenneth and their 2 munchkins; my cousin Faith and her husband and 4 munchkins (who we stayed with - we figured we'd keep 80% of the kids in one location to spare everyone else!); my Uncle Daryle, my Uncle Dan and Aunt Nancy; and cousins Aaron, Caleb, Katie, and Mark - 25 in all.

Highlights of the trip included: an hour-long tour of the island; late-night sessions of Imaginiff and Taboo; a presentation by a park ranger on "snake persecution"; a trip up to the top of a very tall monument, which I can't remember any facts about except that it was a really great view; dinner with everyone at a local pizza parlor; a nearby park, where the kids enjoyed the tire swings and we again witnessed the pizza one of them ate for dinner; conversations about feminine hygiene products in the '60's; large numbers of May flies stuck to our doors, windows, vehicles and clothing; and the breakfast Dad made for us all on Friday morning - yum!

It was fun catching up with relatives, and we actually didn't want to kill each other by the end of our stay - so I'd say it was a huge success.

We left Friday morning for Wisconsin (more on that later) and drove about 7 hours, 2.5 of which were spent sitting in Chicago traffic. We spent the night in Schaumberg, a Chicago suburb. But the real highlight was getting to eat at our favorite pizza place ever - Lou Malnati's. If you're ever in the area, you've go to stop in. We arrived around 7:30, and the wait was so long we didn't eat dinner until 8:30 (central time). Needless to say, the munchkins were a bit worn out - not to mention the parents. But it was well worth the wait.

And now, for more pictures than you ever wanted to see:

Karis loved the ferry
Zekers and Papaw
My sister Hannah, my cousin Faith and me
Kari Bou and Gramma
The Ross and Wright munchkins together, in order of age, from 9 months to 5 1/2
Fire in the hole!
Malachi was obviously thrilled about the view from the monument
Some of the kiddos together at dinner Thursday evening
All that eating and riding in the stoller can wear a baby out
Uncle Dan and Aunt Nancy
Cousin Caleb
Lou Malnati's pepperoni pizza - heaven in a pan
Malachi was loving life when we got to our Chicago hotel: not just one, but two rolls of toilet paper to eat!
At a mall play area in Wausau, WI. The expressions in this picture pretty much sum up each child's personality.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .