Visiting all the Grandmas!

Last weekend we made a quick trip back to the Quad Cities - a VERY quick trip! I had a show on Thursday night - and Gina needed to be home for her High School orientation on Sunday afternoon, so... we left around 4am! The kids and I slept in the car while Art drove, and we arrived at the Leone's around 9:30am. My mom flew in to see Grandma Jo for the week, and she got there on Saturday afternoon. We figured we were in town for about 44 hours - and we hit quite a few favorite spots! We had Harris Pizza, Rudy's Tacos, Whitey's Ice Cream, and Anna treated Gina and I to a terrific breakfast at a little corner spot called Belmie's. Gina's chocolate chip pancake was as big as her plate! Anna also made a delicious dinner of pasta with pheasant.

Gina and I saw "Mamma Mia" - a little goofy but fun to sing along! Art and Vincent went fishing with Uncle Dino. This time Vincent broke his old record of 27 - and caught 34 fish! Of course, he had Art doing the baiting AND taking them off the hook, so Art didn't get as much "reeling in" time. Before they headed out, Vincent asked, "Hey, what happened to all the fish I caught LAST time? How come I never get to eat my fish?" So after their fishing they went to Uncle Dino's where he cleaned and cooked up some of the fish. That was Vincent's favorite meal of the weekend!

The kids and I went with Grandma Mary Jo to visit Great Grandma Jo - we took her for a ride to VanderVeer Park in Davenport. What a pretty place to sit for a while - lots of flowers and plants, a beautiful fountain, and plenty of people to watch. We stayed until dark when the fountain lights came on.

We spent the night at Grandma Mary Jo's hotel, and left at 530am to head back to Dayton! It was a very quick trip, but we saw lots of people.

Tomorrow is the big day...Gina heads to High School! I'll post some pictures of her at the front door- where we've taken "First Day of School" photos since she started Kindergarten.

Heading to the Roller Coast!

Day Three of our Tour of Ohio brought us to Put-In-Bay by ferry. The preferred mode of travel on this small island is golf cart - which was very entertaining for the kids. I think Art had a pretty good time of it, too! We spent a few hours checking out the sites around the island, and finished the day with a tasty seafood dinner. Art and I enjoyed some walleye and perch fresh from Lake Erie; Gina of course opted for chicken fingers, which we're pretty sure did NOT come from Lake Erie; and Vincent of course chose lobster. That kid has a sixth sense about him, and ESP means Extra Substantially Priced! He has the most expensive taste for a kid his age - lobster, crab legs, shrimp cocktail...he had better get a good job soon or we won't be able to feed him.

After a big meal, we headed to our hotel in lovely Sandusky, Ohio - to rest up before our big day at the Roller Coast - Cedar Point Amusement Park! We figured we had to hold this day to the end, as it gave us some leverage all week long (if you don't behave, you're not going to Cedar Point!) Gina has a paralyzing fear of heights, but did very well on "ground level" rides and even mustered up some courage to try a few roller coasters. Vincent found the Mine Shaft Roller Coaster to be just the right amount of thrill, and so rode it repeatedly.

Art and I even got to enjoy some of the BIG rides, as Gina took charge of Vincent while we waited in longer lines. Our best ride was the first of the day - Top Speed Dragster - this was an unbelievably FAST ride, and took all of 17 seconds before coming to a stop. And after the thrill, we agreed it was well worth the hour wait. We also came to the very uncomfortable conclusion that we are now too old for the wooden coasters, which was a sad fact to face. The feeling that we had lost a few internal organs along the track, though, was enough to convince us that steel coasters are best for us "old folks".

Hope you enjoy these photos, sorry I have not figured out how to caption underneath the pictures!

Touring Ohio - Day Two!

Our next stop was Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! What a neat place to spend a day - we saw everything from pencil drawings done by Jimi Hendrix as a young kid to the spiral notebook in which Billy Joel wrote the lyrics to "We Didn't Start the Fire". You'll likely be seeing a photo from here in a Christmas card later this year! Vincent is really into "optical illusion" photos, if that is even what you can call it. Here he is, "touching" the top of the R&R Hall of Fame pyramid!

After a day of Rock and Roll, we headed to Little Italy for an authentic dinner. We all enjoyed the food, the gelato and cannoli, and just people watching. Frank, Jan, Alyssa and Dominic were on this trip with us , and after dinner Art, Frank, Alyssa and Dominic headed to an Indians game. and Jan and the kids and I headed back to the hotel for some swimming and relaxing. Alyssa is heading back to Illinois State as a sophomore, and Dominic is a sophomore at Rock Island High School. We think Gina and Alyssa look a lot alike - you can judge for yourself!

Tour of Ohio - Day One!

Our tour of the sites in our own "backyard" started in Canton - home of the Football Hall of Fame. Unlike the Griswolds' search for the largest ball of twine, this site was NOT four hours off the beaten path, but rather right on the side of the interstate. At first look, you think you've been punk'd, as the building does not look nearly as big as it does on TV, and parking is simply a grassy area next to the interstate!

Once inside, though, you find yourself immersed in football history - and we soaked it all up, especially everything about the Chicago Bears. Here's an interesting tidbit: the Chicago Bears has more players in the Hall of Fame than any other team. Hmm! We also found George Blanda, and the kids were excited to learn that he is a cousin on Grandma Leone's side of the family. (so says Art, anyway!)

As with any great museum design, to exit the building you must wind through the gift shop. We spent a good hour just looking for deals for the kids ( and Art!). I graciously declined offers of Hall of Fame ball caps and Hall of Fame shot glasses.

Here we are anxiously anticipating the excitement awaiting us inside!

Keeping up with the Joneses (aka the Ohrbergs!)

Not to be outdone by my younger brothers (actually, by my creative sisters-in-law), I've joined the bandwagon - of blogging, that is! Christine assures me that she'll help me figure out how to do this, so for now I'm excited that I've gotten this far all by myself. Of course, there are no pictures here yet...so we'll see how far I get without calling for help!

Check back soon for the exciting details of our One Tank Trip vacation last week, as we toured our own Buckeye State - Ohio!