A (Very) Late Post: This post was written long after this trip was completed as I just didn’t have the energy to do it at the time we were travelling and after we returned home, I just frankly forgot to write it. So while I was scrolling through my photos recently (2024), I decided to make a quick post with the pictures from this awesome trip so Tony and I have something to look back on in the future. We saw so many amazing places, but more importantly visited so many friends and family that are very special to us. Miss y’all.

Part 1: Heading East (July 22 – August 9, 2022):

Denver, CO: Tofu was safely waiting for us at the Denver, CO airport long-term parking lot when we flew back from Arizona after a few weeks of R&R. We had a lovely visit with Tony’s Uncle Ruben, who lives in Denver. He shared a lot of family history with Tony and he was able to clear up some questions Tony had about his family. We also attended the Josh Groban concert at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. The concert was terrific in spite of the rain. We attempted to sleep in the parking lot in Tofu that night as there was such a long line to leave, but at 1:00 AM in the morning we were woken up by the dreaded door knock from the Park Ranger and told (in a not so friendly manner) to move on. We luckily found a Park and Ride not too far away, but by then we were awake and any chance of a good nights sleep was long gone.

Chicago, IL: After reprovisioning the van, we headed east with Chicago, IL in our sights. We were warmly welcomed back to Chicago with bumper-to-bumper traffic that we were all so familiar with as we lived in Chicago for over a decade. We secured a “campsite” in downtown Chicago that wasn’t really a campsite but the McCormick Place tour bus parking lot. It was expensive at $50/night but close to the downtown and really the only camping option in the city. There were numerous other RVs in the lot with us but on Day 2 the lot completely filled with huge tour buses…because it was Lollapalooza. Oh no! We visited our dear friend, Michael, whom I met in massage therapy school. We have spent so much time together over the years that we are really more family than friends at this point. We also visited with my cousin John and Valerie Stodden who live downtown. John and Val are our inspiration as they lead a life filled with family and so much travel and adventure. They are joy and positivity in human form. In addition, to our visits there were numerous walks along the lakefront, Brompton rides in the city and lots of just general reminiscing on our decade of living here. Chicago was both the same and different, but we most loved the walkability and vibrancy of city life in Chicago.

Fremont, OH: Pushing further east and sleeping at a campsite directly on the Ohio Turnpike (it really wasn’t that bad) we arrived in Tony’s hometown of Fremont, OH and at the home of his lifelong friends, Marc and Lisa. Their house is like the Disneyland for adults. Swimming pool, bikes, basketball hoops, golf hole with an actual green, frisbee golf, golf carts, trampolines, ATVs and more! We spent a few days at their house with them and their 2 boys playing, hiking, biking and just hanging out. They are some of our oldest and closest friends and we just plain love them. We were even greeted on arrival with a huge chalk drawing on their driveway in front of our designated parking spot. While in Fremont, we were also able to visit and clean-up the cemetery plots for both Kelly (Tony’s sister) and Bob (Tony’s Dad) which were quite overgrown. Lastly, we had a lovely coffee with Tony’s cousin, Anita and her husband, Mark, in downtown Fremont.

Marblehead, OH: Continuing to push further east, we stopped for a long overdue visit with my high school bestie, Nicole and her husband. They are both teachers and spend the summers in Marblehead, Ohio on their boat and they invited us to join them for the day. We spent the day catching up, had lunch on Kelly’s Island and even got a boat tour around Cedar Point, where Tony worked during the summers in college. Nicole and I hadn’t seen each other in 20(!?) years and that was far too long. She was exactly as I remembered, too.  We spent the night at the marina and we had one of the most peaceful nights of sleep we have had in a very long time. It must be that Lake Erie breeze. 😊

Cleveland, OH: Up next was my hometown of Strongsville, OH. We stayed at a Boondockers Welcome in Columbia Station and we spent several days exploring my old stomping grounds from walking around my old high school, spending time in my favorite public library (Middleburg Heights) although it was in a new building in a slightly different location, touring Berger Avenue where my grandmother used to live (I could barely find the house as they had cut down the giant pear tree in the backyard), driving by my old house and church, walking on the Lake Erie waterfront in Edgewater Park  and visiting 2 different cemeteries, one for my mom’s parents and the other for my Dad’s parents and siblings. We met one of my oldest childhood friends (we met in nursery school!), Julie and her husband, Tony, at Johnny Mango’s in Ohio City. Our lives have paralleled each other so much it was almost scary and we had a lovely evening laughing and catching up. She also has the travel bug so hopefully one day our paths will cross somewhere cool in the world. Our last visit was with my oldest, oldest childhood friend, Laura. Our mom’s were besties since we were little and our families grew up together. Laura was on vacation with her family during my time in Cleveland but we were able to squeeze in a coffee at Panera’s on the morning of our departure. Have you ever had a friend that you don’t talk to often, but as soon as you are face-to-face you just pick up where you left off and there is no weirdness? That is my friendship with Laura, who is one of my most favorite peeps on this earth. We also had an unexpected visit with my friend’s Brian and Diane who happened into Panera while we were there with Laura. I have known Diane since Kindergarten and Brian went to my church and I have known him since elementary school. True serendipity all around. I haven’t been back to my hometown in a long time and it was really nice to go “home” even though none of my family still lives there. There was a lot of familiarity but equally as much development and new construction. Time definitely marches on.

We continued to push east with a quick stop in Syracuse, NY before arriving in Burlington, VT. We spent a few days hiking, walking around the downtown area and just relaxing and doing some general errands. Vermont is a beautiful part of our country.

Up next is Part 2: Acadia National Park, Nova Scotia including Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island, Canada