August 2, 2015 Tennessee, Home!

2319-After a good night's sleep, I collected the stank Keens from the balcony. Admittedly, our hotel last night was a little long in the tooth, but it had a balcony so the Keens didn't have to live in my air! We took to the streets of Knoxville before breakfast and went on Cube hunt. With a little internet research, I learned that the World's largest Rubik's cube lives in the lobby of the Knoxville Holiday Inn.

Knoxville has big balls.  Technically, this is called the Sun Sphere and it was built in 1982 as part of the world's fair. It's round. It's gold. It makes me want to listen to the BeeGees and watch Saturday Night Fever..

Back to Market Square for brunch (I love this place!). We ate at THE BEST RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD (Blue Coast Bar and Grill). Stay tuned, you'll learn why in a minute.

Mile 2367- Cheap gas stop at Love's. I can't find my purse. That would be because it is back at the best restaurant in Knoxville.
I forget my stuff. It's probably the thing John loves most about me. He likes to show his love by pretending he's exasperated. He's such a card! A quick call to Blue Coast Grill and they agree to use the money in my purse to pay for an overnight trip on a UPS van.  They were so nice and helpful.  Robert the manager told me he was even going to enclose some coupons just in case I ever come to Knoxville again. Isn't that the sweetest? The food really is good so you should definitely go there if you are in the neighborhood!

Mile 2498- Nothing feels as good as home! I can't wait to tell Kroger Myles how superior our Kroger is compared to Detroit Kroger. I can never un-see that messy mess. Y'all, I saw 2 pounds of turkey and some shredded cheese hanging out with the bagged ice and a parking lot littered with carts. Kroger Myles would've never let that happen.

Things I've learned
-There is a direct relationship between wine intake and hours in the car with 3 children.
-Thomas is incapable of being quiet or still. Unless he is asleep. Which can happen anytime,   anywhere.
-When you have friends like Allison Gruehn who drop car activities by your house the day before you leave, you are a lucky girl!
-Satellite radio is good and bad. You can listen to Jam On 24/7 anywhere in the US. But, you can listen to Jam On 24/7 anywhere in the US. Hippie husband do love himself some Jam On.
-10 days is probably the perfect amount of days to be on the road. While days 11 and 12 yielded some  fun experiences, the parental nerves were shot and fuses short.
-If your kid acts like lunatics for 3 hours in the car, they will undoubtedly fall asleep 5 minutes  before you pull into the driveway.

 20 states down only 30 to go! See you next year!

August 1, 2015 (Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee)

We slept late this morning out of necessity. Somebody is gonna get cut if we don't get some sleep. By the time we got out of the hotel, it was 11:00 and that was just in time for Skyline Chili for brunch! This Greek guy opened this chili joint overlooking Cincinnati back in 1949 and it is kind of a big deal around here. The kids loved it! I would call it enjoyable, but I am a little concerned about being cooped up in the car with these yahoos after Chili Binge 2015.

Mile 1972- William Howard Taft Home- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Snooze-fest. This stop was about as exciting as his presidency. We DID learn that the part of the property that housed the gardens was sold to make room for the state juvenile delinquency facility. When I asked Park Ranger Paula why it was so blasted hot in the welcome center, she told me it was because someone had stolen the air conditioner. I can't be certain that there might be a link to Juvie, but I have a hunch. The neighborhood has gone down hill since Willy left for Washington. He never came back because he was appointed as Chief Justice after his presidency. The only man ever to do both....I guess I did learn something!

The B-team from park ranger school was sent to man the Taft home. But fortunately for us, Cat Purse Lady was also there to ask lots of questions. 

But, fear not. Redemption is on the way...

Mile 1976.8- American Sign Museum

You know I will always say YES to NOstalgia!  This wonderful warehouse is home to a vast collection of signage from the last 200 years. It was a blinky, neon, whirly wonderland! You should definitely stop if you are in the neighborhood.

Ho Jo!

The most friendly bowling pin in all of Cincinnati, if not the world.

A reminder of breakfast. Like I needed a reminder.

We are blowing this popsicle stand, road weary and headed to Kentucky. 

Mile 2061.8- Lexington- Our original plan was to tour a horse farm or something, but we arrived too late and the kids were driving us up the wall. We changed our hotel reservation and we are motoring on to Knoxville. We did a quick drive by of the University of Kentucky and the down town area. It looks like a cute place. A cute place to come without your children. Do you even know how many distillery tours we passed up on this trip? And we would've gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids!

2082-We find a Walmart with a Red Box. We have double watched all of the movies I brought and I have got to plug these kids into something so we can have some quiet. Before you get all judgy, we have had hours of meaningful conversation over the last 11 days of togetherness.  I got them Black Beauty at the RedBox and we are in horse country so we'll call it contextual learning. I have a message for you from the middle of no where Kentucky. They wanted me to tell you, "The people of our Wal-Mart look just like the  people of your Wal-Mart, just don't go counting teeth."

Mile 2159- From the mouth of Master Thomas. "Can we go to Marietta today? I like hotels, but I don't like museums."

Mile 2317- KnoxVegas- This was a very last minute itinerary change. I have two memories of Knoxville.  One was when I came to a game in college. It was 30 degrees and I was on the toppest, backest row in the stadium. The only thing standing between me and a fall to my death was a biting wind and chilling rain. The second memory was when John and I chaperoned an elementary choir tour before we had Charlotte.  And, The Vols. They're not my favorite. But, I could tell that divine intervention met me in Knoxville to soften my cold, black heart. Do you know what view I have from our room?

This one...

Yes, friends. Peering over the trees is THE LARGEST BASKETBALL IN THE WORLD!!!! It weighs 10 tons and is 30 feet tall!!

We rode the trolley from our hotel downtown to Market Square. There was a play going on, and street musicians, and cool art installations. My favorite was this one.

Big Ol' Pram fashioned from a vintage camper!

We grabbed dinner at Not Watson's where Thomas decided he needed to accessorize and wore his napkin like an ascot.

Fashion risk, mais oui!

It was a swell night and a great way to recharge our batteries. On the ride back to the hotel we had the trolley to ourselves. The girls were singing and making up songs and being so carefree. I am making a promise to myself that I am going to bottle some of this carefree vibe. I just have to remember to open it up and let a little out during the school year. I will not be a slave to the routine!

We may have to explore a little more of Knoxville tomorrow before we head home. I've heard the world's largest Rubik's Cube lives here....

July 31, 2015 (Cleveland then Cincinnati, Ohio)

Mile 1593- We started our day at the The Christmas Story House! Fully restored and open to the public! Our tour guide was pretty obsessed with the movie and provided extreme detail about bites from apples on teachers desks?? Although the house is from the movie, all of the furniture, etc is replica so you can play with it! I thought we'd never pry that Red Rider BB Gun from Thomas' hands. One of the most interesting things I learned is that for $5800 you can actually rent the house and spend Christmas Eve there! Dan Dixon, I think I know what Meredith wants for Christmas...

Christmas in July!

I'LL SHOOT MY EYE OUT!!!

I triple dog dare you!

Mile 1595.3
After the tour we headed back downtown. John went on a Brew Tour of Great Lakes Brewery, and the children and I went to check out The West Side Market to grab lunch. I would have claimed that I got the short end of the stick, but the Market is uber cool. It is housed in this huge building that was opened to the public in 1912 and houses over 100 vendor booths. Also fun, buying random food and watching the kids try it. Tamales, asian chicken satay and Cannolis were a big hit. Stuffed grape leaves didn't yield the same positive feedback.

Come to mama

We met John after his brew tour and headed to our next stop. The Cemetery, Oooooo-ooooo.

Mile 1599.6 Lakeview Cemetery is the permanent dirt home to our 20th president, James Garfield. I didn't realize he was one of only 4 presidents to be assassinated. 

There is a mosaic devoted to each of the 13 original colonies. This is the one for Georgia. They used the Arch in Athens as inspiration. Go Dawgs!

The monument has a very religious feel, Garfield was the only president who was a preacher

 We are headed to Cincinnati. It is quite a haul from  Cleveland, but we bought a copy of The Christmas Story DVD, so the kids will be entertained. And, there may be a few unplanned stops. Like......

1746.6- Big Field of concrete corn on the cob (aka, Cornhenge)  in the booming metropolis of Dublin, Ohio! There are 102 of those suckers. And, do you know where they were cast? Georgia! Go Dawgs!

Mr. Bullington had a treat for me! When I got in the car from the cement corn art park, he said he had a surprise destination. I love that man. With the help of Roadside America.com. He'd found a random field of rusty old horse statues on the side of a rural route not far from where we were. I think I've got a convert!

Mile 1955- We discover at a potty stop right outside of Cincinnati that Mae has failed to tell us that she spilled half of a huge container of trail mix in the back of the car and the chocolate melted all over the seats (We've had the car a month) Consequently, we also discover at this stop that Mr. Bullington's threshold for road trip tolerance is 10 days.

Mile 1970- Cincinnati, Ohio- We are staying downtown in a Renaissance Hotel that was once the historic Bartlett building, built in 1901. We arrive late because of concrete corn, rusty horses, and chocolate melted into leather. 

quick nap during check-in

They love to sit in the hotel windows and look at the view

The kids are again expecting to be fed. We walked a couple of blocks to a mexican restaurant called Nada. I suddenly realized that everyone in Cincinnati is beautiful and dressed to the nines. I looked down and remembered that I am sporting 10 days of road funk, flip flops, unwashed hair, and 3 tired and unkept children.  Some guy from ESPN was eating in the restaurant with us, he drew a crowd, but I have no idea who he was. Apparently, he played for Florida back in the day. We were dining outside and had some table side excitement. In recent days there has been a bit of unrest popup in Cincinnati. I read about it a few days in the NYT but it seemed like it had been handled appropriately. At about 10:00 sirens sound and a huge mob of police escorted protesters march in front of us. It was peaceful but the first protest of that size I had ever seen. It did give us some good dinner conversation with the kids about the right to protest and excessive force. Always an education on the road.

I wish we could stay, but we Mustache.

Lord help.

July 30, 2015 (Ohio)

We woke up again with the birds this morning in order to make it to Sandusky, Ohio. There has been quite a bit of build-up leading to this next destination. Today, we visit the ROLLER COASTER CAPITOL OF THE WORLD!! WEEEEE! But first, I drank an entire pot of coffee and fell asleep immediately when I got in the car. I rode for two hours with mouth agape and drool soaking into my neck pillow. I am that tired.

Mile 1557-Cedar Point is situated on the banks of Lake Erie. It is the second oldest amusement park in the U.S., it features a world-record, 72-ride menu from which to choose. It is the only amusement park in the world with four roller coasters taller than 200 ft!

Roller Coaster pose. Or, bank robbery pose.

Cedar Point is a lot like most amusement parks. No, I would NOT like you to guess my age or my weight. That's between me and Jesus.

But, it is set in a beautiful location, meticulously clean and beautifully landscaped. The food is over-priced and the people watching is epic.
Mr. Bullington and Charlotte got the fast pass so they could cut in line. Not sure what message this is sending, but they wanted to maximize coaster time since we were only going to be there one day.

The little Bullington's and I rode this in memory of Aunt Lindsay's lunch at Lake Winnie in the late '90s. We managed to hold on to our vittles. 

I hung with the younger two. Thomas' courage did not quite match his height in inches so he was a bit of a grump and kept reminding the workers that he was  "NOT A BABY!"

Barf.

This is more our speed

View of Lake Erie from the Ferris Wheel or the Ferrosel as Thomas calls it.

T and his new best friend Owen that he met in line and invited his family to eat lunch with us :/

I caught Thomas demonstrating his new warrior technique to his random friend. He calls it Dance-fighting. It's when you use some rocking dance moves to distract/wound your opponent. Imagine "the sprinkler" to the head. You really have to witness it...

Could I get three of these to go?

Dare Devil Daddy Daughter Duo

Cedar Point was a hot day in the sun and a hit with the kids,  now we are headed to Cleveland. Mr. Bullington sleeps this leg while I pound Red Bulls. We are in survival mode up in here.

Mile 1589.4- Cleveland, Ohio.

All I can say is Wow. I am not sure if Cleveland shines a little brighter because I still have the after taste of Detroit in my mouth, but Cleveland Rocks!

It doesn't hurt that the Marriott points afforded us a Marriott suite in a historic hotel downtown. I actually have a real live door between the kids and the parent sleeping quarters! This current Marriott was historically the The Colonial Motel. It was built in 1890 and still has many historic features. During renovation of this building, they opened up the arcades (kind of like shopping hallways that run through the block.) John D. Rockefeller funded the original arcades and Cleveland's restoration efforts have reclaimed them. 

Ring. Hello, Detroit? This is Cleveland. Sarah asked me to call you to see if you wanted a consult?

A little much needed wiggle room

Cute little door knocker with a cute little door knocker

We figured that after a blazing-hot day at an amusement park the kids would be up for a brisk walk and a nice dinner out. We shoved them full of cotton candy at day's end in hopes that we would maintain glucose levels through dinner.  And, we had a little surprise up our sleeves....

WORLD'S LARGEST OUTDOOR CHANDELIER!!!  She's a beaut! This is located in Cleveland's vibrant theater district.

But, Cleveland. What a big Chandelier you have....

We strolled among the beautiful buildings and finally landed at The Green House Tavern. It's proprietor won the James Beard award and it was delicious. The kids drank sarsaparilla out of bottles and pretended it was beer....precious little imps. It was a really cool space with a vast library of VHS tapes on hand. You could even pick a vidia-tape to play on the VCR behind the bar. Someone had picked out High Fidelity with John Cusak. Fortunately, the kids had their back to the TV so they missed out on the racy scenes.

Green House Tavern

If you build it, they will come.

Looking forward to exploring more of Cleveland tomorrow!