Stops 1,2,3 & 4

Saturday morning started with some chilly wake-surfing --Chris' last chance for a few years. 

Chris & I left Crownsville at 9:10am on Saturday morning. It was difficult leaving the state I grew up in, and there were some tears shed, but we know that God has great things in store for us and lots of adventures await us. 

We are several stops into our cross-country road trip. I'll catch you up real quick. 

Stop # 1: Dave & Becca's wedding--Wilkes-Barre, PA

The Road Trip started off with a stop in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Chris' Naval Academy buddy, Dave Setyon got married. Chris was in the sword arch, along with another buddy Joe Le. The wedding was beautiful and the reception lots of fun. It was neat for us to go to a wedding already being married.Quotable quote of the day--as we were walking through the town to get lunch, Chris and Joe in their uniforms, this wizened old lady with thick glasses said to me, "You better take care of him, young lady, or I'll get the paddle out!" 

We laughed for a while after that one. 

That night we drove a few hours and stopped in middle of nowhere, PA at a wonderful Comfort Inn where we got a great deal on a room with a  king size bed and a jacuzzi.

Stop #2: The Bray's--Wilmington, OH

On Sunday morning, we got up and drove about 5 hours to the Bray's- friends of my family with 11 amazing kids. Most of the fam was there and we had a great time chatting, hanging out, drinking wine and jumping on the trampoline to get some pent-up energy out. 

Stop #3: Johnston family-- Cincinnati, Ohio 

After another hour's drive, we got to Cincinnati, where we got to visit with my mom's side of the family. It was great to get the chance to introduce Chris to the family since they couldn't make it down to our wedding. We ate lots of food, drank some beers, showed them our weddings pics and got soundly beat in a few games of cornhole. 

We spent the night at Uncle Glen & Aunt Ret's house. It was like going back to my grandparents house and I was flooded with childhood memories when we walked into the door. 

We left Monday morning and headed toward Stop #4.

Stop #4: Drew & Lindsey's house, St. Louis, MO

We are now in St. Louis, MO. After driving through a blinding thunder & hail storm and having to pull off the road for a bit, we got in last night (Monday night), had a delicious dinner and drank some yummy wine. This morning, Chris and I got up and headed out for a day of St. Louis sightseeing. Drew & Linds were busy with school and work so we were on our own. Of course, we were accompanied by our handy GPS (Mandy) who is getting us through this road trip. 

The morning started off with a stop at the City Museum, by far the coolest museum ever. Drew accurately described it as " Mcdonald's playplace on crack"  It is basically three floors of tunnels, slides and crawling spaces made out of old parts of buildings from St. Louis. Chris and I had a blast crawling around, climbing and sliding down three story tall slides. Chris even climbed in a tube made of metal rebar about 60 feet in the air. I stayed at a safer height and took pictures! 

Next in the day's agenda was lunch. We stopped and grabbed a pizza and had a picnic under the St. Louis arch. We went into the arch museum and inquired if they had a military discount. We had both been in the arch before and neither of us felt the need to spend $30 to see it again. They told us that they did not have a military discount, but as we went to walk away a woman who worked there came up to us and offered to pay for us to go into the arch. We declined a few times, but she insisted. She said that her son was in the Army for 7 years and she was so thankful for what people had done for him because he was in the military. So, she used her national park discount and paid for the two of us to go up into the arch. It was such a kind gesture and it was a fun way to end the afternoon. 

We will be in St. Louis for a few days and our next stop is to be determined!  Thanks for stopping in! We miss you all and love you dearly!