I spent the 15th through 25th in Ohio, and it was a great trip! It was so nice to be able to spend time with family and catch up with friends whom I have not seen in almost a year or more! I really enjoyed being able to devote time to "my" friends instead of trying to split the time with Grant's friends, as we usually have to do around the holidays when we are back in Ohio.
Anyway, my flight went smoothly and I landed in Detroit and headed to the car rentals. (First, I grabbed Hungry Howie's pizza for dinner in the airport...yum!!) Basically, I think I got ripped off because they recommended I upgrade to the next level car since the one I had reserved didn't have cruise. Well since I like my cruise and figured I'd be driving longer distances most of the time, I went ahead and upgraded. I ended up with a 2011 Ford Fusion, and I must admit that I really liked it! I've grown up having a negative association of Ford (thanks Dad & Mom...haha!), but I was actually impressed with this car. I finally made it "home" and visited with my mom, brother, and grandma for a bit. By the way, if you want to feel like you've completely wasted a day, take a 3 hour flight across country where you lose 2 hours due to the time change! I didn't eat lunch because my flight was during that time and when I got in Detroit, it was dinner time! Geesh!
The next day I went shopping with Mom, of course! :) And then I got to meet my niece Brianne!! Love her. :)
Sunday I had plans to go to Cedar Point for Halloweekends!!! I was so excited for this since it had been a couple of years since I had been to CP. I met up with
Christine and her friend there, and my brother and his friends also came along. It was fun to spend time with my brother and catch up with Christine also. We rode some fantastic rides and took some excellent pictures, as well.
Over the next few days, I visited with friends. I drove to Sandusky to see my favorite J-Bil and her boyfriend Jeremy (now Fiance!! Congrats!!) and see their new house that they are doing a great job "fixing-up." Jeremy cooked us an excellent dinner, and then we made our way to Tofts for ice cream...yummm!!
I drove down to Columbus to have dinner with Jenny and Laura, my friends from undergrad at Miami. We went to Champps restaurant and caught up on life. I don't think I'd seen either of them since Jenny's wedding in July 2009!
I had lunch with Wanda and Karli (Grant's mom and sister) and Brianne too! It was great to see Brianne again, and catch up with Wanda and Karli some more. Thursday evening, I met Lindsey for dinner at Chipotle and then we went shopping at Kohl's, which was fun of course!
Saturday was my cousin Beth's wedding! It was a fall themed wedding held at a park. Fall in Ohio is so nice! The trees were gorgeous, as was the Bride! It was fun to see some of my family I hadn't seen in a year and a half too!
Sunday I packed up most of my stuff since I had an early flight back to Idaho the next day. I was supposed to go over to my dad's to visit with him and my step-mom, but she ended up being sick, so we thought it was best I didn't catch it too! Come to find out, my dad took her to the hospital that night, and she was admitted for pneumonia. She stayed for over a week and it was pretty scary at times, but she fought through it and is doing much better now.
Monday morning I headed back to the airport and made it back to Boise with a pretty smooth trip! Seems strange to say, but I'll be back in Ohio for Christmas in just a couple of months!