First Day Upon Transit

Rise and shine kiddies.  It's going to be a beautiful day. As you can see, the girls are not fans of the A.M. hours. Even Marli is high tailing it to the cave for more shut eye. Christopher on the other hand, he's usually the first one up, but the last one today- the coffee must not have been brewing yet.

So, Olivia, daddy, and I went over to the little kiddie area to have some sweet quiet time together. 

 

 I love the size comparison



My biggest fear. No, No, No! That's how mommy broke her arm and I won't allow her to complete that challenge because of my fear. I wouldn't allow Ariana and I won't with Livie either. Although, I'm sure Arianas' dad let her do it when I wasn't around. Am I wrong for not allowing her to be a kid?  



Ahh..more like it. Picking flowers for her mommy.  So sweet!



Liv is liking the plush green grass and her freedom to run without being told a million times to "stop running before you hurt yourself".  The reason for such concern for her is because this family is full of clumsiness!! Our sweet little girl is doomed!



We have discovered a new bug, insect whatever you want to call it.. the MAYFLIES! They resemble dragonflies but they're not as pretty. They love us so much that the boat is covered with them and I can't keep up with the removal of them all. We've been told that they are born from the water but I'm going to have to do my own research on that one... Ok, my research is complete and the story goes like this. There are about 2,500 species worldwide, including about 630 in North America. ( That's why I have never seen them before..they're not in Florida.) They are considered aquatic insects and their eggs are laid on the surface of lakes and then sink to the bottom. During their immature stage (nymph) they usually last about one year in fresh water. Unfortunately, their adult lifespan is much shorter, lasting only minutes to just a few days. Although the species where we are don't seem to make it more than a day, but they sure are active because their primary function is reproduction and they do it well. Visitors beware-the mayflies hatch during mid-June here in Toledo. 

Now that the kids are all awake and functioning, we're going into town to find a great place for lunch. While driving along N Summit St, Nanie spots a house that's creepy looking and now let their imaginations run wild. Our children have some crazy thoughts on what happens within those walls.




 Now back to the food subject..Any suggestions from the locals on where the best restaurant is?  Our choices are:  

Packo's 

It's a baseball fans dream location. This restaurant has just about any hot dog topping imaginable. And it's located conveniently across the street from the home team- The Mudhens.


        Blarney's Irish Pub

                                     
The winner is..Blarney's Irish Pub




The children are not big fans of hot dogs even though Joseph & I would have liked to have tried it. Now it's time to walk off all the yummy food.  During our walk downtown the kids spotted the creative bike racks that are everywhere.  They we're picking and choosing their favorites.  It reminded me of when I was a kid and would play a similar game, but mine was- that's my car..that's my car. I'm sure we all have played that one, but who really has the car that was their car when they were a kid?  You're probably to embarrassed to say what it is now.

Now it's time to relax and enjoy the peaceful evening. How can you not enjoy it when you have a beautiful night sky like

this.

No editing of color either..pure beauty.

As we say good night, the trains say good luck getting sleep. I feel like we live in the middle of Grand Central Station, but we're adjusting. We just have a different style of music now to help us get to sleep. 

Good Night Toledo!

Welcome Home Everybody

We have finally arrived at our new home at Toledo Yacht Club, after a long 22.5 hour car ride with crazy kids.  The kids couldn't wait to be free, but that was short lived because now the real fun begins..UNPACKING!! Ugh. 

We couldn't be happier to see TYC

That's our baby in the back

The anticipation is killing me.  The unknown on how the kids are going to like their new living arrangements is making me sick.  My biggest concern is Ariana (Nanie) because she has never experienced this way of life before.  Christopher & Rachel have already had a taste of this lifestyle years ago and they love it. I'm hoping Ariana is in agreement.

It looks like a YES for Popeye!! Pheww

Welcome to our new spacious playground. 

The Historic Toledo Yacht Club sits on the Maumee River at the western end of Lake Erie.  It is one of the oldest yacht clubs in North America.  TYC was founded in 1865 by two rowing clubs, the Undines and the Naiads and they soon began focusing on sailing.  In 1906 the club was completely destroyed including all the historic contents inside by a fire. In 1908, the new Toledo Yacht Club was completed and remains there till this day.  The club was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 1976.  

Upon our arrival, we had just missed Regan and the crew as they headed out for Put in Bay and the weekend long party for The Mills Trophy Race. 

Here is a little insight on what the race is about. In 1907, Commodore Merrill B. Mills inaugurated the annual Mills Trophy Race and presented the Toledo Yacht Club with a sterling silver punch bowl which was to encourage the proficiency of navigation by means of yachting upon the Great Lakes.   The race was discontinued in 1917 due to an unfortunate accident to a popular yachtsman and the influences of World War I.  Years later the Toledo Yacht Club re-establishes the races. 

Regan, Ed, Burt, all you guys and ladies -Martha, please add some personal stories and addition history to what I have so far. If any of what I have written is inaccurate please correct me..the internet isn't always right, so, I've been told.

Marli is LOVING her freedom

Freedom is exhausting 

A happy family makes a happy home

I'm loving the change in scenery and the beautiful sunset. This info is for us southerners who don't know, this sunset picture was taken during the 9 o'clock hour.  One last thought- Thank you Regan! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here. With that said, this concludes our first day on the "Transit"-soon to be Making Memories. 

Journey to Ohio

 So long Seminole, Fl and Hello, Toledo, Oh! Our farewell to family and friends ended on Wednesday, June 5.  Off we went, heading north through hours of rain to outrun the storm in the Gulf of Mexico. The journey with the entire family jammed in our Suburban like a can of sardines and a tow along U-Haul was an experience to say the least. Good thing we had an experienced driver (Joseph) behind the wheel to get us there in one piece.

Our personal chauffeur - Joseph

Mom enjoying the view of the Tennessee Mountains

Livie enjoying the summer breeze

Home of the Horses..Kentucky

The girls being silly and Christopher doing what he does best while in the truck..sleeping.  I think he might be a baby still because once the vehicle starts moving, he's out like a light. I believe he slept more during the car ride than Olivia.

A sign from above

Charming mountainside

Beautiful mountain sky

                                                I'm intrigued with quarries

Nanies' favorite building in Ohio but doesn't know what it is. Does anybody know?

     

Welcome to Ohio Maw Maw (Peggy)

                        Marli is exhausted with the long drive. She's probably dreaming that we are finally there.

Only another 4 hours to go. Thank God because the kids are going crazy!  We played a new car game- bingo with license plate numbers.  We have some cheaters in this vehicle, but Rachel won fair & square. Another game that got the best of Christopher was finding an airplane. We passed multiple airports driving through Ohio and never spotted an airplane. We didn't see one till several days later, by that time Christopher was annoyed with the game and didn't want to  mention planes anymore.