8/11 - flew from SF to Philadelphia. Quick stop - just enough time to enjoy a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. OK - it may not be the 'real' thing that is out there in the city, but with only an hour, we had to make due. Important thing? It was delicious.
Then from Philly we flew into Syracuse, New York. It was already 10pm, so the entire day was gone. My in-laws picked us up from the airport and we called it a night at the hotel.
8/12 - Syracuse to Sacket's Harbor to meet up with family and have lunch. We ate at this wonderful place called Tin Pan Galley. If you happen to go there, try the BBQ pork with sweet corn pancakes. Delicious! After lunch, we walked around a little bit to take in the town, and then we headed to the 1000 Islands.
Most of the family live in the major cities, but they have these wonderful lake front cottages they stay at on the weekends/summer - so we spent most of our days at the cottages. We stayed at this bed and breakfast called The Chateau. It's a very old building, and while the proprietor there was very nice - all I can say about it is that there were spiders everywhere! Anyone who knows me, knows that I am terrified, TERRIFIED, of spiders. First night we were there, my hubby killed 10 spiders in our room. I am not exaggerating. I counted. And these things were the size of nickels. It was quite ridiculous. I didn't sleep all night.
8/13 - Went over to cousin Jim and Sue's cottage for the day. They have a boat, and as more family members arrived, a couple of us went out on Jim's boat for some tubing. I have never done this before. Let me tell you, I only lasted a few minutes, and my arms were so tired, I'm lucky I didn't get flung off the tube. For the next 5 days, I couldn't lift my arms, they were so sore. Anyway, back to the cottage for a casual reunion celebration - complete with cake for all the August birthdays (including me)! Everyone was having a fabulous time - getting to know each other, reliving old family memories. It was a very special day.
Later that afternoon, we went out on another boat to do some fishing. I like fishing - I can do the bait and everything, but I just can't get the fish off the hook. Jim says he hadn't taken that boat out for a few weeks - and I believed him. At one point, I was hopping onto a bench screaming while three people were trying to maneuver on this little boat to kill a 1/2 dollar sized spider for me. Disgusting. Funny sight, but disgusting.
Anyway, all I can say is, to all you fisherman out there, don't underestimate the power of the worm. Jim and Doug, both fishermen, used their special bait - and I used the icky, squirmy worms. I caught 10 fish! They were small Perch, so they were thrown back, but I caught them. They were biting before the hook touched the bottom. It was awesome. Poor Jim, never really got a chance to fish, because almost every time I let my hook down, I was already reeling it in before he even had a chance to pick up his own fishing rod.
Back at the cottage, we had a casual dinner of sandwiches. Said goodbye to some cousins and ended our evening back at our B&B killing more spiders.
8/14 - Happy Birthday to my father-in-law! Dropped the parents off with our uncle and aunt for Bridge day. The rest of us went sightseeing around the 1000 Islands area. First stop was a barn/garage sale. Would you believe what I found? This cup! I had this exact same cup back when I was a toddler. I totally remember it. I couldn't believe someone was selling my cup on the other side of the states. It was very surreal. I didn't buy it, but it sure brought back lot of memories.
Next stop, Alexandria Bay. It's a cute little waterfront tourist area. Very much like SF's Fisherman's Wharf, only much cleaner and not fishy smelling. It definitely had its share of tourist shops. From the dock of Alex Bay, you can see Heart Island - and sitting regally in the middle of it, Boldt Castle. A very brief history of the castle goes like this... George Boldt was building this castle for his wife Louise. She died when it was about 90% finished. The day she died was the day the construction was halted. George never returned to the island. It's very sad. There are heart motifs everywhere. I don't know if he was the one who name the island, Heart Island.
We then headed over to Clayton. Beautiful little town. Brick facade buildings, cobblestone streets - it's very cute. Most stores were closed by the time we got there though - so we headed back to Jim and Sue's cottage. Jim took us out on his boat for a mini tour of the islands. It saw many restored Victorian homes, quaint little cottages, and others that can only be described as mansions. The sunset was coming soon, and the sky was on fire with the most beautiful colors of orange imaginable.
As the night progressed, the sky went from orange to bright pink. Words cannot describe it, so I'll just let the picture speak for itself.
8/15 - Left the 1000 Islands, headed to Buffalo and to the Niagara Falls. If you have been there, you know that the Falls are amazing. The power of the water as it plunges down, creating a mist so thick that you can't even see the back end of, what they call, the Horseshoe. We rode the Maid of the Mist to get as close as possible to the Falls. What an incredible feeling.
8/16 - Said good-bye to my in-laws as they headed back to SF. My hubby and I got a rental car and headed towards Cleveland, Ohio. The first quest was to find a White Castle. I have heard about these little burgers for so long, and darn it - there aren't any on the West Coast. Finally we found one in Cleveland. We were so happy. They were delicious!
While we were in Cleveland, we also stopped by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Wow - if you love rock & roll history, then this place needs to be on your places to see list. It's incredible how much memorabilia they have. From Jimmy Hendrix's childhood drawings to Britney Spears' latest tour costumes - they've got it. You're not allowed to take pictures beyond the main floor, so all I could really get were the cars - which I don't recognize from anywhere - and I couldn't find a description plaque.
After that - we headed to our final destination - Sandusky. Home to the Cedar Point Amusement Park. The park was our agenda for the next day, so we drove around and found this store called Meijer's.
Let me tell you - Meijer's is an incredible store. Just picture Target, Home Depot, Michael's Arts & Crafts, Petco, Sportsmart, Safeway, and a mini Blockbuster - all under one roof. I kid you not. This store was amazing. I never take pictures like this - but I couldn't resist.
8/17 - Cedar Point! This was the best park I have ever been to, if only for two rides there - Top Thrill Dragster and the Millenium Force coasters.
Both are incredible. Top Thrill Dragster blasts you 120 mph straight up a 420 feet tower, and you come back straight down. The ride is about 17 seconds. The line for the ride was over an hour and half. See in the picture, the train is actually on it's way down on the left side of the tower.
Millenium Force has a 310 ft drop. Also has a line of about 90 minutes, but was worth it.
After 11 hours of waiting in line and screaming at the top of our lungs, my hubby and I said our farewells to Cedar Point.
8/18 - The journey home. We drove back to Cleveland and from there flew to Denver and then SF. Somewhere over Denver, I happened to look out the plane window and the noticed how the fields were shaped. It was very unusual - the squares and circles. The different colors. It was almost like a work of art laid out below.
So, that, in a nutshell, was my week.
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