Our first stop in Columbus was at Graeter’s Ice Cream, Colleen’s favorite ice cream place where we all had ice cream for lunch and watched them make ice cream in the factory

Next stop was Trader Joe’s for groceries and then we met up with Susan at Udi Pie, Colleen’s favorite Indian restaurant. Kurtis wasn’t feeling well so he stayed home and we missed him but it was nice to see and eat with Susan.

Our home in Columbus is on Kelso Avenue with Colleen and Mike!

We pitch our tent in our usual spot in their backyard and enjoy their hospitality. Colleen took off a day from work and spent it with us at Highbanks Metro Park…

…where we fished in the stream for critters

Jakobi & Ambiana with their nets! We had a picnic lunch, played hide and seek in the playground and went for a nice run on the trails and even saw an Adena Indian Burial Mound.  Back on Kelso Avenue Colleen and Mike made us a yummy pizza meal and then saw us off on our way to Kentucky and Mammoth Cave National Park.

We arrived at my cousin Kim’s house on a rainy Monday morning and spent a relaxing day with her and Lucy and Sam and my cousin Beth daughter Kendalyn. Ambiana and Jakobi LOVED the basement playroom full of all kinds of toys that light up and make noise. Zach came home from HIGH SCHOOL (He’s 15!!!!)  at 3pm and Brian got home at 6:30pm and we enjoyed a yummy dinner with them and then bedded down in that basement playroom for the night.

Ambiana and Lucy playing with paper dolls

Sammy, Lucy, Ambiana, Jakobi and Kendalyn

On Tuesday we headed downtown to the Great Lakes Science Center for the morning. It is on the Lake Erie waterfront right between the football stadium and the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. We get in free with our C.O.S.I. membership.

There was a great exhibit about the new NASA space program Constellation which replaces the Space Shuttle and is designed for a lunar mission. There was an actual Apollo capsule on display which was cool to see.

After lunch we headed over to my Uncle Dick & Aunt Elaine’s to see my Poppa who came to town to see us.

After a yummy spaghetti dinner at Kim’s, Brian and I headed downtown to watch the Indians play the Red Sox.It was my first visit to the not so new anymore Indian’s baseball stadium. It was a cold (37 degrees) but beautiful clear nice sunset evening for baseball. Only 9,000 of the 42,000 seats were filled for the game. Our seats were high above home plate.

YOUUUUUK!

Moch at the game!

Denise and Brian Maruna joined us for the game, that’s Kim’s husband Brian, my cousin-in-law, behind them.

The Sox lost 3-1 but with good friends and family there who cares.

Everyone gathers on the steps on Wednesday morning to see us off to Columbus Ohio.