Short Strange Trip

Sorry I am so late in getting this posted....We needed to figure out how to get my pictures off of my phone and into the computer!

And, now that the pictures are in here, I can't freaking find them.  (my last phone update took away the super easy way to get pics off, and now I have to use the "drop box" program, then put them on my hard drive, instead of directly into a convenient folder in "my pictures," and move them one by one into said folder.  The folder I just created is gone, or is somewhere that I did not put it, i.e. documents, my pictures, vacation 2014.)

So. Shit.

Anyway....From 5/16-5/24, we were on a crazy fast trip around the central part of the country.

Our plan started out that we were going to take 2 weeks and go to far more places, but then we pared it down because the BIG trip would have been WAY too expensive, and tax refund money is finite!!

So what we did was head to Memphis, in the meantime, baby...but just for a lay over.  Our Radio Paradise friend John let us crash at his house, and since he is a tour guide in the city, he gave us a down and dirty street tour.  It was great to meet John, whose birthday is the same date as mine, for the first time.

We had some awesome barbecue, and then drove around.  Saw the Lorraine Motel, drove by SUN studios, and the Peabody.  Saw Beale Street from a distance.  Stopped at the Memphis Brewey and had some craft beers and explored the old building that they are trying to get someone to buy to restore and make into a brewery again.

That was about it, though.  We were in Memphis for 11 hours.

NOT long enough.  I actually cried the next morning because there I was, FINALLY in Memphis, and we had to leave already.

We WILL go back with Memphis as a destination, not merely as a place to sleep.

Then, in the pouring cold rain, onward up to Lexington, KY to meet more Radio Paradise people for a craft beer before moving on.

Nice to meet Alison and Allan, and to see Rebecca again.  We were asked to transport craft beer to our next meetup stop in Cleveland.

Since Cleveland was way longer of a drive from Memphis than Dave originally thought, we stopped for the night and paid for a hotel room outside of Cincinnati Saturday night.

Then the next day, onward to Cleveland, where we met friends at the Rock and Roll hall of fame and museum.

Beth and Steve, our hosts, met us there, as did Mike and his wife, and Kurt and his wife.  All of these people are on line friends from Radio Paradise whom we had never met before, so it was really cool.

I am not sure how to express my experience of the Rock Hall, as the locals call it.  It's clearly a museum of our generation's history, and as such, a little creepy and odd, while at the same time exhilarating and wonderful.

I was blown away by it, myself.

Maybe it's a good thing I can't get to my pictures yet....there are a LOT from the Rock Hall.

Beth and Steve fed us and put us up, and the next morning, onward to Chicago.  But first, a stop to buy Yuengling beer to take to my sister and brother in law.  At this point, I started calling this trip The Beer Runners Tour.

Most of the way across Michigan, we stopped at a brewery to sample more craft beer.  We didn't buy any to transport this time, but we did pick up a six pack of Oberon for our friends in Missouri.

Arrived in Naperville IL  around supper time on Monday, and went out for Chicago style pizza.  Let the fattening commence!

We spent 3 days at home with my sister and brother in law.

Tuesday was just an easy day with meeting friends for meals (lunch at Portillos, and dinner at Greek Islands), and going around seeing old sights from my youth, which included a visit to the cemetery and the church.  Oh, and a brewery visit (they only sold growlers, though...nothing we could transport home), and a trip to Binny's to buy Greek wine and local craft beers.

Wednesday was breakfast at Juicy O, and then the Cubs/Yankees game.  It was very hot, and the sun was relentless, but it was fun.  And yes, they lost.  Hot dogs, beers, and frosty malts!!  Peanuts and twizzlers!!

Thursday was a quick trip downtown to get lunch and a beer with another friend at the Berghoff, and to visit Russian Tea Time and the "bean."

Thursday night was my only chance to see everyone in the family, and almost everyone was able to make it. My sister and I cooked up a feast of pulled pork, potato salad, deviled eggs, home made guacamole, and we just stayed home and had everyone over.  It was wonderful!

My nephew works at yet a different brewing company, and we enjoyed some of that beer, too.  We had hoped to go to their restaurant for our family night, but this was better, I think.

Then the obligatory trip to the local dive bar, "The Squirrel Cage" for really bad beer and shots of Malort....a hideously bitter liqueur that is only found in Chicagoland.

Said good bye to everyone, including my brother in law who had to work on Friday.

Friday morning, we didn't rush to get up early or anything.  Said good bye to the pets (the dog has since passed away), took my sister out for breakfast at Juicy O again, and then headed on to central Missouri.

In Missouri, we stayed with the friends who put us up the first night of the moving trip. It was good to see them again under less stressful circumstances, and in their new, much better home.

They are also Radio Paradise friends.  Who had a really good local craft brewed beer in a "kegerator" in their house.  I am not sure they appreciated our gift of beer purchased in Michigan as our thank you gift for letting us stay with them again!!

We departed their house, again in the driving rain, on Saturday morning.

Arrived back here at about 7 pm on Saturday.  Tired, but happy, with beer from my nephew's brewing company, thus completing the Beer Runners Tour.

My friend Julie house sat for us, and that worked out GREAT!  We worked together at my last job, and then she came over to work where I work now, so we are co workers again.

She needed a break from her troubled teenage daughter, and so being able to just live in our house and commute to work from here was like a vacation for her.

The daughter also got a week break from mom, and just hung out with dad, so it was good for everyone.

It also made it so that the cats were less traumatized because they weren't alone for all that time, with only a daily visit from a human.  It was wonderful to come home and not have Jack mad at me!!

We had Sunday of Memorial day weekend to get our grocery shopping and errands done, and Memorial day, we went to a movie and the Paseo art festival, where we got rained on.

All in all, a very busy, but very good vacation!!  And, with all of that beer and Chicago food, I only gained 2 pounds!  Miraculous! (I gained 7 when we went last time, and stayed longer, and ate way more!!)

Including the vacation, Dave was away from home for 3 weeks, due to two weeks of travel for work before we left town.  I think he's glad to be home.

If I can figure out where the pictures are, I'll post them separately.