Hello from chilly Ohio! We had a great week traveling northward toward one set of grandkids, despite Nathan coming down with a cold. We had some fun in Nashville, where we had a pleasant surprise, and in Dayton, where we finally visited a museum we’ve been trying to catch for years. Now all is grand, as in grandkids!

We spent a couple of nights in Nashville. This was our third visit to the city and it was pretty cold, so we didn’t have much planned. As we arrived, we immediately started to see the destruction from Winter Storm Fern from the week before. There were downed trees and branches and damaged power lines. We were hearning stories of people who were still without power or trapped in their neighborhoods a week after the storm hit. It was dramatic. We booked a show at Zanie’s Comedy Club based on the Nateland Podcast hosted by Nate Bargatze. We like his comedy and this was a compliation show of comedians from around the country doing 5-10 minute sets. It was really good and there were definitely some talented comics. Then at the end, the host announced that there was a surprise and out came…Nate Bergatze! He was working on some new material and had just won a Grammy the night before. He was very funny and we felt like we got a steal of a deal.

Then it was on to Dayton, Ohio. We almost always drive by Dayton on our way between Alex’s place and Lauren’s home, so we often consider stopping. It was the home of the Wright Brothers and there are some really good historical sites there relating to aviation. The problem is that the national park sites aren’t open on Mondays and Tuesdays and that’s usually when we are driving through. We purposely planned to be there on a Wednesday this time so we could check it out. However, we also thought we could catch the National Mueseum of the Air Force on Tuesday afternoon as a bonus. But, alas, not this time. It was closed due to the partial governmenet shutdown. We did get to visit the national park site, though, including the museum outlining the Wright Brothers’ history and the only one of their bicycle shops that’s still in tact. It was worth the wait and we will probably be back to see more sometime.

Now we are happily installed in Marietta, Ohio again and spending a portion of every day reading stories, building projects, and giving piggy back rides. It’s just perfect and we are soaking it up! Have a great week!

From the Big Easy to Music City

From the Big Easy to Music City

Hi! This is just a quick check in from the road. We spent the week on the move. We started in New Orleans, then we drove up through the Mississippi Delta on the Blues Highway. We stopped at lots of smaller places along the way to visit museums and check out the history of the blues and our country. Then we cut across to Alabama to visit Muscle Shoals to tour the recording studio and to see the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. Then from there it was north to Nashville, Tennessee. We are here to visit a friend (Adam Overacker) and to enjoy some more music. See you next week from an old classic, Marietta, Ohio. Hopefully I’ll have time this next week to fill in the details from a very eventful road trip! Enjoy your week!

Hello from…

Hello from…

…warm and sunny New Orleans, LA! We are here for a long weekend to enjoy the delicious food and lots of great jazz and blues. We will check in again next weekend from another city stop on our way back to the grandkids. Have a great week!

San Antonio and Padre Island

San Antonio and Padre Island

This week has been pretty quiet, so I thought I would give you the details on our mini trip to San Antonio from last weekend as well as answering some questions from you!