The first day we drove from our home, just west of Minneapolis, to the suburbs of Chicago. We stayed the night there. After sleeping in a bit, packing up, and checking out we made our way over to Pirates' Cove. We had originally planned to go to the Legoland Discovery Center, but we changed our minds after reading many disappointing reviews on tripadvisor. We were happy with our decision, as depicted by the following pictures:
After a couple of hours of fun there we headed out and stopped for lunch at an Edwardo's Pizza Restaurant* along the way. We enjoyed our fabulously delicious lunch and then headed on to our next stopping point near Cleveland, Ohio. We enjoyed a good night's sleep and then headed over to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. We are currently members of the Minnesota Zoo which allowed us to get into the Cleveland Zoo at half price. Besides the location, which was a perfect next stopping point along our route, we also picked it because it had some animals we don't have at either of our local zoos. We got to see Australian animals such as kangaroos and koalas. Their zoo also had rhinos and elephants.
If you look closely you can see the joey in the mama's pouch.
After that adventure we were back on the road for the last leg of the journey. In the evening we made it to our destination city, Winchester, where we met up with my sister and her (at the time, soon to be) husband for a late dinner. After that we made it through the woods and curvy dirt roads all the way to my grandfather's house.
He was kind enough to let us stay with him for a few nights. It was great to visit with him, although it felt much too short. We had lots of things to do in town, in preparation for my sister's wedding. We had manicures and pedicures, a rehearsal dinner, and hair appointments. Then her big day came and it went wonderfully. It was a beautiful wedding:
The girls did a great job being flower girls!
My sister, Cassie, and her new husband, Dave.
After the ceremony it was time to celebrate!
I felt like I didn't get to see my dad much at all. Well, because honestly I hadn't. I got to sit near him at the rehearsal dinner, but that was about it. Fortunately, we were able to get together for breakfast the morning following the wedding. After our pancakes, eggs, and coffee we headed over to his new digs for a quick tour of the place. The Outer Banks of North Carolina were calling us, but of course we had to snap a few family photos first.
From left to right: my dad, my step-mother, my aunt, Miss Doodle, me, Bug, my niece, and my brother.
*Edwardo's makes, in my opinion the best pizza. Ever. Albeit likely to be the most calorie laden. It was so worth it. I still wish they hadn't closed their Bloomington location, over ten years ago.
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