Reilly

Alright this is a special post for my cousin Reilly. I showed him Photoshop and he asked me to do this one special for him! Staying with everyone here has been amazing and I am NOT ready to leave yet!!!

Deep Fried and Beer Battered

It looks like Ryan has already told you all about the amazing time we had at the Wisconsin State Fair so I won't go through all that again, but I will give you some pictures of all the fun:

So much on a stick!!!!

Baby Animals!

Ryan enjoying his cheeseburger of death.

And you never leave without a cream puff - it might be a state requirement.

Also, for those of you that know me, you know I am not a beer girl (I love my Harpoon Cider too much!), but I have to say  Milwaukee has converted me at least for a little while. Ryan and I had some Miller yesterday, and whether it was the freshness, the state fair air, or the stomach full of deep fried concoctions I thought it was delicious. In fact I think a brewery tour just might be in order today so we can find out if this is going to stick.

State Fair!!!

Three words: Wisconsin State Fair! I have never in my life experienced the pure awesomeness that is a state fair like this! There was so much to do and so much to eat as well! I had a burger that I'm pretty sure took a few years off my lifespan: krispy kreme bun, burger patty, with chocolate covered bacon on it. DELICIOUS! That and the fried butter were amazing... But nothing compares to the creme puffs!

Now, I've been privileged enough to have a mother that loves to bake and I have experienced creme puffs before, but not on this scale (Sorry mom!) The assembly line churned out these little bits of heaven right in front of us, and not only was it entertaining to watch, they were entertaining to eat! Kyle suggested I try the top part of the puff as a chip and the creme as salsa approach which worked well! I didn't end up with whipped cream all over my face like I thought i would.

Jenn and I also discovered a new musical artist which we will be listening to on the rest of our road trip. His name was Pat McCurdy, and he is pure awesome. Not only does he rock out, but he improvs and gets the crowd involved in great ways! We bought one of his CD's tonight and I suggest all of you check him out!

That's all for now, so much done and yet so much more to do!

The Midwest!

Wow, I can't believe this is only the first week of the trip. Going through my pictures trying to decide what to post is getting hard already! So much adventure packed into such a short amount of time! Right now we are staying with my family and are going to the Wisconsin state fair today, I've never been to a state fair so I'm excited for the experience (and the fried butter)! Some pictures below!



To the left is a view of Wisconsin from the road, beautiful country! Below is a picture of the water from Picture Rock, if you ever get a chance to go there, take it!
















This is just an abandoned shack in Canada, and below is Jenn and Paul Bunyan!


















Here's another view of picture rock.

Hippin Zippin Pippin (Is it Rippin Steph?)

Okay East Coasters it’s time for some learning! Also, as I typed this out I realized this week was a lot about fire.

Fact of the Week: The man who invented fire hydrants, which have saved hundreds of buildings and homes from being destroyed, had a factory to produce fire hydrants. Ironically, it burned to the ground. We saw what was left of the crumbling foundation!

Question of the Week:  Can you name the place in the US that was destroyed by fire in mere hours, including a thousand foot fire tornado, late at night on October 8, 1871? (I’ll give you a hint, Ryan and I never made it through Illinois, so guess again!)

Finally, a little about us and the trip. Ryan and I made it safely (read: no fires, thank you) to Milwaukee and are having a blast with the Madigans! We’ve also opted to trade in the Fit for something a little more our style. So thank you again to the Harrills! Check out the new ride and the other pictures of the week below.

Reindeer!!!! Summer Vacation Anyone?

Picture Rock - A well worthwhile detour

Much like the mid-west, Ryan really loves Paul Bunyan.

Cave!

Niagara Falls and such!

Hey everyone! We're here in CANADA!!! We were at Niagara for the first two days of our trip and it was absolutely amazing! I had forgotten how spectacular it was and it was really nice to see everything again! The falls at night were breathtaking and we went on a journey behind the falls as well which was very powerful. This morning we went on a trip around the Erie Canal and got to go into a set of man made caves that were used to power the factories there. Right now we are in Espanola Ontario! Spending the night here and then hitting the road tomorrow for Michigan. The trp is amazing so far and it is hard to believe that this is only the beginning! Also, took us a while to figure out the way gas is priced up here ( 127.3 Cents a Litre... Go figure!) but everything is going smoothly and I can't wait to continue our trip!

Hellooo From Canada!

We finally have internet again- So much has happened in the last few days! We made it through Niagara Falls with only a few minor injuries and two very windy very stormy nights, but we had an awesome time. In a very strange twist we enjoyed the serene nature and parks on the American side and then headed over to the Canadian side which reminded me a lot of Disney- large, intense, bright lights and billboards and lots of rides, movies and amusements. I much prefer and recommend the new york side, with a campground right on Lake Ontario and hot showers we could not have been happier. We also frequented an amazing farmstand place called Henry's (the Souza's may have some competition) where we got peaches, corn, and basically all of our dinner. Today we checked out the Eerie Canal and some nearby caves before driving a lot further than planned through Canada. As it turns out Killarney is very far off the trans-canadian highway so we opted not to drive hundreds of miles out of our way and are currently checked into the Pinewood Motor Inn in Espanoza, Ontario (whose sign read more than just a great paper town! SCORE!)

Picture of The Day: 

Okay and two more for the last two days:

One View of Lake Ontario from the Campground

Goodbye Atlantic, Hello Open Road

We said goodbye to the Atlantic, the next time we see waves rolling in off the ocean will be the Pacific which I cannot wait to swim in! So here it is, our goodbye to the Atlantic and first shot of the open road...

My first post / Rain Delay

Hey everyone!

Figured it was time for me to add something to the blog! We're getting ready to go and are planing on leaving Tuesday now, due to inclement weather. Hopefully the weather will clear up for our first stop in Niagara Falls! Jenn's never been there (or to Canada for that matter) so it will be an exciting time!

Pictures are sure to follow once we get up there!


P.S. If anyone has any tips, advice, or places we must see on our trip, feel free to post them in a comment!

We're almost ready to go - 5 days and counting!!  Tried out our stove top today (Thanks Mom!) it still works. Also, using up the itunes gift card making a playlist- recommendations??? 

Next week - Pictures!!