DIS Dads Rust Belt Road Trip (2 UPDATES--1/18)

[dvczerfs]

delaweenies!!! shirley, those are nice water falls. (thats from a movie but i have no idea) nice update mark. its always fun reading your trip reports. but you still have that stupid lookin hat on your head? im glad to see you havnt brain washed your children in wearing that stuff. ill have to take a pic of what briana brought home a few weeks ago. looking forward to another installment.

 

[Poolrat]

Well, it was impressive. And stop calling me Shirley.

Airplane.

Coming Up Next:Hello, McFly? Are you paying attention? I just said it would be about dinner. We found a place that was...um...unique.

Back to the Future.

And yes, surely I am third in reporting these.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Time to class this Trip Report up a bit. Since the previous chapter involved several bouts of potty humor, I hereby promise that there will be no more toilet jokes in this Trip Report.*

Booooooooo

*Until the next chapter.

YAAAAA!


Poop deck.

Sorry, I just couldn't wait until the next chapter. (For those of you that don't get that joke, you're clearly not following my Trip Report. Here ends the shameless plug)

Since our friends had to make their way back down the hill, we gave them a head start before heading out from Pittsburgh.

One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi. OK, GO!

One of our goals as a family is to get our kids to all 50 states. Why? Well, we want them to see the country, and that's an measurable way to do it. And it's a more obtainable goal than, say paying for college.

Great goal! One of the states my kids have been to is Michigan. We were literally 1/4 mile into the Upper Peninsula, but it still counts.

After a fill-up at a skeevy gas station (Julie's words: "Don't go in there.") outside Youngstown, OH

There you go again, listening to that voice of reason. "Don't pee down the funicular. Don't go in that gas station. Don't poke that bear with a stick."

Here's an example of the boards that could be cut from a single log:

Mark, I'm bored with this, let's move on.

I'm sure a 5-inch-long metal spike won't do any damage, either.

Nope, not as long as your skull is 6 inches thick.

Uh oh.

When I posted that picture on Facebook, Barry asked me if I was swinging the mallet at Dave or myself. I honestly can't remember; I may have blacked out.

Did a 10" lump grow out of your head like in the cartoons?

Wow, it allowed two canoes to go through it at the same time! That must have been one heck of a time saver!

A short drive away, there was a trail to "Blue Hen Falls". Being proud Delaweenies, we couldn't pass up a chance to see the namesake waterfall of our state mascot. (Yes, the blue hen is a chicken, but it's a Fighting chicken.)

He's pretty bad a**. All of the other magnets on our fridge are afraid of him. Until they found out his name was Youdee. Then the Pooh Bear magnet gave him a wedgie.

Ooooooo. I'm skipping my next Disney trip to come here.

Well, it was impressive.

Better! And I love the family pictures

From there, it was on to our hotel. Accommodations provided by Country Inn & Suites of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Better or worse than the Paradise Motel?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Really? An update on thread closing day?

Once you guys start with that, I can't keep up. So I figured I might as well do something productive...or add another chapter. I went with the latter.

Ok, done reading. I guess I can head back over to try and close out DDC XI.

Note to self: keep the toilet humor.

That picture would be a lot more dramatic if it wasn't such a familiar sight.

It was dramatic to my kids. I said, "Hey guys, we're in Ohio now!" They briefly looked up and then went back to their DVD.

Well, that must mean you were obviously swinging it at yourself then if you blacked out.

Isn't that illegal? Philly fan... Michael Vick...

Yeah, shouldn't have gone there. Oh well.

Our chickens only fight in self-defense.

Airplaine

+1

1.5??? Wow, I think you're giving Blue Hen Falls a bit too much credit.

I think you're right. Let's call it 1.1 waterfalls.

Back to the Future
Was it a diner that serves Tab and Pepsi Free?

+1

You want a Pepsi, son, you're gonna pay for it!

Ooo, this oughtta be good.

No, it's just one of my chapters.

Big mistake. Didn't your English teacher always tell you: "Know your reader!"

Good point. Back to the gutter we go!

Can you adopt me just before you, I mean 'we', visit Hawaii?

Absolutely! As we discussed before, I need to find someone with DVC points!

Little known fact -- in addition to a river, that's also the Mohawk word for "Politician".

Love it! Question: is Scotty holding the nail?

Well, not anymore.

Wha? This doesn't live up to the name! Maybe Hornet waterfall, after Delaware State.

Look at you throwing out the local knowledge. +1 I agree, this waterfall is DSU territory.

Hmmm, where did Sarah learn that little move?

I have absolutely no idea.

What's with all the southeast PA / northern DE names?

Ohio is, like, soooo un-original.

Never. You'll always be "Shirley" to me.

Umm...thanks?

I'm sure it was a place that your density brought you to.

Nice! Did Darth Vader visit you in the middle of the night?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

What? Cheese balls, “the Poopies”, christening the Grand Canyon and porta-pots ain’t classy?

I would have thought so as well, but some people just can't be pleased.

OK… but only this time, right?

Excellent goal. One I’d liked to have pulled of myself, but given the current state of affairs, it seems doubtful.

Well, we all do what we can. Travel is about the only thing we spend money on.

Like I said: “given the current state of affairs…”

My plan was to increase my savings for college as my income went up...oops.

I did not know that. I knew that at one time you could actually set the river on fire, but I didn’t know the meaning behind the moniker.

Kind of amazing that a river known for being set on fire is now a National Park, huh?

That’s pretty cool as well. I need to get both the NPS passport and one of the new Star Tours Passports. I believe that will make a good set

Need to see this. If it’s got anything to do with ships, I need to add it to my list

The exhibit was fairly small, but I can see where it would be up your alley.

Yah… it does look more like you’re hitting yourself then the young’ins.

Well, at least nobody has to call Child Services.

Cool (and my state has a similar mascot that has to be similarly explained on a regular bases ).

Well, it could be worse. Your mascot could be a banana slug.

Didn’t quite live up to the “Kickin’ Chicken” image evoked by the name

No, it was more like a plain ol' chicken.

Airplane

Yes. Yes, it was.

Nice Shot.

And a good end to a traveling day.

Thanks!

Back to the Future (this is how the game is played right?)

It is. I didn't actually formally announce a movie-quote game this time around. Mostly because I used up just about all of my favorite quotes in the last TR. But I still throw in a few occasionally for fun. We'll see if I can come up with a good game for this TR.

But it has nothing for a Thundering Herd

Zzzzzzz....who would want to name anything after a group of overgrown cattle?

its always fun reading your trip reports. but you still have that stupid lookin hat on your head? im glad to see you havnt brain washed your children in wearing that stuff.

Dave, if that's how you feel, you're gonna love the pictures from day 2.

Airplane.

Back to the Future.

And yes, surely I am third in reporting these.

But hey, at least you know the classics.

 

[KatMark]

Time to class this Trip Report up a bit. Since the previous chapter involved several bouts of potty humor, I hereby promise that there will be no more toilet jokes in this Trip Report.*

*Until the next chapter.

Good thing you put in that "disclaimer."

One of our goals as a family is to get our kids to all 50 states. Why? Well, we want them to see the country, and that's an measurable way to do it. And it's a more obtainable goal than, say paying for college.

I can vouch for that; both of the boys are now done, but we'll be paying school loans forever...and we ONLY had 2 kids!

Being the model parents that we are, we let the kids hammer away to their hearts' content. Because after 8 hours of driving, you need to take out some pent-up aggression.

I crack up every time I see this picture...but for some reason it always makes me think of you and Barry.

Ok, so maybe "waterfall" has a looser definition in Ohio. This was a nice little spot, but as far as waterfalls go, it looked like somebody might have left a faucet turned on upstream. And I sure didn't see any blue hens, or even anyone else from Delaware around. In any case, the kids were now showing signs of classic Minivan Fatigue:

Definitely her father's daughter!!!!

Beautiful

Great pic of you and Julie, and with those goofy kids.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Booooooooo

Sorry.

YAAAAA!

Whew!

Poop deck.

Sorry, I just couldn't wait until the next chapter. (For those of you that don't get that joke, you're clearly not following my Trip Report. Here ends the shameless plug)

As I said before, shameless plugs of your Trip Reports are not only encouraged, but expected! In fact, if I have time, I'll post some links separately. In the meantime, Barry's TR's are well worth your time!

Great goal! One of the states my kids have been to is Michigan. We were literally 1/4 mile into the Upper Peninsula, but it still counts.

Absolutely, that counts! Our rule is simply that you must set foot in the state. I've been to 49 states myself...shortest visit was Oklahoma, for about 10 minutes.

There you go again, listening to that voice of reason. "Don't pee down the funicular. Don't go in that gas station. Don't poke that bear with a stick."

I've learned to listen to that voice, ever since my face really did freeze this way.

Mark, I'm bored with this, let's move on.

Save the puns for your own TR, Barry! Let's get back to the poop jokes!

Did a 10" lump grow out of your head like in the cartoons?

No, I told you, my face really did freeze like that.

Wow, it allowed two canoes to go through it at the same time! That must have been one heck of a time saver!

He's pretty bad a**. All of the other magnets on our fridge are afraid of him. Until they found out his name was Youdee. Then the Pooh Bear magnet gave him a wedgie.

Heh. He said "Pooh". In any case, don't make me send a banana slug after you.

Ooooooo. I'm skipping my next Disney trip to come here.

Win some, lose some.

Better! And I love the family pictures

Hey, thanks!

Better or worse than the Paradise Motel?

Well, you can't really compare with Paradise, can you? But the Country Inn was a great place to stay. And a good friend helped us find a really great deal there.

 

[Mrs. Knowitall]

Remember the "Heat Dome" that was blanketing the Midwest this summer? We were right in the middle of it. The temperature was pushing 100 degrees. Naturally, we thought this would be a great time to add a hike to our agenda.

I love my husband....if you check out this picture:

and this one:

You'll notice that Mark photoshopped out our sweat from the first picture! It was SOOOO hot, I didn't even care....in fact at this point, it was more like a badge of honor!

Coming Up Next:Hello, McFly? Are you paying attention? I just said it would be about dinner. We found a place that was...um...unique.

It certainly was! And I LOVED my sandwich!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I can vouch for that; both of the boys are now done, but we'll be paying school loans forever...and we ONLY had 2 kids!

Great! Thanks for the encouragement!

Great pic of you and Julie, and with those goofy kids.

Thanks, Kathy.

I love my husband....if you check out this picture:

and this one:

You'll notice that Mark photoshopped out our sweat from the first picture! It was SOOOO hot, I didn't even care....in fact at this point, it was more like a badge of honor!

Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think you would be the one to draw attention to that.

It certainly was! And I LOVED my sandwich!

No spoilers!

 

[Mrs. Knowitall]

Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think you would be the one to draw attention to that.

It's good to know that after knowing you for 15+ years I can still surprise you every once in a while!

 

[DisDadDoc]

I love my husband....if you check out this picture:


You'll notice that Mark photoshopped out our sweat from the first picture! It was SOOOO hot, I didn't even care....in fact at this point, it was more like a badge of honor!

That's love!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

It's good to know that after knowing you for 15+ years I can still surprise you every once in a while!

Next you'll tell me to start leaving the toilet seat up.

That's love!

Bonus points for me!

 

[glennbo123]

Yo Captain. Guess where this picture was taken last night...

 

[dvczerfs]

Yo Captain. Guess where this picture was taken last night...

heinz field???

 

[glennbo123]

heinz field???

No.....closer to home for Captain O.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Yo Captain. Guess where this picture was taken last night...

Looks like somebody was at a Blue Rocks game!

Great picture! Were you trying for that or was it a lucky shot?

 

[dvczerfs]

Yo Captain. Guess where this picture was taken last night...

that is a great shot. i was trying to take lightning shots from the contemp. in june. missed everytime.

 

[glennbo123]

Looks like somebody was at a Blue Rocks game!

Well, kind of...the game didn't actually happen because of the lightning.

Great picture! Were you trying for that or was it a lucky shot?

Trying! But the storm gave me lots of opportunities! For that one, there were about 20-some where I was too late and so they weren't saved.

We were waiting for the storm to pass and there was a guy to the left of this shot taking pictures using his smartphone (mine's kinda junky), so I copied his idea. He ended up getting an awesome one where there were 3 separate bolts of lightning. He said, "well, I can't do better than that!" and put the phone away. This was the best I got.

that is a great shot. i was trying to take lightning shots from the contemp. in june. missed everytime.

It's definitely hard to be quick enough. Several times I thought I hit the button in time...but nuthin'.

 

[marvali]

Yup, believe it or not, I just read your last update... the one about tram cars. For some odd reason the word "funicular" reminded me of "folliculitis" which is a nasty infection of your hair follicles that get all itchy especially in your arm pits or other "delicate places". Just thought I had to share that.

A little foot powder can help you out there Liesa!

Enjoying the updates Captain! Especially sharing the particulars on the funiculars! Hope for your sake the Blue Hens are a little more spectacular on the football field this fall than their waterfall during "summer conditioning!"

 

[dvczerfs]

A little foot powder can help you out there Liesa!

Enjoying the updates Captain! Especially sharing the particulars on the funiculars! Hope for your sake the Blue Hens are a little more spectacular on the football field this fall than their waterfall during "summer conditioning!"

happy birthday marvali!!!