After a glorious last half-day in Lansing, we ventured 3 hours southeast to Sandusky, OH to meet Kate, Tim, Caleb and Alexis (Ted’s sister, her husband, and our neice and nephew) for some 6:30 p.m.-midnight 4th of July fun riding coasters and watching fireworks at Cedar Point (cheaper twilight admission after 5 p.m.)! Somehow we’ve managed to spend two out of our last three married 4th of July’s with Kate & family and we’ve had so much fun each time. It’s a tradition we wouldn’t mind continuing!
(Welcome to the island!}
{Because it was 4th of July and the lines for all the greatest coasters – like the Millennium Force – were over an hour-and-a-half wait time, they set up a plinko game right outside of the entrance to the Millennium line. For $5 you got two chances to play plinko and win 2 passes straight to the front of the line if your puck landed in the yellow slots. Why not? Ted and Caleb gave it a try and our good luck charm Caleb dropped the pucks and won us not 2, but 4 passes to the front of the line for Millennium Force!! Those passes saved us four adults 1.5 hours in line, allowing us time to ride the Millennium Force, grab dinner together as a family, and ride several other coasters too! It was amazing. Totally worth it! And despite the crazy high climb and really steep drop, Millennium is sooooo smooth of a ride; a completely magnificent coaster.}
{Happy 4th of July!}
{Hanging with the kids while Kate and Tim took their turn on the Millennium}
{Can’t pass up a good opportunity to be utterly obnoxious}
{Not a bad spot for some Happy Birthday America fireworks!}
{And after hitting up the Millennium, Gemini, and Iron Dragon, it was clearly time to hunker down in the bunk beds – yesssss – when we finally made it back to the hotel at 1 a.m. for a good night’s sleep}
{The next day we drove to Menor, a suburb of Cleveland, to meet up with a bunch of Ted’s family, all driving in to celebrate Fr. Bob’s 80th birthday. I had to leave to drive back to NY mid-afternoon, so only some of the family had made it to town for the weekend by the time I left, but it was so nice to see the ones I did get to see…and from what I hear, Ted and the rest of the family enjoyed a wonderful weekend together too.}
Family, Friends, Food, and Fun…and that concludes our summer road trip! :)
