It wasn't until just recently that we decided we would have a family vacation this summer after all. We really wanted to go somewhere and when the invitation for the Kauffman family reunion came in the mail we knew exactly what our vacation would be. It scheduled for the last weekend in August at the Ohio Caverns. As we bought snacks and I thought of things to bring I put them in a growing pile by our front door. Megan loved hauling around the juice boxes and fruit cups - I guess she approved of what was on our list of things to bring. When I got out the suitcases (the biggest one for John and me; the littlest one for Megan) she was right there helping me pack. Megan's version of packing was just hopping into the suitcase and trying to close the cover herself which in turn caused her fall backwards every time! Then she put in her pack of diapers and a couple fruit cups and got in to try it again. She was ready to go!
John worked his usual late shift on Wednesday night so I did most of the packing after putting Megan to bed. We went to bed around 11:30pm but had the alarms set for 3:00am - (John's normal wake-up time for a Monday morning). We were able to get out of our place around 4:40 where we drove to John's parents and packed up their van. We left Minnetonka close to 5:30 but were still able to miss most of the morning traffic.
This was going to be a long driving day but we had many stops along the way which helped pass time. A stop at Humbird's for cheese, a stop in Wisconsin Dells for fudge and an old time photo, and stops for gas and bathroom breaks and picnic lunches.
Megan passed a lot of time creating "masterpieces" for Grandma Lewis. This tray worked great for holding her crayons!
When Megan got bored with her crayons, she helped me solve some of the toughest Sudoku puzzles. We must have a baby genius on our hands!
We ended up driving all the way to Greenville, Ohio that first day and I think we pulled in around 9 or 10pm. We ordered a crib for Megan but her and I ended up sharing a queen bed. We wanted to make it to Greenville because we planned on touring the one and only KitchenAid stand mixer factory the next day at 10am. Just John and I went on the tour since Megan wasn't old enough (had to be 12) and Grandma and Grandpa had already taken the tour a couple years ago. The factory was fantastic and we got to see how the parts got painted in all of the fun and bright colors, how all the parts got put together and the wire wips were put together, where defected products were refurbished and where all of the European models were assembled. Here is a special stand mixer that was made after 9-11 and given to about 100 firehouses that were involved in the rescue efforts
In Greenville there also was a KitchenAid store. In the basement was some refurbished products, a small museum and a little play kitchen. Megan ran right up to the kitchen and started cooking!
What did we do the rest of the day? Stopped in Piqua, Ohio to see a house that Valerie lived in until about 2nd or 3rd grade.
Visited Valerie's cousin Rick's thrift/antique store and then visited Rick's wife at home to feed their horses. Megan loves animals and the horse is Grandma's favorite!
We even found a state park to have a picnic lunch and get another photo with Grandma and Grandpa!
We ended the day with a visit to the cemetary where Valerie's parents were buried along with her father's parents. What a beautiful cemetary and definitely one of the biggest ones I've ever seen.
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