Lexington, Cincinnati, and Columbus

We're back from vacation number two! All three stops were scrumtrelescent:

Lexington: a great time with Dan and Rebecca, complete with lots of Kentuckyish stuff - a banjo played in church, a visit to a horse park (with equines of all types), country-fried steak, Kentucky bourbon barrel aged ale, and a street named Versailles that is pronounced Ver-sales. Oh, and chocolate angel strata for Dan's birthday.

Cincinnati: an especially good place for Annika and Abby, since we stayed with friends that have two girls the same ages as ours. Highlights: Coney Island (the largest pool I've ever seen and Annika's first trip down a water slide), the Cincinnati Zoo, a nearly shaved long-haired cat, and overall fine company.

Columbus: another good family time, along with North Market (featuring ice cream, salsa, and tabouli), swimming at Lifetime Fitness, playing at the park, drinking scotch ales, and seeing the mighty Ohio State Fair (featuring Annika's first solo roller coaster ride, the world's largest boot, a cow made of butter, a log-rolling dog, and general fair mania). Back at Nick and Beth's, Annika had lots of fun doing sit-down-stay tricks with Maeby.

We owe thanks to all those that we stayed with, and special thanks for putting up with the chaos generated by a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old.

All of a sudden the new school year is looming large. I'm hoping that the faculty at Ferris have a contract in two weeks so we can start the year with classes instead of a strike.