Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and New York - Coming Home!

In Wisconsin we had a wonderful visit with my college roommate, Allyson, and her family. We spent a day at their lake house and saw two bald eagles and some loons.

During the three days in relaxing, scenic Door County, Wisconsin, we partook of their Scandinavian fish boil and ate cherry pie made from the tart cherries that grow there. We also tried several different types of Wisconsin cheese including their famous cheese curds!

Illinois brought us to the Chicago area where in addition to eating Chicago deep dish pizza, we caught up with my high school friend Jamie and her wonderful family, Ken’s big brother Tom and his wife Ruth, my post graduation roommate Lisa and her family, and Ken’s former girlfriend Barbara and her husband Ed. It was a whirlwind of visits, but as we celebrated our 26th anniversary while there it was fitting that we saw Allyson, Tommy and Lisa as they were all in our wedding! We also visited the Indiana Dunes National Park with Barbara.

In Michigan we saw former MIT floormates of Ken’s, Pam and Dave, and picked blueberries. Did you know that Michigan produces 92 million pounds of blueberries a year?!

We went through Canada and ended up at Niagara Falls where we enjoyed the view from both sides of the border (the Canadian side had a gorgeous rainbow). We tried a Canadian favorite: poutine (french fries covered with hot gravy and melted cheese curds) then ended our trip with a few days in the fingerlakes of upper New York State over my birthday on July 13.

It is both nice and sad to be back home. It was a trip of a lifetime that has has made us feel like we’ve only scratched the surface of what there is to experience in our country. We have so many more ideas of places we want to visit and explore. The United States is undeniably beautiful and we enjoyed experiencing the natural and cultural beauty around the country. Visiting friends we have not seen in years (sometimes decades) was also real treat. But the best part of the trip was just all the time that we were able to spend together. We feel so blessed to have each other and so blessed to have all of you in our lives!