May 29, 2012 -- Buckeye Lake, OH (greater Columbus)

Sad as we were to leave Camp M&M, we were on the road fairly early for Buckeye Lake, a small town east of Columbus, and will be staying this week at the Buckeye Lake KOA campground. It's lovely and we got a very friendly welcome from the staff here. Stay tuned for more adventures!

May 28, 2012 -- Slippery Rock, PA

Today Meagan showed us around her old stomping grounds including McConnells Mill State Park. We took the stairway down from the parking area to the creek. Oddly enough, the stairway was much longer and steeper than Meagan remembered it from back in the day, and we both found it, umm ... challenging. Once at the bottom of the trail, we walked along the bank of Slippery Rock Creek, with its covered bridge, grist mill, whitewater rapids and insane people in kayaks. It was at this point that we learned that the creek lives up to its name: today it was Scott's turn to slip and fall. Luckily there was only a small scrape, and we had antiseptic and bandages on hand with which to patch him up. When it came time to climb back up to the car, Meagan made the selfless gesture of returning alone and coming back with the car to get us. We did not protest. After the park, we went for a late lunch at North Country Brewing Co., “where Bilbo Baggins would hang out on a Saturday night.” The food was delicious, and the beers (and cider) were amazing. (If you are sensing a theme here, we salute your powers of observation!) Meagan indulged Scott's t-shirt addiction and added a “Stinky Hippie Pale Ale” t-shirt to his collection. It definitely suits him.

Once back at Camp M&M, we returned to yesterday's construction theme with a replica of the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright home “Falling Water” in Legos! Now, Falling Water is in Pennsylvania, and not really far from Camp M&M; however the days were just too jam-packed to fit in a trip over there. But we can assure you, building this structure out of teeeeeny tiny Legos is enough to give us a sense of just how amazing it is. Here are some photos of our triumph:

May 27, 2012 -- Construction of Lake Cattywampus at Camp M&M

There was a big breakfast today: blueberry pancakes, eggs from the Camp M&M chickens, home fries, and fruit salad. Theresa slept through the whole thing. Scott and Meagan also assembled the pool and got the water running so that by evening it was about one-third full. While the pool was filling, Theresa took advantage of Memorial Day sales to finally buy some summer clothes, and Meagan got a cool new toy -- an iPhone -- thereby ending months of inadvertent butt-dialing of her friends and relations. Oh, and the apps are fun too. Really fun. We think she may put it down someday soon, but we're not holding our breath.

May 26, 2012 -- Earning Our Keep

Saturday morning was a time for yard work. While Marianne worked on the garden, Meagan and Scott shoveled mulch to prepare the surface for Lake Cattywampus. Theresa did arts & crafts indoors, out of the heat, and made necklaces for our lovely hostesses, which we then forgot to photograph. (Meagan, Marianne, if you'd like to send us photos we'll happily post them here.) Scott also did some work inside the house, fixing latches on two rooms which had not been re-assembled quite correctly after renovation work was done on the house a few years ago. Everyone was happy with Scott's work except the cats and dogs, who greatly prefer entering and exiting whatever rooms they like, whenever they like. Sorry furbabies! In the evening, Camp M&M hosted a party by the campfire with friends and neighbors. There were copious amounts of delicious grilled food, washed down with delicious local beer, followed by a dip in the hot tub and some campfire chat. Could there be a more perfect way to spend a Saturday? We think not.

May 25, 2012 (continued) -- Camp M&M field trip to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Fun fact: Did you know that Mister Rogers was from Pittsburgh? And that he modeled the neighborhood trolley on the Incline Railways there? For a little history on the Inclines, click here. Pittsburgh has two parts: a city by the river, and neighborhoods on the bluffs overlooking the river. The Incline Railways were built to ferry commuters back and forth between the two. After a driving tour (which called upon Marianne's mad driving skills), we rode the Duquesne Incline down and back up, and got some really stunning views of the rivers and skyline on the way. Scott got these great photos from the top of the bluff near the entrance to the Duquesne Incline:

Here's a view down the tracks from inside the Incline car:

We then had a scrumptious early dinner at Kaya Restaurant in Pittsburgh's Strip District (not stripper district, get yer minds out of the gutter, kids). Last but certainly not least, we stopped in at East End Brewing Co. for refills on some local suds. The brewery has “growlers” (half-gallon bottles) of their special brews which repeat customers can clean and bring back for refills. It's environmentally friendly as well as being a social event for the regulars like Meagan and Marianne. It was fun talking with the brewery guys, tasting the various beers, and hipster-watching. Growlers are very hipster. Who knew?

May 25, 2012 -- Natrona Heights, PA (greater Pittsburgh)

Due to the loss of a day's travel time, Syracuse was scrubbed from the itinerary and we headed directly to Camp M&M, also known as the home of Meagan and Marianne. We were enticed out of the camper for the weekend due to the high temperatures (90s F with high humidity) and central AC inside the “camp,” which in truth is a gorgeous house, so it didn't take much enticing. Between the AC, the friendly reception, and the adorable dogs, cats, and chickens (yes, chickens!), it was going to be hard to get us to leave...

May 24, 2012 -- Glenville, NY

We were up early, much refreshed after a good night's sleep. As we made the final preparations for departure, we had a visit from a tiny well-wisher who, as it turns out, had been worried about Theresa since the previous morning when she witnessed her slip and fall. Little Ginny (three years old and made of cute, with adorable strawberry-blonde pigtails) picked wildflowers for us and came by with her Grandma to see for herself that Theresa was OK.

And with that, we were off, driving several hours before stopping off at a Wal-Mart for the night.