Now that I look back I realize we did a lot! I’m thinking to make a short series of this blog entry since there is so much to share… Hope you enjoy…

For the last 15 days we have been traveling… this time just for leisure.  It was very good to let life just happen. Sometimes you need the most difficult question of the day to be “what’s for lunch.”  Not being much for drawing out the planning phase of travel … our leisure travels seem more like choosing the path less worn. Not that we can travel without plans… just minimal.  Tim and I booked some flights and looked into a few places to sleep at key jumping off points. The first flight was pretty smooth thanks to the new Hawaiian Air direct service to JFK NYC. It was the layover that was dreadful… Since we needed to get to Ohio to spend time with Tim’s family, we were left with no choice but to wait 9hrs for the connecting flight. Oh’ well life goes on… Tired from the flight we decided to stay downtown Columbus. After a shower we walked to the Art district in the Short North which was having gallery openings and music. It was a really nice time with good food, art and people. Picked up some little “cute” things from a shop displaying some of the neatest stuff!

Woke up the next day to a very sleepy head… Today we are going to see Tim’s brother, his wife, 2 daughters and son.  Tim is starting to get texts from Lili, the youngest girl asking when we will be there… Better get moving it is a beautiful day! Step outside and the air feels as warm as last night. There have been severe hot weather patterns in this area recently. My heart goes out to all those who have been so negatively affected by this. Pray for rain… We reach Tom’s house in about 20 minutes in our rented car. Once there we are greeted with excitement and much anticipation. The speed at which Tim was driving I could tell he was in a hurry to see them. I understand why! Such a nice family 🙂

I am sad to say it has been over 3 years since we have visited. Not going to let that ever happen again. They have grown so much since our last visit and are almost adults! Everyone takes this chance to catch up and talk about everything that has happened around here in our absence. They are all doing great in school and into sports…  After we all somewhat caught up we look for the next activity. We were so fortunate that the house has a pool! Being such a hot day, they all jumped in. One small problem, in my haste to leave to catch the flight, I forgot my swim wear.  Thank you for letting me borrow yours Lili! It was so nice to float in the pool and splash about… We all went out for dinner and talked the night away…

The next couple of days we spent up north about an hour to where Tim’s mother lives. Carolyn loves to shop for antiques and I can see why as there are a bunch of antique shops in this area.

It was impossible to suppress my excitement and dug right into the search for treasures.

The prices were really fair and the shopkeepers were so friendly. We decided to take a drive out to Amish country to look around…

Such a peaceful place…

The time in Ohio went by in the blink of an eye… We stopped by Tom’s house early before the flight and woke up the kids to say goodbye, for now.  It is always sad to have to leave… We promise to be back soon. The Flight back to NY was smooth and uneventful, a very good thing. I’ll wrap up this first entry here.  More to come…

Yukiko