Date 45 - We're All Here 'Cause We're Not All There!

Date: June 22 - June 24
Type: Travel, Friends, Fun
Cost: Way too much.
Planned By: Both & Friends

VACATION!!! Adam and I went on a two night three day little vacation with some of our college friends to Put-In-Bay. It was a bit of a reunion for some of us. After we all graduated last year we  all moved to different cities. For example, Allyson moved to Indonesia with the Peace Corp and we hadn't seen her in over a year. Its always fun and crazy when we get together.
                                                 
We all stayed in a little six person suite at the Bay Lodging Resort on the island. Put-In-Bay is an island in Lake Erie, if you didn't know. It was actually very nice and the hotel staff was great.
                                                     
Four of us (Adam, Allyson, Lauren and I) arrived on Friday. We spent time at the Buckeye Tiki Bar connected to our Hotel and then went over to the Dizzy Lizard Swim Up Bar. We had a great dinner at the Put-In-Bay Brewing Company. We played some games in the hotel room and then went out for the rest of the night. Before we went back to the suite we decided to play in park. There were at least three different play sets. With things like slides, swings, little rock climbing walls, spinning things and tons of other stuff. It was a lot of fun!

The next day the rest of the party was planning to arrive. Before they got there we went back to the pool, had lunch at Mossbacks Island Bar & Grill, and then went to Heineman's Winery. At the winery you buy a bottle and they give you little cups so you can share. We ended up trying all four sweet wines; Sweet Concord, Pink Catawba, Sweet Belle, and Niagara. Which actually ended up being about a bottle each. They were all fantastic, though! Across the street was the Fort Amaz'n Maze, and we thought it was a brilliant idea to go do this. It was a much harder maze than we expected but it was a lot of fun until we realized we were too old for these things. I sprained my ankle and Lauren & I both got a splinter. The good news was Laura, Sean and Penny had arrived on the island while we were finishing the maze!

We all were reunited and hungry. So we went to the Boardwalk for dinner. It is nice restaurant with outside seating overlooking the lake. We got to see pirate ships shooting canons. It was a little distracting, but still pretty cool. After dinner we went straight to the Dollar House for the Put-In-Bay Winery. We didn't drink another four bottles don't worry. The rest of the night was pretty chaotic. We went back to the room, went to some bars, saw some fireworks, played in a boat, danced and had a good time.

 

 

The last day Sean, who worked in Put-In-Bay, took us on a tour. First, we saw the monument. Then we got a golf cart and took a ride and hike to the beach. It was a small beach and hidden. Then we went to the South Bass Island State Park on the other side of the island. Then we saw another hidden treasure that Sean found. It was some sort of rock/cliff formation. Then we got ice cream and decided it was time to go back to reality and go home.

 

 

We had a fabulous time with all our friends this weekend. There are so many things to see in Put-In-Bay that I think we'll all have to plan another trip for next year!

Date 44 - We Have Great Chemistry!

Date: Saturday, June 16, 2012
Type: Academic, Fun, City
Cost: $
Planned By: Both

Adam and I finally had a nice full weekend at home. There is so much to do in the city, and we hadn't had time yet. It was a really nice day so we decided to take a walk to the Great Lakes Science Center! YAY SCIENCE! <3 We both visited the science center when we were younger but it has been many years. I was pretty excited, considering I'm a biologist, and anytime I get Adam around science its always pretty hysterical.

There was tons of traffic on our way and as we got closer we noticed there was something going on at the East 9th Street Pier. Then we realized it was still Marine week in Cleveland. So we took a detour through the pier to see what was going on. There was a lot of cool stuff to see; Vietnam Wall replica, a plane, a bunch of land vehicles, and an area covered with over 300 flags honoring fallen troops. I'm glad we took time to check it out.

 

On to the real date. We started in the NASA exhibit of the science center. There were simulators, astronaut gear, moon rocks, and pieces of space shuttles. Space isn't my favorite branch of science but it was still fun.

Then we went to the best area called the Science Phenomena Floor. All of our favorite science things were in here including the shadow room, indoor tornado, and the bridge of fire (which was closed :( ). There were tons of other little experiments on this floor though all having to do with sound, electricity, weather, optics and light. It's a very interactive area and we took full advantage of it.

There was also an exhibit with student's science related art work. Clay models, drawings, paintings, and even some raps and movies were set out for people to see. Some were pretty impressive! We also attempted to put this arch together. Teamwork is always good on a date as long as your good at working as a team. We did it. :)

Next, was the biomedical exhibit. It displayed things like DNA, bacteria under microscopes, new technology for surgery, robotic arms, and an MRI machine! I personally liked the microscope stations. Makes sense.. I've been fascinated by microscopes and microscopic things since the 3rd grade.

Last, were the frogs. Right now there is a special frog exhibit!! It was actually a fabulous display of so many different types of frogs and information about them. We really liked the colorful poisonous ones.

 

Wait.. Last, was the gift shop. I found the coolest thing in the world. OK not in the whole world, but maybe the coolest thing in the gift shop. It's a double shot glass, but shaped like a beaker! Woo.. nerd. I bought it.

We had a really great time at the Great Lakes Science Center. It was much smaller than we remembered it, but we've both grown a lot. That was probably the problem. Anyway, we recommend it to everyone even if you don't like science. The price for general admission is quite reasonable and there are a lot of fun things to see and do while visiting!

Date 43 - That's My Boy!

Date: Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Type: Movie, Easy
Cost: Free!
Planned By: Adam

While playing on the internet Adam found an RSVP code for an advanc movie screening by Gofobo.com! I hurried to the website, and quickly decided it wasn't a scam. We used the RSVP code to get two free tickets to That's My Boy starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg!

The movie was playing at the Capitol Theater on the west side of Cleveland. We had never really been over there, but it was pretty easy to find. It was a really nice theater, minus being wanded by a guard on our way in. It was old fashioned and set up like a playhouse theater. The chairs weren't that comfortable but the ceiling and decor was beautiful.

The movie was pretty silly. I'm not the biggest fan of Adam Sandler, but there were some good jokes. I really can't stand Adam Sandler's dumb fake voice. If he had talked normally throughout the movie I probably would have enjoyed it more. I wouldn't  recommend going to the theater to see this movie, but its probably OK to spend a couple dollars renting it.

The best part of the date (other than being free and seeing it a movie a week early) was the rest of the audience. They were hilarious. There were so many different types of people in the theater. Some of them were screaming in laughter while others didn't laugh the entire time. It was great!

Anyway.. Yay to free dates in Cleveland! :)

Date 42 - Something Old, Something New.

Date: Saturday, June 2, 2012
Type: Travel, Fun
Cost: $$
Planned By: Adam

We went to Athens this past weekend. During our stay at OU we made a point to check out our old favorite places and new places that have popped up since we've left. Here is a list of what we did and saw.

Old:
1. We took a nice long walk around campus. Not much has really changed. Some new traffic signs, but overall still the same beautiful campus we left.

2. We went to Rio Grande for dinner. We will never get sick of their jumbo margaritas and chips & salsa.

man.. I really hate people who don't understand how to use a camera.

3. We hung out with old friends. They aren't old, as in age, we've just been friends with them for awhile, and it was good to see them!

4. We went to O'Betty's for cheese fries.
5. We made sure to get a champagne slushie at Broneys.
6. We made sure to get a Black Out at Pawpurrs and a Crystal Ball and free popcorn at the Crystal.

7. We stayed at the Sigma Kappa house.

New:
1. We got a slushie at Pawpurrs. They have a brand new slushie machine. We got the lemonade flavor. It was pretty good! Not as good at Broney's champagne slushie or their own signature black out, but still good.

2. We went to J Bar. The re-done Junction. It is so much nicer, but just isn't the same. My feet didn't stick to the floor, there was room to walk around and the second floor actually looked like you wouldn't fall through.

3. O'betty's opened another store. Its larger and nicer, but we still went to the original one for our fries.
4. Wings Over Athens is new. We didn't go there, we ate too much everywhere else.

5. We also got our first parking ticket. Boo. Meters in Cleveland aren't enforced on weekends. We always thought meters in Athens weren't actually enforced either... I guess that's new or we just never knew.

We had a lot of fun exploring what was new, and also revisiting some of our favorite places. We are getting a little old for OU, so we'll probably wait until homecoming to visit again. It's an exhausting place to visit.