Illinois-Ohio
JUly 2024

Dates: July 25-31, 2024

People: Mark, Sarah, Luke, Jonah, Seth, Anya, Ben

Itinerary

• 7-25 (Travel Day)

• 7-26 (Family/Jackson Day)

• 7-27 (Family Day)

• 7-28 (Family Day)

• 7-29 (Cincinnati Zoo)

• 7-30 (Kings Island)

• 7-31 (Hocking Hills)

THURSDAY JULY 25

Today was our travel day to get down to Dorsey to help this weekend of moving prep and retirement celebration.  We weren't in a super hurry but we did want to see about making supper.  We left the house at 9am.  We were driving the Pacifica with the rocket box on top.  It was fairly full other than the stow-n-gos.  We made a quick gas stop at Kroger in town and then we headed off for Toledo.  We took US 24 over to Fort Wayne and then down I69.  

We stopped at the Pipe Creek rest area which seems to be our every-trip stop on 69.  We decided on lunch at Portillo's in Fishers.  We made it to Effingham by 2:50pC and hit the BP for more gas.  We made it to the Kerns at 4:40pm.

We spent the evening hanging out and helping them start to get things in the house ready for the move.  Luke and Seth and I did some Frisbee tag out in the front yard.  Some of the others got a game of DnD started.  We had pizza pickup from Dominos for supper. 

FRIDAY JULY 26

I started the day with a walk on the country roads near the house.  It was already warm and muggy out.  Lisa picked up donuts for breakfast.  Luke, Seth and I headed into Alton to Rock Spring Park to try out their disc golf course.  It was hilly and thick with brush but we had a good time with it. Found one disc, nearly lost one. Spent 20 minutes looking for it.  We played through 12 holes and then had to go.  We had a goal of leaving the house at 11am to drive down to Jackson.

It ended up being 11:30a when we left.  We stopped at Taco Bell in Bethalto for lunch.  Their friers were down and their app orders were down.  We spent the afternoon in Jackson visiting with Grandma Kern.  Sharon, Patsy, Teri all stopped by to say hi.  

On the drive back up to Dorsey we met Dave at Castellis in Alton for supper.  They had some gift cards to use up there.  It was a nice Italian restaurant.  I tried their spaghetti. 

SATURDAY JULY 27

I began today with another walk on the roads near the house.  Got about 3 miles in.  We spent the morning hanging around the house.  Dave took some of us over to his office at the church to see if there were any of his old books we might want to take before the move.   We did leftovers and oven food for lunch.

At 3pm we met up at Schlaflys Bottleworks in St. Louis for the Retirement party.  Randy + Marie, Barb + Tom, Walt + Sharon, Nathan + Amanda Plus their girls were all present.  We had reserved a private room at the Bottleworks and it also gave us our own private bartender and server.  This lasted for 3 hours and we all ordered some supper along the way.  I tried Schlaflys Pale Ale and their Dry Hopped APA while there.

We headed back to the house to hang out for the evening and were watching the Paris Olympics on TV.

SUNDAY JULY 28

Another morning walk today to get the day started right.  Sarah took Anya over to Sunday School at 9am.  The rest of us came over for church at 10am.  This was Dave's last Sunday at Emmaus.  It was a nice normal Sunday service with Divine Service Setting 3.  After worship we headed into their fellowship hall for a potluck lunch for the congregation to bid him farewell.  Southern Illinois District President Schaar was there for the whole thing and led the Farewell and Godspeed Rite from the Agenda at the luncheon.

We were back to the house for the afternoon to continue getting the house ready for packing and the move tomorrow.  I spent more time following the Olympics and entertaining the littles.  We spent the evening getting our stuff packed up to travel in the morning.  For supper we did grilled cheese sandwiches.

MONDAY JULY 29

We were up at 4:30am today with the hopes of leaving by 5a and getting to the Cincinnati Zoo.  It ended up being 5:30a by the time we left.  We did a gas stop at the I55 intersection on our way to I70.  We stopped for coffee in Effingham.  We took the route up to Indianapolis and then I74 to Cincinnati.  On the SE side of Indy we stopped for a bathroom break.  We had to reroute on a city street as 465 was closed in that section.

We did lunch at Wendy's in Harrison just before reaching Cincinnati.  We figured this would save on eating inside the zoo.  It was 1pm when we hit the zoo.  Just as we parked a t-storm rolled through and rained on us for 20 minutes, but that was it.  It got hot and humid for awhile after the storm.

The zoo was nice and lush with plants along every walkway.  Several great exhibits including the lions, manatees, kangaroos, blue penguins, giraffes. We stayed at the zoo til closing at 5pm.

During our trip we had discovered that the Cubs were in town playing the Reds.  The timing would work perfectly for those who wanted to go see the ballgame at Great American Ballpark. It was ultimately decided that just Luke, Seth and I would go, Jonah wasn't interested.  I was following Stubhub during the day to see what tickets would be good.  Plenty available and not a sell out.  I ended up grabbing $10 tickets in the left field bleacher section.  We also had to decide how to handle vehicles.  Our hotel was on the NE side at Mason and about 30 mins from the park.  It ultimately made the most sense for Sarah to drop our trip at the ballpark after the zoo as they were only 3 miles apart.  After the game she would come back down and pick us up. 

The others headed to the hotel after the zoo and the ballpark dropoff.  They had supper at Outback Steakhouse, right next to our hotel. we stayed at the Comfort Suites in Mason which was only a mile from Kings Island.

The game was great.  We sat in section 405, Row B, seats 3-5. We were there an hour early and walked around the park and got food. Food and drink was typical ballpark pricey.  It was hot and we were hoping for the moment the sun would set out of view.  The game itself was not so great as the Cubs lost 7-1 and just didn't play well as has been the theme this year. The offense was atrocious.  Jameson Taillon started for the Cubs.

TUESDAY JULY 30

We planned out the whole day for King's Island and Soak City today.  We hit the hotel breakfast around 8:30 and then relaxed a bit. King's Island opened at 10am and we wanted to try and get over there just a little before that. It was probably 9:50a when we left the hotel and it was a short drive over. I had out parking pass prepaid on my phone and so that was just swiped as we entered electronically.

Tickets had been listed as $44.99 for a day ticket when bought online.  Figuring there was no hurry, no risk, I waited and waited to buy them.  Then this morning I found out that when you buy them "same-day" they go up to $54.99.  I wasn't pleased but there was nothing I could do.  Anya was classified as a junior and she was $5 cheaper than the rest.  Ben was free as he was under 3.  Tickets were all done electronically through the King's Island app.

Entry into the parking after parking was easy and typical basic security.  We headed in and walked over to the Banshee coaster first.  It was not open yet (maintenance? or tests?).  Our group decided to split at this point.  Sarah and Lisa and Jonah took the littles to the Snoopy Kids area.  Luke, Seth, and I rode coasters.

Morning Coasters:

• Invertigo.  Waited 20 minutes.  It was a unique out and back style of coaster. Had one loop, one corkscrew and two big hills.  You do it all forwards and then you did it all backwards. It was a bottomless seat type.  I was a bit dizzy afterwards.

• Banshee.  Classic bottomless seat type with several inversions. 25 minutes wait. We sat front row and it was well worth it.

We met up with Sarah and the others in the Snoopy Kids Area.  We decided on buying their refillable cup for $18 and it was well worth. Probably refilled 8 or 9 times.  Only caveat was 15 minutes between refills.  The Littles did several kids rides.  I did the Great Pumpkin Coaster with Anya and she loved it. We also tried Woodstock's Air Rail which was a legit bottom-less seat coaster.  No inversions, somewhat slower speed but still a 4 of 5 on the "thrill-meter".  Anya was very scared during ride and after.  Wanted to see what she would think and it was a fail.  We all did lunch at Pigpen's Mess Hall.  $15.99 for an entree+side.  Crazy pricey.

Group split up again, Luke, Seth and I went for more coasters, the others walked over to Soak City water park.

Afternoon Coasters

• Diamondback. 17 minute wait. No inversions but a major super-G coaster. Lots of zero G on the hills and large-G on the bottoms.

We then walked over to Soak City. It was about 3pm.  Lots of fun at water park. We had a nice area in the shade to leave the strollers and stuff. Littles had a great kiddie pool and slide to enjoy.  I did Rendezvous Run slide twice w/ boys and then did Tropical Plunge Tube slide.  Luke and Seth also did one of the other slides which ended up having a horrible wait and slow turnaround.  The Littles napped while we did the latter slides.  Before leaving Sarah did the wave pool with boys for 30 minutes.

We app ordered Pizza Hut for supper and picked it up on our way to the hotel. It was around 6pm. We did change of clothes and ate.  Luke, Jonah, Seth and I returned to the park around 7:30pm for more rides.

Evening Coasters

• Tried Orion but after 5 minutes in line it had technical difficulties, so we bailed.

• Diamondback. 15 minutes wait.

• Orion. 20 minutes wait. Very similar to Millennium Force at Cedar Point. Top speed 92ft, nearly 300 foot hill.

• On our walk out of Area 72 we got stuck for 10 minutes behind the Carnivale Parade.

• Banshee. Basically no wait, just for front row

• Banshee. No wait.

• The Bat. No wait, but for front. Long walk back to this coaster tucked in the corner of the park.  Apparently an old classic at King's Island.  A swinging car coaster and was fun in the dark, felt like a bat soaring through the forest. I was a bit queasy after due to a full tummy from supper and three straight coasters with little-to-no-wait in between.

• The boys went back for a second go at The Bat.

It was 9:50p and we decided we were good (park closed at 10p) and we headed for the car.  At the car we looked back over the main plaza with the Eiffel Tower and watched their Under the Stars drone, lights, and firework show.

WEDNESDAY JULY 31

We did the hotel breakfast before 9am and then got packed up and ready to hit the road.  It was 10am when we left the hotel.  Lisa and Noah were joining us today.  We headed out for Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio.  We made it around noon. We headed into the really nice Lodge and did lunch at the Cafe 22/Rock House Restaurant.  We ordered subs and a pizza from the Cafe but it came through the Restaurant.  While we waited the Littles did a table craft in the Lodge lobby.  Most of the food came in 25 minutes but they forgot about mine and Jonah's subs which took another 30 minutes.

After lunch we braved the heat and humidity and hiked the Whispering Cave trail out and back.  It was about 90 degrees.  The hike was just over a half mile each way.  

Hocking Hills Hiking Trip Report

After the hike we hit the Lodge for A/C and to refill water and cool off.  We decided to head over to the Visitor Center and the guys would hike it.

At the Visitor Center we decided with the heat and the Littles we wouldn't do any of the hikes around Old Man's Cave.  Something to save for next time. It was time to hit the road for home.  It was 4:45pm.

We drove home through Logan, Columbus, Marysville, Kenton and Findlay on the route Google Maps gave us.  Did supper at 7:45p at the Chick-fil-A in Findlay. Made it home at 9:30pm.O 

DRIVING MAP