American Journey, Part 2

The first week we stayed at my brother's place in Medina, Ohio. The weather was nice and warm (and thankfully less humid than Japan) so everyone was able to relax and play around a little.

Dad playing lacrosse, right-handed? Rob and I both play left-handed. Guess we both got that from mum.

My mum brought a set of toy lacrosse sticks for little to play with. But as she expected, Rob and I played with them most of the time. We had both played lacrosse when we were younger so it was fun to get to chuck a ball around again (without the fear of banging up the cars on our street as was the situation when we were young.) I'll have to get a set of these for Japan sometime.

Everyone into the pool! Hey hey, let's keep it PG here.

Not sure if he's gettin' in or gettin' out here.

I got to tag along to a local gymboree. I'd heard of them before but I had never been to one before, or even known much about them. They are really fun though, and I think the parents sitting around and talking had just as much fun as the kids. It's a great chance for new parents to meet others in the same boat and to 'talk shop.'

Jonn and his friends greet 'Gymbo.'

John and Rob

Playing on the parachute

Back at the house we all had a present exchange. I thought I had brought a lot of stuff from Japan (John got all the best stuff, of course) but my mum showed me up. She brought about 40 sets of clothing for John! If he doesn't grow then he's set for life. My mum is quite the shopper. With so many new clothes I'm sure John wouldn't mind not getting the lacrosse sticks after all :)

Of all the presents he got from Japan, John seemed to like his 'samurai sword' best.

With sword in hand and diaper on bum, he is ready for anything.

John also got a cool English soccer jersey from my mum. Geez, not even 2 years old and he's already more stylish than I am.

One day we went to a nature preserve where my brother is one of the board of directors. You'd think that with connections like that they'd let me bag a tiger or something, but no. Still, it was a beautiful day and in Japan you don't get all that many chances to wander around in surroundings like that and breathe in fresh air for free.

The gang: dad, me, mum, Ann, Rob, and John hogging the stroller. No one else even got a chance.

This was actually taken while Rob and mum and I went for a stroll around his housing development. Pretty cool eh? Lots of trees, green, ponds. We even saw a watersnake with a dead fish in its mouth. Ya don't see that everyday.

On the way home we stopped at this little corner market for some delicious ice cream. I'm surprised they had room for ice cream with all the Nascar stuff there though. I couldn't believe how popular Nascar racing is there. Next to football its the biggest sport. And personally, I don't even consider car racing a support.

Can you make out the name of the store above? It's 'River Styx Market.' My brother's housing development is just off of River Styx Road. Pretty spooky name, but easy to remember.

On another day we drove into Cleveland to check out the sites.

The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

I'd been in the Hall of Fame before so we didn't go in this time. Besides, it's all INSYNC stuff anyways. We went to the Great Lakes Science Center next door to see the fascinating but slightly creepy Body Worlds exhibition. Real human bodies, with all the skin removed, posed in many different ways to reveal everything. And I mean everything. Donor applications were being given out to visitors and according to one staff member I talked to they had run out of the forms days ago. It seems that many people wouldn't mind their bodies being put on display after they've shuffled off this shiny planet. It's very brave of them.

No cameras were allowed inside but here's a split open camel from the lobby for you to enjoy.

We also saw the Imax film called 'The Human Body'. I didn't know that newborns have a 'diving reflex'. Up until 6 months old they can instictively hold their breath when they go underwater. I figured that was all just a trick on that Nirvana CD cover but it's real. Very neat.

One day we all went swimming at Ann's mother's complex. There is a nice big pool for all the residents to use. Afterwards we went to a nice restaurant and had dinner outside.

A little blurry but everyone's here. My dad, Ann's mum Margaret with John, my mum, my brother Rob and his wife Ann.

Margaret with her grandson.

Rob and Ann get a brief respite from watching John.

One evening we all went to the local county fair. There was a very real Dukes of Hazzard feeling in the air but it was very fun.

This was the health food section. Must be all the corn-dogs they were selling.

Our main reason for coming was to watch the dirt bike races. I'm pretty sure they were all amateur races but the older racers (teenagers) were very good and taking huge jumps. Ann's nephew Thomas (please correct if I'm mixing him up with his brother) was going to be racing in the kids' division. It was very fun watching these tiny little bikes whizzing around the track. There weren't allowed to go over the big bumps so they had to snake around them. They were real bikes though, it was very impressive.

Mini speedsters in action.

Despite a minor pile up near the beginning of the race Thomas ended up finishing 4th. Congratulations!!

John and his very cool cousins.

Don't think it was all fun and games though. They had me working during this trip. There were the frequent trips to super markets and Babies R Us for example.

Scientists have determined that the male fear of shopping is instilled at an early age.

And with a yard as big as my brother's it needed frequent work. Luckily I was assigned the funner stuff.

While Ann toils away with the blower...

I was goofing off on the riding mower. Giddyup!