We arrived at Dana’s cousins’ in Youngstown around noon yesterday, unpacked the bikes and gear and said a heartfelt thank you and good-bye to Tinamarie & Todd as they headed off to Cuyahoga Valley National Park & Cleveland to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
We also arrived to a very warm welcome from Dante, Pat, Chris, & Gina, and Dana’s Altoona cousin John & his wife Jo who were also visiting for the day. They put on a feast of an Italian Sunday dinner for us even though it was a Tuesday. The wine and the conversation flowed freely as Dana et al poured over family photos her dad & mom had kept in hopes of Dante & Pat identifying some of the people — an endeavor that was somewhat successful.
We were joined later in the afternoon by Dana’s cousin Dan and his wife Jacque who were putting us up at their house on Lake Milton a little west of Youngstown. They drove us and the bikes and gear to the house and left us to enjoy a peaceful sunset. After the hectic days of the past week, and little sleep last night for either of us, we followed the sunset with a long & deep sleep. Tomorrow’s weather is calling for thunderstorms, so we’re going to hang here another day, do a little hiking and kayaking, and start our ride to Akron on Thursday.
Wow! What a gorgeous place to stop over for another day : )
Good luck getting started tomorrow!