On Wednesday night we said goodbye to my parents after a great two-week visit. [See below for a big selection of photos from our visit to my grandparents house in Barnesville and the engagement party that my mom and dad threw for us at their house in Columbus last Sunday]. We boarded a Greyhound bus at the Columbus terminal, bound for Cincinnati two hours to the southwest. The bus ride to Cincinnati was uneventful. We had over two hours to kill in Cinci, so luckily Union Station, where our train ride began, is a bit of an art deco masterpiece that has recently been restored and made into museums. Continue reading…

We thought we would give a quick update on our whirlwind tour of the states so far. We started off in Boston where we caught a few breaths from our hectic wrap up in Leeds. In Boston I got a full dose of American history in the first day as we walked the Freedom trail. On day two we hired a car (guiltily emitting some carbon) and headed to Maine for Adrian and Alex’s wedding. Maine is gorgeous – very lush and green. It is well known for lobster and blueberries, both of which we managed to eat. We also managed to sneak in a sunset hike in Camden Hills State Park, which gave us a striking view of the Maine coast from its heights. Adrian and Alex’s wedding was lovely and lots of fun — the ceremony, set at Alex’s family homestead, was beautiful and everyone danced the night away in the barn.

On Sunday and Monday after the wedding we made a swift visit to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to catch up with Mark’s friends. Chapel Hill is a trendy little town where Mark did his post-graduate studies and where he has some great friends. As well as the great company, of note in Chapel Hill was a really good goat sandwich from a place called Sandwhich and some gourmet Popsicles at Locopops (cucumber & chilli and mango & chilli). We then headed to the Harris family’s favourite beach spot, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Continue reading…