We made it to the East Coast!

Well folks, we’re alive and we’ve made it to the East Coast! Apologies for forgetting to write a post for many weeks, but we are excited to update you on what we have been up to over the summer.

Week 8 - 240 Miles

We arrived in Minneapolis on July 15th to visit Grace’s aunt, uncle, and cousins for the week. We stayed in a cute Airbnb by one of Minnesota’s many lakes. We both enjoyed spending time in Minneapolis - that was Brian’s first time there! We also celebrated Grace’s cousin Ruby’s 20th birthday with the family. Talk about perfect timing! We filled our time in MN with of lots of work, walking around lakes, drinking iced coffee, and spending time with family. What a great way to kick off our Midwestern summer!

Week 9 - 280 Miles

From Minneapolis, we drove south to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to visit Grace’s two sets of grandparents and another aunt, uncle, and cousins. We stayed at Grammy Kay’s house and visited with all the family around town through the week. We enjoyed spending the morning sitting in her garden sunroom before it became too hot and humid. Brian enjoyed her “Cape Cod” themed bathroom even more - he felt right at home!

After staying in Cedar Rapids for a few days, we flew with Grace’s uncle, Mark, up to visit Aunt Amy at their house on Beaver Island. The island was a magical place with only a couple of paved roads, lots of trees, and 360-degree lake views. Grace’s dad flew up to stay on Beaver Island for a few days which was a fantastic reunion! We harvested handfuls of wild blueberries in the backyard for delicious muffins. We caught so many fish we did two fish-frys, devoured Amy’s incredible cooking, and soaked up Beaver Island’s quiet beauty. We are ready to return for future summers!

Week 10 - 500 Miles

We flew back to Cedar Rapids with Grace’s dad where we stayed at Grammy Kay’s house again. It was great to have three generations of Harrisons together. By the end of this week, Brian had met every single member of Grace’s family, children and babies included! It was an impressive feat and was so great to see both sets of Grace’s grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, and Co.

Week 11 - 350 Miles

We left Cedar Rapids, Iowa on August 4th and headed East for Milwaukee. We were visiting Milwaukee to see a friend of Brian’s and his brothers. Kate was a fantastic host and tour-guide - we both were glad to have made the stop! We loved walking around her cute neighborhood and looking at all the unique old houses. We had great beer and even better cheese curds (seriously why don’t more places serve these??). We both felt like Milwaukee’s layout reminded us of Portland, Oregon where each neighborhood has its own personality and main street with local bars and restaurants. After a couple of days, we packed the car back up and made the quick drive down to Chicago.

We stayed in a small apartment above a restaurant in Wicker Park. We both loved and enjoyed being back in a big city. We had some great meals including Mediterranean foods, Korean fusion, crispy pizza, and fantastic tacos! We enjoyed a free Corrine Bailey Ray concert at Millenium Park (incredible!) and of course, visited The Bean. Brian’s parents made a last-minute trip to Chicago to enjoy the weekend with him visiting museums, watching the Blue Angels, and staying at the historic Palmer House Hotel. It was the perfect reunion after a few months apart.

Week 12 - 1,150 Miles (go Brian!!)

While Brian’s parents visited, Grace headed off on her own adventure that she and her friends had planned many months ago… Alaska!!! Grace stayed in Alaska for a full week celebrating Zoe’s 30th birthday. Most notably, they crossed off Kenai Fjord and Denali National Parks. They ate lots of seafood, hiked the gorgeous mountains and valleys, and got as close to a couple of glaciers as possible. Grace and her friends took a boat tour in Seward, AK where they saw two glaciers, a humpback whale, porpoises, and a pod of Orcas! In Denali, they did a bus tour where they saw 4 bears, a moose, and her baby, and Denali standing tall without any cloud coverage. We were so lucky. It was great to see friends again and laugh all day together. At the end of the trip, Grace flew back to Boston to meet back up with Brian and his family.

In the meantime, Brian had continued driving across the country. However, he did make a pitstop in Toronto (#internationaltrip!!) and saw his sister-in-law’s family. He made another stop in upstate New York to attend his friend Sean’s bachelor party! The boys all had a great time and nobody went (too) broke at the casino.