Saturday at the River

After work on Friday, Todd & I again hit the road for an overnight trip. This week we were headed up to visit Todd's family in Leetonia, Ohio and spend yesterday at the river. We didn't leave until around 6:30 PM on Friday so after a quick stop for dinner, we were ready for the almost 3 hour drive. A little over halfway, we stopped at the Dariette for some ice cream. My peanut butter cup arctic swirl, similar to a blizzard, hit the spot.

Quick Stop at the Dariette

We arrived in Leetonia a little after 9:00 PM and stopped by Todd's cousin's house where they were having a joint birthday party/college going away party for his cousins. We were both pretty tired and only stayed for less than an hour. I had an early wake-up call as I was planning on running 17 mi in the morning with Todd joining me for the last 8 mi.

Our run yesterday went smoothly and luckily we beat the heat for the most part, especially since most of the time we were in the shade. I headed out on a local bike trail that's 10 mi long. I ran down 4.5 mi and then came back to the start where Todd met me and we did another 4 down and 4 back. I averaged 8:12 pace for my first 9 mi and then Todd & I did 8 mi in 8:58 pace. My average pace for 17 mi was 8:33. I'm very proud of Todd because this is the longest he's ever run! A month ago he was struggling to run 4 and 5 mi and now he can easily do 8 mi.

In the early afternoon, Todd & I headed to East Liverpool, Ohio with his mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew to spend the day at the river. East Liverpool is right on the border of Ohio and West Virginia and his family has a spot on an island on the Ohio River where they built a one-room cabin with a loft. Todd spent a lot of time here during the summer when he was younger and he loves to come back.

We parked our cars at the wharf and took their boat to the island

The view of the island just past the bridge....to the left of the island is Ohio and to the right is West Virginia

Todd's family's boat

The dock where we hung out most of the day

Steps leading up from the dock to their cabin, picnic table, grill, etc.

The cabin

Todd & I out on the boat....this is my 3rd time here & I think it's rained every time

Todd's nephew tubing

Todd water-skiing

Despite the off and on rain, the weather was still warm & humid and I had a great time hanging out with Todd's family. I'm hoping next time we go up, I'll either attempt to tube or water ski....although water-skiing makes me nervous because I tend to get injured very easily.

On the way home, we made a pit stop at Giant Eagle to get a drink and use the restroom. I had tried Nutella for the first time at Todd's parent's house yesterday morning and loved it so I couldn't resist not buying any at Giant Eagle as we walked right past it. I think it could've been a bad thing that I tried it because now I will always want to have some on hand because it was so good.

My purchase on the way home