kellita the señorita the ibby dibby dow: I just threw up a little

I got sparklers in the mail drop yesterday from my mom and Judy. I was very excited, since I looked for them all over in New York in time for the 4th, but totally struck out. Even the Indian Reservations (which seem to be the only place that sell them) were out of them. So it's like my mom could read my mind, and I'm glad. Now we just need to find the perfect time to use them.

Today was a bummer, which eventually paid itself off. We woke up to a thunder and lightning storm, and after a couple hours of deliberation and watching the weather satellite, we had to call the day. No riding, not safe enough. So what we do is shuttle all the riders and their bikes from one city to the next. The route was 80 miles from Ashtabula to Avon Lake. 3 shuttles at 1.5 hours each direction. The math is about 9-10 hours in the car for the driver. It was a long frustrating day for everyone. The day was saved for me when Sam sensed that I was at the end of my rope, and played the best road trip sing-a-long mix ever. And all was well again. I'm talking Life is a Highway, Free Bird, and Don't Stop Believin to finish it off (which came on as we pulled in the parking lot with the windows down. The rest of the team was motioning us to be quiet because they were doing a bike clinic, so we closed the windows, and continued screaming along in the van until we were done and others joined until we rocked it out).

The Avon Lake host is AMAZING. Instead of staying at the church itself, individual members of the church open up their homes to us, and the riders are split into groups. We had a big dinner at the church then were introduced to our families. I got to stay at the big lake house with Jillian, Jamey, AK, Chris, and Paul. They had a huge lake party for all the riders.

The lake was insane. The waves were like nothing I've ever seen before. Every once in a while, a huge one would come in, hit the wall, and send another huge wave back at you. Without fail, each time this happened we all squealed with glee, and were thrown under water as if we hadn't experienced this before. It happened about every 10 minutes. It was funny because every time it happened, everyone looked surprised by it. I am glad that no one drowned, but we spent about 2 hours swallowing at least 1/4 of the lake water, which is beyond disgusting, but I'd say worth it. Sarah and Liz (who is now referred to as Leg) did not get to join us because they were giggling and doing laundry at Agnes' house, which doesn't even begin to explain what really happened.

We are getting spoiled with all these beds. I love it!

Shout out to Kaitlin and Alison for coming to visit in Avon Lake. Love you girls, and Cleveland does Rock!