It's Independence Day!

Today, in the Independence Bracket we have heavy hitters, Virginia and Ohio! The 10th and 17th states respectively to enter the Union.

Let's check the map! Would Virginia's destination be Richmond? Many moons ago, I spent the weekend in Norfolk. Maybe there. What about Ohio? Tera and Treye, where are you? Are we coming to you this year? It's the three C's. Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati- which is actually in Kentucky! Too confusing.

Okay, and I need that big mouth bass from Fancy Flours over here! All four states that have entered the semi-finals have the same state bird... the cardinal. I don't know, but something is fishy!

Vote! Over there------->>>>

The quiet before the storm...

Happy Friday everyone. Here's where we stand. There will be no voting today. We will resume our semi-final round next Tuesday with voting for one bracket only.

Tuesday will be the Freedom Bracket:
Kentucky will duke it out with yesterdays winner Illinois.

Wednesday will be the Independence Bracket:
Virginia will battle it out with yesterdays winner Ohio.

Thursday will be the Liberty Bracket:
Indiana- state de la Cassie- goes up against New York.

The winners of the above competitions are our winners of each bracket. Taste of USA will be decided on Friday between those three states! Got it? Good!

Now go have a great Memorial Day weekend with your peeps!

I feel ick.

This is going to be short because I'm not 100%.

Plain and simple.

Vote over there------>>>

Freedom Bracket:
Georgia or Illinois

Independence Bracket:
Ohio or Arizona

Liberty Bracket:
Oklahoma or New York

Monday Madness

Welcome back loyal readers. Did you see that Survivor Finale last night? JT- you gotta love him! I still wish Brandon had won. Coach is still an idiot. I liked Sierra last night, too. Well now, let's get on with our little contest. Don't forget you're voting for where YOU want to go because you're coming to Taste of USA right? Right?

Freedom Bracket:
Ohio or Tennessee, oh, where will it be?

Independence Bracket:
Georgia or South Carolina, will it be here or there?

Liberty Bracket:
Kansas or Oklahoma, as long as you come to party with us, I don't care!

Vote Over There----->>>>

Write your own poem in the comment section and be entered into a drawing for something from Hobby Lobby... it's kind of like door #1 or door #2 but it's a whole store for me to choose from... I kind of know what I have in mind but I'm not sure if it's there so, you'll just have to wait and see!

Pick Your States Not Your Nose!

Ha! Ha! I crack me up. Friday! Friday! Yay!

5th day of voting and after today you don't have to come back until Monday when Round 1 will continue. But let's focus on today.

Vote 3 times over there --------->>>>

Freedom: Ohio vs. Maryland
Tera and Treye are in Ohio, right? Hmmm.... Can Maryland crab cakes take over Tera and Treye in Ohio? We shall see.

VOTE OVER THERE---->

Independence: Georgia vs. Vermont The peach battles maple syrup! I know, let's pour some maple syrup on grilled peaches! Did I just make that recipe up?

VOTE OVER THERE------>

Liberty: Massachusetts vs. Kansas The home of the Boston Tea party battles the largest ball of string... sing it loud, sing it proud- where do you want to go?

VOTE OVER THERE-----> cha-cha-cha... I'll give you a recap tomorrow. Isn't it liberating to be silly. Go ahead. Try it!

Welcome to Contest Friday!

All Passengers from California, Iowa, Missouri, O-H-I-O & Vermont report to your appointed decks! It's your day to chime in and tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

Cassie P was born in California almost 21 years ago and loves the sun. Jayme visited the San Diego Zoo and was impressed with how close the zoo was like the animals natural habitat. She also visited Disneyland. Go Mickie. And, La Jolla beaches with their cliffs and seals.

Cassie Y dated a boy from Iowa but he and his family didn't tan well. If we build it Heather and hubby Bal will perform marching magic there. At this time I don't have any photos but hopefully Heather will be able to work that out. Her AWESOME supervisor is from Iowa and the very AWESOME Katie O. is from Iowa. Shout out Katie O!

Tera SHOWED ME her picture taken from the top of the arch!

Heather didn't make it to the top of the arch. With the car running, her and her crazy friends just ran up and touched it. I hope your professor isn't reading this Ms. Heather, or you are in trouble!

Tera confirmed that Anheuser Busch does serve beer at the end of the tour and it's the freshest, best beer you'll ever drink. And she also gave us a great tip on where to eat ice cream/custard- Ted Drewes.

We had a lot of great comments about Ohio. Too many for me to repost them all here. Thanks Tera, Treye, Katie K and Heather. We did learn that Cincinnati likes to claim parts of Kentucky though. I think that should make Kentucky feel good. I wonder will Kentucky claim parts of Ohio? Tera mentioned Ceader Point and when I came home tonight and turned on the tv there was something on about Ceader Point! Hmm... Tera also sent me a picture of a sea turtle at the Newport Aquarium. I think his name is Tommy. And, she sent me a picture of Peacock from a zoo but I'm not sure which one. I think the Peacock's name is Perry and he's all fluffed up like that because he's trying to steal Tera from Treye. I think he's out of luck. Perry, not Treye.

And sadly, none of us have been to Vermont but we HAVE to go.

Not from any of the states that we've talked about to date? Stay Tuned! Next week is Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana and Virginia. And your state will be coming up soon! Has your state already passed and you didn't play? Don't give up! A make up day will reveal itself!

Two Beautiful States

We have two states to visit today- Ohio & Vermont.

Welcome to the Buckeye State- Ohio! Ohio has some very claims as the "birth place of" including:

• 7 US presidents- Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, McKinley, Taft & Harding, all born in Ohio
  
• Aviation Pioneers, Orville Wright, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, all born in Ohio
  
• the first professional baseball team- the 1869 Cincinnati Reds
  
• the all-American favorite- the hot dog.
  

Lately, I've been writing a lot about the metroplexes of our states so I'm going to start today off with if you want to go camping, hiking, or boating Ohio has offers many state parks for you to enjoy nature. So get out in nature and enjoy the day.

But, if you want to stay in the city we can do that, too. Today we're going to explore the cities of Cleveland and Cincinnati.

So, Cincinnati still has the Reds (have I been calling them the Red Sox incorrectly my whole life?) that you can go and cheer for but they also have the Cincinnati Bengals that you can cheer for in the fall. Or go and cheer for the nationally ranked college basketball teams from Xavier University or the University of Cincinnati.



For Tera and Trey, there's the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Have y'all checked that one off your list yet? Now, I'm on a mission to find all zoos. How about aquariums? The Newport Aquarium looks like fun. I'm into sharks right now.

We'll come back on August 31st to celebrate the end of summer at the Riverfest. There is all the usual festival events including food, music, entertainment all day ending with a spectacular fireworks show. There's also Taste of Cincinnati. There are only 337 more days until it's here again. Yes, sadly we missed this years event.

We have to get this show on the road so let's go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. This place looks cool and they host events and concerts throughout the year. They're only closed Christmas day and Thanksgiving day so we should be able to make it.

Of course, we can always go and cheer for the Cleveland Browns, Indians, Cavaliers or the new Lake Erie monsters. But if you're not into sports we can always go shopping, art gazing or the ever popular ZOO! Be sure to check out the link above to Positively Cleveland. It really does look like a cool city to visit.

We have to hurry now. I hate to rush you but we still have to go to Vermont. I do want to share one more stop in Ohio though. We have to go to Lake Erie Shores & Islands. If I'm looking at this correctly, it looks like the strip of land between Toledo and Cleveland. It has boating and roller coasters and lighthouse and, and, and the Merry-Go-Round Museum! I love it! Let's go!

Fun facts for Ohio are the state bird is the Cardinal, the state flower is the Scarlet Carnation, and the state tree is the Ohio Buckeye.

All Buckeyes meet on the Buckeye deck on Friday, June 20th and tell us what makes Ohio the Taste of USA!

But don't go away yet. We have one more stop today. Please keep your hands inside the boat as we cruise up to Vermont. Welcome to the Green Mountain State. North Dakota was ranked 51st in violent crimes (and no, I didn't see Fargo) and now Vermont is ranked 50th in violent crimes. Hey, two safe places to live! And, it's ranked 49th in population. Vermont thrives on the maple syrup industry and the skiing/tourism industry.

There are any number of farms for us to visit in Vermont. Country Shop at Robb Family Farms, Billings Farm and Museum, Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, or just go to Vermont Farms and discover one on your own.

From the list of 30 Great Things To Do in Vermont, I really want to take an art class at Frog Hollow. Vermont also advertises for a lot of "Romantic Getaways" and the place made me laugh. It's called the Reluctant Panther Inn and Restaurant. Didn't I just hear on the radio that the younger "Cougars" are being called "Panthers" or did I make that up. Anyway, it looks like a nice place to go.

All the pictures of Vermont look so peaceful and relaxed. If it wasn't so darn cold there in the winter, I would want to move there today! They have beautiful covered bridges in Vermont like we talked about in Iowa. There is something very romantic about their photos.

We have to go to Basin Harbour Club. It looks like camp for families and the photos are stunning! We're going to get up and take a stroll, play some tennis, go for a swim, play bingo and make s'mores! Pets are welcome! Maybe I can get a summer job here when my kids grow up and leave the nest! That's how beautiful this place is!

The fun facts for Vermont are the state bird is the Cardinal, the flower is the Red Clover and the tree is the Sugar Maple. That reminds me... fall! You have to check Vermont out in the fall because I hear the leaves are amazing.

All Vermonters meet on the Maple Syrup deck Friday, June 20th, to tell us what makes Vermont the Taste of USA.