How do you spell Ohio - F A M I L Y

We've just spent 4 days in the Cleveland area visiting family. It was a surprise to us to find out that it was going to be a sort of family reunion. Not only did we have Rita, but her sister Sheila and her daughter and granddaughter were in attendance.

Rita is very special to Ed.

When Ed came to the U.S. 40 years ago, he was taken in by Rita and Eric Stern and their daughters Carole and Linda. Eric took him to Ohio State University and helped him through the admission process. If not for Eric, Ed wouldn't be a Buckeye or have enjoyed his dream of an aerospace career. He spent all holidays and summers with the Stern's, and they packed up as a group and came to our wedding in Los Angeles. Rita was very supportive of our relationship and encouraged Ed to follow his heart. My husband has known the joy of having two moms.






That's Linda Green on the left and our cousin Sheila Gore on the right. Rita and Sheila are sisters and spend about a month or more together every year. They alternate visits - a bigger thing than you might expect. Sheila lives in Liverpool, England.

This is Carole Switzer and her daughter Hannah. Carole's husband, Bruce, was home in Tucson, AZ dog sitting. We had a wonderful time with Hannah. The two of us went to the movies together. The movie was cute, but I found Hannah cuter. She has agreed to be my honorary grandchild.

Finally, meet Linda and Shelly - Cleveland residents and parents of Jake. Jake is in Israel for the summer.

It was good to see everyone. We have moved on are in Pennsylvania today - just relaxing tonight and hoping the weather improves for our time here. Fallingwater is on the agenda...

I keep telling Ed that I have to write about the "bread basket" of the country. We've gone through Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. There's a lot of sameness in those states and also a lot of differences. The thing they all have in common is the vast expanses of ranches and farmlands and growing crops. We found ourselves talking about this bread basket as we drove the countrysides instead of driving the interstates - something we don't think about when we walk into the grocery store or go to a farmer's market. The enormity of feeding and sustaining this country suddenly becomes clear. There's a very quiet and earthy quality about all the small towns. It's very sad to drive through them and feel like I've taken a step back in time. They seem to be frozen between 1930 and 1960 - and many of them haven't survived. It takes gentrification to bring back the small towns, but that seems to happen only when they are near a propering city - and then they aren't farm towns anymore. The people are always friendly and helpful and not suspicious like us city folk. I think everyone should drive across the U.S. It surely gives perspective...

More from Pennsylvania later.