Post #200! The Jeni Tour Itinerary!

Let the Jeni Tour Commence!

This trip is going to be fantastic in every way!  I will be visiting many places I've never been and having a TON of fun while finally getting the opportunity to meet some of my lovely blog friends in person! Thank you all for "inviting" me
   to your hometowns!

To begin, I will be leaving Colorado and heading Northeast!  

Illinois is a state I have not been to before, so I am excited about coming here!  My inaugural stop in the state of Illinois is bound to be memorable!  I'm going to get a taste for living the simple life. Carla lives on 10 acres of land in rural east central Illinois.  I plan to help out with the chores in and around their little farm house!  I would also like to try my hand at quilting!  I'm super excited to learn more about life on the farm, including the egg laying animals, and hopefully, she'll have her sheep and llamas by then, because them are cute!  :-)  Wait! Do llamas spit?  Maybe them aren't so cute.  Carla, I need to let you know one thing.  I am NOT, I repeat, NOT up for slaughtering chickens. Not now...not ever.  But thanks for the offer, love!  :-)  Before I leave, I think Carla deserves a little quiet time.  I'm sure taking care of 3 kiddos between the ages of 3 and 6 gets a little chaotic at times!  The kids and I will spend a long afternoon outside.  They will show me around the place...maybe teach me how to fish?  We WILL NOT slaughter any chickens, but we will have fun, while Carla takes a nap (a what?) or maybe fixes the quilt I surely jacked up.

Let's head North just a bit!  Chicago, here I come!  Chicago!  How could it possibly BE that I have not been here?   It sounds like Michael and I might be able to hit up lots of outdoor fun!  We'll catch some concerts and street festivals... and for sure we're going to go to the Taste of Chicago. Because
Food + Festival = Happy Jeni!  Michael's twins will have been born by then, so I plan to get my baby fix and send him and Derek out for a quiet evening while I watch the kids.  It's a win-win for sure!  They will undoubtedly bring me back something sweet (I don't know...maybe CAKE???) to thank me for watching the babies, and I will undoubtedly thank them for allowing me to change a few diapers and feed a couple cutie-patootie babies.  Chicago will be a hoot!  Yes, I just said hoot.

Now, apparently Jesse  doesn't think it's necessary for me to make a stop on the Jeni Tour to see her.  Jesse~  Just because I have a Real Life trip booked to come and visit you, doesn't mean we can't also play together in the land of make believe! Sheesh!  :-)   Plus, I'll be in Chicago for goodness sake!  That's just too close to you to NOT make a stopover! Since I know you don't want to share all of your juicy Real Life plans, we'll just plan on hangin' out in the beloved "Land of Cheese" for the Jeni Tour visit.  I know for a fact that this trip will involve a lot-a-bit of laughing.!  I mean, things are ALWAYS fun in the state of WIS-CAN-SIN, right?  You and Jesse will get the boot at least one night for a little break from the kids!  I'll play Mario Bros. with Elliot while the girls bake me a butt crack cake (Readers: Ask Jesse).  You don't think boy Jesse will  mind if the kids and I take a limo out for a little spin while you're gone, do ya? 

I'm now headed to Etters.  That's right. Etters.  Michelle has invited me to Pennsylvania!  I am proud to say that I have been to Pennsylvania before. However, I have NOT been to Hershey's Chocolate World...and I think that sounds DE-lightful! Think they offer free samples?  Michelle also says we can go to the Baltimore Aquarium and the Maryland Zoo which means I'll get 2 states for the price of 1! Michelle, can we also explore Amish country?  I think that would be fascinating to see.  Seeing as how Michelle is busy growing a giant baby for her IF's, I'm thinking maybe a little pampering might be nice for her as well.  Hmmm...I actually don't know if she'd rather have a night out with her husband, or a manicure/pedicure!  Michelle, let me know what you'd prefer.  And if you can get me free samples at Hershey, you can have both a night out AND a mani/pedi! Deal?  Deal. :-)

Now since I'm so darn close, I'll have to make a quick stopover in New York to see George, Farid, Milena and Gustavo.  I'm always excited to see the 4 of them and the awesome state that they live in!  I will for sure be kicking the guys out at some point so they can have some time for themselves while I take care of the babies!  I will gladly babysit...in exchange for an empanada. Ok...so maybe I'll gladly babysit without  reimbursement, but hey...those empanadas sure do make a girl happy! ;-)  Although I won't want to leave, (I'm never ready to leave this family) the Jeni Tour must continue and I know I'll be back to visit them soon.

Rebekah, I'm comin' for you, my dear! Next stop: Georgia.  Although I've never been to Georgia, this stop is all about Rebekah.  Poor thing has been on bed rest the last few weeks while she makes sure the twin girls she's carrying are nice and healthy before making their appearance. She never complains and deserves to be pampered...big time.  I'm thinkin' a mani/pedi is in order to begin with.  I'll also spring for someone to come to the house so she can get a prenatal massage.  All those hours on the couch have GOT to add up to a sore back and butt.  :-)  We'll play some games, talk (a LOT) and Rebekah will attempt to teach me how to cook, from the comfort of the couch.  I am really good at following directions, Rebekah, so hopefully I will be able to produce something delicious for us with your careful instruction.  I will leave Rebekah and the state of Georgia, knowing that I will be back after she's delivered so we can go explore the state together!

I am now headed to West Palm Beach, Florida to visit Ryan and Ruben.  This trip sounds like it's going to be delightfully relaxing.  We plan to ride bikes to Palm beach at sunset and walk the beach.  We'll top off our evening with some wine and baby talk.  Seriously, does it get any better than this?  I have warned them though, that it may require 2 glasses of wine, because I love talkin' about babies!  I am going to want to hear ALL about their journey, which is just beginning!  I'm really looking forward to the beautiful scenery, and wonderful company.  It'll be nice to have a great big dose of R&R before hopping on a plane for the L-O-N-G flight to....

Italy!  Danielle, you're a genius!  Although Danielle lives in Southern California, she figured since I am already lucky enough to get to go there quite often, she and I could travel to Italy to visit her IF's and surro-twins!  Um...twist my arm, Danielle!  :-) This is going to be great!  I plan to bring my "big jeans" for this portion of the tour.  Danielle and I will not only explore Italy, but we'll spend lots of time with her IF's and their babies.  She also suggests we let the guys have some alone time while we watch the cuties!  Sounds perfect to me! But Danielle, you've got to go along with the plan here....I'm pretending that all babysitting duties need to be reimbursed with deliciousness. What shall we have the guys bring us as a thank you for babysitting (yes, I know...the job was absolute torture for us, right?)  Pizza? Pasta?  Pastries?  Oh Lord. I'm salivating just thinking about it.  Get me out of this country before I have to trade in my big jeans for my "even bigger" jeans!  :-)

It's just a hop, skip and a jump to Australia! That's right!  I'm off to the land down
un-dah!  Saskia and I will be traveling, via their 1968  Mustang, through the rolling hills of South Australia. Barossa Valley to be more precise, which is covered in vineyards. I'm promised that we'll stop at each winery to enjoy all the tastes that the valley has to offer!  It sounds like the locals might be just as entertaining as the wildlife! Lol! Saskia, will we REALLY see kangaroos?  That would be pretty darn amazing!  Kangaroos are cute AND they don't spit!  :-)  Any chance you could hook me up with a koala while I'm there?  And by "hook up", I mean....well, hopefully you know what I DON'T mean....

I'm so excited to get to visit Australia and as I leave there, I plan to refer to every flight attendant on the plane as "mate".  I have to get as many "mates" in as I can, because in a few (many) hours, I'll need to be saying....

A-lo-ha!  Doug and Bill have graciously invited me to visit them in Hawaii.  Now, Doug didn't go into ANY detail about what we might do while I am there and I know exactly why.  It doesn't matter.  It's Hawaii. As Doug so accurately pointed out, "Hawaii. Enough said".  I have been fortunate enough to visit Hawaii before, although it's been far too long, and I'm itchin' to go back! The smell of Hawaii alone is enough to win you over but what I think I liked the most is that time slows down while you're there.  The weather is always, yes ALWAYS perfect and it's beautiful.  Stunningly beautiful, actually.  Although I am sure we will see plenty of the island, I also look forward to spending some time on the hammock Bill so enjoys!  If Baby Girl has not arrived, I'm happy to help get that nursery put together, and if Baby Girl HAS arrived, well then Jeni is more than happy to do diapering/feeding/night duties while Daddies catch up on their zzzz's!  Hawaii....ahhhhh.........Just THINKING about being there lowers the good 'ol blood pressure.

It seems I'm going to need to plan on spending AT LEAST a few days in British Columbia! Darshan has LOTS planned for us! I've been to Vancouver and Victoria before, but to experience it with a local...priceless! Sounds like we would have some terrific meals!  I'm excited to get to go back to Stanley Park!  We only drove through it back in the day, so it would be fun to explore more of it on foot!  I  L-O-V-E fireworks, so I plan to be there for the Celebration of Lights! We are then going to head over to Vancouver Island where I will get to re-visit Victoria.  I will force Darshan to endure a driving trip around the neighborhoods in Victoria, as they have some of the prettiest floral displays I have EVER seen.  We'll have fun visiting museums before we travel to the other side of the island.  In Tofino, we're going to have fresh crab and go whale watching!  Whale watching was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced so I'm thrilled to be going again with Darshan!  She's also talked me into massages at a luxurious spa...Now you're talkin', Darshan!  I'll have to come back during winter for snowshoeing, but I do enjoy myself some fondue...any chance we could still enjoy that before I leave? :-)  Only one more request, Darshan.  Could we PLEASE listen to Celine Dion the entire time I'm there?  I know you're a huge fan!  Lol!

Time to cross back over the border and visit Seattle.  Another place I've been to and loved!  Now Mike and Tony don't know I'm coming so Shhhh....don't tell.  :-)  I MUST see that beautiful little girl of theirs! Mike and Tony definitely deserve at least a day out together, and if I could talk them into it, maybe a whole weekend!  I know it would be excruciatingly hard for them to be away from Zoey for so long, but sometimes, as a parent, you have to take some much needed time for yourself, so that you can be everything you need to be for your children. Zoey and I would play and laugh and tell girl secrets to each other while her Daddies enjoyed some alone time. However, before I leave, I would really enjoy spending some time hanging out with Mike and Tony.  Simply because they are super cool people.

*Sniff!  I smell money!  Must mean I'm in Nevada!  I'm excited to spend some time with my girl, Jaime in her hometown of Reno!  It's the biggest, little city in the world!  Sounds like she and I will explore Lake Tahoe and Virginia   City!  And she must be planning on me visiting AFTER her surro-baby is born because she's tried to "bribe" me to come visit by telling me that her husband sells alcohol for a living!  This sounds a wee-bit dangerous!  2 girls hanging out at home, with an abundance of booze?  Lord help us!  I'm a light weight, Jaime...give me a wine cooler and I'm feelin' a little tipsy!  Lol!  I'm excited to hang out with her and her super cool family before packing up and heading home!

Sadly, my journey has come to an end.
But hey!  There's always the Jeni Tour 2013 to look forward to, right?
What an amazing experience this has been!

13 stops!  

4 countries!  

10 states!  

And countless people and experiences!  

This trip was a blast!  Thank you ALL for letting me visit!