Summertime fun!

Heaven knows where the last week has gone!  I think this is the longest time I've gone between blog postings other than nearly a year ago when I had all those nasty back problems.

I don't have any stitching photos because I've been busily working on a new teaching model, but I do have other photos I hope you'll enjoy.

Last Friday I talked Tom into heading north a couple of hours to do some exploring.  My main target was an antiques/country store that I had read about on a blog.  However, I thought if we were going to head a few hours away we should find some other things to do.  Thanks to the internet, I was able to discover a few other things in the area. 

We first stopped at the Preble County Historical Society in Eaton to pick up a map showing where the area's covered bridges are.  (I don't know why I'm so enamoured with covered bridges.  Perhaps I should put one on a sampler.)  Unfortunately, the historical society was closed, so we were on our own.  The main bridge I wanted to see was the Roberts Bridge. I had chosen it because it is Ohio's oldest and is one of only six double-barrelled covered bridges remaining in the United States.

Thanks to some detective work on my phone, we were able to find it. 

I learned that the bridge had originally spanned Seven Mile Creek, but in 1986 it was burned by arsonists.  The fire destroyed most of this historic bridge.  (Why on earth would someone ever do such a thing?)  The remaining part of the bridge was dismantled, sandblasted and then reassembled and restored at its current location on South Beach Street in Eaton, Ohio. 

We next headed on to the object of my journey--the antiques/country store.  Unfortunately, the shop was a disappointment, so I'm very glad that I had chosen other places to visit along the way.  At least we were able to have lunch at the adjoining cafe.

Our next stop was Fort Recovery.  Not being originally from Ohio, neither Tom nor I know much about Ohio history, so this was a chance to learn something new.  Two significant battles in American history took place at the location of the Fort--the Battle of Wabash, in 1791, in which the army of St. Clair was defeated by native Americans, and then in 1794 the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in which the U. S. Army of the Northwest, led by "Mad" Anthony Wayne, defeated the native Americans led by Blue Jacket.  This battle led to the "Greenville Treaty", which opened up the Northwest Territory for settlement.  (All this happened before the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expidition, so this frontier territory, which includes today's "midwestern" states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconson, and Minnesota, was northwest of the United States at that time.) There really wasn't much to see at the Fort other than an informative film and two reproduction blockhouses connected by a stockade wall.  We did come away with a mini history lesson about the opening of the Northwest Territory.

I had had some other ideas for the day, but after seeing the fort we decided that was enough to do on our day-long vacation.  We both had such a good time that we think we'll plan  more of these day-long adventures.

This past Wednesday we decided to visit our daughter in Columbus.  You may remember that she and her family moved there just a few weeks ago.  Since Carolyn is not yet working and Haiden isn't in school, we thought a mid-week visit might be good.

 

As much of the US, Ohio too is having very, very hot temperatures.  What to do when it's SO hot?  Cool off in the water.

In the morning, we took Haiden to a water park in downtown Columbus.  He certainly had a fun time.

Then after lunch (and naptime for a certain very tired young man), it was off to the pool for more fun!!

Looks like someone is ready!



Catch me Papa!

Here is our daughter overlooking the scene from the hot tub.

And then before we knew it, it was time to head back to Cincinnati.  How great it is to have our daughter and her family so close that we can do day trips to see them!

Of course, how could I not show you photos of our other grandson?

We think he's going to be a real character!



Hmm...I wonder where our next adventure will take us.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and that you can squeeze in some stitching time.