Back to the Metro Parks

Wow - we accidentally went on a trek to a metro park new to us last weekend. It was nice outside and we wanted to get Winnie out of the house. Even with her canine heart condition she still wants to go "bye-bye in the car" and she still bounds during a walk so we took her for BBC and ended up in a metro park we thought we'd visited before. Battelle-Darby, however, has not been on our radar.

I knew we were somewhere new as soon as we parked, but it wasn't until we walked to the shelter that I realized we were in the park that houses buffalo year round. We did not get a good look at them because they were hunkered down staying warm in a field that was off limits to pedestrians. So, while we didn't get to see them and only took a short walk, this is definitely on a list to go back and spend some time. There was a beautiful stream and I'd like to get a closer look of the buffalo!

These parks really do help us believe we've found our own jardin de parc de métro!

~CLW

We have been saying for years..."we should do that...."  So we have started a list of things to do and have started scheduling them.  October has been a big month for us.

Oct. 6th we both went  to Huntington for Marshall's homecoming and spend the night with John and Carmel.  I got to go to the UL and have a drink.  (It isn't the UL anymore and was packed with slot machines but it was a fun trip down memory lane for Cindy)

The first show of the Broadway Show of the season (Beauty and the Beast)  The next day we were off to the Inn at Cedar Falls.  Complete with a couples massage, three meals at the restaurant and some hiking with the changing leaves.

And for the first time we went to a Halloween Party.  HArd to believe but we have never dressed up and never gone anywhere.   Ozzy and Sharon made their debut appearance and the Woodlands Halloween party.  Also at the party REM, Foo Fighters and Spinal Tap...  (or at least their temporary replacements)  We met Slash and Alice Cooper along with a few others.

Finally a ghost tour trip in German village followed by an impromptu stop at Highball.  High street gets shut down and several thousand people in costumes descend upon the downtown for music, dancing drinks and festivities.  Sans costumes but a great time.  Plans for next years costumes are in the works.....

All in all a very big month, lots of finding Paris moments!  And all within 270... (except for the falls).

Lots to add to this, but, for now let's just take a look at some of the events in pixels!

Let's try again...

It's not that we haven't been out there doing things, it's that we don't take the time to record them. I guess that makes us sorry, sad bloggers. So, what do we do about it? How about a few catch up items to start with...that should work.

I'll start with a recent trip to Waynesville, Ohio. Waynesville is a small town between Columbus and Cincinnati. What's special about it? Well, it's filled to the brim with small town antique and primitive stores. It's about an hour away driving south on interstate 71. This trip was targeted at looking for a few antiques to complete our new decor scheme of Paris in our home and sampling the food at a popular bed and breakfast in the town. We were pleasantly surprised at how much more it turned out to be.

We didn't eat before we left so by the time we arrived we were good and hungry. Our first stop was The Hammel House Inn http://thehammelhouseinn.com. We arrived promptly at 11 a.m. and, after a short wait for someone to arrive, we had our choice of seating. We chose to sit inside by a window. The warmth of the September sun was delightful.  The wait staff was extremely kind and pleasant. The food was original and flavorful. Scott had the Reuben which was plentiful and generously filled with the typical trimmings. I had the soup speciality of garlic tomato soup made from homegrown tomatoes and a delightful salad that was graced with a delicious apple cider dressing.

Having had our fill, we were ready to hit the streets for a day of antique and specialty store shopping. Waynesville did not disappoint.  The stores are primarily antique stores and many are upscale and pricey, however, we found ourselves delighted with the shops dedicated to "primitive" goods and two or three affordable antique shops at which we made purchases of cobalt blue decorative pieces (Lilly's Corner Antique Mall), a shabby chic wooden table (Annie's Place - the owner is fabulously funny and inviting), a wonderfully weird primitive pumpkin statuette (Wooden Sunflower Primtives), and a couple of special gifts for friends made by women for women at the speciality store Girlfriends Gifts.

We couldn't leave without fudge (it is kind of a tourist town afterall) so we visited Braden and Sons Sweet Shop where we could even find sugar free fudge - the peanut butter was the best! Our only dissapointment for the day was finding a quality cup of coffee or fresh glass of iced tea. We didn't want a sit down drink, but it seemed if we wanted quality that was what we had to do. We finally landed at Campbell's Bistro for an iced tea to go. The service was lackluster and the tea tasted old. We will try again soon though.

Afterward we tried for some photos of the area and a geocache or two to commemorate the day, but, that's another posting!

Once again we find that when we look hard enough we truly can find Paris Everywhere!

Tomato Garlic Soup

The Reuben

Outside the Hammel House Inn

Delightful Salad and the DRESSING!

Another primitive outside the Wooden Sunflower

A decoration idea or two

The street fair and a dog in attendance

Can't go anywhere without a baby doll pic

Wondeful old houses to see

Finding Paris? I would setting for finding TIME

No time to "find" Paris every where recently and that makes me sad. More … some day.

Things have changed somewhat  since the original goal of walking all of the metro parks. Things just got too hectic and our schedules didn't allow us enough time .  We have decided to be more spontaneous and pickup and do things that we would have normally said "we should do that sometime."  Today after visiting the in laws we drove south of wheeling instead of turning right and heading west to go home.  Moundsville was the destination,  named after all of the indian burial mounds that date back 2000 years.  The top photo was taken on top of the 80'  high mound.

Across the street from the mound is the old state pen.  No longer in use but you can get tours.  Didn't get a chance to go in but we will go back.  Maybe in September  when they have the zombie walk.

Winnie waiting outside.  Sadly, dogs were not allowed to make the trek up the mound. 

It's time to return to blogging. I'll be retired in less than two months and I need to figure out which to keep , which to let go, and which to combine. I know this one stays because it has a specific mission. I haven't had time to post much and I'm kind of addicted to iPhone photos right now so it's taken my life over a bit. No worries....I'm back.

Back to the Parks

Clear Creek Metro Park is outstanding. Without having seen all of the parks, it would not be fair to classify it as "the best," however, it certainly has my vote at this time.

I didn't get to walk it all because of my still mending foot, but, what I did see has me wanting to go back for more.  I walked the Cemetery Ridge Trail with Steve, met a couple of fellow hikers who gave us some  much needed information (there isn't a cemetery actually there), took a couple of pictures, and visited an old barn along the way. It was capped off by a great geocache find near the barn site and lunch in nearby Lancaster at Annie's Cheesecake and Teahouse.

I will definitely repeat this experience with Scott when he finally has a Saturday off!  Steve and I also want to go cemetery hunting as one of the fellow travelers we met told us of local lore that witches are buried or something to that effect in a nearby cemetery (we couldn't find it)!

Definitely found that "love of Paris" vibe at Clear Creek Metro.

FEET!

J. Cowuac is back!

hipstamatic Salvador Dreamcanvas of Downtown Lancaster, Ohio

In the Woods

Amazing SKY!