We never know where we are going to be far enough in advance for reservations. All of the reservable sites were already spoken for in the state park that we had chosen. So this Labor Day holiday, our plan was to snag one of the three walk-in sites at Findley State Park. We arrived on the Tuesday before the holiday, and got the last site! As we paid for our site, someone called to request a walk-in site too. Whoo! Our site wasn't level, it was almost too short for our motor home, it was on the most-traveled road in the campground, and it was situated across from the dump station. Not the ideal camp site--but it was a good place to hide out until after Labor Day holiday was over.
On our drive to Findley State Park, we went through more of Ohio's Amish country. From our seats high above the highway in our tall motor home, we had a unique view as we passed this black carriage at the train tracks.
Our newest hometown is near Wellington, Ohio. We are finding that even tiny towns have regal town halls, and we really think that Wellington has one of the prettiest in the state.
We were expecting to see offices and board rooms behind that fancy facade. So we were a little surprised to find a basketball court on the first floor instead.
Wellington's claim to fame is being the hometown to Archibald Willard. Even though we didn't recognize that name, we did recognize the famous picture he painted in 1875. The "Spirit of 76" became a famous portrait of American Revolutionary pride.
We've seen that picture in different places all of our lives. They had two display cases filled with books and other items that have used a likeness of that famous painting. When we visited the "Spirit of 76 Museum" on Wellington's Main Street we learned more about it.
For example, we found that Mr. Willard got his idea for the picture from watching a group of guys in pipe and drum costumes before a holiday parade in Wellington. When he decided to paint this formal picture, he asked the same drummer to pose for the painting. When posing took away too much time from doing farm chores, his model quit in the middle of the painting. So Willard decided to paint his Father's face on the drummer model's body. We also got to see the actual drum that was used for the painting.
What we thought was a tiny museum, turned into being four floors over-flowing with Wellington history. We don't visit too many museums, and we haven't paid for a museum ticket in a very long time. We might be missing some awesomely expensive museums displays. But we are finding so many free historical gems that we're going to stick with our frugal museum policy.
We learned another interesting museum story involving this flouroscope used in the local shoe store. Actual x-rays were taken of local children's feet in order to get the best fitting shoes. The metal tubes on top were the viewing ports for the parents and shoe salesman to actually see the bone structure of the children's feet.
Just down the road is the town of Oberlin, Ohio--home of Oberlin College. Founded in 1835, it is the oldest coeducational university in the United States. With buildings like Peters Hall, and majestic trees as old as the university, it is a beautiful place to take a stroll.
Everything seems historic on this campus that educates around 3,000 students per year. Below is pictured a Memorial to the Oberlin-connected missionaries who lost their lives in the Chinese Boxer Rebellion in 1900.
We don't visit too many art museums, but the Allen Memorial Art Museum on campus was open and free to the public. It was neat that we recognized some of the statue replicas in the foyer from seeing the originals in Europe.
At the old train depot in Oberlin, we parked the car so we could ride our bikes on the North Coast Inland Trail. A flat paved path connects Oberlin to the tiny town of Kipton.
Mark has developed good skills of taking pictures with one hand while riding his bicycle. The picture below shows our tree-lined bike path. But more importantly, it shows that Denisa is also working on her one-handed photography skills.
Six miles of pedaling brought us into Kipton, whose most photogenic building is the grain elevator beside the railroad tracks. We have seen big barns all over Ohio, adorned with a single quilt square, but never a grain elevator.
There is a "quilt square trail" in this part of Ohio, and we found two on this short bike ride. Denisa is beginning to like old barns almost as much as covered bridges.
We also found wild grapes along the trail. Denisa is a big fan of free trail fruit, so of course we had to stop and taste. She found that a tiny wild grape is mostly skin and seeds, with just a drop of grape juice that can stain fingers for days.
She likes the fruit and vegetables found at road-side stands much better. We are seeing these along busy highways, as well as lonely country roads. Many of them have a few things out of their garden, with prices posted. Most use an honor system for payment, with a simple box for paying in cash. If you are worried about the freshness of the eggs in the bottom left side of the table, fear not. This house's proximity to the local golf course means they harvest stray balls as well as vegetables. So those egg cartons are filled with a dozen used golf balls that are for sale.
At the end of our 12-mile bike ride, we stopped long enough to admire this selection of summer flowers. We are enjoying some gorgeous weather in Ohio this week, and we are fortunate to have found a good place to hide out for the Labor Day holiday.
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