An Un-Mother's Day

For once, Mother decided to take the day off and just be Susan. We spent time with our kids and grandkids on Saturday (Aimee had to work on Sunday), because we had an ulterior motive......time alone...outdoors...on a beautiful day!

David, after many years of thinking and planning and thinking some more, has decided to pursue his dream hobby....fly-fishing. He has been studying the local streams known to have abundant trout populations. How nice that one of them is in our most favorite area in Ohio--the Hocking Hills region.

We started early and packed a picnic lunch, including treats for Lucy. Then we filled the SUV with fishing equipment, a folding chair and a book for me, sunglasses and hats, and the dog, and headed for the hills. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

After David fished again in the afternoon, we were both tired and hungry and it was time to head home to our own little patch of woods. It was a good day.

It started last year

It seems I now have a collection of Made in Japan cream pitchers (it says so right on the bottom). Anyone who was here last November knows that I found the first one on our annual couples weekend to the Hocking Hills. This year I found two of the little beauties!

Last year's find is in the middle.

And I added a couple more at other times during the year. Both found at Goodwill.

I like the blue tones in these and the more vibrant colors.

But the main reason for our weekend wasn't about buying antique cream pitchers. It was about relaxing, communing with nature and connecting with family and friends.

The other couple participating in our annual getaways is Mark (David's first cousin) and his wife, Cindy. Cindy is one of my dearest friends. She has been there for me in times of deep joy and immense sorrow...feeling my happiness and despair as if they were her own. And it hasn't been one-sided. I've run to her side when both her parents died suddenly and when she thought their soon-to-be-adopted daughter was going to be returned to the birth parents. We've sobbed in each other's arms and laughed hysterically over things that only the two of us think are funny. We have a silly name for my role in her children's lives...Cant Susan (part cousin, part aunt). I'm the fun "cant", but also the one to have serious talks with them.

This annual event is so important to us that we aren't willing to give it up, no matter what. This year Mark was let go from his job and that's a tough position to be in when you're 55. Cindy bakes for a local flower shop and she took on extra baking to help pay for their part of the cabin we rented. Mark worked this summer installing roofs and doing home repairs. He's very good at it, because he has built two of their homes, doing most of the work himself.

This year we had to rent a different cabin than last year. I waited a little too long, not knowing if we would be able to go or not, and the cabin we had last year was already booked. (The secluded ones go fast.) But I think we like this new one even better. No stairs to climb and the kitchen was larger. I was a little bummed that there was a gas-log fireplace instead of the wood-burning one, but it worked out fine. It was very realistic and oh-so convenient. Turn a switch and it's on. Turn the switch again and it's off! Magic! Of course, I still love the crackle and smell of the wood-burning fireplace in my home and would never change it, but this one served its purpose well.

One of the reasons we liked this cabin so well was it's location. Right around the curve about half a mile was this gorgeous hiking trail leading to a rockhouse. It is a fantastic outcropping of sandstone and granite and really huge. I'm sure Native Americans (Shawnee, most likely) used it for shelter.

So, how about a little tour.

Watch that first step, it's a doozy!

Cindy giving a little perspective.

Mark and David know how to do it, too.

Inside the rockhouse.

Looking back to the approaching trail. It was hard to see beneath all the fallen leaves.

What do you see?

I love the colors in the rocks. The red indicates a lot of iron and I'm told that the green is copper. There are thousands of name and initial carvings, some dating to the early 1800's.

Looking out the other end to the forward trail. It's a long way down!

Lots of pigeons roost inside on the ledges and crevices. As you can imagine, there are also a lot of bats.

Getting ready to descend the steps to the lower trail.

A beautiful rock bridge that has been covered by a wooden one to preserve it. These trails are heavily used and it was in danger of collapsing.

Looking straight up from the bottom of the ravine. I was really dizzy and had to sit down after this shot. Large cliffs and dizziness are not a good combination!

Taken from the bridge. See those teeny-tiny people up there about halfway? Those are really full-sized adults!

See the elderly couple at the bottom left of the picture? His name is Tom Hanks and her name is Dottie West, which he delighted in telling us! They needed a little help getting back up the trail out of the ravine. He was in his 80's and she looked to be in her late 70's and had just had knee replacement surgery a couple of months ago! How they ever got down there, I haven't a clue! David and Mark helped them climb out and find the right trail back to the parking lot. Tom was a real talker and was such a cutie-pie! He told us they are just "friends". Isn't that sweet?

It's always hard to leave on Sunday and return to family responsiblilities, but we know reality is waiting for us at the end of the road. And if it weren't for reality, this wouldn't be nearly as sweet. Until next year....

To find out more about this beautiful area of Ohio, please click here.

A few of my favorite things

Ruth said she would like to see some of the ornaments I've collected over the years. Today's special one is an etched and painted gourd that I found in a fair-trade market booth at a craft mall in the Hocking Hills. I wish I were as talented a photographer as Ruth.

 

A cabin in the woods

 

Our third annual Hocking Hills Weekend was wonderful. The weather was perfect and there was still some color on the trees. We ate too much, but hopefully hiked off some of the excess calories. This is our second year to stay at the Hemlock Cabin and I think it will be "our" cabin from now on. We enjoy the solitude it provides and the ambience is just right. There's plenty of room so that we don't get in each others' way and there are two bathrooms--very important detail! We brought waaaay too much food and ended up carting half of it back home. On Friday night we had chicken noodle soup that I had made at home. It was delicious, if I do say so myself, and we ate it with some crusty bread that I didn't make.

When it got dark, we put on our swimsuits and headed out to the hot tub. It was a perfect night. The stars were so bright and the temperature wasn't too cold. Not like last year when our hair froze while we were in the tub! We just melted our cares away.

On Saturday, the guys went out early to bowhunt (mostly they just sit in the woods and listen to the quiet) while we girls lazed in front of the fireplace before going out to search for some antique bargains. I found a lovely little Made in Japan cream pitcher.

Then we had lunch at the Spotted Owl Cafe, which has a huge stone fountain in the front of the restaurant. After that we headed back to the cabin to meet the guys for an afternoon of hiking.

Saturday evening we treated ourselves to a meal at Millstone BBQ in Logan. The food was delicious and the server was very congenial, but not overbearing. It was too early to go home, so we did a little more antiquing and I found a beautiful solid maple twin-size four-poster bed for Kaitlyn's birthday this month. It is almost perfect and just needs a little cleaning and touch-up on one of the legs. It has solid maple side rails, too, but no slats. David can cut those very easily. Now I just have to get a mattress set. The best part is the bed only cost $33.50, including tax. I don't think they knew what they had. I was so happy! It will be perfect for a little girl.

Sunday morning we cooked a huge brunch. I, of course, brought eggs from home and we had Jimmy Dean sausage, homemade biscuits and hash browns. I didn't eat another thing until evening when we finished off the rest of the chicken noodle soup with the leftover biscuits.