~Goofing Around~

 Since we were the only ones in this campground we had a bit of fun!!!!

~Holmes County, Ohio~

 AAHH - finally Amish Country!   We have been waiting to see this for a long time and bring our Beverly Lewis books into reality.  WOW - what a great day.   The farms were so neat and tidy, all had washing drying on the lines (all the same coloured pants, white shirts, socks etc...) and had their buggy's out front.  The little Amish kids were so cute and we saw MANY Amish buggy's driving on the roads.   All so interesting.     We went to Heini's Cheese Factory (unfortunately we couldn't do the tour as it was a holiday) and spent a long time in their amazing store.   The had SO many different kinds of cheeses, meats, cream cheese fudges, jerky, jams and other things the Amish had made.    All the products were made from 100% Amish milk (they use 250 households - each farm has about 8-10 cows).   The store had samples for ALL the different cheeses so you could see if you liked the flavour.   Almost all that we tried tasted amazing!

 We bought 3 types of cheese, Amish popcorn and jerky and the kids all bought cream cheese fudge - YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!

 This is outside a grocery store - SO cute seeing the horse and buggy's outside hitched up to the posts!  We were SO curious to see what an Amish woman would buy at the grocery store we kinda followed her around- funny.........she actually bought pop, chips, milk, wieners etc....  Hilarious!   Most I think make all their own food etc...

~Columbus, Ohio~

 This morning we went into Columbus, Ohio.   We started at Battelle Riverfront Park where they had a memorial for firefighters who were killed in the line of duty.  Then we got to see the "Santa Maria" which was moored on the Scioto River.   This was a full-size replica of Christopher Columbus' ship.

This is City Hall with a large statue of Christopher Columbus.   We also got to see the Statehouse, the Nationwide Arena - where the Bluejackets play - not that we are bluejackets fans at all!!!   Go Canucks go!!   Most things were closed today as it was Labor Day.

~Wilbur Wright Birthplace and Museum~

After travelling along some pretty small country roads we came to Millville, Indiana and the Wilbur Wright Birthplace and Museum.   We all really enjoyed the self-directed tour which took us into the house where Wilbur was born as well as the barn/slaughter house, gardens etc....

The kids having fun trying to squeeze onto this swinging chair outside the museum.

This is a replica of the plane Wilbur and Orville made and flew in 1903.  We also watched a video on the Wright family.

They had "Main Street" which showed what it was like in their day.

Here is where the men came for a haircut and a shave - 25c -"shave and a haircut - 2 bits"

This is the kitchen in the Wright house - I can't imagine making 500 loaves of bread a week in this kitchen!  Quite amazing how the people lived in the "old" days!  We so enjoyed our afternoon here.

~Amber Waves Band~

WOW- what an amazing evening we had.   We had the joy and privilege of meeting the Costello Family also know as the "Amber Waves Band".   They are a travelling, Christian, homeschooling family who have sold everything and are now travelling across the country in a converted school bus singing and playing their instruments at different venues.   At the campsite we were staying they happened to be playing one night.  We enjoyed them SO much - they all play different instruments and are INCREDIBLE!  What an amazing family.   We are hoping to hook up with them on the east coast of the USA when we will both be there.

Thanks so much Costello family for blessing us with your music and special talents.

~Little Italy Festival~

While staying in Clinton, Indiana we visited the "Little Italy Festival".   All the houses are decorated with Italian flags, there are special Italian meals that the restaurants are serving, a parade and a market that we walked around.

The weather is still very warm and humid at around 28 degrees but we did get quite a lot of rain last night (due to the hurricane down south) which we will be getting for the next few days.

~Illinois~

 We stayed in an RV park in Colona, Illinois.   The campground was on a lake and it had all these large toads swimming in it.   There were so many - the kids were fascinated by them.   It is funny when you are visiting different states how many different bugs, animals and sounds there are that you are not used to.   We are not always very sure of what things are and it can be a bit creepy at times!!

When we arrived at this park there was a huge apple tree at the entrance which the guy said we could pick from.   He loaned us a "picker" and we were able to get 12lbs of delicious organic apples from the top of the tree.  Here are some of the ones we have not eaten yet.   Hoping to make a nice crisp with them. :)