Thoughts from Alison that might at least entertain you!

Hocking Hills 2009, Part IV

One last set of yammering notes and photos from our recent getaway to Hocking Hills for you...

Our last stop on the day of three sight stops was to Cedar Falls.  I honestly can't pick a favorite thing we did or saw on this trip, but this was certainly near the top!

Cedar Falls is not far from Old Man's Cave - I think there's actually a walking trail connecting the two, so not more than a couple of miles.  Cedar Falls is another valley type formation carved amazingly in the sandstone - with, yes, a fantastic water fall.  The trail to the falls was beautiful, and I especially enjoyed the informational markers on this trail.  There was a lot of information about the Hocking Hills region, the geographical features there, and "how it happened."  There also apparently was a very large flood in the area about 10 years ago that especially decimated the Cedar Falls area.  The valley was changed dramatically, and evidence of that recent change is everywhere.  The informational bits said the sort of flood that happened 10 years ago isn't unusual - just not common.  I believe it said it was the kind of flood that happens in the area about every 100 years.

The falls themselves are beautiful.  The "Rock Man" seen at the end of this post is actually a stone pedestal thing with an informational sign perched on top.  I don't know that it's supposed to look like a man made of stone wearing a hat, but it sure did to me!

The trail we chose away from the falls (there are two ways to approach and/or leave, and we took the "loop" pattern that took us in by one and out by the other) was interesting at the least!  The picture here is me heading into a dramatically narrowing path.  I wasn't certain it was going to take me anywhere other than into a corner, but eventually we came through.  I should mention that there are no cedar trees at Cedar Falls.  Settlers to the area who named the falls mistook the hemlock trees that surround the falls for cedars.

All in all, of course - our escape to the Hocking Hills area south of Columbus was great fun and we will likely return!

Hocking Hills 2009, Part III

Our second full day in Hocking Hills took us to not one, not two, but Three beautiful places!  The morning was rainy - not a heavy rain, but grey misty light rain.  The lovely corners and bits of the Hills were still so beautiful, and there weren't too many people in any of the places we poked around. 

The descent to our first spot was a little scary...  but absolutely worth it!  I shared the same picture a few posts ago, but I'm going for a theme here.  At the suggestion of a coworker we decided to visit Rock House.  The stairs here are not the ones we went down, but you get the idea.  Our path down seemed to have had some relatively recent destruction and were fairly precarious.  I'll be the first to admit that I was a little terrified.  We made it safely down, and were not disappointed!  These are the most cave-like caves I've seen in the Hocking Hills area.  So beautiful and yes - a little bit spooky.  With the overcast skies, the darkish spooky caves were even moreso.  And then the owls started hooting!  Yes, owls.  There were at least 3 in the caves and they weren't exactly happy with our time spent looking into the dark.  We finally bid them farewell and left when our spectacular curiosity turned toward nerves.  If you're ever down that way consider going to Rock House - but choose the path down to the right from the top instead of to the left! 

 

Our second stop for the day was Old Man's Cave, and John snapped this picture of the roadside horse having a snack on the way there.  Mmmm, snacks. 

 

 

 

 

Old Man's Cave remains the most popular and sort of iconic Hocking Hills destination.  The trails there are beautiful, and the site is most developed for visitors with maintained stairwells, visitor information, and lots of great things to see all on one trail set.  They also have a snack bar - with corn dogs! 

Still to come here - one more set of pictures and yammerings from our trip.

Hocking Hills 2009, Part II

Our first site visit in the Hocking Hills area was to Conkle's Hollow.  Two other guests at the Bear Run Inn recommended it after their visit there the day before.  (Two fun people from Westerville, OH who made it a point to wear their matching Ohio State sweatshirts to breakfast the second morning of our stay after meeting us Michiganders the day before!)  All of the pictures here should open to larger versions if you'd like to peek - all of these were taken by John.

Conkle's Hollow is a ravine, essentially - with a paved accessible path through the middle of the ravine, and a rather intense but incredibly beautiful rim path around the top of the ravine.  Note the Danger sign at the beginning of the ascent to the rim path.  This path is not for the faint of heart, or anyone with balance/vertigo issues.  It is, however, incredibly beautiful! 

The view from on high is simply amazing.  Fall colors were abundant while we were there, and the crisp cool air was perfect.  We visited Conkle's Hollow on our first full day in the area, before the rain took over for most of the week.  (Even after the rain came, our days were beautiful.)  There were many spots along the rim trail when we stepped right over or next to crevices in the rock - and could see all the way down to the ravine floor right between our feet.  The rim trail travels along one side of the ravine, then across the narrow point (the ravine is sort of a pie-slice shape, closed off at the point end) and back along the other side.  Near the closed-off end, you can see directly across to all the rock formations you will walk on after you make the turn. 

Almost as awesome to see in the Hocking Hills area as all the sandstone caves and formations are the trees.  There are trees everywhere that seem to be growing out of solid rock, and hanging onto solid rock precariously.  On top of Conkle's Hollow, there were also a lot of great collections of vegetation - some that didn't seem to go together.  This red/green picture was a group of plants that made me laugh.  They looked like a lovely lush tropical plant, growing right alongside a beautiful warm fall-color woodsy plant.  We saw more than a few trees everywhere that had eventually given up the fight with gravity.  This one was so twisted from the effort to stay standing - he obviously put some valiant effort into the task! 

One side note if you think about visiting Hocking Hills - all of the sites we saw were within about 10 miles of each other.  It's a very easy area to navigate (with a map) and to see as many or as few things as you like.  More to follow...

Hocking Hills 2009, Part I

And so The Reeds have returned from our vacation week escape to the Hocking Hills of Ohio!  We've been home since this past Friday, of course - but the settling in from a trip always takes a bit longer than I anticipate.  John has posted a great album of our adventuring pictures on Facebook, some of which I'll duplicate here.  I may add an album here too, we'll just see how the posting pans out. 

If you aren't yet familiar with the Hocking Hills area of Ohio, I highly recommend a visit there.  As John's mom said - "And they say Ohio is flat!"  I had been to the area a number of times before, but not for quite a while.  John hadn't been there at all. 

We stayed at a wonderful welcoming bed and breakfast in Logan, OH - Bear Run Inn.  The Myers family have been hosting guests in their B-and-B home and in several rental cottages on their nearly 600 acre property for something like 16 years!  The rolling fields around their home (and we didn't even explore the hiking trails and scenery all over their land) were teeming with birds of every kind, a beautiful pond, and dozens of deer at any give time.  John and I stayed in the "Victoriana Rose" room.  Breakfasts served by Marcia were amazing.  I didn't think they could possibly get better than the basil souffle served our first morning, but I didn't know the caramel apple french toast was yet to come on our second day!  We found dinners each evening primarily at small local family restaurants - with no shortage of pie at any of the places we chose. 

Still to come in future posts: some pictures from the incredibly beautiful trails and Hocking Hills features we took in.  We visited Conkle's Hollow, Rock House, Old Man's Cave, and Cedar Falls all in our few days.  No wonder our legs are still sore!

Notes from Hocking Hills

So far on the Reeds' escape to Hocking Hills: 1 lovely B-and-B stay, 2 fabulous breakfasts from our hosts, 1 luxurious spa bath for each Reed, dozens of deer sightings, 2 dinners at local restaurants, 2 pieces of pie each, 2 Scrabble games, 4 incredibly beautiful hikes & sights, and countless photos to share. Priceless!
Happy nearly-anniversary, Mr. Reed.

And So The Reeds Are Off!

Good Tuesday morning to you!  John and I are headed away to the Hocking Hills area of Ohio for an Anniversary week escape.  We'll return on Friday, and the computers are not traveling with us.  Photo here is from our honeymoon 4 years ago on the UP - Taquamenon Falls, as taken by John.  Weather permitting, we'll bring some pictures to share from down south!

Be well and see color!

Tired and Such

Alright, I'm baaa-aaack!

I've come off a sort of overloaded work week, into a fun and super-ultra-busy weekend!  This weekend at Prune Ridge has been one of family and good times, with a little bit of running for all.  John's parents and Grandpa Reed have been with us for two major events centered (sort of) in Ann Arbor!  This weekend is Homecoming at the University of Michigan - and John's dad has been here for a Marching Band Reunion - and he marched with a very large alumni band in the football game today!  Michigan pulled off a win in a back-and-forth nail biter with Indiana.  We watched from Prune Ridge (no tickets to be had for the rest of us), but of course didn't get to watch any of the band stuff which they don't broadcast.  We'll be searching for video after someone has a chance to post it, hopefully!

Also this weekend, Grandpa Reed came to Prune Ridge!  John and I saw him off just before 5:30 this morning over at Domino's Farms - the rendezvous point for Grandpa's long-awaited WWII Honor Flight to Washington DC to visit the WWII Memorial.  He'll be back late this evening.

John has been a prince for all this weekend, offering his personalized limo service all about town.

Guess what's on the agenda for tomorrow?  Very Little!  Happy Weekend, All - perhaps a bit of blogging to come tomorrow.  Be Well out there in our World!

Tori's Adventure

Yes, here she is.  Our Princess Tori - on a leash.  It's true, I occasionally turn into one of those weirdos that takes her cat outside on a leash.  And for the record, John occasionally turns into one of those guys taking pictures of his wife walking the cat on a leash.  (That's "walking" in case you wondered - mostly Tori sniffs the air and pulls on the leash.)

Art Fairs: Tackled

Well I did it.  Went to the Art Fairs in A2 this morning.  (Yes, plural - did you know there are 4 art fairs at the same time in Ann Arbor?  Actually even more because there are several smaller unofficial groupings of artists that materialize around the official ones.)  I went downtown early, hoofed around a little bit while the tents were still opening up for the morning and then had a good time.  I set out with 3 things in mind that I was interested in hunting for.  I came home with 2 of the 3 things I thought I'd find, plus 3 other things too (it always seems to work that way).  I'll share some pics here when I have that act together, but of course there are two new bowls in our house.  One is one of the most beautiful pieces I've ever seen - sort of a bowl within a bowl.  Technically it's a chip/dip thing, but it's not what you expect from a chip/dip set.  I also had a little fair food, met some neat artists, and people watched a bit.  Life is good in artsy A2.  Happy Weekend, Friends!

Yay, Mud Hens!

Hello All!  Seems I've been missing from here for a bit again.  I'm not sure where the last week got to, but it got right past me for sure.  Last night took John and I, along with the Food Gatherers crew to Toledo for a Mud Hens game.  I was reminded yet again how awesome that field is, and how fun it is to go to a game there!  We had a good time for a perfect game.  (Perfect for the Hens at least - they won 10-2!)  The weather was sketchy, stormy, and scary all day preceding, but sunny and cooler for the game.  Mmmmm, ballpark brats!  Happy Summer and Happy Baseball to you!

Bowls

Many of my readers will already know that I have a little thing for bowls.  (And if you're my husband, you'll probably laugh when you read that.)  I love bowls - the shapes, the incredible colors in ceramic glazes, the fact that they hold things - or nothings!  I have more than a few bowls around the house, and tomorrow evening I will be starting my first ever pottery class!!!  I'll update here and let you know if it's a fabulous success or a fantastic disaster.  I'm certain it will be fun either way and I'm excited!

Woohoo, Winter!

So it seems that winter isn't quite finished with us yet.

Here's the short version of this latest storm (Monday into Tuesday morning) for me:  I worked the box office for a show last night at the club that was due to begin at 8:00pm.  The show actually started at 9:45 after the artist found his way to us in terrible weather.  Most of our audience stayed!  My drive home took about an hour and a half (normally 20 minutes at that hour).  I have slept all of about 4 hours before finding myself wide awake at 5:00am.  I can't go to work this morning until the car that is currently stuck in the drive to our parking lot gets unstuck.

I am OK with this!

Spring is coming, spring is coming, spring is coming.  SPRING IS COMING!

Duty Served

And so I've completed my first-ever jury duty service!  Actually, I didn't serve on a jury.  I was called and sat through the appointment of a jury that didn't include me, and that was all.

I'm glad not to have more of this week taken up with jury duty, but I'm wishing just a bit that I were actually serving on a jury.  "Huh?" you might be saying to yourself.  The process was pretty interesting, and I would probably have learned a lot. 

Thought processes like that one remind me that I probably could have been a career student and loved it!

It's Raining In The Ark!

Today, in honor of my "day off" of work (to help account for far too many work hours over the last couple of work weeks), I spent about 6 hours at work.  Do I know how to relax, or do I know how to relax?!?

I headed to the club this morning for a quick stop - I needed to follow up on something from last night's show that really couldn't wait until I'm back to the office on Monday.  As I was headed out after my tasking, I noticed water on the floor.  I, being unable to ignore things like that - especially at work, investigated the source of the water, and discovered water dripping from the ceiling in several spots.  Curses!

The story gets very long and convoluted, so I'll spare you the details here.  Essentially, we have some significant roof damage, it's under control for the moment, and the club is filled with all our trash cans catching water from the ceiling.  Ahhhh, another good day at work.

The best few moments of my non-working-work-day came this afternoon at the offices, as I was desperately trying to figure out who to call about the water.  My coworker and friend offered to handle something else that I needed to finish, and I seized the moment to spend a few minutes sitting on the floor with her baby.  Our "office baby" is one of the best bits of medicine I know - what a joy!

John and I just came home from a late and exhausted dinner out, and only as we were running through the rain to the house did the true humor of my water adventures strike me.  John asked "Do you know if it's supposed to rain today?"  I answered "No, but it's raining in The Ark!"  HA!  If only God could see The Ark now...  what a laugh she/he would have!

Even on a non-working-work-day, my cup runneth over.  Truly.

With gratitude and thanksgiving, Friends - I wish you All a wonderful holiday tomorrow.  May we always have the things we need and some chocolate, May our circles of family and friends embrace and shelter us, and May we never have rain in the ark! 

Annual Event!

Hello after about a week away from this forum, Friends!  It's been a crazy busy week at the Reed House, but we are slowly regaining our footing!

This morning I'm off for an annual overnight with my mom for shopping and silliness.  The funny thing, if you know your Michigan-Ohio geography, is that we are starting in Toledo this morning (after I drive there), then driving to Birch Run/Frankenmuth from there.  (Toledo is south of Milan, Birch Run is north.  So there you go!)

I'll do my best to update a little more regularly here next week.

In other news and updates, Tori is doing extremely well since the beginning of our diabetic adventures.  We saw Dr. Sweet yesterday and he is please and impressed.  Tori's blood sugar was around 840 when this started, and after 1 week of insulin and a change in her food, it's down to 126!  Tori is still annoyed with us holding her down for her pokes, but she's a good girl and things are going well.

John has also had quite a busy week as he begins learning his new role in full force.  We had fun one evening this week moving around his new office, and the transition for him seems to be going well.  His fatigue level is pretty good - that is one hard working man!

Be Well and Happy, Friends.  Peace!