On Wednesday, July 16th, I drove over 6 hours from Botkins, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York to visit Megan Fulmer.  Megan is going to be a junior at the University of Buffalo and is youngest daughter of Lisa and Norman Fulmer, good friends I visited in Southlake, Texas.  Megan was a first rate host and tour guide!
        We got up Thursday morning and started the day with a hearty breakfast at Denny's and then we were off to Niagara Falls.  Niagara Falls is the oldest national park established in 1885.  In fact Napoleon Bonaparte's brother and his American wife spent their honeymoon at Niagara Falls and this is how the tradition started as reported in the website: niagrafallsstatepark.com
         Oh my! What a full day we had and by the time we were ready to drive back to Megan's we had but over 9 miles on her pedometer!  I was so ignorant about Niagara Falls before arriving and did not realize that it consisted of two different falls, the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls which is on the Canadian side of the border.  Megan and I walked across the bridge into Canada and spent an hour or so walking all around and then returned and went on the Maid of the Mist boat ride.  We wore the blue ponchos they hand out but we were still plenty wet by time we finished the ride, but oh, what an amazing ride!  To see the power of the falls from that perspective was amazing!  Then Megan took me up the steps which are right next to the Bridal Vail Falls which is a section of the American Falls.  Oh my goodness!  That is when my pants got soaked to my mid thigh and tennis shoes were swimming in water!  Megan routinely takes her guests on this trek and I told her she would be smart to just wear a swim suit!  However exploring the area was not finished and by the time we had seen all there was to see the clothes were dry and tennis shoes were not slushing.  That evening Megan took me to the original restaurant that started serving the Buffalo wings called Duff's and the food was excellent.  What a wonderful day and Megan was an exceptional host! Thank you Megan!
       Friday morning after breakfast with Megan at IHOP it was off to Vermont!  About seven hours later I arrived in Rutland, Vermont,  to the home of Frank and Colleen D'Auria. We were all in the Navy together in Bremerton.  Frank was a Navy dentist and Colleen and I were Navy nurses.  I did see Frank and Colleen for a brief two hour visit the first part of the year but had not seen them for almost 30 years previous to that.  Needless to say I have enjoyed immensely the time spent in Vermont.  Not only have I seen beautiful scenery and intersting places but best of all spent time reconnecting with dear friends!
           On Saturday Colleen took me to the Farmers Market in Rutland. It was a delicious mix of culinary temptations along with a few crafty temptations.  One could find everything from baked goods to cheeses to fruits and vegtables and local organic meats.  So many temptations and we just don't talk about the calorie count!  However, the Farmers Market is not the only thing that Rutland had to offer.  The murals were quite fun as you can see below.  Rutland has also been referred to as the Marble City and just driving around one understands from where the name came.  Marble is everywhere!  Churches and banks one might expect, but it was a hoot to see sidewalks, curbs and foundations made out of marble!
        Colleen and Frank treated me to a play on Saturday evening!  We attended the musical, "Les Miserables" which was performed by community theater and Grace Congregational Church.  The performance took place in the renovated Paramont Theatre which was brought back to original grandeur, including gold leaf accents.
The performance was exceptional for a community theater and seeing such a beautifully rextored building was "icing on the cake"!
        On Sunday morning we attended 7:30 AM mass at St. Peter's Catholic Church where Frank and Colleen attend.  Frank plays the organ for this mass and it is not just any organ, but a beautiful pipe organ that was built around 1870 with updates through the years. It currently has 26 conventional ranks, 8 electronic ranks and over 1300 pipes.  The sound is amazing!  Colleen also assists with the service by being "leader of song".  Following the service Colleen took me to the Vermont Country Store which is in Weston, Vermont.  Oh my, talk about a kid in a candy store, I was having a sinfully good time.  It reminded very much of when my cousin, Jeff, and I went to Lehman's Hardware in Ohio.  If I ever visited Vermont this had to be one of my stops so Colleen made me very happy on this day!  After wondering through the store our stomachs beckoned us to the Bryant House which is on the same property.  The food was scrumptious and I highly recommend this restaurant if you are in the area.  When we arrived home that evening, Frank had made us a wonderful dinner.
           On Monday Colleen took me to breakfast at Sugar & Spice.  It is an sugar shack where the maple sap is boiled down into syrup.  Of course it was not working this time of year but it is a functioning sugar shack in season. See the pictures at end of blog.  Then it was onto Quechee Gorge.  This is a very scenic gorge in Vermont PLUS they had a pressed penny!  How much better can life get!  Then it was onto King Arthur Flour!  Oh my goodness what fun was that!  I can now say I have been to both King Arthur Flour in Vermont AND Bob's Red Mill in Portland, Oregon.  Life is complete!!  King Arthur Flour had all kinds of tempting flours, mixes, gadgets, spices, etc!
         I can not thank Colleen and Frank enough for the wonderful time in Vermont!  There is so much I did not see that this must be a destination again, sometime in the future!  But, as with all my previous stops along the way, the best part of this stop was just having the time to reconnect with dear friends from long ago!  Life is good!

This is a look at the American Fall in the foreground and Horseshoe Falls in the background.  You can see the spray mist up into the air from Horseshoe falls.  This spray can be viewed from miles away. AMAZING!

The left picture of me is with American Falls in background.  Center picture is Megan next to beautiful flowers on the Canadian side.  Far right picture is view of falls from the Canadian side.

Below is view of Horseshoe Falls.  Notice the spray/mist which can be visible from miles away.

Picture on left is taken thru a zip lock bag in which Megan placed her phone when we went on Maid of the Mist boat ride.  This kid has obviously had some experience with this boat ride before!  Next picture is of us on Rainbow Bridge which crosses into Canada.  We are standing at the boundry line of the US and Canada. 

The pressed penny for Rainbow Bridge which is in the background. 

Pressed penny for Niagra Falls with both falls in background. 

A selfie in front of the famous Duffs original wings restaurant.  Great food!

The four murals below are in Rutland, Vermont.  I especially like the last one with little boy looking through the arch.  The butterflies look so realistic!

 

Vermont is known for its marble, but sadly the marble mining hit hard times decades ago.  The sign below contains great information.  What caught my eye was that the company established the FIRST INDUSTRIAL NURSES in 1895!

Rutland is called the Marble City though Proctor a few miles away is where the mine was.  In Proctor and Rutland you find everything made of marble!  Below are a couple pictures of the churches made from marble but there are many more!

Ever see a marble bank or fire station?   Go to Vermont!

This was a beautifuf mable bridge.

Below are curb stones made from marble, a sidewalk and a foundation of a house!! All from marble!!

Below are two pictures of the Vermont Country Store! 

                Covered bridges are still found quite often in Vermont.

                 This picture taken at the Sugar and Spice Restaurant and shows where the maple sap is cooked down into syrup.

       This is old truck that was used at one time to collect the maple sap.  Colleen says this is what my Rav will look like after my trip is over but I don't believe her.

Yes!  Quechee Gorge pressed penny. 

The Howe Scale Company was located in Rutland and they made scales of all sizes and shipped them all over the country, but they were closed several years ago.

          If you are ever in Rutland and need a good dentist, I know who you can call!

  When Colleen found this t-shirt and wore it I figured it was a sign for me to leave.  :-)
                                                            Just kidding Colleen!

              Frank, Colleen and me on morning I left Vermont.  I was sad to say goodbye to my dear friends.  The Navy was good to me!  I met Colleen and Frank!

Colleen and Frank's beautiful home.

       Sunday, July 13, I drove from Piketon returning to Botkins and my cousin Jeff's home.  We knew I planned to leave Ohio on Wednesday so wanted to see Charlene Jarvis one more time.  So after calling Charlene we arranged to meet for Sunday dinner.  Cousins Jenny, Jeff and I drove to Brookville and met Charlene for dinner at Rob's Restaurant which offered a delicious smorgasbord!  Like I needed all the food I could eat!  Good heavens I have gained so much on this trip!  But I must say their porkchops tasted just like my mother's. The food was delicious!  Visiting with Charlene, Jenny and Jeff made a perfect dinner!
      Monday I took a walk in the morning with my girlfriends from high school, Sara Kreitzer, Mary Lou Pitts and Linda Limbert.  We walked our three miles around town and then Sara took me out to Fryburg, which is a very small village a few miles north east of Botkins.  Her uncle had been a priest there for around 40 years and had painted murals inside the church. His name was Father Tubbe and he passed away in the 70's.  St. John's Catholic Church was built in 1850 and is on the National Register of Historical Places. I have a few pictures of the murals below.  He was an amazing artist!
      After visiting Fryberg I drove to Wapakoneta to visit my brother John one last time before leaving Ohio.  It is always good to spend time with family and feel connected though I always wish for more time. John always has such great stories to tell of growing up and working with my dad, but I, regretfully, have not always spent the time I should have to collect those stories.  After leaving John's, I stopped by the Wapak Post Office and saw another school friend, Karen Deitz Fogt.  I arranged to visit with her and husband Les that evening and what a wonderful time we had catching up.  In a previous blog I spoke about a time prior to sixth grade when I went on an all day bike ride out in the country with Kathy Boyer Wise. Karen reminded me that she was actually on the bike ride with Kathy and me.  She also watched the Beattles on Ed Sullivan with me for which I also had a memory lapse.  That is one of the reasons I love visiting old friends, they can fill in the memory gaps!
        Tuesday late afternoon I drove to Columbus to visit with Pam Bolte who was a nurse and joined the Navy at the same time I did.  We drove together to Newport, RI, in January of 1974 for our officer indoctrination class and following Newport Mom, Aunt Margie, Pam and I caravaned to Salt Lake City and then Pam split off and drove down to her duty station at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego and Mom and Aunt Margie drove with me up to the Bremerton Naval Hospital.  Pam and I had a lovely visit catching up after not seeing each other for many years.
        Well, soon it was Wednesday, July 16th, and time to continue my journey and bid my farewell to Ohio for now.  I must thank all my hosts for being so gracious, especially cousin Jeff who put up with me the longest.

The following six pictures were taken of St. John's Catholic Church in Fryburg, Ohio. As mentioned above, Father Tubbe painted all these murals found within the church.
The first picture is a wall hanging.

Former Navy Nurses and good friends!  Pam Bolte and I

Leaving Ohio with a little more than what I came!  Hm, couldn't be those Longaberger baskets and Fiestaware could it?  Oh, that cedar chest may have somethingto do with it too.

        It is Friday and, boy, have I had a busy week in southern Ohio!  Sallie Jayne is my girlfriend from nursing school.  We went to Springfield Community Hospital School of Nursing in Sprinfield, Ohio.  When I arrived in Piketon, Ohio, on Tuesday, Sallie was afraid that there was not much to show me in southern Ohio but she was sooooo wrong!  It is kind of like the idea that everyone has a story and I find it is the same for places. Every place has a story to tell. So the first place we went to see was Portsmouth, Ohio.        
        As usual, I was distracted and now it is Monday, July 14th, and now just getting back to completing this entry.  Portsmouth is on the Ohio River and Scioto River.  Sallie took me on Wednesday, July 9th, to tour around the city. It was once a thriving city in the first half of the 20th century with shoe factories, steel mills, etc., but boom times have long past and it is just now starting to make somewhat of a comeback.  The Erie canal that ran from Lake Erie to the Ohio River was a vital part of Portsmouth in the 1800's.  Portsmouth also played an important link in the Underground Railroad.
          When Sallie and I arrived in Portsmouth she took me to the floodwall murals.  Even though the city was built on high ground, it still had floods occasionally and after an especially devastating flood in 1937 a floodwall was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers.  In 1993 a nonprofit organization commissioned mural artist, Robert Dafford and the result was over 60 murals 20 feet tall spanning a length of 2000 feet.  At the beginning of the murals is a short introduction and a phone number is available for a self guided tour that tells about each mural.  I highly recommend anyone taking time to see these murals. It is well worth the trip to Portsmouth! View a few of the murals at end of this blog entry.
         On Thursday Sallie took me to Adena Mansion and Gardens in Chillicothe, Ohio.  Adena was home to Thomas Worthington (1773-1827) who was the sixth governor of Ohio and one of the first United States senators for Ohio. During Worthington's life time, Adena was a 2000 acre estate and the Mansion was built by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and is currently only one of three homes still standing built by Latrobe.  Latrobe is considered the first professional American architect and was the architect for the United States Capital. (Information obtained from the Adena Mansion website)  What fascinated me was the blue ceilings troughout the mansion.  When our guide was asked about this she said this kept wasps from nesting in the house. When I was in Key West this past January I heard the same information about their historical homes only they painted their porch ceilings blue to cut down on the insect problem and they are still mandated to do this.  In the dining room at Adena, the walls were painted green.  This was unusual because the "public rooms" were usually the only ones wallpapered and since this was room in which the guests dined it should have been papered not painted.  However, this particular green paint discouraged insects and to this day, the guide said that during the season when lady bugs are so bad and they are sweeping up piles in other parts of the mansion, this is only room there is not a problem.  Fascinating!  In addition to the wonderful history of the house, the gardens and grounds are beautiful.  The Seal of Ohio is actually taken from a view on the property.
       On Friday, we went to the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park near Chillicothe.  These burial grounds are 2000 years old and were declared a national monument in 1923 by President Harding.  As described in the literature these mounds are not just piles of dirt but long and complicated procedure of layering earthen materials often of clay and sand. There are several of these sites atound Chillicothe that have been included within the national park but the visitor center remains at the Mound City Group. It was pointed out in the film that the mound formations are the same at the different sites.  It is amazing to me that 2000 years ago these people could be so precise!
          Saturday was a time to reconnect with friends from nurses' training so we drove up to the farm of Nancy and Ray Steele in New Carlisle.  Pam Groves and Becky and Wayne Guy also joined us.  We had a wonderful afternoon of sharing our lives and eating good food!  On the way back Sal and I drove past the site of our school of nursing and we were saddened to see both Springfield Community Hospital School of Nursing and the adjacent Community Hospital both totally demolished and new grass growing where both buildings once were. I suppose it was the practical thing to do but sometimes I hate change!

The four pictures below are panoramic shots of the Portsmouth Floodwall.

Roy Rogers was from Portsmouth.

Branch Rickey was from Portsmouth and was well known in baseball. He was first manager to sign Jackie Robinson to play baseball.

Sallie having some fun with cat in the mural.

Below is Sallie with her friends from the Bristol Retirement Village, Dr. Claude and Ruby Hambrick.

Below is a historical marker explaining the Ohio Erie Canal.

Picture below shows a small, dismantled section of the Ohio Erie Canal

Barn at Adena

Below is a contract Thomas Worthington made with a gardner.  Interesting!

The following three pictures tells a bit about guest to Adena.

The marker below explains the Ohio Seal.

This picture is taken from the same site and view that is on the Ohio Seal .

The marker below explains the indian mounds at the City Mound Group.

Example of an Indian Mound.

Some fun road signs! This one was in country close to Nancy's farm.

This sign is outside of Piketon, Ohio.  Being a former urology nurse it of course caught my attention.

I have never seen a tractor pattern on a barn's shingled roof.  Kind of neat.

This is what student nurses look like 41 years after graduation!  :-) 

L-R  Nancy Steele, Pam Groves, Sallie Jayne, Becky Guy, me

Finally had a Hickie and it was great!  Actually these are little slider hamburgers that are delicious.  Hm, could it have anything to do with the lard used on grill? Ah, one Hickie can't kill me, right?

Below: Meet DC, Sallie and Henry's dog.