Living Our Dream

Day Trip to Columbus Part II: Inniswood Gardens

Berlin, OH - Events of Wednesday, June 24, 2015

As we said at the end of our last post, we saw a directional sign for Inniswood Gardens when we were on our way to lunch after leaving the Park of Roses. A quick check of the location using our smart phone showed it was only about a mile east of the restaurant where we were planning to go for lunch. Since we like to eat lunch late anyway, we decided to take a detour and check out the gardens before we ate.

Located in Westerville, Ohio, Inniswood Botanical Gardens is about 10 miles north of the Park of Roses we just visited and about 15 miles north of downtown Columbus. Nestled within a 121-acre nature preserve, Inniswood was once the 37-acre estate of sisters Grace and Mary Innis. Grace enjoyed gardening, and Mary was devoted to wildlife preservation. The sisters generously donated their home and land to Franklin County Metro Parks in 1972. There is plenty of free parking at the garden, and admission is free.

We knew right away from the attractive container garden right outside the entrance we were going to like Inniswood. The plants had such an interesting contrast of colors and textures! Even the sizes and shapes of the containers added to the interest.

Container garden right outside the entrance to Inniswood Gardens

The gardens are home to over 2,000 species of plants. There are beautifully landscaped flower beds, a rock garden, container gardens, woodland paths and specialty gardens featuring roses, herbs and ferns.

Right inside the entrance there were several well-planned flower beds with more interesting combinations of textures and colors.

One of several beds at the garden entrance

The sister's former home is the site of educational programs, a reference library and staff offices.

Former home of the Innis sisters, now used for educational programs and staff offices

We checked the map at the entrance and decided to tour the garden in a clockwise direction. Our first stop was at the Sisters' Garden, which was opened in 2002. The Sisters' Garden was designed to celebrate the inquisitiveness of childhood. There are a couple of mazes, a wetland garden, a turtle mound and a secret garden for kids to explore. There is a bronze statue at the entrance to the Sisters' Garden depicting Grace and Mary Innis as children.

Bronze statue depicting Grace and Mary Innis as children

Next on our tour was the rock garden with its pond and splashing stream.

Pond and stream in the rock garden

We continued making our way through the herb garden, the cutting garden and the fern garden. The garden paths themselves were punctuated with more container gardens and with landscape beds.

More container gardens

Landscape beds along the garden path

There are several woodland trails. Spring Run Trail was especially inviting with container plants lining a bridge over the stream.

Bridge at the start of Spring Run Trail

It was getting late, and we were getting hungry so we decided not to take any of the woodland trails. Instead, we continued on our way to the rose garden. The rose garden, although not nearly as extensive as the one at the Park of Roses, was nevertheless very nice. The roses are nicely showcased in front of a long, curving trellis.

Rose garden

The back side of the rose garden trellis is planted with a variety of perennials.

Perennials on the back side of the rose garden trellis

From the map we viewed as we entered the garden, we knew the rose garden was near the exit. Paul did a little clowning around as we headed for the exit.

Paul clowning around by the rose garden trellis scouting for the garden exit

So many times an unplanned stop turns out to be as good or better than the original destination. Inniswood Gardens was certainly one of those times. From Inniswood, we headed to City Barbecue for lunch. In our next post, we'll tell you all about it and about another stop we made on our way back to Berlin after lunch.

Day Trip to Columbus Part I: Park of Roses

Berlin, OH - Events of Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Rain was still in the forecast for several days last week, but we also got a couple of beautiful, sunny days - finally. We took advantage of one of those sunny days and took a day trip to Columbus on Wednesday. Our first stop was the Park of Roses located in the northern Columbus suburb of Clintonville, which was about a two-hour drive from Berlin.

The Park of Roses is a 13-acre garden within a larger park called Whetstone Park. Whetstone Park has walking trails, picnic areas, athletic fields, basketball and tennis courts and a playground. The Park of Roses has 12,000 rose bushes representing about 400 different varieties. Admission is free.

The main part of the garden is a long mall with a central fountain.

Central fountain in the Park of Roses

There is an observation deck at the far end of the mall where visitors can get a good view of the entire main garden.

Paul on the observation deck

View of the main part of the garden from the observation deck

Although the website says the peak blooming season for the roses is mid-June, many of the blooms had already faded. The large amount of rain over the previously week was probably responsible for the deterioration of many of the flowers, but there were still quite a few beautiful blooms to see. The photo below shows just a few.

A few of the many varieties of roses

The Park of Roses also has several secondary gardens featuring perennials, annuals and herbs.

View of one of the perennial gardens

Annual bed mixed with ornamental grasses

In addition to our regular camera, we also took along our smart phone and our new selfie stick. We had fun practicing taking selfies. Margery later deleted several dozen photos that didn't turn out very well.

Photo taken with our new selfie stick

Even though the roses weren't as spectacular as we hoped they would be, we still had a nice visit to the Park of Roses.

We had scoped out several restaurants ahead of time, and the one we decided on was City Barbecue located about 10 miles north of the rose garden on the way back to Berlin. We were still hungry for good barbecue after our disappointment with the ribs at Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen the Friday before.

When we were almost to the restaurant, we saw a sign for another garden. Since it was still before noon and we like to eat lunch a little later anyway, we decided to take a detour to check out the garden. We'll tell you about it in our next post.

German Culture Museum

Berlin, OH - Events of Wednesday, June 17 to Friday, June 19, 2015

Last week was a relatively quiet week for us. We didn't do much because it rained every day. We did need to stop at the post office Wednesday morning, so we also stopped at Der Dutchman Bakery while we were out.

More often than not, we get cream sticks at the bakery, but this time we decided to split an apple fritter. Their apple fritters are so big and so dense, neither of us can eat a whole one.

Margery with our apple fritter

We got almost 5 inches of rain for the week, but eating out is something we can do rain or shine. When we eat out here in Amish Country, we almost always eat at Der Dutchman. Since we're going to be here all summer this year, we decided we would try at least a couple of the many other restaurants in the area.

We frequently drive through a little town nearby called Mount Hope, and we pass a restaurant located there called Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen. We were always curious about the place, so we decided it was time to give them a try on Friday.

Since we were restless from not getting out much all week because of all the rain, we decided to leave a little early and stop at the German Culture Museum in Walnut Creek on the way to Mrs. Yoder's. The German Culture Museum is located in the lower level of the Walnut Creek Municipal Building/Library right across the street from the Walnut Creek Post Office.

German Culture Museum

The German Culture Museum is another one of those places we pass all the time, but have never visited. The reason for that is mostly because the museum has limited hours. It is only open from noon to 4:00 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from May through October. Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted.

The museum is relatively small, but it is very well done. It has artifacts and photos that detail the history of the community of Walnut Creek, which was originally called New Carlisle.

In addition to the history of Walnut Creek, the museum has a section on the history of the Amish Church. The Amish and Mennonites are offshoots of the Anabaptist movement, which began in Europe in the 1500s. The Anabaptists were persecuted in Europe by both the Catholic and Protestant churches, and it is that persecution that led to the migration of many Amish and Mennonites to America. Large numbers of them originally settled in Pennsylvania in the late 1700s. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, who was a Quaker and who was an early advocate of religious freedom.

In 1803, an Amish exploration party from Somerset, Pennsylvania, surveyed the region around present day Walnut Creek to search for a new place to settle. In 1809, Jonas Stutzman arrived from Beaver, PA, and he settled on land at the base of the hill just to the southeast of where the museum is located.

One of the prized possessions of the museum is a surrey from the 1860s that originally belonged to John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller moved to the Cleveland area as a boy with his family in 1853. Rockefeller, who went on to found Standard Oil in 1870, built his first oil refinery in Cleveland around 1863 at age 24. He bought the luxurious surrey for his family later in the 1860s. The surrey was purchased at auction in the 1930s by two Walnut Creek history buffs and stored in a barn until it was beautifully restored in 2005.

1860s surrey that once belonged to John D. Rockefeller

The major portion of the museum is laid out with room-like vignettes to display various artifacts.

Farm implements

Household items

Kitchen

Bedroom

The German Culture Museum is a gem that doesn't seem to be very well known. It is very well done and is an obvious labor of love. We enjoyed it a lot.

We spent more time at the museum than we had planned, so we didn't get to Mrs. Yoder's until almost 5:00. It was starting to get crowded, but we didn't have to wait for a table.

Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen

Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen has lunch and dinner entrees that include country favorites like fried chicken, ham steak, pork chops and country fried steak. Prices range from about $8 to $13. They also have burgers and several kinds of sandwiches for $4 to around $6.50.

There is a breakfast buffet on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and there is a hot buffet every day for $11.99 that also includes a salad bar. The hot buffet includes fish, shrimp and baby back ribs after 4:00 on Fridays. We usually can't eat enough to justify a dinner buffet, but cost of the buffet at Mrs. Yoder's was fairly reasonable so that's what we both decided to have.

The salad bar at Mrs. Yoder's isn't quite as extensive as the one at Der Dutchman, but that was okay because we were also having the dinner buffet. The only thing we really missed on the salad bar at Mrs. Yoder's was blue cheese dressing.

The dinner buffet at Mrs. Yoder's isn't as extensive as the one at Der Dutchman either, but it is a couple of dollars cheaper. Unfortunately, we thought the ribs were too fatty and they also weren't very tender. We knew the ribs at Mrs. Yoder's would be baked instead of smoked and we knew they wouldn't be as good as the ones at OakWood Grill in The Villages in Florida or as good as the ones at Central Barbecue in Memphis, but they weren't even as good as the ones Margery makes at home in the crock pot. In addition, some pieces of the fried chicken weren't very crispy and were a little greasy. On a more positive note, the popcorn shrimp was good as was the clam chowder, the potato salad, and the sweet potato casserole.

Paul at Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen

Overall, we thought the food at Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen was okay; but in our opinion, it is not as good as Der Dutchman. We're glad we took the opportunity to try Mrs. Yoder's to satisfy our curiosity even though we were a bit disappointed.

You've probably heard of buyer's remorse where the buyer regrets a purchase later. Well, by Saturday evening, Margery had diner's remorse. The disappointment of eating at Mrs. Yoder's made her wish she had those calories back so she could spend them on a fry pie from Der Dutchman Bakery instead.

By the end of last week, the weather forecast for the following week showed we might get a few nice days. In our next post, we'll tell you if we were able to take advantage of any of that nicer weather.

Quailcrest Farm Redux

Berlin. OH - Events of Wednesday, June 10 to Sunday, June 14, 2014

As we said at the end of our last post, we relaxed over the weekend after finishing the installation of the new window in our entry door. We had a little rain early in the week, so we relaxed some more.

Since it was light rain without thunder, Freeway was able to get into relaxation mode, too. He likes to sit on on the top of the back of the recliners or the sofa. Note he has a dog toy under his chin to keep him company.

Freeway relaxing on top of the sofa

Lora had a Mary Kay event scheduled for last Wednesday afternoon, so we volunteered to drive to Pittsburgh for the day to babysit Lydia. As usual, we had a lot of fun interacting with her and watching her play.

Paul holding Lydia

Lydia is getting to be quite mobile and crawls around at a fast clip. Fortunately, Lora and J. Michael have installed baby gates in several locations so it wasn't too hard for us to keep her within sight.

Lydia making a turn in mid-crawl

Lydia likes to play tug-o-war with Freeway. Freeway is pretty gentle with Lydia, even when she accidentally grabs a handful of whiskers, but we still keep a watchful eye on him since he isn't used to being around babies. Lydia giggles a lot when they play.

Lydia and Freeway playing tug-o-war with a dog toy

Before we left to head back to Berlin, Lora and J. Michael treated us to take-out pizza from Hunner's Pizza, which is located close to where they live. Yum! We have been hungry for Hunner's pizza, but we weren't able to get any the last two times we were in Pittsburgh. The first time we tried, it was a Monday, and Hunner's is closed on Mondays; and the second time they were closed for a week for vacation.

It was after 7:30 p.m. when we headed back to Scenic Hills. Since sunset is so late this time of year, we got back just as the last light was fading from the sky.

When we were at Lora and J. Michael's house at the end of May for Lydia's dedication, Paul went to Bedner's Greenhouse with Lora to help her pick out flowers for her container garden. One of the plants Lora has had success with in her garden is a flower called calibrachoa (cal-ee-bra-CO-a), also called million bells. Calibrachoa looks like a miniature petunia. The plants have a sprawling habit and can spread up to two feet in diameter. They are available in a wide range of colors.

Paul did some research on calibrachoa and found out they will withstand light frost, so he figured they might be a good candidate for our garden in Florida when we're there over the winter. Additional research showed calibrachoa are most commonly propagated by rooted cuttings rather than by seed. Paul decided if we buy a couple of plants now and put them into a pot, we can enjoy them while we're in Ohio. Then if he begins to root some cuttings late in the summer before we leave Berlin, the cuttings should be ready to plant by the time we get to Florida in the fall.

A quick call to Quailcrest Farm near Wooster revealed they did have a few calibrachoa plants left in several different colors, so we headed there on Thursday. On our way into the greenhouse, Paul spotted an interesting garden bench made from stone, wood and old tractor seats. Since the bench didn't have a back and since the metal seats were hot from the sun, it wasn't all that comfortable; but it was unique.

Paul trying out a garden bench made from old tractor seats

Miniature gardens seem to be "in" this year. We saw some earlier at a garden-themed gift shop in downtown Berlin, and Quailcrest also had several miniature gardens located right outside the greenhouse.

Miniature garden

While we were at Quailcrest buying the calibrachoa, we also looked around their display gardens again since many of the perennials hadn't yet started to bloom when we were there earlier in the spring. The next three photos show some of the additional color in the display gardens.

From Quailcrest, we headed back to the 5th wheel. Over the previous couple of days, tents, benches and tables had been set up at one of the Amish homes adjacent to the campground. When we left in the morning, we noticed a lot of activity around the home. When we returned, there were buggies parked all over their yard and in the parking lot of the chiropractor next door. We realized it was an Amish wedding.

Buggies parked for an Amish wedding

Most of the horses were unhitched, so they were planning to stay a while.

We ran some errands on Friday and made a stop at Walmart to get a pot for the calibrachoa, which Paul planted on Saturday. We'll show you a photo in a few weeks once the plants have a little time to establish themselves in their new container.

We did a combination of puttering around and relaxing over the weekend. There was off-and-on rain on Saturday. The weekenders behind us were bound and determined to have a campfire regardless of the weather as they sat around their campfire with umbrellas in the evening.

Weekenders behind us having a campfire in the rain

Paul has some supplies ordered for a couple of projects, and we have done some research into possible sightseeing. We don't know when all the supplies will arrive or if the weather will cooperate with sightseeing. Therefore, we don't know exactly what we'll be doing next, but we'll let you know in our next post.

5th Wheel Project: Install a Window in the Entry Door

Berlin, OH - Events of Wednesday, June 3, 2015

We are really enjoying the conveniences of our new 5th wheel. Margery especially likes the expanded kitchen counter and storage space, and Paul likes the fact the 5th wheel doesn't have an engine that needs to have its oil changed or needs to be exercised periodically.

One of the things we didn't like about the 5th wheel is the fact the entry door didn't have a window. We used the window in the door of our motor home all the time, especially when we put Freeway outside on his tie-out chain first thing in the morning. The window made it easy to watch him to see when he was ready to come back inside.

All the 5th wheel had was a security peephole that was mounted way too high. We both had to stand on our tiptoes to look out. Even then, we couldn't see the steps or the ground below the door.

Entry door with no window and a peephole that was too high

After we picked up the 5th wheel from the dealer, we realized how much we missed the window in the door so we called DRV to see if they could add a window after the fact. They said they could not do that, and we would have to replace the entire door at a cost of around $500 plus another $400 to paint the new door to match the 5th wheel.

Unsatisfied with the response from DRV, Paul got the name of the company that manufactured the door and called them directly to see if a window could be added. They said there was no structural reason it couldn't be done, and that an experienced DIYer could probably do it. The cost of the window was only $23, and there was a charge of $35 for packing and shipping.

Paul ordered the window, and we received it just before we left Florida. The window was well packed in a wooded box lined with foam and cardboard. No wonder the packing and shipping charge was more than the cost of the window itself.

Window came packed in a wooden box

We have been carrying the new window around with us since we left Florida waiting for a good time to install it. We needed nice weather; but more importantly, Paul needed the courage to cut a big hole in the door.

With the family gatherings and trips to Pittsburgh in May over and with a spell of cool, cloudy weather gone, as least temporarily, Paul finally screwed up his courage and decided to tackle the window project last Wednesday.

Because the window frame has protrusions on the back for the mounting screws, the frame didn't sit level and couldn't be used to trace the outline of the opening. Therefore Paul had to make a template.

Paul making the final cut for the template for the window opening

Paul taped the completed template to the door, traced around it, drilled a couple of holes through which to start the saw blade, and proceeded to cut the opening. The fiberglass in the outer layer of the door is very abrasive and quickly dulled blades. Paul went through three blades cutting the 15 X 25-inch opening.

Saw blade dulled by the abrasive fiberglass

The flange that seals around the perimeter of the window isn't very wide, so there is little margin for error. If Paul cut the hole a bit too big, we would need a whole new door. We knew how expensive that would be so we wanted to avoid it. Therefore, Paul deliberately cut the hole for the window a little undersize. He then used a sanding drum in his cordless drill to enlarge the opening a little at a time so the frame was a close fit all the way around the opening.

Opening cut through door ready for the frame to be fit

Enlarging the opening was time consuming, especially since some areas ended up being a little more undersize than Paul intended. There was fiberglass and styrofoam dust everywhere when all the sanding was finally complete. After cleaning up the mess, Paul placed the window into the opening from the outside and screwed on the trim from the inside. A little caulking around the outside of the frame completed the job.

Outside view of door before

Outside view after

We really like the new window. Not only will it enable us to watch Freeway when he's outside and to see who is at the door, it also lets more light inside the 5th wheel.

Inside view after

After completing the widow project, we spent the next several days mostly relaxing. We don't have any specific plans for the foreseeable future, but something is bound to come up. Stay Tuned.