This past weekend was different. We did not spend the weekend away at a fancy hotel or even staying at home working around the house. We have been so gung-ho every weekend with unpacking and getting our new house to feel homey. A typical weekend lately involves not only spending lots of time during the day with the boys and my wife, but also getting things done around the house. Hanging more blinds, curtains, and artwork; putting stuff together, in its place, or organizing; spending countless miles going back and forth to Home Depot or Lowes. Then after everyone is in bed, I concentrate and work on the blog till the wee hours of the morning. It has been all consuming, while in addition, my full-time work and schedule have drastically changed for the worse. So how did we get away from it all?
My wife’s great grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year. In today’s day in age, that is a huge accomplishment my wife and I will complete 57 years from now. Wow! That’s a long time. To celebrate, my wife’s grandparents decided to rent a large cabin in mid to southern Ohio and invite the entire family to spend time together. Organizing and scheduling a complete family event for 4 generations of families is next to impossible, but by planning well in advance, they were able to accommodate everyone’s schedule.
The location was called Indian Bear Lodge and we had the Little Rock Lodge building. They are located in Walhonding, OH, about half way between Cleveland and Columbus. It really was quite amazing to realize we were in the same State.
The rolling hills in the middle of Ohio were gorgeous. It is amazing what a little topography can do in your surroundings. Every person we passed waved as though they were welcoming us in an unknown land. It was clear everyone knows each other in these parts, and visitors were not the norm. The people were both friendly farmers and the Amish community.
Getting to the lodge was a bit of an obstacle. There was no address, and GPS coordinates took us to some random house on a dirt road. When we pulled into a random drive, and it was a scene right out of a horror movie as the barn had a hand print on the window that looked like someone asking for help. When we were lost, a couple was on a four-wheeler, and we stopped to ask them for directions. Again, I was kind of scared for my life when they drunkenly looked at us as City-folk and slurred their words with no idea of where we or they were headed.
When we finally arrived, the place was great! It slept 25 people, which was perfect for the 25 of us, had a large kitchen with huge dining room, and a rec room large enough to fit the largest farm equipment. Everything was modern and convenient. The building was surrounded by corn fields, horse fields, ponds, and woods. Was I really in the middle of Ohio? It really felt like a retreat.
I know I was able to completely relax and not think about my hectic “City” life back home. The house was disconnected from the internet grid, although we did have cell phone coverage complete with 3G. So I was unable to do my late night research as is typical for most weekends. The lodge did come with satellite television coverage though, so we were not completely off the grid or out of touch with our surroundings.
On Saturday we decided to take the boys up to the Velvet Ice Cream factory in Utica, OH. While we were not able to see a factory tour, the property was very nice and family friendly. We had an excellent meal and ice cream of course.
On both the way to and from Velvet, we stopped at several little farmer’s stands to sample and purchase some of the local goods. It brings us such satisfaction to buy directly from the local people as opposed to the big box stores we have back home.
For once we were able to get away for a weekend and not have to worry about reservations at hotels, where we were going to eat the next meal, or what activities we were going to do to entertain our children. It was peaceful and relaxing.
My only regret is how fast the time went by this past weekend. It was truly beautiful being kind of disconnected from our hectic life back home. I not only got to spend a complete weekend connecting with my family, but also my wife’s family. The weekend put us outside of our typical element, and it was a welcoming endeavor. I truly love my wife’s family as much as my own, and it completes me by knowing it is what I always wanted. In addition, I know my boys will have taken away a great experience with my wife’s large family, even though they are too young to likely ever remember.