Amish Country

 This was a trip I took with my mother to Amish Country on September 23, 2020.  People were not wearing masks at all in Amish Country.  Not the workers nor the residents and tourists.  It is a 3 hour drive give or take from my mom's and we almost ran out of gas coming back as the GPS took us a different way.  We also went through, what we jokingly called 'Trump Country" due to there being a lot of trump supporters in that area we passed through.  

Dream Bridge-Knox County

First up is the Dream Bridge which is located in Knox County. It is a 370-foot long bridge spanning the Mohican River and has a horse trail.  Mom and I found it by accident when we were driving to Amish Country and turned around to go see it.  Being from Maine (ME) and there being a ton of covered bridges in Maine, we both like the covered bridges & the history behind them.   It is a pedestrian and bicycling bridge and part of the Mohican Valley Trail, a nature trail built on an abandoned railroad bed belonging to the old Pennsylvania Railroad

Amish Country

Little Switzerland of Ohio

I was surprised how small the World's Largest Cuckoo Clock was but I am in love with them and would like to go to Switzerland to buy one for myself.  

Peace Bridge

The Peace Bridge is another covered bridge in Ohio.  It is located in Walnut Creek, Ohio and is also known as Stutzman's Crossing.   It was named for the first settler of Walnut Creek, a man named Jonas Stutzman.   It is located on County Road 145

Peace Bridge
Peace-Loving Amish families build brotherly Native American Frontier Relations.   An unbarred cabin door could mean vulnerability.  But for one of the earliest pioneering families of the Ohio country, the peace-loving Amish Jacob Mast family of Walnut Creek (1812), it could mean surprises.   The Masts had arrived only three years after the arrival of the first white settler in-what would become eastern Holmes County-the Amishman Jonas Stutuzman in 1809.  

Only one mile east of here and across a gently flowing stream is the Jacob Mast cabin site.  Occasionally late on a frosty winter night 2 to 4 Native Americans returning home from their night's hunt, instead of passing by, would try the door and then silently slip in to sleep in front of the fireplace.

In the morning, before venturing down from the sleeping loft of their log cabin, the Masts cautiously peered down through the loft hole.   Yes, as sometimes occurred, there they were, the sleeping frontier Indians lying on the floor in front of the fireplace.

Mrs. Mast would carefully descend through the loft hole to prepare breakfast.   For this provided the Christian opportunity to provide a brotherly breakfast to their drop-in guests.

After the peaceful fellowship with the Masts, the Indians proceeded farther up the hollow to their encampment.   (Does the raised two fingers suggest that they had harvested two deer during the night?)  This story speaks well for peaceful Christian relationships between frontier Native Americans and the Amish.

Instead of forcing the Native Americans off their land or shooting them, the Amish believed in sharing Christian hospitality with them.  Originating in 1525 during the reformation era, neither Catholic nor Protestant but a third way, the peaceful Anabaptists (including modern day Amish and Mennonites) believe following Jesus means Christians never kill their fellowman.  May we cross the bridge of peace, kindness and goodwill to all people.

This history reflects the heritage of Holmes County which was to become the largest Amish settlement in the world.  We welcome you to enjoy this heritage of peace in "the Amish Country."

Marietta Day Trip

 Mom and I took a day trip to Marietta, OH on September 12, 2020.  Ate dinner at the Galley.

The Mound Cemetery:

Marietta, OH

The Mound Cemetery  

House of Seven Porches Sign

House of Seven Porches

The Castle Museum

We went here before when my sister and I were children with mom. I just remember the twitchy eye lady.  Stayed at Best Western on the Ohio River.

Ohio River Paddleboat Ride

Mom and I went on a a paddleboat ride down the Ohio River.    I took a 57 minute long video just going down one side.  It was through Valley Gem and we reserved our tickets online right there before going down the gangplank.  The place is tricky to get to, you have to head down a side road that can easily be missed before taking a bridge over the ohio river.

Ohio River Museum 

There's a little museum where you can view information boards on the Ohio River around Marietta and how important it was.  

We thought this wooden sculpture was weird.   

Went looking for this statue which I last saw when I was a child and we were in Marietta for some reason.  

The Galley

We went to this restaurant to eat after the boat ride on the Ohio River.  Not bad food. I think maybe it used to be part of a hotel because the door to the place also has The Hackett Hotel on the door underneath "The Galley" and also a sign on the side of the wall saying 'The Hackett Hotel'.  It is near Marietta College. 

Yes, that is the Mona Lisa holding an alcoholic drink

Oak Grove Cemetery

After dinner, we went looking for another cemetery.  We used to do this a lot, visiting cemeteries when we lived in Maine and taking pictures of the old tombstones.  We went down Gross Road three different times, trying to find this stupid cemetery and went past some shady character at least twice when going down the road past the little plaza.   We went down the mountainside twice and then up the mountainside the third time.