Reporting In

So OK, I'm behind in my blogging again. What can I say... life happens. I do owe you an update on our mini vacation though, don't I? My sister asked me about it a few days ago and has been patiently waiting on the pictures.

We did have a very nice time. We just wished it could have lasted longer. As it turns out, we weren't the only ones with the great idea. There were more people at the lodge than we expected, but thankfully, not crowded. I had envisioned myself being able to sit all alone near the fire, reading or just day dreaming. But, I realize now that was just wishful thinking. I was still able to get some leisurely reading in, just not sitting as close to the fire as I wanted to be. As a family, we played several games together. Sequence, Skip-Bo, Euchre, Ping Pong and Air Hockey to name few. We also were able to drive into Nashville to enjoy some window shopping. Being off-season, many of the little shops were closed, but that's OK. It was fun, even though the temperatures were only in the low teens. We practically had the streets and stores to ourselves.

I'm a bit disappointed in the quality of my pictures. Particularly the ones I took inside the lodge. The lighting was perfect for that romantic ambiance feel, but terrible for getting quality pictures-- at least without the use of a tripod. Had I have used ours, I wouldn't have wound up with such blurry pictures. You need a real steady hand for taking pictures in low lighting. A knowledge of the right settings would probably be pretty helpful too. Guess I should take some time to read the manual, eh?

Getting Away

This week we have set aside a couple of days to get away and gain some needed rest and relaxation. This is particularly true in the case of my hard working husband.

Last week while on a job, he stepped off the edge of a sidewalk and twisted his ankle pretty badly. Thank the Lord, he didn't break it! Unfortunately, this is a more than occasional occurrence for him due to ankle injuries he sustained while playing sports in high school. While the sprained ankle was bad enough, it caused his back to go out of proper alignment and therefore, he is visiting our Chiropractor as I "speak". All this just before our planned getaway. Ugh! I asked him if he wanted to stay home, but he is determined to go. He has been nurturing the ankle for several days now and feels that he'll be just fine. Sometimes I worry about him though. When he's in pain he rarely lets on about it and hides it very well. In the past, this has led me to believe that he was doing OK when in fact, in some situations, he REALLY wasn't. This must be a "man" thing.

Anyway, I've mentioned here before how much our family enjoys going on outdoor retreats; being as close to nature as we possibly can. Since time and money were a factor we needed to choose someplace that wasn't too far from home. We found that Abe Martin Lodge in Brown County State Park fit the bill nicely. From now until the end of February, all Indiana State Parks that offer lodging are having their Winter rates of 2 nights for the price of one. Hooray!

I'm really looking forward to the time away and can't wait to take it easy just sitting in front of the fireplace chatting and reading the copy of Heirloom Farm magazine that my kind-hearted neighbor recently lent me. I also plan to take several pictures. That area is well known for beautiful scenery and last I heard it supposed to snow while we're there. That will just make it all the more beautiful, I'm sure! We'll not be going to any shows at the Little Nashville Opry, but will probably spend a few hours visiting several of the specialty shops along, and surrounding Van Buren Street-- considering my husband's ankle is up to it of course. If not, it's okay. Slow, easy and carefree is what's on tap for this two day respite!

I know that I have a pretty good show of Indiana visitors here at my blog, so the following is just for you. If you've never had the chance to visit the Brown County area and want to know what it's all about, you'll find all the details here. When I return, I'll post some pictures of our time away. Until then-- HAPPY NEW YEAR my fellow blogging friends!

Our Weekend In Ohio

My husband didn't have to preach last Sabbath (9/29/07) and he wanted to take the family somewhere special. We always enjoy visiting different zoos and therefore look for places that aren't too far from where we live. We had talked about going to the Columbus Zoo in years past, but never quite got around to making the trip. That is, until last weekend. We had a fun-filled day that Sunday. We saw lots of animals and learned some new things along the way. For me, the highlight of the day was getting a chance to feed the Rainbow Lorikeet birds. Lorikeets are birds found in Australia. They're related to cockatoos and parrots. If you are lucky to live near a zoo where a lorikeet exhibit is available, make plans to buy a bit of nectar so you can feed them. They are tame and quite fun to watch as the eat right out of your hand-- well, sort of. (You'll know what I mean when you take a look at the pictures).

On Sabbath, we started out at Deleware State Park. This is where we ate our lunch and then took a walk down by the lake afterwards. We also drove around the park a bit to see what else we might like to do. However, there really wasn't much else to do there, seeing that we didn't have our own boat and we weren't camping there. So, we decided to head back toward Columbus to try another park we'd seen on the way.

Highbanks Metro Park is in Lewis Center, OH. It's a beautiful park! They offer seven different hiking trails, ranging from easy, moderate and difficult. There are two large picnic areas with tables, grills and shelters. There's two playgrounds, horseshoe courts and an area for volleyball. The Nature Center is especially neat. Just outside of the rear doors you step out onto a boardwalk that leads to an observation deck. That deck connects to Overlook Trail. Due to time constraints however, we had to choose a shorter trail. The park closed at dusk and we didn't arrive there until a couple hours before sunset. By the time we were done in the Nature Center it was too late to take a long trail.

If you enjoy being out in nature and you're in that area of Ohio, be sure and stop by for a visit. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. We were a little sorry that we didn't stop at this park first. Next time we will. [smile]

If you'd like to see pictures of our short trip, click here. It will open up a new page (give it a moment to download) where you can view the scrapbook that I put together of our special family weekend.