Lebanon, OH - Sep. 10 - 26, 2006

Indiana - Sep. 10 - 11, 2006

Editor's note: Obviously, Indiana is not in Ohio.  However, since we only made a brief stop we decided to include it on this page.

On September 10th we headed for the Carriage Factory's courtesy park in Millersburg, Indiana.   In 2003 we were shopping for a new RV and the Carriage Cameo was on our short list, along with the Hitchhiker and our Mirage.  Last spring we toured the NuWa Hitchhiker factory in Chanute, Kansas, and thought we should give equal time to Carriage while in the area.

It is always interesting to see how things are built, how the designers provide for the plumbing, ducting and wiring, and generally what's behind the walls.  While Carriage makes an excellent product, their floor plans are too large for us so we'll just stick with our current home.  Plus, NuWa had better complimentary pens.

After our tour, we drove to Goshen for lunch and then to browse through the Old Bag Factory.  In the early 20th Century, the location was home to the Chase Bag Factory that specialized in manufacturing bags designed to fit their purpose, referred to as "bagology" (we're serious!).  Today the factory is home to numerous artist studios and offers beautifully crafted jewelry, pottery, baskets, furniture and visual arts.  During our visit we had an opportunity to watch furniture artisans at their craft. 

There were so many things to do in this area related to early car productions, such as the Auburn, Cord, Duesenburg and the Studebaker Museums, and the Amish communities, but we had to push on.  Speaking of Amish, what are the rules of the road when approaching an Amish carriage?  When can you pass? How do you know when they plan to turn? 

Lebanon, Ohio - Sep. 12 - 26, 2006

We were asked why we selected Lebanon in southwest Ohio as our base in this state.  It was a very scientific selection process involving rigorous analysis and weighing all possibilities.  Now for the real story:  Susan was reading a Midwest road trip blog (online travelogue) and only got as far as the discussion on Lebanon.  Since, Lebanon is conveniently on our route south.  Voila.

We stayed at Cedarbrook RV Park, which is only about a half-mile walk to the downtown area.  Lebanon served as the quaint, small-town America setting for "Milk Money", a 1994 movie starring Ed Harris and Melanie Griffith.  It is a lovely village established in 1806 and located about 30 miles northeast of Cincinnati.

Due to the frequent rain we didn't get out as much as we would have liked.  When we did step out our door we were careful not to tread on frogs - or bugs that were as big as the frogs.

Our first excursion was to Ohio's capitol city, Columbus, about 75 miles northeast of Lebanon.  We had a very informative private tour of the recently renovated Statehouse.  The architects did a great job of marrying the old building with the new extension.  We found it interesting that the Statehouse has the structure to support a dome - columns and all - but no dome.  However, the interior is made to look like it has a soaring dome like many other capitol buildings.

One of the primary reasons we went to Columbus was to see the topiary garden in Old Deaf School Park.  The topiary garden replicates Georges Seurat's Famous post impressionist painting, A Sunday On The Island Of La Grande Jatte.  It is the only topiary interpretation of a painting in existence.  This "landscape of a painting of a landscape" consists of 54 topiary people, eight boats, three dogs, a monkey, a cat and a real pond.  The installation was fantastic, and for our added entertainment, a group of latter-day knights and ladies were practicing medieval games in park - minus the horses.

From the park we walked a couple of blocks to the Columbus Museum of Art.  The museum had a very moving installation of Richard Avedon's photographic series, "Heroes of the West".  The stark, unapologetic images of people living on the edge of our society (some poor and some homeless) were quite haunting.

Susan wanted to check out a bookstore in the old German Village, so off we went.  The Book Loft is a multi-level, 32-room, rabbit warren of a place that is absolutely delightful, easy to get lost in, and it has great prices.  The German Village, with its shops and restaurants lining narrow, tree lined, brick-paved streets, is a destination in its own right.

Our next excursion was by bike along the 266-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail, which was only 8 miles from our RV park.  The portion of the trail on which we rode ran along the Miami River and was so wooded that we only caught glimpse of the water.  Hint:  When riding ones bike along a wooded, river path (with flying bugs) one would be wise to keep ones mouth shut.  Gulp!

We also made excursions to Waynesville, the proclaimed "antique capital of Ohio", and to Hamilton to tramp around the sculpture garden at Pyramid Hill.  We spent two afternoons exploring country roads in search of covered bridges.  We found four of the five covered bridges we were seeking, so felt ourselves quite successful.

Towards the end of our stay, the sun appeared in its full glory and we headed for Cincinnati.  Our first stop was for lunch in the very upscale Hyde Park district and then to seek out the whimsical Mushroom House.  One can't really describe this house; you'll just have to see the pictures.  We'll just say the architect must have followed Alice down the rabbit hole and stayed in Wonderland a wee bit too long. 

We then did a quick tour of United States President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft's, family home before heading to the Purple People Bridge that spans the Ohio River.  Yes, it is purple and for people.   The bridge links Newport, Kentucky with the Cincinnati riverfront where Bengals' and Reds' stadiums are located, and the city center.  It was a wonderful day so we walked from Newport, across the Ohio to Cincinnati, then back across the Roebling Suspension Bridge, to Covington, Kentucky.  The Suspension Bridge was constructed in 1866 and served as a prototype for Roebling's more famous Brooklyn Bridge.

Covington is home to Mainstrasse Village, a German neighborhood established in the mid-19th Century.  After several hours of walking, we were ready for some German beer, and, as it turned out, camaraderie.  The Bengals defeated their archrivals, the Steelers, the previous night and the Reds won their baseball game that day so everybody was in a jolly mood.  We found the people in the Cincinnati metropolitan area to be very friendly and inviting. 

Once again, we would like to have stayed longer but we must be off to warmer and, hopefully, drier climes.  Next stop, Berea, the folk art center of Kentucky and Blue Grass Country.