You wouldn’t think that traveling in Mid October is a wise thing for a farmer to do with harvest in full production, but who ever said I was wise? We have never traveled in mid-October so decided that this was the year.

Our first stop was at the Van Wert, Ohio, County Fairgrounds for their 3rd Annual Harvest Happenings. Buildings are full of seasonal crafts, clothing, jewelry, and Apples, every imaginable variety of Apple. The most impressive booth for us was the lady who did dot painting, an ancient Abriational Art technique where the entire picture was created by individual dots. Traveling at Suzanne’s standard flea market pace, we were able to cover the five buildings and a stop for lunch in about two hours. Then it was an hour’s drive to Findlay OH for the evening because I had a stop to make at the Findlay Brewing Company; in hind site, it was my favorite meal of the trip.

Fast forward through the two-star Jamie’s Flea Market west of Cleveland, then on to the Cleveland Botanical Garden where I became the secondary wedding photographer. We were walking a wooded trail and stumbled upon a wedding. Trying not to disturb the gathering, we waited patiently atop a hill where I took a few photos. When the coast was clear and the wedding party departed, we walked over to the Japanese Garden where we met the wedding party head-on, so I snapped another shot. Since both of my photos were unique, on our way out of the park, I stopped a woman to see how I could get them to the couple. As it turned out, she was the aunt to the bride and loved the shots, and later we heard that the bride liked them as well.

Sunday was supposed to be the highlight of my trip (except for meeting my great-grandson) as we took a train ride in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park along the river. Unfortunately, we got an email the day we started this adventure explaining the excursion had been canceled as the river had damaged some of the tracks. So instead, we opted for an impromptu day of scenery at Presque Isle State Park, a number of antique stores, and a couple of breweries; lunch at the Erie Brewing Company West Side and supper at Rusty Nickle Brewing in Seneca NY where we spent the night.

Now Monday, we realized that missing the train ride (yea I’m still upset) changed our schedule by about a half day so we opted to spend the morning shopping at an outlet mall near Buffalo. Then it was on to Rochester and meeting up with our granddaughter and great-grandson. We took them, her boyfriend, and his mom all out for supper at BBT Wood Fired Pizza. The next day we spent shopping with them and then went to dinner at Hose 22 Firehouse Grill.

Niagara Falls was next. It’s hard to describe the colors this fall season and how they accentuated God’s beauty around the falls. At every turn, there seemed to be a more breathtaking view. First, we roamed Goat Island where you could see both the American and Horseshoe falls from the USA side. We then checked into our hotel which was up against the park and took off dressed for winter on a walk, and we walked and we walked: From the edge of the American Falls, down to the Rainbow Bridge across into Canada, then all the way down to the edge of the Horseshoe falls, and then back. Too many pictures but lots of memories and sore feet. Suzanne’s watch said she covered about 12 miles that day. We even took an evening hike to see the falls after dark.

The journey home took us through South Toledo where we ate supper at La Fiesta and I had a wonderful dish they called Choricarne. Not a regular menu item, which I told them it should be, it consisted of thinly sliced steak with chorizo sausage on top. The next morning was spent in Shipshewana, IN, for what else, shopping! Suzanne did find a glass shade for an old oil lamp that her father gave her which was why we stopped there.

Traveling together is a blessing in itself but learning what we can and can not do is part of the journey. For the most part, the can-do’s outweigh the can’t-do’s, and that’s a good thing.

Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.

Luke 2:44

View the Photo Album from our Travelogue October 2022