We were
headed to spend a couple of days with Dick’s brother and sister-in-law in
Bellbrook, a suburb of Dayton. This
would be about a 250 mile day but first we wanted to explore more of the
Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Yesterday
we spent time in the southern part of the park and today we wanted to see more
of the northern section. Since this is
an urban park, we were pleased to see that the National Park and the Cleveland
Metropolitan Parks were working together.
The Bedford Reservation was along a tributary to the Cuyahoga
River. Driving along in this park was
like being on a parkway far from civilization but it was deep within a
metropolitan area of over 2 million people.
Just as we were talking about the very nature of this
parkway, we came around a bend to see a doe and fawn grazing close to the
road. We watched them for a while until
a car coming the other way got to close and they drifted into the woods.
We saw a sign for Bridal Veil Falls and had
to stop to see it. Knowing the more
famous falls in Yosemite National Park by this name, we needed to see the Ohio
version. Access to the falls was using a
beautiful set of steps and a nice path.
It was still early on this Sunday morning so there were only a few
people, especially those walking their dogs.
The falls were typical of Ohio, water flowing over thin
layers of rock, often slate, rather than a big cascade. It did look more like a bridal veil than the
bigger cascades. It was a beautiful
sight and very peaceful to be in this valley.
We were in such a good mood, we had to
take a selfie of us using the timer on one of our cameras. We were standing on the platform overlooking
the waterfalls. It was such a lovely
moment together.
We returned to our car and made the short drive into the
National Park to see the second Visitors’ Center. This one was located along a section of the
Ohio Erie Canal that had been restored.
Right next to the Visitors’ Center was a lock. It reminded us of the locks we had seen up
close in Ottawa. It made us look for a
red chair, but wrong country for that.
By now the morning was nearly gone and we
needed to be back on the road. We made
the short drive to I-77 that would take us south about 40 miles to Canton. The people of Canton had put together a
museum celebrating the First Ladies of the Nation. It had been designated a National Historic
Site, partially operated by the National Park Service. The displays had information about each of
the first ladies, including a well-done video that highlighted each of
them. Sadly, no photos were allowed in
this museum.
But, the museum was only a half-block from the home of
William McKinley. He was the 25th
President, serving six months into his second term when he was assassinated.
(Teddy Roosevelt then became president).
The home had been in the family of his wife, Ida, but was the family
home where they raised their family. We
were able to take a tour of this home.
Then it was time to be on the road
again. We had a two hour drive south to
the central Ohio town of Delaware. It
was just outside of town that the Weaver family farm had been located. Dick had spent many happy weeks there when
growing up. Sadly, the property is now a
huge warehouse for the Kroger grocery chain.
But, our destination was the Oak Grove Cemetery in the southern part of
Delaware. This is where the Weaver
family plot is. Here Dick’s great
grandparents, grandparents, and parents are buried. We also went about 400 yards away where his
mother’s parents are buried. We spent a short time at each site, remembering
these cherished people and tidying up the plots. It is always an emotional time to visit their
graves. And then it was time to get back
on the road.
We arrived at John and Sajona’s home around 6:00 and the
four of us went out for dinner. It was
so nice to be able to begin catching up on our lives and things we had all be
doing. The restaurant’s food was good
but their air conditioner was so high, everyone in the restaurant was getting
cold. We had the sliding door near our table open to the outside where it was still quite warm but beginning to rain.
While
we were at the restaurant, it began to rain really hard. Then the sun came out while it was still
raining and so we were treated to a beautiful double rainbow. We took that as a very good sign for all of
us.
Then back to their home where we watched the final night of
the Democratic National convention and talked politics. We
all went to bed late.
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