Day trip excursion galore!

The end of summer is looming now that we're well into August.  Each day I think of something else I need to change or add to Blackboard when the previous night I thought I was "all set" for the semester.  I suppose one is never truly ready and just has to go with it!  Yesterday was spent working on the first three chapters' worth of powerpoints for one of my night classes which made me super tired by the time midnight rolled around and I fell into bed.  As much as I'm looking ahead to the new semester and meeting my students I'm also fondly recalling some fun times from this past summer.

One day trip in mid-June found Adam and me making the drive to Carlisle and back so that we could change my name with my bank (closest branch office is four hours away....ah, the joys of living here) before they closed at mid-day and also to celebrate our nephew's birthday!  It was great seeing some of our family and of course the former NC nephews and niece who now live in PA.  This sight made it difficult to say goodbye and drive back to Ohio.

We also drove north to Cleveland on a day trip for the first time!  Our friend, Shelly, drove in from PA on a Friday last month and allowed us to join her as we hopped in the car and drove to Cleveland and back on Saturday before she returned to PA on that Sunday after mass.  Talk about a whirlwind of a weekend!! 

First up, we visited Ralphie's House from A Christmas Story.  I went into this with no expectations but it ended up being my favorite part of the day!!  Our tour guide was very entertaining yet informative and the house we toured was the actual house that was used in the film!!  I can't wait to watch the movie again now that I've been where it was filmed.  Heads up to any of you who might go:  if you have a military ID, use it when buying tickets!

Some of the other people on the tour tried on the bunny suit while we were upstairs exploring.

Some of the neighboring houses also had the leg lamp...too funny!

Original mailbox Ralphie checked every day!

 

 After finishing up at Ralphie's House we headed further downtown to a hole in the wall bar upon the suggestion of our friends Melanie and Tom.  Tom's band had played there this past fall and I remembered the two of them telling me about the hot dogs and tater tots that are served at Happy Dog!  It took the three of us quite some time to decide what our toppings would be but we finally settled on our selections and turned in our checklist to the server.  Can you see what I chose (mind you this list was only partially complete when I took this picture)??!

In the future, I would share my order of tater tots....I could barely eat half of them since the portion was so big!  Doesn't my hot dog smothered in chunky peanut butter, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, applewood smoked bacon, Alabama-style white BBQ sauce (what does that even mean?!), and fried egg look so appetizing?  LOL!!

 After lunch, it was time to drive on over to the impressive Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (again for those of you who are able use your military ID for discounted tickets).  I now understand why my friend, Melanie, said to be sure to spend a day there.  It was almost overwhelming at some points throughout the afternoon in trying to take in all the sights while we were there due to there being SO MUCH to see and explore!  Highlights for me were the Elvis room and the top floor dedicated to Herb Ritts and his beautiful photography.  I remembered many of his photographs and felt like I was in junior high again viewing some of them.  Since it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon while we were along the waterfront of Lake Erie, we stumbled upon many different wedding parties getting their photos taken.  Guess 07/07 is still a popular wedding date!

We knew we were going to be in for a treat when we saw cool optical illusions like these on the garage walls.

Adam's first time seeing a Great Lake:  Lake Erie!

 It was fun trying to guess which cities would make the list in terms of musical influence.  This is something my little brother, Patrick, would have enjoyed!!!

 It was disappointing that this was the only mention of Bryan Adams in this whole joint but hey at least he was in there!  ; )

I liked how my Jamberry wraps matched this water bottle! 

Pretty cool architecture!

On our way home we took a quick detour downtown and saw the location of the original Higbee Department Store from the movie, A Christmas Story.

 

Another adventure this past summer involved traveling just a few minutes from our house when Monika came to visit!  Monika and I met during my freshman year and her sophomore year of college when we lived on the same floor in our college dorm at Indiana.  We were so lucky to have her come out and visit us for a weekend in July as she was the first college friend to do so!!  It was SO great getting caught up and relaxing together. We jamberried our nails (her first time!), ate ice cream like old times, played games, and talked into the late hours of the night making it feel like we were 18 and 19 once again.

The puppies loved their quality time with Monika almost as much as I did!

On the Saturday Monika was here we went to Fort Steuben to learn a bit more about this town.  It seemed we chose the hottest and sunniest day ever to do this outdoor activity....talk about scorching hot!  I was glad we had eaten a filling breakfast that morning (Rum Chata French Toast anyone?!) with all the walking in the heat we did.  Upon paying admission (they offer a military discount!) we started out by going through the indoor museum.  I think my favorite part was seeing the old maps that showed Louisiana extending all the way across the country back in the day!  It was neat making connections to what we saw in Ohio to what we had seen in downtown St. Louis back in February!  I know, I know, I'm dreadfully behind on blogging as I haven't shared that trip on here yet.  Will I ever catch up....I hope to one day!  Anyhow back to what we learned about the area when Monika was here:

• The enlisted men who worked at Fort Steuben, on average, made $4 a month!
• Supplies for the soldiers were scarce at the fort.  They often had to share their shoes with one another (gross!).
• Fort Steuben was constructed in the 18th Century on the banks of the Ohio River (built in 1786-1787).
• George Washington named the fort after his great drillmaster, Baron von Steuben.
• This fort opened the Northwest Territory which became Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.  The town, Steubenville, took its name from this fort.
• The Northwest Ordinance is a foundational document considered to be third most important behind the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  Why?  Well, because it permitted no slavery in the new states (listed above), determined that a territory could apply for statehood upon reaching 60,000 male inhabitants, gave widows and children the right to inherit their father's goods, guaranteed trial by jury, and set aside a portion of each township for schools and religious purposes.
• Adjacent to the fort (but we didn't go to it) sits the First Federal Land Office west of the Allegheny Mountains.  The building is made of the original logs from 1801!

I'm glad that the states were NOT named these ones.

This map really helps to show why the Louisiana Purchase was such a big deal!

Look, a California reference!

Next, it was time to go outside on the self-guided tour of the actual fort itself.  I had expected to see folks dressed in period clothing and to act as tour guides based on what I had seen on the website but we were the only ones there save for two or three other small groups of people who were also completing the self-guided tour on their own.

We learned that in 1786, in order to raise money to pay its debts from the War of Independence, that US Government began the immense job of surveying and selling (or giving away as land grants) the land of the Northwest Territory.  Fort Steuben was built to protect the surveyors as they surveyed the Seven Ranges of Ohio.  

Who exactly was Baron von Steuben?  Well, we learned he was a Prussian army officer who came to assist General George Washington in training the American troops.  He never physically came to Fort Steuben (named after him) but his manual was used there.  He is credited with the following military tactics:

*forming a company

*outlining the duty of every man in a regiment

*how to march & stand at parade

*how to use muskets

*how to recognize drum signals

*necessity of cleanliness

*need for keeping records

*other day-to-day activities needed for maintaining an army

We also learned quite a bit about the presence of the Native Americans who lived in the Ohio Valley at the time Fort Steuben was built.  The three main tribes were the Shawnee, the Delaware, and the Mingo.  It was also neat learning the connection and impact my university's archeology department had on the creation of the fort and preservation of the artifacts found here.  Last, but not least, we also learned some information about the Steubenville Murals found around town.  Next, on my list, I would love to ride around and find all of the murals!  All information I shared with you here can also be found by clicking on the following websites:  www.visitsteuvenville.com and www.oldfortsteuben.com if you would like a virtual tour!

Interesting window (made out of empty bottles!)

A new game perhaps?!  ; )

Some of the artifacts that have been found in the dirt here

Eek!

A glimpse of the Ohio River beyond the trees along the Ohio River Scenic Byway/Route 7/Dean Martin Blvd.

 

 I had no idea that Abe Lincoln spoke here!!?  Pretty neat stuff!

After the self-guided tour, we checked out the gift shop where it took every ounce of self control to keep from buying this cute cookbook.  It had recommendations of places to visit and where to eat/stay in Ohio as well as recipes...and it was recent as it was published in 2015...totally up my alley!  However, the price was a bit more than I would have liked to pay and as Adam reminded me, I can find this information online...but still.  I suppose I already have enough unopened cookbooks on my shelf and rather than spend money on day trip excursions, we should be staying home more especially with school starting back up so soon!

This is the amphitheatre where they hold Wed. evening concerts.  I hope to attend some next summer with Adam since we missed out on these this past year!

Later that afternoon, we cooled off back at the house by enjoying a delicious chocolate banana peanut butter smoothie courtesy of Adam.  More girl talk ensued before a yummy dinner prepared by Adam was served that night.  More on that in a future "Meals as a Mrs." blog posting.  

We broke in the new recliners too!  They made for super comfy seats as we chit chatted the weekend away...thanks so much for coming to visit Monika!!