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Mark and I were both born and raised in Ohio but we high tailed it out of there in 2015 and swore we would never look back at cold dreary weather. Each of us have made small trips back, but mostly for sad reasons (losses in the family) and not at all since the pandemic started. I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t seen my in-laws in over 4 years and had never even met my sweet little nephew – it was weighing on me… then my family experienced two more sudden losses this year – so I said enough was enough, life is too short, and we bought Allegiant non-stops flights to Toledo to spend a couple of days with Mark’s family before it truly gets Northern Ohio cold!
We had almost 3 full days of family time including celebrating Mark’s sisters birthday, meeting my nephew (both human and canine) and spending time with our kitty nephew too. Mark drove me around his old stomping grounds of Bellevue, Ohio telling me hilarious childhood stories. The nostalgia of Ohio in October came rushing back – corn fields, farmer’s markets, cold thunderstorms, and 80’s during the day and 40’s at night. We managed to visit and walk the grounds of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums in Fremont, Ohio where I realized that Ohio squirrels are the size of small dogs compared to Florida LOL! We also visited a wonderful wine bar and brew house in Clyde, Ohio called Hall’s Wine R We and Country Market – we highly recommend if you are in the area! We also attended the Haunted Happenings Market, grabbed some coffee and a pumpkin spice latte at Down Thyme Café and walked the market as we felt the cool air moving in… just in time for us to head home to sunny Florida in the morning! It was a wonderful and long overdue visit – so if there is a place you have been putting off going… we say go for it – life is too short! Until next time Ohio!
I’m so glad you two took this time out. So nice to meet squirrel friends there as well. We too recently visited family in Wisconsin (from SD) we hadn’t seen for 2 years. Great to catch up. But in 7 days we only saw sun twice. So depressing. So glad to be home too. Thanks for sharing your memories.