The World's Longest Yard Sale

The 127 Yard Sale

The weather has been in the '60s here in Ohio and spring is in the air so yep, I'm daydreaming about gardening and yard sales!!

The World's Longest Yard Sale is also known as The 127 Yard Sale or The 127 Corridor Sale and is a 4-day event every year. The dates are always the first Thursday of the month of August, from Thursday to Sunday.  And that's 4 whole days of yard sale heaven!

If you are a yard-saler, antiquer, flea-marketer, thrift store shopper, or anything in-between, you will love this!

Camper Remodel, Part 2

This is the second post about remodeling our little camper. 

The first post you can find here: Camper Remodel, Part One.

We purchased our used little camper a couple years ago. We love to tent camp and will continue to do so but I always wanted a little camper. 

I'm in love with small vintage campers and although our camper is not vintage, just older, it works great as our first. 

Our camper box is only 16 feet long but very cozy and just right for us for now.

Holland, Michigan and the Tulip Festival

  

Looking for a great weekend trip this spring? I have just the place: Holland Michigan. And if you time it just right you could be there for The Holland Tulip Festival held in May.

Holland is a beautiful little town loaded with wooden shoes, statues, quaint shops, lots of Dutch heritage, and countless tulips and other spring flowers.

Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr. Albertus van Raalte. Their desire for religious freedom, along with dire economic conditions in the Netherlands compelled them to emigrate to the U.S.

Zombies and the Zombie Walk

With the popularity of the TV show The Walking Dead, more and more people are getting into zombie fandom.  But where did all this zombie love come from or what started it all?

First, What are Zombies? 

Zombies are fictional undead creatures, usually depicted as mindless, reanimated human corpses with a hunger for living human flesh. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works.

The term Zombie comes from Haitian folklore:  The Haitian /French “zombie” and the Haitian / Creole “zonbi” is a dead body animated by magic. Modern depictions of zombies do not involve magic but invoke other methods such as a virus or illness.

The Carnton Plantation and the Battle of Franklin

My great uncle Andrew Curtis fought in the Civil War, mustering out of Zanesville, Ohio.  I'm proud of my ancestor for fighting for the cause to free a people and to fight for freedom. Which has lead to curiosity about the battles of the Civil War and wondering which ones my Great uncle may have been involved in.

 

My husband and I tour Civil War historical sites and have been to quite a few. The Antietam Reenactment, with 13,000 re-enactors was the largest, most dramatic, and absolutely best one we have been to.  

Recently I picked up a book called The Widow of the South, written by Robert Hicks.  The book is a mostly true story and factual, with other parts created to fill in the gaps.  It’s a book about the Battle of Franklin and one family’s home being turned into a field hospital.  

Cancun Mexico

Our first trip to Mexico

Relatives called me a couple days ago to tell me that they’re invited to a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico.  I’m so excited for them.  

We've visited Cancun, Mexico both during the Christmas Holidays and during Spring break.  Their call got us reminiscing about our trips to  Mexico and going through all our photos.  

What a beautiful country it is!  On all our trips, we chose to stay at All-inclusive Hotels.  All-inclusive means the meals and drinks are included in the price.

There are dozens and dozens of hotels to choose from, with pricing ranging from affordable/moderate to over-the-top expensive.  It’s best to shop around for the best deal.

Beach Vacation Ornament

Beach or Vacation Ornament

Here's a cute idea for a last minute ornament or one to commemorate a vacation.

Recently we took a trip to Orlando and St. Augustine, Florida and spent a few days on the beach.

While shopping around St. Augustine's historical downtown I saw similar ornaments like these going for $10.00 to $15.00 a piece!

Mine cost approximately $1.00 a piece for the clear bulb. The sand and shells are free to collect on the beach.

Beach Ornament

What You'll Need:

• Clean sand from the beach
• Small shells or other interesting beach items
• Ribbon or twine
• Funnel
• Wire

Sleepy Hollow, New York

Autumn weekend in Sleepy Hollow, New York

From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by name of Sleepy Hollow ... A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere.

—Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

It's nearly autumn and time to start planning a few weekend trips for Fall Festivals, haunted houses, pumpkin picking and peak leaf-color drives.  I am a fall fanatic, I just love everything autumn.  So of course Washington Irving’s book The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of my favorites.

The Mothman Festival

The Mothman Legend, Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Older Mothman Fest Poster

Need something a little different, strange even, to see and do in September?  How about visiting the area that made the Mothman famous?

How It Started

The Mothman is said to be a moth like creature seen in and around the area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia from November 1966 to December 1967. 

The first reported sighting was on November 12, 1966 by five men digging a grave at a cemetery near Clendenin, WV.  They claimed to see a man like creature fly down from a tree and over their heads. 

Three days later, on November 15, 1966 two young couples from Point Pleasant told police they saw a large white creature whose eyes glowed red when the car headlights shined on it.  The couples, visually shaken,  described it as a large flying man like thing with approximately  10 foot wings following their car while driving in the TNT area.  The TNT area is the site of the former World War ll munitions plant.

St. Augustine, Florida

What To See And Do In St. Augustine, Florida

We have taken a few trips to this beautiful little city.  I hope this blog post might help if you were thinking about St. Augustine as a vacation destination.  There is something for everyone in St. Augustine including beaches, historical sites, dining, lighthouses, parks, fishing charters, beautiful sunsets, alligators and shopping to name a few. 

The best way to see the downtown area is on foot but the kids really enjoyed renting bikes for the day and exploring all the back alleys, narrow roads and waterfronts.

We’re from the north so the best time for us to visit is anytime from Christmas until Spring Break, when in Ohio there is snow on the ground and howling winds.  It makes the sunny 80 degree days in Florida seem like heaven.

Lake Superior Circle Tour, Canada

Lake Superior Circle Tour and Camping Trip

If you have a sports car or motorcycle this is a drive well worth the time and miles.

The views and scenery are breathtaking and absolutely amazing.  
But you can enjoy them nearly as much from a camper, full size car or van. This is merely the highlights of our Circle Tour trip.  
There is so much more to see and do it is impossible to do on one trip.


What is the Lake Superior Circle Tour? 
It is a 1,300-mile circle tour by highway around the world’s largest and most famous freshwater lake, with scenic shorelines, sandy beaches and towering bluffs.  (We actually ended up driving around 2400 miles)

Malabar Farm Maple Sugar Festival

It is nearly the end of the season in my region for Maple Syrup making.  But farther north the season is still going strong. 

About an hour and a half drive north from my location is the historical home and farm of Pulitzer prize winner author Louis Bromfield.  His home and the surrounding nearly 1000 acres is now a state park called Malabar Farm State Park, located in Lucas, Ohio.

I love to tour historical sites and if possible, like to tie it in with seasonal activities or a hobby I’m currently involved with, so the Malabar Farm State Park Maple Sugar Festival was perfect for me! 

The Old Farmers Exchange

I wrote this in 2007 I think,  and sent it out in an email to family members who might remember the old feed store in the town where we grew up. I was asked about this just a couple days ago and asked if I would post it on this blog.
So here it is:

The Old Grove City Farmers Exchange

While in a committee meeting this morning I got news that the silos for the Grove City Farmers Exchange were going to be torn down. I decided to stop and get a couple photos. There were quite a few other people there, a small crowd even.  There were older people who remember how Grove City used to be, farmers, shop owners, neighbors, even people sitting in lawn chairs, all had come to watch and a few others like me taking photos.

South Dakota Vacation Ideas

Camping and Sight Seeing

We have been to the Black Hills twice and Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons once.

This summer trip was originally planned as a tent camping trip to Yellowstone National Park, but because our son needed to take a summer course for college, our trip was revised to only go as far as the Black Hills.

Both previous trips west, we rented cabins or stayed in a hotel or lodge. This trip we wanted to tent camp to experience all the beautiful wilderness South Dakota has to offer.

Marietta, Ohio Scenic Drive

Marietta, Ohio:  Scenic Drive Road Trip
(Great for Sports Cars or Motorcycles)

I had a few people keep telling me to write about my husband Bill and I's little road trips we take, so here goes.

We have a beautiful little 1990 Mazda Miata that I purchased from a friend of ours.  “Golf Club” Bill passed away from cancer a few years back, and his wife Becky sold me the car.

We usually drive about 1000 to 1500 miles a year on one to two day road trips around Ohio and surrounding states.

Tent Camping List

Making Preparations For Tent Camping

My husband Bill and I are in the middle of digging out all our camping gear and sorting through it.  We are trying to decide what we actually need and trying to downsize.
Both of us have been camping as adults for well over, I hate to even say how long,  yea, over 30 years! 

A few years back, we decided to purchase a small cabin in the woods and have been spending wonderful peaceful weekends there...... sleeping on an actual bed.

We still tent camped with our son, who was in the Boy Scouts. But Daniel has been out of Boy Scouts for about two years now, since turning 18.

Finding My Ancestor's Log Cabin

GRANDMA LUCY'S BIRTH PLACE

A month or two back my sister Beverly posted a photo she had taken in the 1980’s of our Grandmother Lucy Curtis’s birth place. (My great grand parents home)

It was a photo of a log cabin somewhere near Chillicothe, Ohio: My father’s dad and mom, and his grandparents, were from Chillicothe.   Our family on my father's side have been in Ohio since late 1700's to early 1800's and are one of the First Families of Ohio.
Most of my older siblings had taken the drive with my father when I was very young, but I never go to see the log cabin and have only heard stories.

I was so thrilled to finally see a photo of Grandma Lucy’s homestead. 
I asked my sister Beverly if she could remember where the cabin was located or if she could remember directions.