ROAD TRIP PT2

Sunday afternoon we met up with my cousin Diana and her
husband Gary at their house in New Philadelphia before
going on to Aunt Dot's place. Gary showed us the project he is
working on, building a wooden body on the frame of an old
Model A Ford which had belonged to my grandfather, Floyd
West Sr. He already has restored another Model A which sits
in the garage next to the new project. I wish I had that sort
of talent, because that is what Gary has!

We rode up to Aunt Dot's house at Ulrichsville in Diana's
SUV. The house is set up in a hilly area and it reminded me of
Maine. Aunt Dot was waiting for us along with her great
grandson Dawson who is a great kid. It was good to see Dot
again and talk with her, and pretty soon we started talking
genealogy. She showed me pictures of some of our Barker and
West ancestors as well as a few more recent ones I'd
never seen before, such as one of me at around 7 years old
in a cowboy outfit. I had brought along some information on
our relative Daniel Ellingwood's involvement in a early 19th
century manhunt in New Hampshire and we talked a bit
about our Laughton line while Cheryl and Diana played with
Dawson and visited. I was glad I'd brought along my genealogy
research because I was able to give Dot something in return
for all the information she's given me over the years.

Eventually we had to stop because dinner was ready and
Dawson's mom Anya had arrived with her other sons, Ethan
and Gaven. Dinner was ham, chicken, potato salad, and corn
on the cob and it tasted great! We talked about plans for the
following day and then Diana drove us back to her house and
took us by Tuscora Park in New Philadelphia, which has a
mini roller coaster, a carousel, and a Ferris wheel. All of it
is maintained and operated by the city and it was clean and
neat. I bet the local kids have a lot of fun there.

We picked up Cheryl's SUV and headed back to our motel
to rest because the next day was going to be a busy one.