ROAD TRIP PT4

We left Yoder's Farm and drove back to Walnut Creek, Ohio to a
restaurant that Louise and Steve knew called Der Dutchman. Even
though it was mid-afternoon on a Monday, there was a line of diners
formed up on the porch waiting to get inside! It was a mild day and
we were outside and under the shade of the porch so the wait was
fairly pleasant as we talked and after perhaps 20 minutes we were
inside and seated. I ordered a hamburger (which tasted great) and
french fries (also tasty and a good size serving). I should mention here
that in my younger days going to science fiction conventions I had
adopted a "no experiments" with food policy on trips and I usually
stuck to eating meals that wouldn't come back to haunt me later, so
to speak, and it worked very well on this trip.


Der Dutchman's dining room was lined with large bay windows and
even though we were not sitting next to them we still could see
a hawk that glided by several times, probably hunting food in the
valley behind the restaurant. All in all, it was a pleasant meal, with
good food and good service, and I recommend Der Dutchman as a
good place to dine if you are the area.


After we'd finished, Steve went to get the car and Cheryl and Louise
visited the restaurant's bakery while I went around back to take a
few pictures of the valley behind the restaurant, which are at the top
of this post. I bet the view is even prettier when the leaves turn in a
few more weeks!


Our next stop was the Wendell August Forge and Gift Shop in
Berlin, Ohio. The company has been in business for about 80 years
and is famous for hand-hammered aluminum items. Their main
location is in Pennsylvania but the Berlin shop has a working forge
(which was not in use on our visit). It also has a model train that runs
around the beam overhead, a coin operated player piano, a small
amphitheater showing a film on the history of the company, and my
favorite, the world's largest Amish buggy! There is also a wide
selection of finely crafted items for sale and I bought a keychain
for my younger brother Phil. While the others did a bit more shopping
I went out on the shop's front porch and watched several Amish folk
pass by in buggies and bikes and enjoyed the weather.


We made a few more stops at stores on the way back to the motel,
including one in the town of Sugar Creek(I think.) where the buildings
in town have Swiss chattel style exteriors that reflect the origins of the
towns' early settlers. I have to confess that by now my knee was
bothering me so I stayed in the car and enjoyed the sunroof. (I probably
spent more time outdoors during this vacation than I have in years and
missed it when I went back to work at the store when we got home.)

Louse and Steve dropped us off back at our motel after a day that had
been fun and relaxing but we would see them later that night at Aunt
Dot's house where we had lasagna and garlic bread for dinner. Diana
and Gary were there as were Dot's grandchildren Brian and Anya and
Anya's three boys, so there were four generations of the family sitting
down for dinner that night. After dinner Dot and Diana gave me copies
of the photos I'd been interested in the night before and I was able to
give Dot some information about our Houghton line.

After dinner, plans were made for us to meet up at Gary and Diana's
house the next morning and Cheryl and I headed back to our motel
after a great day of sightseeing and visiting with the family.