Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘adventure’

Date Night Near the Little Miami

My husband and I decided we’d like a night out at a nice restaurant which we go to occasionally.  It is situated right on the Little Miami River in Ohio, with some outdoor seating.  

It was Saturday, and as we approached, I said, “Wait, it’s Saturday after 6, probably crowded, and they probably have their amplified music.” We don’t like amplified music at meals because it’s hard to hear each other when talking.  And as we drew near, the parking lot was full to overflowing, so we passed by. We would go again on a slower night, because the food is excellent.

So, what next?  I saw a sign for the Schoolhouse Restaurant.  It’s a unique place, sometimes with long waits, but not always.  I said, “Want to go there?” and my husband agreed.

We entered and asked the person at the front, “How long is the wait?” 

The man answered, “I can make it as long as you want!”

Actually, unlike two other times, we got seated pretty quickly.

Two special things about this restaurant:

1) It’s a real old schoolhouse, built in the 1860s.  The menu is on a chalkboard on one wall of the restaurant.  There are many schoolroom artifacts, such as maps, a globe, and pictures of Washington and Lincoln.

2) The food is served family style, meaning you do order an entree, but then everyone in your party shares the side dishes of coleslaw, salad, mashed potatoes, kernel corn, green beans, and corn bread with butter.

Near the end of our meal, I noticed a first responder talking to a woman two tables away.  Emergency vehicles had quietly arrived, and apparently she was having a health issue.

On leaving the restaurant, we saw a fire engine, an ambulance, and a sheriff’s car outside, all blocking our egress.  No problem, we were not in a hurry.  I went for a walk and my husband stayed in the car.

Shortly before the emergency vehicles cleared out, I saw the distressed woman walking with an officer, so I guess she was somewhat okay.

Always an adventure when you go out for the evening!

A Year Since We Moved On!

About one year ago (June 27, 2021), my husband and I set out on our journey to move to Ohio from California. We chose to take nine days to do the drive, with our cat.

The trip here, and life afterwards have been an adventure, to say the least. For me, it’s been a bigger deal than for my husband. He grew up in Ohio, whereas I had lived in California my entire life, not even going away to college, not even a college within California (except as a commuter student, three or four times). Possibly, making a big change like this when you’re 67 might be slightly difficult!

We ended up in what I might call a semi-suburb. We are outside the limits, and on the east side of a large city. Our zip code is the same as a nearby small town, but we don’t live inside that town’s city limits. Although we have a sewer system rather than septic tanks, and other suburban amenities, it’s a very quiet neighborhood (development), which happens to have a small woodsy section in the center permanently preserved for wildlife. We often see deer, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and many, many birds. On the other hand, my son and his family, who live within the west side of the same big city mentioned above, also see deer, plus have woodchucks nesting in their big yard, and other wildlife makes its presence known to them.

The people in Ohio have been wonderful. The biggest adjustments for me are climate (humidity and cold), bugs (chiggers are the most difficult so far), and poison ivy (rooting it out can take a lot of work, and you practically have to where a hazmat suit to work on it). Getting a new driver’s license (because of my unconventional birth certificate) and setting up new doctors were also challenging.

And the many good things: Abundance of natural life, plenty of water, dramatic clouds and thunderstorms, friendly neighbors who almost always wave, family helping each other, fireflies, a beautiful river just a few miles away and the riverside trail along it, etc.!

Thanks be to God and to all who prayed for us and made this journey possible.