We don't have any big trips planned for our family this year - instead, just a little trip and a "stay-cation". A couple of months ago, while scrolling through Facebook, I saw a post titled, "The 15 Most Incredible Natural Attractions in Ohio That Everyone Should Visit." I was interested, so I clicked on the article. #1 on the list was Old Man's Cave - we were able to check that off of our list when we went to Hocking Hills a couple of years ago. Danny and I looked at the rest of the list and narrowed it down to Brandywine Falls which is located in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in northeast Ohio. We had already planned to take a long weekend at the end of June, so we thought this would be our destination. We also decided to stop by Amish country on our way there - none of us had ever been!
On our way to Amish country, we passed a sign that read, "Ohio's Longest Covered Bridge" so we took a little detour! The bridge crosses over the Mohican River and since our trip, I've learned that it's actually the 2nd longest covered bridge in Ohio. It was still neat to see! The kids thought it was kind of creepy (and stinky from the horse-drawn buggies).
The kids are waaaaaay at the end!
Our first stop in Amish country was Hershberger's Farm. I learned from a co-worker that there's lots to see and do there! First, per Colin's request, we took a horse-drawn buggy ride with Henry and Billy around the property. Henry was the driver, Billy was the horse (power).
Henry let Danny take the reigns!
Colin was in awe.
The backseat crew! We got to see a lot of animals, including an impressive Texas long-horn. We also saw where the future pumpkin patch will be. We've talked about going back this fall!
While we ate lunch, this cat was the main attraction for the kids. It stayed around the picnic tables waiting for a treat.
They have a huge petting zoo there, with lots of goats (some were even on the roof!)...
peacocks...
and horses. The kids wanted to feed the animals some carrots.
Here's Big Ben - a Belgian Draft Horse. I made Danny stand next to him for size reference. We couldn't get over how massive Big Ben was; he is a beautiful horse!
Colin found a cool toy outside of the gift shop.
Cadence wanted to ride a pony; Colin had no interest!
They had some adorable pot-belly piglets for sale.
And we even saw some baby piglets being born! I was amazed that the babies started to walk immediately after birth in order to nurse!
Chilling out after our trip through the bakery. Their fry pies were delicious!
After we left Hershberger's Farm, we stopped by Guggisberg Cheese and Coblentz Chocolates. I had the best chocolate covered, peanut butter Ritz cracker sandwich ever! We were dodging thunderstorms all day, and it was getting late (everything closes by 6 pm in Amish country), so we headed to the hotel to check in and grabbed dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
Our hotel was only 15 minutes from Brandywine Falls, so we headed there the next morning!
There were a couple of look-outs, so we could check things out from up high...
and down below. I was disappointed that we couldn't get up close at the bottom of the falls, though.
The falls are 65 feet tall! We've been getting a lot of rain lately, so the falls were rushing like crazy!
After we checked out the falls, we went on a 3 mile hike around the Stanford trail which took us to the Stanford house (built in 1843) which used to be on a farm.
Danny taught the kids how to skip rocks...
and they built a dam.
They were pretty proud of their creation.
The trail was so pretty!
The Stanford house had a pretty neat "water fountain" on the property - which worked out nicely because we were thirsty!
Danny took this pic of Cadence goofing off while Colin had a meltdown - we hiked too far for his little feet.
Danny found this crazy tree that looked like a side-profile of a face!
All in all, we had a fun trip. If you ask the kids, their favorite part was the hotel stay. While we were getting ready for the day on Saturday, they must've taken 20 trips up & down the elevator. They also had a blast in the pool.
Cadence is still enjoying her time at summer camp. On the days that they don't have a field trip, they have a lot of activities and crafts to do. Here she built a fire with s'mores.
They go to the pool every Friday.
They even got to see Incredibles 2!
Colin got his cast off a couple of weeks ago! He's been doing great! We kept him home from school following the cast coming off, just to be sure he didn't re-injure himself. He has a brace that he wears during recess and hasn't complained at all! My mom stayed home with him on Friday and he got to go swimming!
School still sends updates throughout the day - I love it - Look at his cheesy grin!!
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