Day Trippers

Spencer's spring break was the past couple of weeks so we decided to check out some of the local highlights. We gassed up our rarely working car (okay, that's a little bit of a exaggeration, but...) and headed west to the exotic city of....Newark, OH. Yeah, trip funds were a little tight this year. But honestly, we had a great time. It was right up our alley and just what we were hoping for.

Our first stop was the Newark Earthworks site. These are large mounds of earth built by an indigenous group referred to as the Hopewell culture between 100 BC and 500 AD. They look like...very nicely shaped hills. But the formations they make (creating perfect circles, parallel lines, octagons, etc.) stretch(ed) for miles and are remarkable in the way they correspond to the moon and the stars. They describe the mounds as "part cathedral, part cemetery, and part astronomical observatory." Not that we could see any of that, but they had it nicely displayed and explained in the museum. :)

We only visited the "Great Circle" because...most of the original structures are either destroyed or currently part of a golf course. You know how it is. But we're glad we went. You can see part of the "Great Circle" in the above picture with Spencer and Grace.

Descending from an earthwork.

Conquering an earthwork. Grace loved climbing up and down these and kept saying we needed to get to the "big red hill." Dora the Explorer, anyone?

We thought these might have been vultures. Gross.
I just liked this one.

The huge, broken tree that we probably were not supposed to climb on...but did. :)

After a picnic lunch, we headed to yet another fantastic Newark landmark: the Longaberger building. AKA...the World's Largest Basket. Appropriately, the Longaberger company specializes in making hand-crafted baskets. Baskets like unto this one:

At the end of the day, we felt like this:

But we're so glad we went. Thank you roadsideamerica.com.

Back to my Roots

Growing, up my parents had a huge garden that occupied our entire side yard. My grandparents had an even more gigantic garden in their backyard (still do). I can't say that all the memories I have of working in those gardens with my family were positive, BUT...some of them were.

Shelling fresh peas was always a bright spot. Early, summer morning weeding sessions---not so much. But, at one point, I did happily plant and cultivate my own little bunch of radishes. I've always loved a good radish. :)

With that semblance of success in mind, I have begun my own miniature herb garden. I figured I should start small, and see where we can go from there. Last summer I "herb-sat" for a neighbor friend of mine while she went on vacation and her herbs didn't completely wither up and die, so...here's hoping. I also "herb-sat" for my sister, Ellie. Her basil developed some kind of white, sticky mucus gunk under my watch, so...I just won't focus on that. :)

Here's what I have so far (basil, parsley, cilantro, and chives):

My chives are still MIA. But look at all that basil!

I'm excited for a summer full of fresh herbs.