I’d been visiting with family, playing with my great nieces, going places with my nieces and my sister, sorting through family photos, attending a funeral, and visiting with high school friends. Monday of my trip was a day to play a real tourist in Ohio! My cousin, Ray, (he’s really my step-cousin but I’m upgrading him to real family because I really like him!) is taking myself, Loretta and Rose (Ray’s mother) to go on some winery tours.
When I had told my husband what our plans were for Monday, he chuckled and said “Well, that will be a waste of time!” Guess he felt that Ohio had little to offer in the way of wines! I was going to give Ohio the benefit of the doubt and tour some of the country around where I was born and raised and the best part was I didn’t have to be anywhere near the drama. Selfish you say? Hell, yes, and that was what I needed, a break. I had the morning to myself, got up, made breakfast, had a shower and was ready.
My Niece’s house
Ray showed up with Loretta and Rosy and I played tour guide and gave them a quick tour of the house. We were headed south of Barberton. Ray wasn’t really telling us much of where we were going. Rosy and I were in the back seat and I had gotten my seat belt on and Rosy said that she was having problems with hers. I offered to help so I undid mine. However, to help Rosy her I had to lean way over her to get to her seat belt, then I had to get even closer because even though I had found the seatbelt, I hadn’t found the little metal piece. I finally found it under her but by then I was practically in her lap looking like I was ready to make love to her. Rosy finally said “That’s more of a hug than I expected!” chuckling all the while. Ray looked in the rearview and broke up laughing as did I. I finally got her connected and off we went laughing.
Since Ray wouldn’t say where we were going, it wasn’t until I got back home (yes, California is home!), that I looked up the wineries on the internet and learned we were quite a ways south of Barberton. Ray had said it was about a 45 minute drive but it was more like an hour and a half. But the country side was beautiful, green with rolling hills, beautiful farms,
A farm in Coshocton County in Ohio
and barns. We saw horses, cattle, sheep, then some zebras on a farm! Acres of corn, then some spiky looking corn that I learned is called field corn. Field corn is used for animal feed but also it turns out it can be used to make hominy, corn meal and grits. It definitely has a different look to it. Before long we had arrived at our first winery, Yellow Butterfly Winery!
There is more to come. Stay tuned for the rest of the fun day!
So when you’ve gone back to visit your birthplace, what have you done to be a tourist?
Part 2 is here: Family Break Part 2
Part 3 is here: Family Break Part 3
Part 4 is here: Family Break Part 4
Julieanne Case came from a left brained world, having been a computer programmer who worked on the Apollo missions and, due to circumstances orchestrated by God/Source/Universe, joined the growing ranks of the right-brained world starting in 2001. She became an energy healing practitioner in 2004 and has studied various techniques. She is a Reconnective Healing Pracitioner, a Reconnective Artist, and a blogger. She assists you in reconnecting you to your original blueprint, your essence, your joy and your well being! ©Copyright Julieanne Case 2011
I am happy to see that you were able to spend time with people you enjoy and have fun, experience something new and create warm memories. Sounds like a very special day! I never thought of green, rolling hills and farms in Ohio — love the photos you shared; what a beautiful home and gorgeous landscape! For me, I pretty much live right in my hometown, so being a tourist here is not something I would think about…although I guess when we drive into San Francisco we oftentimes do touristy things, like visit Fisherman’s Wharf and go to Union Square. I look forward to seeing how you enjoyed the Ohio wineries!
I actually enjoyed most of my trip. Even witnessing the argument after I gave up judgment of the argument. I truly have changed and I could watch, witness and be who I am without worrying if they like it or not. I got to be kid with the great nieces and I had a ball. Nothing can help you be a kid faster than being around them.
A break from the drama, a beautiful drive with friends (sometimes when we’re lucky family can be friends), wine and zebras(!). Sounds like a fabulous way to spend a day. Looking forward to getting a peek at the rest of it.
I haven’t written about the funeral yet or the family luncheon following. Except for the one big fight between my nieces, there wasn’t alot of drama. And once I let go of the judgment of that argument and recognized it was path they both must walk and resolve, I was okay. For a few brief moments, I was entertaining the thought that it was my fault because I so wanted everyone to get along. I worked myself through that and realized it had been brewing for quite some time. It was going to happen sooner or later. I loved how I stayed out of it. and I recognized I couldn’t fix it either. It was their task to do that.
The day was so much fun. I’d do it again and hit some different ones or take my bigger camera and get some really great shots!
As you know I have just been to my birthplace! Didn’t have much time for tourism but we had a couple of days in London doing the tourist thing and the girls and I went to visit a house in Derbyshire that dates back to the 1100’s – Haddon Hall. It was a great day out – I must blog about it 😀
Louise Edington
Fabulous and Fearless
http;//louiseedington.com
In all the times I had gone home when my mom was alive, if I wanted to play the tourist, I would get accused of not wanting to be the family. My sister and the girls were okay with it. It was a delight to explore a bit.
I was just in my birthplace last December. I don’t have family left there but enjoyed roaming around my old neighborhood and eating my way around the island (Oahu). We didn’t really have a desire to go site seeing as it we were there for just a day (on a cruise). Food is always the first thing I go to when I go home.
Darcie
http://www.discoveringdelicious.com
Devoted to finding all things delicious.
Food is a big item when I go back. I had to visit Luigi’s for the pizza! It was my high school and college date place. My sis got me the Italian Wedding Cake I so love but it failed to live up to the memory. The bakery changed the icing! 🙁 But a steak sandwich we got as kids at the little corner bar was still very good! The little bar has expanded, changed hands but they kept the steak sandwich. One memory in tact! yeah!
I could vividly imagine you helping with the seat belt and it made me chuckle, as I’m sure you did! It sounds like a wonderful time was had by all. Sometimes it is good to getaway and see the treasures that we are often too busy to see because we are so busy with others. Good for you!
I still chuckle remembering it. The next day when they came to pick me up for breakfast and then take me to the airport, I was informed that I would be riding in the front seat so that the episode that happened yesterday would not be repeated! I broke into laughter!
It is nice to be able to play tourist when going back home, my last couple of trips to India haven’t been touristy at all. But before that I was able to visit family and then escape away into some of the beautiful towns in the foothills of the Himalayas such as Shimla. It is a great way to bring balance to a vacation and keep it from getting too hectic! Loved the visual of you trying to help with the seat belt – seems like that was the trigger to get everyone laughing and keep them laughing through the day!
I loved that it added variety to the trip. I also got to visit my oldest friend, Grace. She and I have been friends since 3rd grade. It was a well rounded trip. I even handled the hot humid weather, even better than the natives did! LOL.
I have lived in my birthplace or at least in the area for most of my years. When I was younger I definitely did not play tourist for a day. But when I moved back to my birthplace and decided to live there I decided to play tourist for a day/week.
It was amazing how many great things I never knew about in the area. All I had to do was explore and there are so many great things within the town and outside.
Sometimes we take for granted what is around us thinking it’s boring or there is nothing to do, but all we had to do was take a chance and explore.
Great read!
xoxo
Alara
You are right, Alara. When my niece and her daughter had one day here with us in June, we played the tourist right here and it was a wonderful day. We all forget that we can have wonderful times right here at home!
thanks for your comments!
That sounds like a beautiful and relaxing day! Sometimes visiting family can create such stress and drama, a day away was probably very refreshing.
I’ve lived in the same place for my entire life, so there’s no visiting or tourist stuff here. Frankly, I used to find that visitors would ask me about places here that I had never seen, or knew very little about them. I’ve made more of an effort in the last 20 years to visit, or re-visit if it’s been since childhood, some of our tourist attractions. However, being a tourist at home is not that easy….
Lisa Vitale, Mompreneur
http://lisawifemom.wordpress.com
It’s not easy because we don’t give ourselves the time to be a tourist, We say this needs doing, that needs doing, I need to fix dinner, help a friend, do my hair. What if we took one day a month and did something that was fun and let us explore? EVen if we do it by ourselves! Hmmmm, not a bad idea. What do you think?
Sounds like you had a great time. It’s always fun to play the tour guide as you get to pick where to go. i haven’t been back to my birthplace in a while but hopefully we can make a trip soon and then i can do both..play tour guide for my American hubby and kids and tourist when we visit someplace in the UK i have not been to.
Julie Labes: The Fun-Loving, Feisty, Fearless, Frisky, Fierce Over 50 Traveler
Thanks, Julie. Yes, we need to remember to be a tourist. I always loved it when family or friends visited because I got to be a tourist at home. I also get to see things through their eyes and get a different perspective, too. It always makes me feel more grateful for where I live!
Sounds like fun! I look forward to hearing more about the wines! And love the seatbelt story, lol. I try to avoid going back “home” often, which is funny because so many people go there as a vacation. I just never enjoyed living in San Francisco and there are people still living there I’d rather never see again and it’s inevitable that I run into people every time I go home. Of course, I grew up in SSF and the fog… where I could look down the peninsula and see that everyone else had sun. The city has always been out of my realm of navigation. I get around by finding water, determining if it’s bay or ocean, and then pointing my car accordingly. Recently, I’ve been able to go back and play “tourist” and it’s fun… but I know I would never move back. But, I’ve been spoiled. I moved from SF to La Jolla/San Diego, then Vegas, now near Disneyland.
And I love San Francisco. I fell in love with it in 1969. I adore the crazy streets and the wharf. My husband hates it. I’ll always have a soft spot for SF in my heart. I love the seafood on the Wharf. Don’t know if Alioto’s is still there. I had the most incredible cioppino in my life there. No one has been able to top it. It was made with nothing but shellfish, NO FILLET FISH! and the sauce was more like a spaghetti sauce. This was when you dressed up to go out in SF. I took my rings off, put them on the table and dug in. When I was taking a breather, the waiter started for my plate and I nearly took his head off! My boyfriend just laughed! My girlfriend lives in Cypress. Are you in Anaheim?
I was cracking up with the seat belt story – it seems like cars have them so close together now that you can never tell whose clicks where and the cars are so small that if you have 3 you practically sit on top of each other! Love the farm pix and would love to see an album page of the wine trip 😉 My family never stayed in one place so I never go back to visit my “birthplace.” I was born in Inglewood, spent my early childhood in Torrance and Harbor City, then moved to the high desert. My mother now lives in Oregon, so when I visit her, I’m definitely NOT going home – my home is with me (kind of like a turtle.)
It was really funny! Rose has quite the sense of humor and her son, Ray, inherited it in spades. He wouldn’t let sit next to her the next day! I love your turtle image. In reality, it’s really very true. We can take our home wherever we go. Our home is where our heart is! Glad I made you laugh. I love that!
Beautiful farm pictures and nice to take a break – wondering how the wine was? For me I live where I grew up so I am “home” and I have yet to act like a tourist here. For example, I’ve never been to Alcatraz…maybe someday – LOL! I have played the tourist role during travels abroad…As for down time – I’ll be taking some over the weekend and I can’t wait! It has been a busy summer…
Brandy 😉
I couldn’t get far enough away from where I grew up. Ohio is still not my place of choice but I can enjoy some of its pleasures when there. The Italian food can be so much better there than in California. I didn’t get to visit my favorite store called DaViti’s. My one great niece is already planning my return trip! Yikes! Will see what life has in store for us all.
I left my birthplace when I was 6 weeks old and have never returned. I’ve actually thought of going back and seeing where I was born but never done it. One of these days… My first 3 years were spent in Chicago and I have been there and I love it. I grew up in Los Angeles and moved quite a lot as a child so there is no place that is “home.” When people talk about going to their childhood home, I don’t relate to that at all. I never had that. I live in my house now for 23 years. It’s the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere and it feels more like home than anyplace I’ve lived. So, I guess I already am home.
Susan Berland
A Picture’s Worth
http://www.susanberland.com
I don’t know if I’d go to my birthplace unless you spent some time there. We actually went to a restaurant down the street from the house I grew up in. It looked pretty much the same although they had paved the gravel driveway and added a walkway across the lawn to the porch. They also removed the rhodedendrons and paved it over. That I missed seeing. But it’s not our place anymore.
Hi Julieanne,
Nice story, and beautiful photos. Glad you enjoyed your visit. Los Angeles is my birthplace and I’ve visited several times in recent years, but it never felt like coming home, know what I mean? I’ve lived in a dozen places all my life, and the only place that ever feels like home is wherever I’m presently living. About wines outside of California, I used to live in upstate New York, and used to enjoy visiting many of the wineries in the Finger Lakes area. Beautiful countryside up there, too.
Robbie
I was truly visiting relatives who live near where I born along with my girlfriend from 3rd grade. I have considered California my home for many many years. But Ventura is truly my home. I love coming home to this lovely community. I have found one or two wines from other states I’ve liked but the two most prolific that tantalizes my tastebuds are from California and Oregon.Oh, I forgot Washington State.
I’ve been to upstate New York as far as the Adirondacks but not to the Finger Lake district. Upstate New York is beautiful We are all lucky to have many beautiful places to visit or live in this beautiful country we call America.
Thanks for your post.
Thanks for sharing your stories and photos. I love how Green everything looks, I’m sure the scenery was amazing. I’ve been lucky enough to be born and raised in the Bay Area. I find there are so many ways to be a tourist on a free afternoon or weekend. Although there are traditional “tourist spots” that I still haven’t visited including Alcatraz, and Yosemite.
Oh, my , you must go see Yosemite! It’s truly magnificent. When you are in the Valley you must look up to see the sky. In summer, go very early in the morning and go during the week. Or wait till after school starts and go midweek. I love Yosemite.
Thanks for sharing! Hugs! I do have parts 2 and 3 up and part 4 should be done today or tomorrow.