We woke up to a blue sky on Sunday. After a breakfast of eggs and bacon, we got our gear together to go hiking in the park.

We chose a trail that would lead us from one of the boat docks, pass the waterfall and onto the old sea bed.

Once we found the trail head, it was not marked very well, we entered into the forest and found a well maintained trail. Although, at one point we had to make our way around a fallen tree. The trail is about 3 miles long and is very well blazed. The Buckeye Trail, which encompasses the entire state, crosses through this trail and the park itself.

We found mushrooms all along the trail. A quick detour off the main trail led us to a pond where we saw some frogs and turtles. As we made our way to the creek, we were warned that the swinging bridge was closed. We hiked under the bridge and forged the creek to the other side. After making our way up the ridge, we heard the sounds of the waterfall.

We went down the side, more like slid down, to the creek bed and found ourself directly in front of the falls. We spent about 30 minutes or so taking in the sights and photographing the falls. A man and his dog appeared as they walked along the creek. We looked to see where they went to, but couldn't figure out how they left, there was no trail going forward and we know they didn't turn around. Interesting!

We made our way back to the trail above the creek and continued on to Flat Rocks, the old sea bed.

We came out of the forest and down a steep embankment to the sea bed. Here we had our lunch and rested for awhile. We didn't have to move from our lunch spot to find any fossils, they were all around us. We saw many people from the parking lot looking for fossils also. It was a nice view of the lake from here.

45 minutes later, we headed back to the trail, reversing our steps. We made good time heading back to where the car was parked. It was a great, and tiring day, and we were ready to go back to the campsite.

A quick dinner and we sat around and just enjoyed the camp area, watching all the people walk by. We took a walk along our loop and found a trail that led to the lake. We watched a young girl fishing and took photos of the sunset over the lake. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend of camping.

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After a very cold night in the tent, we woke to a semi-nice day, not really blue skies, but no rain and it was getting warmer. We packed up the campsite and stowed away our gear. While packing, I noticed that Emilia kept looking for something. After about 15 minutes of watching her, I asked her what was wrong. She looked at me and started crying, she said she lost the ring I gave her a few weeks ago. I told her not to worry about it, it was only a ring. She was so sad and didn't want to leave the campsite, knowing the ring was around there somewhere.

We took the light back to our neighbors, thanked them for being  so nice to us and wished them well on their camping. We headed out of the park and I stopped at the office to checkout. I asked the girl there if, by any chance, anybody had turned in a ring they had found. She looked at me and asked if we were from Loop D. I said yes and she handed me a yellow piece of paper with a ring taped to to it. Somebody had found the ring and brought it to the office that morning. I told her that  somebody was going to be very happy! I got back into the car and told Emilia to pick a hand. She chose the right one and I showed her the ring. She screamed with joy and hugged me. She promised never to take it off again.

We  made our way out of the park and headed over to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. Were we in for a nice surprise there. See the review below.

It was a great weekend, and was a good test for Emilia to see how well we would do spending so much time together. I think we passed the test with flying colors!

We got back to Columbus around 6pm, had a quick meal at O'Charley's and went to bed. We were exhausted.

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Arrived at the campground Friday evening. As we pulled in, a woman  and 2 children came up to our car and asked if we would mind switching our campsite with them. They had 2 sites, but we were in between, so we said yes and this allowed them to camp next to each other.

We put the tent up, started a fire and cooked some hot dogs for dinner. It had rained earlier in the day and it was a little chilly, but being next to the fire making s'mores was a pleasant evening.

We went to sleep around 11pm. About 4am, Emilia heard some noises outside the tent and woke me up, I unzipped the cover to the window and saw a skunk  trying to get into the trash bag. I shined the flashlight on him, but he didn't even move, he wanted whatever was in the bag. We decided to ignore him and went back to sleep. Lesson learned: throw away all trash before going to sleep. We talked to our neighbors the next morning and they had a raccoon that got into a bag of peanuts during the night. Welcome to camping!

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If you are looking for a great family oriented fun day, the  Ohio Renaissance Festival is just the place to be. My girlfriend Emilia and I were camping in nearby Caesar Creek State Park and we decided to go to the festival on our way home on Labor Day.

We had planned to stay for about an hour and a half, grab some lunch and head to Columbus. Well, 7 hours later we finally left the festival. Everywhere we turned was entertainment and fun. We had no clue how big this event is. It was nice to see the visitors also dressing up in period costumes. The food was very good, and cheap, the entertainment is top notch and the atmosphere is something you have to experience for yourself. If you have never been to a renaissance festival, go! You won't be disappointed.

This one runs for 8 weekends each year. From Labor Day weekend until October 22, 2006 and is currently in it's 17th season. We are going to return in a few weeks with friends to visit it again.

From their website:

Live the legend in this authentically re-created 30-acre 16th Century English village. Rub elbows with nobility and be entertained by hundreds of costumed performers in nearly 100 shows each day. Cheer your favorite knight to victory as he competes for the Queen’s honor in the thrilling full-armored Joust.

The lanes are bustling with storytellers, strolling musicians, singers, dancers and villagers welcoming you to a festive day of living history. The air is filled with the scents and smells of the foods of the Renaissance period. Feast like royalty on juicy roasted turkey legs, fresh-baked bread bowl stews, fish ‘n chips, steak-on-a-stake, and a variety of the finest beers and wines.

The sprawling landscape is dotted with 12 stages and a unique open-air Shopper’s Marketplace with over 130 merchants and demonstrating craftsmen. The many one-of-a-kind hand-crafted items make this a perfect place to shop for holiday gifts.

Visitors of all ages will be amused by the games of skill and human-powered rides. Try your hand at archery and see if you’re a modern-day Robin Hood, or climb the castle tower and rescue the lovely damsel in distress.

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