The best part of The Barn restaurant was the ground surrounding the building. There was a very nicely landscaped pond and gazebo. The flowers were beautiful despite the unusually dry summer. The food was very good. Nothing out of this world, but good. Between the two of us, my husband and I had a ham steak dinner, a cheeseburger, and a MONSTER soup / salad / homemade bread bar for less than $25 including tip. There are two parts to the restaurant, an All-You-Can-Eat buffet, and a menu portion with a supurb salad bar. We opted for the menu side. In the regular restaurant, I would recommend the salad bar, it was HUGE, fresh, and had a great selection. By the time I had been to the salad bar a couple times, I wished I hadn't ordered the burger. While the meals were good, they were not outstanding. Understandably, they serve literally hundreds of people at a time! The atmosphere really makes this restaurant stand out. We spent over 2.5 hours browsing through the shops, looking around the grounds, and eating. The service was very friendly. If you're in the area, I would say stop and eat. The only reason we stopped here was because it was Sunday and the Amish restaurants in the area are closed. If you're in this area, be sure to drive through Amish country. Nearby attractions also include the Smuckers (Jelly) factory / store and Smith Dairy.

There’s a little Circle K gas station in the middle of nowhere just outside of Smithville.  I’ve stopped for a “break” every time and each time it’s been clean, well stocked, and friendly.

We did stop for ice cream in Smithville at the Dari-Land.  I got raspberry and vanilla twist with crunch sprinkles.  Mom got the same.  Dad got twist in a waffle cone.  It was good.

Well, this might wrap up this year’s fireworks blog.  It just all depends on if we’re called for another summer show.  I’m ready for a break from fireworks right now, though.  It's fun, but very tiring.

I'm going to do a full review, but just outside Smithville, Ohio there is a neat, HUGE restaurant called "The Barn.  it is, in fact, a barn.  There's some nice little shops with the typical Ohio-country souvies, Amish baked goods, hand-dipped ice cream, and herbs / spices.  After some shopping and eating, we made it home.  We didn't get even half way home when our fireworks guy called us and asked us to help a couple more dates this summer.  Maybe I'll be adding another entry to this blog...