Saturday was “my” day, and I decided I wanted to get Mer and Ellen out into the very fine weather. Mer and I had just recently joined the Holden Arboretum as members, and they have reciprocal admission rights with dozens of gardens all around the country. That means we can get in free in those gardens. I thought it would be fun to see another garden, and so I found one down near Amish country – an older estate called Kingwood Center. As a bonus, a local mountain dulcimer group was having a free show there in the early afternoon, so that made it an easy decision to go there.

Kingwood Center is in Mansfield, Ohio, about an hour and twenty minutes away. We got a bit of a late start, and it was my plan to eat lunch down in or near Mansfield, but there were not any appealing eateries that we saw, and we got there too close to the start of the free dulcimer concert to do any real exploring for food. We were able to explore the grounds, though, and they were quite lovely. The gardens surround the main house, which is closed most days, sadly. The grounds are fairly formal, with paths and shrubs and benches laid out in a pleasing manner. There was a greenhouse that we poked around in, and they were having a plant sale. We did not buy anything, but did enjoy the large variety of plants.

The dulcimer concert was held in the former coach house, and there were about ten dulcimer players, with one hammered dulcimer player, and two people playing instruments that looked like huge thumb pianos – they provided the bass notes. There were about fifteen or so people in attendance, and the atmosphere was very relaxed. The group played tune after tune, with just a few introductory remarks between songs. It was very pleasant. They group also had “limberjacks” – little figures that had hinged legs and arms that were designed as percussion instruments for children, to teach children rhythm. Several members of the group used them for a song or two, and then they handed them out to the audience to try. Both Ellen and Mer got one, and seemed to do pretty well with them.

We left the concert at intermission, as we were all quite hungry. Since we were down near Amish county, we decided to eat at an Amish restaurant. We saw signs for one, but kept not finding the town it was in until I remembered that we could try the GPS. We then found the place (Der Dutch Essenhaus) without any trouble. Unfortunately, it was about 4:00, so we must have hit a shift change; although the restaurant was fairly empty, the  service was really slow, which is not what you want when you are really hungry. We finally got our order in, and then the food took a long time coming. When it did come, it was excellent, but fairly normal-sized – the plate was about what we would have had at home. Usually, Amish plates are pretty generous. Again, the food was very good indeed, but I think we would have all wished for more. I even had trouble paying for the food – there was no one at the cash register, and I had to wait several minutes before anyone noticed. Too bad, because it was a nice restaurant.

We then drove out to the studio where Mer and I had bought our dinner bell. We wanted Ellen to see at least one studio, and this one was very close by. We chatted with the very down-to-earth artist, and felt quite welcome. I think we were there for about thirty minutes or so before moving on to a nearby town, Berlin.

We poked around in a large gift shop complex in Berlin, and most of the stuff was a bit kitschy for my taste, but it was good to get out and walk around. We also stopped at a bakery before leaving, where I got some cookie sandwiches and Ellen got some whoopie pies. That got us situated for the drive home, which was still over an hour. I’m afraid my touring day ended up spending about as much time in the car as out of it, which is one of the risks when I get whimsical. I hope I did not bore Ellen too much with all the driving, although it was a nice day in very pretty country.

Sunday, we slept in some, because Mer and I wanted to go to a local Lutheran church that started later than our usual church. We got up and puttered around and saw Ellen off. Even though Saturday was a bit car-heavy, I still hope the Heather Dale concert, the Hopkins poetry study, My Fair Lady, and a nice day in Amish country made for a satisfying weekend for all concerned. I know I loved it.