My Fair(field County) Lady

I'm seriously in love with Lancaster, Ohio.  Yes, I'm that cool.  Haha!

No, but really, there is so much charm in the downtown.  I would love to own one of the old houses, but alas, it is the absolute wrong direction from where we should live.

Nonetheless, this past Saturday we traveled to Lancaster for 2 reasons:
1. I wanted to have brunch at my favorite little cafe
2. I had heard about a different place to take them on a hike and wanted to check it out.

We started out at Four Reasons cafe and gave the kiddos 4 reasons to want to come back:
1. cinnamon rolls
2. chocolate muffins
3.cookies
4. pop

Sis giving the one eyed approval.

O is currently not a fan of having his picture taken, but you get a small idea what the interior of the cafe is like.

Next we headed out to Shallenberger Nature Preserve.  The Preserve is run by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  There is no cost to visit (well, alas, you pay plenty of tax dollars but I digress...).

Everything looks better with colorful leaves around it.  :)

We climbed to the top of Allen Knob.  According to the DNR website:

  At Shallenberger, the long process of weathering produced Allen Knob, a promontory of highly resistant sandstone, and the smaller adjacent Ruble Knob. Allen Knob towers 240 feet above the surrounding countryside and provides an impressive vista of the central Ohio lowland plains to the west.

If I was in my right mind, I probably would have though to myself, "Oh 240 feet, that could be a little scary with the kids.  But I didn't.  So be warned, you will be fearing for the lives of your children.  They will be fine.  It is steep, but totally doable.

The steep hill.  O did not want his hand held.  Scary.

Jackson was super happy about his giant leaf.

The view was great even though we were a little scared to have too long of a look because of the little ones who were following our lead.

Not really a view, but the leaves were so pretty.

I think it would be pretty to come back here in the winter and see the view when there are no leaves on the trees to obstruct it.  However, with everything being muddy and slippery with only the leaves, I can imagine I would want spiked shoes in the winter. ;)

This was the neatest tree, you can't really tell, but it was one tree with three huge trunks.

If you are interested in the "nature aspect"- i.e. geology and plant species, I suggest you check out the following blog.  I have no idea who Kyle is, but I appreciate all of the knowledge he gives about this area!

All in all, I would highly recommend a trip to Shallenberger.  We have so many places just outside our doorsteps in Ohio, but we don't think to visit them nor appreciate them. I'm as focused on far away lands as many other travelers, but short day trips are sooo much easier with little ones.

And of course, this photo alone is why I want to get out with my family, enjoy nature, and take in new sights!

My little world on earth.