As we prepared to depart PA, Hurricane Florence was threatening the coastal areas of North Carolina and South Carolina. The Outer Banks of NC was our next planned destination but that was now out of the question. Instead, we turned around and stopped overnight at Glades Pike Winery in Somerset, PA which was our first Harvest Host site. Harvest Host, as mentioned in a previous post, is a members only collection of farms, vineyards, breweries and ranches that allow RV’ers to camp out on their property in exchange for sampling the wine, food, and items they produce. Monica Brancato offered us (6) different wines to sample at the Glades Pike Winery tasting room. We ended up buying three bottles of wine and purchased a cheese plate for dinner that night. The wines were very good and so was the view from the vineyard and surrounding countryside in PA. Here is a link to Glades Pike Winery if you find yourself near Somerset, PA: Glades Pike Winery. Check out our pics from this Harvest Host member site…

View from wine tasting room at Glades Pike Winery
Free overnight parking at the winery
Living room view from inside our Airstream
Kitchen table view inside our Airstream
Lots of cows around us for company

Since the hurricane forced us to head west away from the coast, we decided to continue west towards Columbus, OH and hang out there for a few days. We noticed many bucket trucks heading in the opposite direction as we traveled to safety and it made us think about courageous people who would assist others after the storm had left. We ended up staying at a KOA campground in Buckeye Lake, OH. The campground was OK but the side of the lake we were located at was under construction and there wasn’t any easy way to get to the lake from where we were at. We explored the other side of the lake and enjoyed a dinner and fantastic sunset at Buckeye Lake Winery as seen in the these pics…

Buckeye Lake Winery
Outside dining on the lake !!!
Beautiful sunset at Buckeye Lake

We continued to wait out the hurricane from this location and planned day trips to local attractions, such as Dawes Arboretum, using an app called Roadtrippers. Dawes Arboretum is an incredible non-profit arboretum located 30 miles east of Columbus in Newark, Ohio and admission is completely FREE !!! It was founded in 1929 by Beman and Bertie Dawes who were wealthy business owners that were inspired by a love of trees and nature. Enjoy these fantastic pics of this hidden gem of nature that is a legacy of the Dawes family. Here is a link to the arboretum web-site if you are interested in more information on this beautiful place: Dawes Arboretum

Information on Dawes Arboretum
Dawes family mansion
One of 50,000 trees planted in 1929
Another awe inspiring tree
More incredible flowers
Bonnie’s pic of a beautiful flower
Nice pond near gardens
Plant and garden area
Description of Japanese Garden
Another tree from bonsai collection
Bonsai tree started in 1969
Pond in Japanese Garden
Stone bridge in Japanese Garden
Sand sculpture in Japanese Garden

Neither one of us had spent any time in downtown Columbus, OH but we found it to be a really nice city to visit on a day trip. First, we enjoyed a delicious lunch of stuffed cabbage and pickled beets at the North Market which is a great place to sample local food and craft beers. Next, we took the free shuttle bus to German Village which is a historic neighborhood full of restored buildings, beautiful parks, and lots of cobblestone streets with German names. We found an awesome bookstore that organized its books by genre using 32 different rooms within their building. Bonnie and I finished off our day trip to Columbus with a fantastic dinner of meatballs and spaghetti at Marcella’s Italian Restaurant in the Short North business district of the city.

This wasn’t the Outer Banks of North Carolina but it was a great day in Columbus, OH !!! At the same time, we realized how fortunate we were to dodge Hurricane Florence and frequently thought about our friends and family in the Carolinas as we monitored the destructive path of this nasty storm. God bless those people who lost property or loved ones during the storm. Checkout these pics from our visit to Columbus…

North Market has great food and beers
Stuffed cabbage and pickled beet salad for lunch
Cobblestone street in German Village
Manicured shrubs in front a home in exclusive German Village area
Fantastic German sausage house
Info on Frank Fetch Park
Entrance to Frank Fetch Park
Beautiful city park in Columbus, OH
Entrance to 32 room bookstore in German Village

Bonnie did some additional research and found another awesome place for us to visit called The Wilds. This venue was located in nearby Cumberland, OH and we will provide more information and photos about what we experienced in our next post ….