Hocking Hills Vacation

August 3-7 my husband and I finally got away for a week. It was way over due!! We had not been on a vacation in 5 years or so. It was so nice to get that time together. We went to the Hocking Hills. We rented a cabin for two days called the "Timber Ridge." Then we had to switch cabins and went for 3 days to the "Pioneer." They were basically the same design except the "Pioneer" had a balcony/deck and a much better view! We also took our dog with us. He loved it. He didn't know what to think at first, but then he went on trails with us and walked around the cabins and smelled all these different smells and he was in heaven marking his spots everywhere he could,ha.

The first cabin we stayed at the guests started a tradition in the cabin. There was a treasure hunt for all the guests. You had to see if you could find items that were hidden by past guests and then you had to leave your own items to find for the next guests. You left the ones you found in place also. It was a neat idea I thought. It drove me crazy though because I only found three items on the list. The first thing I found was a postage stamp. It was taped up under the mantle of the fireplace. The second item I found was a wrapped toothpick hidden under a fake plant on a dresser. The third item I found was a fanged-shaped rock hidden on top of a wooden thing on the wall that had wooden hooks like to hang up your robe in the bedroom. The guests before us also hid a white button, a happy birthday sticker and jack of diamonds playing card. We could not find those and it drove us nuts! It made me wonder if the housekeeper finds these items and throws them away. If you read the book in the cabin though it has been going on for a long time (years) and everyone tells what they find in the treasure hunt, so that told me the items do not get removed from the housekeeper.

We had a hot tub at both the cabins and it was so relaxing. I was so impressed with how clean everything was there. They had a guy come out everyday in the morning to get the trash, clean the charcoal out for you and clean the hot tub. They said they make sure the hot tubs are tip top clean everyday! And the cabins were the most clean I have ever stayed in a cabin. Well, it was more like log homes then a cabin, but they call them cabins. I never once saw a spider or any outdoor little creatures you might expect to see in a cabin when you are staying there. My dog slipped and fell on the wooden floors I don't know how many times because they were so shiney, polished looking and very clean! It was impressive. We stayed at the Smokey Mountains cabins one time and they were not near as clean as these cabins were in the Hocking Hills.

We had lots of cookouts on the charcoal grill. We didn't eat out but twice. It was nice. I forgot what charcoal grilling food tastes like. It was so good. I told Tom I would like to have a little charcoal grill now,ha. We are so use to the gas grills and completely forgot the taste of how charcoal is.

We also would have our fires in our firepits at night and roast marshmellows and one night we had smores. On the grill we would have hot dogs or brats. One night we had a steak and grilled shrimp and it was really good. I made BLT's for breakfast one morning. The only down fall was having to do your own dishes BY HAND,ha. No dishwasher in these cabins!

We mostly just relaxed while we were there. We didn't do much on the trails. We did go to Ash Cave. That is one of our favorite spots on the trails to go. It is also mostly flat and it was easier for our dog to go. He loved it. We did alot of sight seeing. Just driving around. We saw alot of deer of course also. We went to the beach in Logan. It was nice. Hardly anyone there. We also went to the Dur Dutchman there one afternoon and then over next door to feed goats and reindeer. You could see these animals out our window as we were eating at the Dur Dutchman and I just had to go over and see them. All the reindeer were white and some of them had huge racks on them. They all seemed really friendly. There was a put-put golf course next to that. Then we went over to this amish store and picked up some cheese. There was an antique mall also, but I hate those things and Tom wouldn't go in by himself. ha.

When we stayed at the "Pioneer" there were wild turkeys that just wandered around. The desk told us when we checked in that sometimes you will see them, but mostly you just hear them. We kept throwing food out in the yard hoping to get a glimpse of them, but they never showed their faces. We heard them though. We also heard a rooster late in the day, but never early morning. It was funny. It was like the rooster had its time all messed up. It was just so peaceful back in the woods. Not a sound of anything but NATURE. It is highly recommended to go here if you want to relax and get some peace and quiet.

We would love to keep going back every year and stay in a different cabin each time. There is alot to do around there if you want to be on the go more. There were ATV's to ride, horseback riding, of course all the trails (Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, Ash Cave, Conkles Hollow, etc), there was zip lines you could go do, I mean we had all kinds of pamlettes that had all these different things you could do there that I was not even aware of. We went to this place called Lake Hope and they had this hummingbird place that you could feed the hummingbirds right out of your hands! I wanted to do that, but it was not open when we went. It was only open like three days a week and you could only feed the hummingbirds from 1-3 PM. It was quite a drive so we did not go back.

Like I said, we mostly just wanted to stay around the cabin and relax and that is what we did. Next trip, we want to do more trails. We have done them before, but way back when we first met.

So, that was our vacation pretty much. We enjoyed ourselves and want to return for sure. Talk to you all soon.

~Shellie