Playing with Tina around Lebanon, OH

Tina and I had a few days to play while getting ready for our trip to Ireland, so she showed me some of the interesting places around Lebanon. We walked around downtown...

 And had lunch at the historic Village Ice Cream parlor.

 And even managed to resist the ice cream.

 One of the movies that was filmed here.

 Historic downtown.

 We went inside the Golden Lamb Hotel

 Which dates back to 1803.

 Private dining rooms...

 Many famous people have stayed here on their travels.

 Each bedroom has a different decor.

 Generations of Tafts have used this room.

 Some rooms are museums…this one from the Shaker Village that once was here.

 Several U.S. Presidents have stayed here. The rooms they stayed in are labeled.

 A small park next to the hotel.

 Then we toured the Shaker Museum.

 A few examples of what's inside...

 Tina showed me her favorite nearby kayaking river…leading the way down the Little Miami River.

 Some kayakers stopped to swing out on the rope and make a splash.

 We watched a couple.

 I got to meet some of Tina's favorite trees...

 And their gnarly roots.

 we saw turtles,

 And more turtles,

 And ducks,

 And more ducks,

And a deer. 

Most of the river we floated along like this.

 Then there were some swift riffles over rocks.

 Tina kindly led the way and pointed out the submerged rocks for me.

Another day she brought me to Loveland Castle…A hand-made Medieval type castle built stone-by-stone with stones collected from the river below.

 A serpent in the garden.

 Tina looks over some artifacts inside the castle.

 Sir Harry Andrews (1890-1981) began the castle in the 1930s. He had studied Medieval architecture in Europe after WWI, so he knew what he was doing. He and a few friends formed a society of "knights," and set about to build the castle. Harry began collecting stones from the river seen below, carrying them up the hill by the bucketful.

 He did that for 50 years, and was still building another wing when he died. His friends finished that wing which holds a chapel after he died.

A row of arches leads to the gardens.

 A rain barrel collects water for his many plants.

 He surrounded the castle with terrace gardens.

 Loveland Castle