Craving the Cave - Gorge Us

I slept in until 745am then headed downstairs, started coffee and exercised, completing sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups in all of about 8 minutes. Was able to enjoy a little coffee around 815am. The early weather was nicer than forecasted, partly cloudy skies and 48 degrees.

I heard the girls upstairs giggling near 9am. Mindy was up around 915am. The day’s plans included a trip to Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills. There’d be 7 of us: me, Mindy, Jacob, Bella, Laurel, Makayla & Lillian. We didn’t set a departure time, though my preference to leave before 11am seemed in jeopardy. While readied for a run, Mindy started breakfast: bacon and French toast. It was already 10am. The dog needed walked. Bella paid me $2 to do the deed, which is supposed to be her responsibility.

I did a three mile run under partly cloudy skies and was back home sometime after 1030am. Jacob still wasn’t awake, but when he finally did get up he was insistent that he wasn’t joining us on our Old Man’s Cave adventure. Didn’t want to hang out all day with girls. Mindy didn’t immediately address his displeasure. The bacon and homemade French toast was delicious.

It was 1130am by the time we all were showered, dressed, and ready to go. Jacob still insisted on not going. At first, Mindy was going to take Jacob to Gloria’s, but after a brief chat we decided that he was going with us. We’d planned this outing some time ago, and while we understood that he wasn’t happy being the only boy, we were doing this as a family. It was after 12 noon by the time we finally left the house. Oh boy!
We stopped at the Circle K to fill the gas tank. I think we paid $3.37 per gallon. Jacob did his best to be an annoyance to everyone during most of the hour long drive. A couple times I wondered if Mindy my turn and ‘brain’ him. Instead, she largely ignored him, as did the four girls. The fall foliage was at its peak. The hills & trees were simply gorgeous! Good thing we all brought jackets, as expected, it was a little cooler at the park.

They’ve made some significant improvements to the park’s main entrance area, adding several new parking lots and upgraded walks. It was the most crowded that I’ve ever seen it. Unless I’m mistaken, it’s been several years since we’ve hiked Old Man’s Cave. I think we skipped this particular park the last time we hiked Hocking Hills, choosing instead to do several of the lesser known trails/parks.
The expansiveness of the main caves simply blows me away. Right away, the kids were having fun. The park was crowded, though, and often one had to stop and wait for others to pass through the often narrow trails. We hung out in the main area for about 30 minutes before deciding to make the 2.5 trek to Cedar Falls via the lower gorge trail. The further we went the less crowded the trail.

The kids made several stops to climb rocks of the steep slopes to play. I’m guessing it took us 1.5 hours to get to Cedar Falls. As luck would have it, the falls were completely dry. I wasn’t too surprised. While we’ve had our share of rain in the last couple weeks, it was an extremely dry summer. The kids were disappointed that we hiked so far ‘for nothing’. We reminded them that it’s not always the destination, but often the adventure. Started to sprinkle a little as we turned to head back. This time our pace was more deliberate as all the kids were hungry and tired. By afternoon Jacob was in a far better place, and was even helpful with the girls. He gave both Bella and Laurel piggy-back rides for about half the trek back. We passed a few others still making their way towards the falls as we made our way back. A young woman hiking with her man stopped and asked me if I was Courtney, Lindsey & Ashley’s dad. I quickly scanned her face but had no clue who this might be – nothing! I shared that I was, and then apologized for not knowing who she was. It was Jennifer Kersey. Her parents watched our girls for several years, and she and her siblings went to school with my daughters. They did all sorts of things together. I probably haven’t seen Jennifer since she was 13 or 14 years old. Both she and her younger sister, Courtney, are school teachers in Lancaster.

I gave her a hug and told her to say hello to her parents for me. The intensity of the rain picked up. We picked up the pace still a little more. Mindy kept count of the manmade stairs we climbed. Our legs were spent by the time we made it back to the park’s main entrance. I think Mindy counted 440 stairs. Of course that’s times 2 counting the trek out and back, and also doesn’t account for the hundreds of natural root stairs. Without question, an invigorating 5 mile hike.

It was already near 445pm – far later than we envisioned getting finished. We were all half soaked too. Bella had the lone umbrella. We stopped at the mini indoor museum before heading to the car. I didn’t even know it was there. Inside they have on display a number of taxidermed animals, including black bear, fox, coyote, rattle snake, and raccoon. Also read about ‘grandma’ who loved hiking Hocking Hills.
Our plan was to stop at Millstone barbeque for lunch/dinner on the way home. Earlier, we had talked about stopping at a pumpkin patch too but we due to the late hour as well as the rain, we scrapped that idea. There was a hand scribbled note on our windshield. It was from one of Mindy’s students who must’ve recognized our Pilot. It’s not hard with the bike rack and Thule.

We didn’t regain cellular service until we were nearly to Route 33, or 11 miles removed from the park. We took a wrong turn trying to get to the Millstone barbeque and ended up taking a picturesque drive around Lake Logan. Very pretty! Back tracking, we found our error – poor signage. Arrived at the restaurant around 530pm. It was crowded. They handed us a pager and quoted 20-30 minute wait. Quizzed everybody on their eagerness to diner there. Weighing our options, we opted to wait.

Nice place. Jacob and Lillian ordered from the adult menu. The three other girls ordered mac & cheese from the kiddie menu. Mindy and I both went with the Trio – three mini sandwiches: one brisket, one pulled pork, and one burger. The food and service was good. It had to be near 640pm when we made our way back to the Pilot. It was still raining and perhaps even a little harder. Unless I’m mistaken, the early forecast said that any chance of rain would diminish as they day wore on. They definitely screwed that up.

It was after 730pm by the time we arrived home. Laurel’s mom, Kelly, was already on her way to pick her up. We were expecting Kaileigh around 8pm. She was spending the night and then going to Olivia’s birthday party with us the following afternoon. It was still raining. Like Bella earlier, Jacob didn’t want to walk the dog. I willingly offered him the same deal I gave Bella earlier. For $2 I’ll walk her. He jumped at the option. I made $4 in one day!

Kelly (Laurel’s mom) and Shelly showed up within 5 minutes of one another. Both hung out for about 30 minutes. After they departed, I eagerly headed upstairs and changed into my PJs. Back downstairs I poured a Jack & Coke. At the same time, Mindy poured a Russian Stout. Lillian and Makayla hung out at our place until Chrissy was home from picking up Jake after marching band. That had to be around 10-1030pm. Mindy headed to bed shortly after they left. I stayed up a little bit longer, but not too late. I’m pretty sure that I was in bed by 11pm.