Our little get-a-way

Brian and I disappeared for a few days and went to Hocking Hills. We stayed in a castle bed&breakfast. It was lovely! Neither of us have ever stayed at a B&B so it was a different experience. It was like sleeping in a house with strangers that you end up getting to know by the time your visit is over. The castle was up a big hill, away from civilization. There were no tv's, no computers, no phones or phone reception. It was great. When we were in our room we played games, read books, and drank hot tea. Here is what the outside of the castle looked like.
















We stayed in the Queen Elizabeth room for most of the time. Right before bed on the last night we has to move however because the fireplace stopped working but Brian was excited because we stayed in the room called the dungeon and it was a more manlier. It was neat to get to stay in more than one room. I have already picked out which room I would like to stay in for our next visit.











here's me in front of the fireplace















The first night the castle had a production of "King Lear" with a buffet dinner. The play was excellent and the food was too. We both really enjoyed the play and thought it was really good.

The next day we spent the day hiking. It was a little chilly but we dressed very warm. It was nice because the trails were quiet since there were not too many people there. Brian and I had more quality time together. The hike was beautiful. We thought this was a great time of year to come. We saw Cedar Falls, Old Man's Cave, and Ash Cave. Here are a few of my favorite pics. Sorry there are so many. It was hard to choose!











Brian and I thought the leaves looked like a beautiful carpet on the ground.

This is one of my favorites of us dressed all cozy and warm. We sat down for a little snuggle.















This is a lake that we hiked too. It was very beautiful and peaceful. We actually took this hike by accident but it ended up being our favorite part of the day.









Here are pictures of us at Old Man's Cave









Here is one of my favorites of me. I think I like look a true hiker! This was taken at Ash Cave.
And, although this one is blurry, I still love this one of Brian.
And another of my favorites of Brian at Cedar Falls.
We had a nice soup dinner at our castle that night. It was so neat to just walk out of our room, and like magic a meal was prepared for us. With our stay we also got a homemade breakfast each morning. Our stay at the castle was so relaxing.

Here are a few pics around the castle.































While we were there we also did a little antique shopping and we visited an art gallery for our first experience with pottery! It was so fun! We took a one hour class and the teacher taught us how to make 2 bowls. She has to fire them so it will be about 2 months before we get them, but it is something that we have to look forward too. Even though Brian broke one of his bowls, overall, he was much better at this than I was.











After our class we ended our trip with a delightful meal at a restaurant called the Sandstone. It was absolutely delicious! It was also a very elegant looking place with the red and black colors and a candle lit at each place. I loved it. During dinner and on our way home Brian and I listed off ideas of how we could apply our pottery experience to our spiritual lives. Here are a few that we came up with.


1. In the beginning we had to pound and beat our clay. The teacher told us this was to be sure that there were no air bubbles in the clay. If they were then when it is fired the bowl would burst or blow up. Our Potter, has to do the same with us. He often puts us through experiences that seem uncomfortable or hurt but it because He wants us prepared for the fire.
2. While we were making the bowls, we continually had to keep getting our hands wet and putting water on the clay. If we didn't the clay would have dried up and broken. In order for us to be formed correctly with out being dried up we have to continually bathe in God's Word.
3. Brian broke his 2nd bowl but the teacher was generous to give him another pound of clay, but she wouldn't let him use the same one that he had broken. It can be used later possibly for another pupil but at that moment it had to be put back on the shelf. God will not use a dirty vessel. Sometimes when we refuse to surrender to our maker He puts us on a shelf until we are ready to be used again.
4. When we first started the teacher emphasized that we had to put our ball of clay directly in the middle. It had be perfectly centered in the middle. If not, they finished product would be unbalanced and it would be hard to control. We thought this emphasized how important it is to be in the center of God's will if not our lives will be a little out of whack and out of control.
5. Making anything out of clay is a process. It starts of as just a blown lump. But in the end it becomes a bowl, a cup or whatever you chose to make. We too, may not feel like we amount to much or be much of anything but our Maker is continually working on us to make us beautiful, but it takes a process, one step at a time.
6. Of course I have that little competitive spirit in me and I wanted my bowl to look pretty like Brian's. But this made me think that no piece looks the same. Every finished product has something uniquely different about it. God makes each one of us uniquely different as well.

Those are a few of our insights. We had a lovely time.