Ashtabula Underground Railroad Museum

Today we decided to get some education and headed for a visit to
the Underground Railroad in Ashtabula.

Sympathizer's homes were strategically located along the railroad.

The Hubbard House was one of more than 30 stations along the railroad trail. Also, it was a safehouse for slaves who were looking to gain their freedom through passage of the Underground Railroad. Located only blocks from the shore of Lake Erie, the house was the ideal place to hide slaves until conditions were best for them to make their way to the beach and onto a boat that would take them to Canada.

Knock, knock, knock. Anybody home? Gail tried to get someone to answer. Oh well, instead we tromped through the wet grass, round and round the house, peeking and pushing our noses against the glass windows to see inside.

I smushed my nose and camera lense up against the front porch window and got a picture of the entry hall and stairs to the second floor. It's blurry I know. Just think of it as a little haunted and it's much cooler.

That was about as long as we could circle the house without raising police attention so we headed back into town to a small Farmer's Market we'd seen on the way. I got a couple of nice tomatoes.

An interesting church...definitely a wedding going on inside. Hummer Limo is a good giveaway.

A very traditional back east "small town". Great turn of the century brick buildings. But seriously where are the candy and ice cream shops.

Now these two guys are really too cute. They obviously found the fudge shop and had a great taste.

Cute bicycle rack.

Larry looked a bit like these boys before we had Gail clean him up.

We'll find some ice cream soon.

A little local art.

Ah Ha....someone found the ice cream store. Order up.

Now Larry's a happy camper!

Gail's happy too. Nice tomatoes! Now put them back in my bag and stop playing with them.

We found out that Chuck has a passion for Barbie dolls. On the sly he bought four of them in a junk shop we'd all browsed through. And he blamed me. Now you try to make sense of that. We keep having to drag him out of toy areas in different shops.

Pretty little space between shops. What was there originally must have fallen or burned down years ago.

Cute pubs.

The bridge opens every 30 minutes to allow boats to pass under.

By this time it was raining buckets. We bid farewell to Ashtabula and headed for the barn.

A pretty view of Ashtabula with sailboats at the wharf.

After we got back to Kenisee Lakes we decided to eat out instead of cook. So we were off to Steak n' Shake. A great burger joint.

This little girl caught my eye. She is too adorable. Having dinner with daddy and little brother.

The gang scarfing down some really delicious burgers. $3.99 for a burger which includes a side of either fries, onion rings, coleslaw or a salad. Such a deal.

Now it appears Gail is really enjoying those fries but it could also be she's dreaming about Larry. No fries are that good...eh?

Now on the other hand you don't want to mess with Chuck or Larry while they're eating. Ease up there guys...it's just a burger. I'll buy you another one.