"Lake Hope Dinner"

"Lake Hope Dinner"

We had a lovely drive yesterday afternoon to the Lake Hope Lodge in the beautiful Hocking Hills. I was again fascinated that this wonderful area exists in Ohio. Being from the flatlands of northwestern Ohio, which has its own beauty, I marvel every time we visit the Hocking Hills area - it's winding roads and modest hills offer some very fantastic vistas!

But, I digress from my purpose in writing this post. The reason for our trip to the Lake Hope Lodge was because Dorothy's Valentine's Day gift to me this past February was a drive to and dinner at the Lake Hope Lodge. When she gave me the gift, I teared up - OK, I cried! That may seem a little overly emotional to those of you who don't know the significance of this gift for us, so, let me explain.

You see, our honeymoon was spent in the Hocking Hills! We stayed in one of the cabins on the Lake Hope State Park grounds near the old Lake Hope Lodge. I say old because the original one burnt down a few years ago. The state finally rightfully replaced the insurance money they received for the total loss after spending the original money for other needs in the state. While I loved that old lodge, the replacement is very nice. The view out the lodge windows of Lake Hope is almost the exact same as it was 43 years ago. The meals were still very tasty. There are numerous pictures of the old lodge and some of other areas of historical significance. Oh, I forgot to mention the lodge was where we enjoyed several meals during our stay there. So, you see, this wasn't just the fulfillment of a Valentine's Day gift but another celebration of our 43rd anniversary!

Yes, it took us awhile to get there, (only 7 months!) but we made it and did some reminiscing. First, let me share with you what we had to eat last night. I ordered Lake Erie perch and fries. Dorothy ordered a grilled vegetable plate of zucchini, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, spinach, and au gratin potatoes - It was delicious! (The vegetable plate, the perch not so much.)  What Dorothy remembers about the meals we enjoyed there 43 years ago was the chocolate covered pecan rolled ice cream. I vaguely remember pulled pork (still on the menu!) and I believe prime rib and fried chicken.

After our early meal, Dorothy walked the trail to the cabin area while I rode my power wheelchair on the road that ran in front of the cabins. We pointed and commented but the truth of the matter is we couldn't remember which cabin it was. Until a few years ago we still had the receipts from our honeymoon. Seemed like it was time to get rid of them - now we wish we had them to help our recollection.

Just seeing the cabins though brought to the surface long-held memories - mostly fond memories of the days we spent together there solidifying what was already a very close, open, and intimate relationship. But then, there are other memories: like, opening Dorothy's suitcase our first night in the Lake Hope cabin when we were getting ready for bed only to discover that her college roommate, Nini, had tied everything in knots and dumped enough rice in it to provide us several meals; like, my feeling nauseous much of the time either from driving the roads in the Hocking Hills or the higher elevation (?) or a slight touch of the flu; like, after just two weeks of marriage, my having to report for two-a-days at ONU and move into the dorm with the rest of the team (7 seniors got married that summer before and our coach thought marriage frivolities might cause us to use too much energy and take away from our workouts (!); like, our not wanting to drive too far the first night and thus making reservations at the Holiday Inn in Findlay, only to have to cancel them and stay in the Riverview Inn in Tiffin instead (more later about that); like, arriving at the motel that first night quite late and hungry and having to drive into downtown Tiffin to find a Dairy Queen still open so we could each have a shredded chicken sandwich; like, my best man, Jerry Agner, hiding our get-a-way car in one of dad's sheds and really not letting anyone know where it was despite much pressure from Dorothy's brother and others; like, now for some specificity.

The summer of 1970 was the second year I served on the YMCA Camp Y-Noah staff. It was near Akron, closer actually to Canal Fulton. The first summer there I didn't know anyone else on the staff when I arrived. That second summer five other OG products joined me: Dan Sager, Tom Maidlow, Greg Krouse, Greg McComis, and Steve Weis. We had a great summer. About once a week we would have a basketball game between the OG boys and the rest of the staff. What fun! I'm pretty sure we won most of the time!    

Now, I shared that side note in preparation for sharing why we had to change motels. We had 24 hours off each week. One of those weeks I decided to drive home maybe for some last minute wedding planning, but for sure to see Dorothy and my family. Well, a couple of the other OG guys hitched a ride with me. For some still unknown reason I decided to stop at the Findlay Holiday Inn to make sure the reservation was there and commented to the others in the car about what I was doing. All the rest of the way to Ottawa I had this uneasy feeling - things seemed to be quieter in the back seat, knowing glances being shared between my passengers. When I shared with Dorothy what I had done, she confirmed that I had made a mistake and that I had best make some other arrangements. It wasn't necessarily those guys we were concerned about but word getting out and our ending up having visitors all night long! You know, brothers and sisters, so-called friends, in-laws, etc.

Dorothy loves to jokingly tease me about leaving her side after everyone was through the receiving line to go and talk to the Y-Noah staff who drove all the way from Akron for  the wedding (she assures me everyone was NOT through the receiving line). We both will never forget taking that first bite of our wedding cake and my about spitting it out! It was coconut! I hate coconut! To be fair, she didn't know it in advance. But, you should have been around when we were supposed to celebrate our first anniversary with another piece of that cake!

So, we had dinner last night at the Lake Hope Lodge and I took a picture of Dorothy. She is just as beautiful and nice today as she was the day I married her!

I love you, Dorothy!

Bill