May a new perspective lead to new ideas.

After we returned from Niagara Falls, we had  many happy excursions with Ken Jon and Francesca. They drove us to the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland. Here  we walked the Murch Canopy , an elevated walkway 65 feet above the forest floor. It was admirable the way Francesca went on to walk and climb what she could climb despite her crutch and knee brace.  She definitely has a strong spirit! We are blessed with a beautiful,strong and caring daughter in law. 

Francesca on the tree top canopy walk.

Higher heights lead to new perspective and new ideas.

Yeye and Ken Jon enjoying each other's company

Penny for your thoughts Yeye,
What thoughts does he think when he surveys the tree tops?

Kalberer Family Emergent  TreeTower is 120 feet high. We  left Francesca and Yeye safely down there as we climbed up the staircase to the top.
                                       

Above the tree tops. New perspective leads to new ideas.

Ken Jon and Jason on top of the Kalberer Emergent Family 
tree tower . We can see the blue Lake Erie from here.

Spiral stairway on the higher part of the tree tower.

Fall has definitely arrived.

Ken Jon and Francesca then drove us to Laurentia Vineyard and Winery near Madison. It was a fairly long drive and we enjoyed the rich fall colours. We had a beautiful lunch with cheeses, yummy morsels, dips, wines and grapes, fresh from the vines.

Yeye posing with the elk mounted up on the wall.
We learned the difference between a deer, an elk and a moose.
 Do you know the difference?

Cheeses and dips and fruits and wines. What a beautiful lunch.

Francesca and Ken Jon ordering more food.

Hmm..So, this is where our lunch grapes come from. 

They are very small grapes and sweet.

The journey from Mayfield to Kirtland and then Madison.

That night, Frank and Jackie drove up to Mayfield. We took our family photo and  had a happy dinner near KJF's home. Frank, Jackie and Jason walked to the restaurant while me, Francesca, and Yeye were driven there by Ken Jon. The next morning, Ken Jon took us to the Lake View cemetery  in Cleveland Heights. In particular he wanted us to show us the Garfield memorial. James A.Garfield had been one of the heads of Hiram College where Ken Jon first studied at. Garfield went on to become the 20th President of the USA.

James A. Garfield memorial is  bigger and
grander  than most memorial.

Yeye's blue contrast nicely with the fall colours
of the trees near Ken Jon's office.

Garfield's statutue and the high cupola and stained glass windows.

Me and Ken Jon on top of the Garfield memorial.

The country grieved for Garfield almost as much as they had done for Lincoln, 16 years previously. Garfield was assassinated only after some 200 days in office as President. 100,000 plus citizens visited his casket. His  memorial is huge and totally funded by private funds. The size and splendor of the memorial showed how much they loved him. Not bad for an ex-academician. 

Later we visited the Rockefeller Family Memorial. Most people know that John D. Rockefeller and family was immensely rich. The Rockefeller Center in New York City spans 22 acres from 48th Street to 51st Street  between 5th and 6th Avenue with the 360 degree view from the Top of the Rock. Why did this wealthy family who started Exxon Mobil chose to be buried in quiet  Cleveland with a relatively simple memorial? Hmm... Cleveland was really more important in American history than we initially understood.

Inside the Wade Chapel is a beautiful stained glass titled
"The Flight of Souls" and sometimes called Resurrection Window.
Souls fly from the gray slab stone at the grave past the River of Life
to meet Christ in Heaven.

The alabaster stand and the mosaic figures on the
right and left depicting in New and Old Testament

I see the chen חנ - the grace in this tombstone. The chet and the nun.

It was sobering to visit graveyards before attending church that morning. It definitely put life and eternity into a new perspective. I loved the beautiful award winning "Flight of Souls" stained glass in Wade Chapel. It shows life doesn't end at the graveyard gray slab stone. The saints who believed in Christ Jesus will  pass the River of Life lined with  beautiful irises to meet Him who gave His life on the cross to redeem our souls. I was also piqued to find a gravestone with the "chen"  חנ  - the chet - wall of protection surrounding the nun - the young shoot.

City Church in Cleveland Heights is vibrant. I loved how the
pastors open up their homes to meet with people who have questions .

Posing with flowers near City Church.

After church that morning, Ken Jon and Francesca took us to Chagrin Falls. This is a pretty village resort in Cuyahoga county. The pretty falls are in the middle of town. We had a great lunch there.

Yeye poses with pretty flowers in Chagrin Falls.

Together at Chagrin Falls

The horse carriage rides through town.

A row of Harley Davidson line the very same road
the horse carriage had passed through.
The old and the new together here in Chagrin Falls.

The window frame is made from
a curved and bent tree trunk

Francesca doesn't allow a few steps to stop her .

Father and son.

On our 2nd last day in Mayfield, Ken Jon and Francesca took leave from work  and brought us to Amish country. Here we had yummy cheese tasting in Rothenbuhler Cheese Chalet and saw a little of how the Amish people lived. Their houses were easily distinguished by the many clothes flying on the clothesline as they did not use electricity to wash and dry their clothes. They also used horse drawn carriages. We had lunch at the Amish general store.

Amish homes are distinguished by the many modest
 clothes flying from their clothesline

Yeye beside the horse carriage in the cheese factory
near Amish country

After lunch, Ken Jon drove us to Hiram College where Ken Jon did his undergraduate studies. Yeye had a great time tracking where Ken Jon stayed and lived and studied when he first came to the States.

Outside Kennedy Center in Hiram.

Walking through the grounds of Hiram

Outside the Library. 

Hiram of the Nations

Yeye looks like he is a student of Hiram.

All too soon, our time with Ken Jon and Francesca came to an end. That night we spent time in KJF home with long chats after Ken Jon's yummy home made chicken curry. The next morning dawned bright and fair and we said goodbye to Ken Jon just before we flew to New York City again. We have learnt more about Ohio in this trip compared to the last 2 trips mainly due to Frank and Jackie's hospitality and Ken Jon and Francesca well planned trips. Till we next meet again . Shalom Lehitraot.

Last morning in Mayfield