Ohio Winter Weekend

Last weekend, I made a little trip back to Ohio for a few days.  Everyone else was completely over the winter weather, but I wasn't, so I made everyone play outside in the snow with me.  It was a shorter trip than I would have liked, but we did get a chance to have a few mini adventures.

We went for a walk at Brandywine Falls, which is my go-to place for hiking and taking pictures when I go home to visit.  It was freezing and slushy, but the falls were almost completely frozen and they looked amazing!  It was mesmerizing to see how the moving water melted and shaped the ice around it.

The Inn at Brandywine Falls is right past the falls when you look over the gorge.  I've never been there, but I have always thought it was so beautiful.  It's quite charming, and was it was so quiet and still on that cold afternoon.

The falls are also home to the scattered remains of Brandywine Village, a town that developed quickly during the days of the Ohio & Erie Canal.  Parts of the Champion Electric Company are visible above the falls (my brother, Michael, is walking in them in the photo below), and the Inn at Brandywine used to be the James Wallace house, an original fixture of the village. The history is fascinating---I found a nice article about it here.

We also made it to the newly renovated Cleveland Museum of Art.  The museum had been working on very dramatic renovations for a number of years, and this was the first time I had seen the big changes.  It was spectacular!  We were also lucky enough to see Ai Weiwei's Circle of Animals/ Zodiac Heads which were on display in the massive interior courtyard.  I have been going to the Cleveland Museum of Art for nearly my entire life and it was wonderful to see such stunning changes to such a special place.

Michael and his sweet girlfriend, Jen, standing in front of the tiny green plants that

I had to hold myself back from touching.

On our way home, my sister and I stopped at the reflecting pool behind the museum because it had turned into a snow-covered wonderland.  I hadn't been there since Jason and I took our wedding photos there, so it was lovely to be there in that special place again.