Kauffman Reunion Day Two

Today was not quite so hectic.  Got to sleep in a bit, showered and went down for the continental breakfast.  After breakfast we all took off for Piatt Castles in West Liberty, Ohio.  I thought we would just go through one of the castles but did go through both, and am glad we did.  They were both very interesting homes built by two brothers who were both very rich and interesting people.  I had gone through one of the castles when I was a teenager and I think that is what influenced me to love the Victorian era so much.  The homes were mostly furnished with original furniture with so many rooms we weren't even able to go through them all.  One of the descendants still lives on one of the properties but in a much more modest home.

After the castles we went back to Urbana to grab some food.  Ate at Wendy's but the food really wasn't that great and very disappointing even for fast food.  After lunch we went to visit Uncle Vance and Aunt Ginger.  It was great to see them both.  They are both in their upper 70's now but seem to get around quite well.  Ginger was working in the yard and Vance was "supervising" as he was not able to do much because of his recent surgery to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm.  Spent a couple of hours there talking about our family and their famil, so I'm sure some ears should have been burning.  Also spent a bit of time talking about my Great-Grandpa Isaac Kauffman.  Learned a few tidbits about him, but will save that for another time, but suffice it to say I got the explanation of why my grandmother and grandfather were on the outs with most of the Kauffman Clan.  I will say too that they were Mennonites and that also explains a lot. 

After our visit with them we came back to the hotel so Megan could finally go swimming in the hotel pool.  She certainly seemed to enjoy that a lot.  Even Hunk put his feet in the hot tub.  Then Karen and John went out to dinner at Red Lobster and Hunk and I took Megan to Frisch's Big Boy, where once again we received poor service.  Won't go into details here, it just gets so frustrating and this time we didn't even leave a tip.  So back to the hotel to check our e-mail.  Thank-you John for helping get my computer back on track.  I am so not computer savvy.  Tomorrow is D-Day or should I say R-Day for Reunion, and onward back home.

As a side note, Michael's baseball team won and will be in the championship game on Sunday.  So wish we could be there.  I will be there in spirit though.  Secondly, Dawn called to tell us a story about lovely Keeper.  Apparently Abby lost a nibbit while sleeping, and if you don't know what a nibbit is, then you won't understand this story (I'm not going to tell you what a nibbit is either).  Anyway, Dawn went into the kitchen to get a paper towel to clean up the nibbit but when she turned around the nibbit was at her feet and Keeper was there too..yucko, eeewu, double yucko.  I so want to love that dog, but she makes it so difficult for me...ick!