Aishling the Airstream Update No. 043 [ + TROLLS]

Caesar Creek State Park

near Dayton, Ohio

From the internets: "A large sprawling lake, sunny meadows, and a wooded ravine await visitors at Caesar Creek. Boaters will find all the amenities for a great day on the water, including a marina, several launch ramps, and dock rentals. A large campground provides campers with cozy sites and modern facilities. The Hopewell Day Lodge is a great venue for family gatherings. Other activities include fishing, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and archery. "

This state park was HUGE... and maybe not as well 'marked' as we would've liked... we ended up at the office and then 10 miles or so later we found the campground, lol. But it's all good, because it was just our stop on the way to Craig's fishing trip ...

planned so that we could have a day to visit [Thomas Dambo's] trolls

at Aullwood Gardens...

AND THEY WERE WONDERFUL!

So we made it to the campground late in the afternoon and enjoyed a 'snack supper' - or as my mama would've called it a knick-knack supper... just whatever we wanted from leftovers or the pantry...ha.

The next day we were up early to have breakfast at the Blueberry Cafe

on the way to Dayton...

It's a 'Farm-to-Table' place with pancakes as big as a plate!

We shared one breakfast and had plenty of energy for

troll-hunting at Aullwood Gardens.

From the internets: "The property once served as home for Dayton-area industrialist John Aull and his wife, Marie. The garden includes a mix of native and nonnative plants, and is home to many bird and butterfly species.

There are guided tours of the 32-acre gardens.

Aullwood Audubon is proud to host Bo, Bodil and Bibbi! "

It was a bit of a hike to see all three of the trolls -

but the weather was PERFECT.

And the trails were all well-maintained.

It was a pretty easy walk...

The garden areas were beautiful... and the working farm

we passed [on-site] was pretty cool too!

We love how Dambo uses re-cycled materials

for each of his trolls...

And omgoodness -

the facial expressions he creates are just wonderful!

It was pretty sweet to have an

observation 'tower' to view Bibbi from above -

LOVE the detail that goes into each of his trolls!!

And Aullwood Audubon Garden is doing

a wonderful job maintaining all of them!

After eating a DELICIOUS Mediterranean meal we headed back to our campsite... stopping along the way for these COWS we saw on the side of the road... lol - So fun to see a bit of metal art in front of a farm - just for the joy of it!

We ran into a bit of a detour due to an emergency on the road into the campground - Thankfully our magic myrtle [navigator] took us on some back roads to get us safely 'home'. And it was neat to see this old covered bridge along the way....

Oh - and we also stopped at a small Amish Farm Stand

and picked up some corn - THAT was dinner -

And it was delicious.

We zap it in the microwave - husks and all] for 2 minutes an ear...

Then just peel and eat. SO GOOD.

[we're such fancy eaters - lol.]

The next morning we were up and at 'em to continue our trip so I could drop Craig off at his fishing trip with the guys - lol - [more on that later...]