Hi Everyone

Today we are in Columbus with our Todd, Melissa and Lia our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. We are going to have a cook-out today and have a laid back family day. After our visit to the booming Metropolis of Miamisburg we went back south about 25 miles to visit our son-in-law and grandchildren. We didn’t do too much sight-seeing as we wanted to spend our time with our grandchildren, Connor and Maddy, our son-in-law Eric and his wife Jenny.

We did however, make it to the Golden Lamb. The Golden Lamb is the oldest hotel in Ohio. Lebanon is located between Dayton and Cincinnati and as a result of its location many famous people have visited and stayed at the inn. The hotel has hosted twelve American Presidents: William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding, William Howard Taft, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush.

Other famous guests to visit the Golden Lamb include Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Daniel Webster, Bill McIntire, Thomas Corwin, Clement Vallandigham (who infamously shot and killed himself accidentally in his hotel room at the Golden Lamb, while attempting to prove that a man, whom his client was accused of shooting, shot himself accidentally.) Most recently John McCain and Sarah Palin spoke at the Golden Lamb and Mitt Romney spoke at and toured the hotel in 2013. The hotel is currently owned by an Ohio Senator Rob Portman. That concludes the history lesson for the day.

Yesterday was also somewhat of a solemn day for us. We dedicated a tree in memory of our daughter Sandy. Sandy passed away about 1 ½ years ago and we had a tree planted at Camp Kern. Camp Kern is a Y Camp near Lebanon and Sandy went there as a kid, worked there as a counselor and both Maddy and Connor have been going there for over 8 years. The tree will be a wonderful place for the kids and family to go to remember Sandy. The best part of the day was the forecast. It was for rain beginning when we were going to start the dedication. The sun came out and the sky was blue, and I know somehow Sandy was watching over us to make certain we wouldn’t get wet.

Happy Memorial Day