My weekend in Hocking Hills...

Finally I am ready to post about my weekend in Hocking Hills! I had a great time, it was gorgeous as always, and what a fun group of girls I got to hang out with!

That's Celeste on the left, the whole trip was her idea, and she put her heart and soul into planning it and making it a weekend to remember for all 17 of us. Amelia is on the right, she was my partner in crime for most of the weekend, just like back in the day... Love these two gals!!

Here's the lodge. It was at the top of a crazy hill. How crazy? I'm standing on the parking area looking up at the lodge for this shot. Here's one looking down from the same parking area to the road:

Yowza! Seriously though, the lodge was perfect, it had everything - hot tub, pool table, theater room, several bedrooms, huge kitchen, front and back deck... You couldn't ask for anything more.

Friday night we mostly hung out on the deck, drinking and telling stories. I discovered what a total lightweight I am, and passed out around 1am in the theater room in a recliner, nursing a splitting headache. I learned my lesson and didn't drink a drop the rest of the weekend!

Saturday I headed out to shop, while the rest of the girls went on a scavenger hunt Celeste put together. I'm kind of sorry I didn't go with them, they had a blast. Here they are after the hunt, figuring out which team won:

Yes, they all are sporting official t-shirts - like I said, Celeste went all out. The back of the shirts say: "If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit next to me." It was Bitch Fest, after all! ;)

I had a good time shopping though, and I even remembered to take my camera so I could show you all where I went! I started out at a flea market in the Hocking Hills Market complex.

It was a pretty cool setup, they had several of these barns around the central square area, and each barn had a dozen or so stalls where people had their stuff. I'm assuming most of them are there every weekend and just close up their stall during the week. Prices were pretty reasonable too, which is always a plus!

They had a concession area that was closed, but I couldn't resist taking a photo of the eating area - to die for!

There were also a dozen or so stores and a couple of antique malls in the same complex, the best one was the one inside the Ohio Bicentennial Barn:

I was super excited to eat in the retro diner that was there - I mean look at this place:

I was thinking handmade milkshakes, cheeseburgers and steak fries... This is what I got instead:

Denied! I don't have any clue why they would be closed in September, I wanted to cry...

After that I decided to head up the highway to where another antique mall is... I ended up spending an hour in a huge traffic jam, and it turned out my exit was closed! So I headed farther down the highway toward Logan, where I knew the Artisan Mall was, because Will and I went there a few years ago.

I forgot to take a picture of the outside, but I did snap one inside:

How cool is this baby buggy? I mean come on - it had chrome wheel covers! Sometimes I wish I could have a baby just so I could use all the cool stuff...

Ok, maybe not. But it was awesome, and the Mall had way more good stuff than the last time I was there.

So I bet you are wondering what I bought...

Not too shabby! My biggest gamble were the two Shawnee Pottery vases - I love them, and Shawnee Pottery in general, but I think I might have overpaid a bit. I don't feel too bad about it though, they were way too cool to leave behind:

These swanky swigs are driving me insane - I know I have seen them before, but I'm having trouble finding out who made them. Anyone have any ideas? I thought maybe Hazel Atlas, but they aren't in my book...

I'm a sucker for chalkware plaques, so these were a no branier... The cat is actually a bank made my Enesco, I think it is decoupage?

The juice carafe is too cute, but isn't marked. The two made in Japan ceramic rotating music boxes are *awesome* - especially the little hula girl! Will swears the other one plays the theme from the Godfather, but I haven't checked into that yet.

The Gorham Moppet figurine is adorable, and in its original box! In the back is a set of 3 Gemco choppers that are unused in their original (but pretty beat up) box. The carafe and glasses set is Libbey Glass, commemorating the Apollo missions.

Of course I couldn't leave these dolls behind - the one on the left is marked Korea, maybe by Bradley?, the other is marked Brechner. Does anyone know how to clean the fabric on their faces and bodies? They both have some dirt spots I would love to take care of...

Last but not least, I got this ceramic strawberry clock. I need to find a clock kit and fix it up! Anyone know where I can get one for a good price?

So, all in all, it was a great weekend. Up until the 75 mile an hour winds came through - it was kind of all downhill after that... ;)