Meg's Xenia. The End.

Mike pointed out that there was a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Springfield, Illinois, so naturally we did a drive-by on our way out of town.  i cannot resist FLW.  unlike near Chicago (which we visited four years ago), this house sits in a fairly run-down neighborhood, so the setting does not exactly lift it up.  but, still, to me, it was beautiful.

after that, we drove to Ohio, land of my mother.

trying to figure out how to order lunch from a machine.  it worked so well that we got two free milkshakes.

checking in to our last hotel, a swanky hilton.

 we arrived too late to enjoy the amenities in the evening,

so the boys were very motivated to wake up early

for swimming, hot tubbing, and the exercise room.

"they have t.v.'s on all the equipment!"

after a breakfast which featured real silverware & cloth napkins, i did a mini-pilgrimage to some of my ancestral stomping grounds in Beavercreek Township.  i've done this before in southwest Ohio, always at the tail end of a long trip; one of these days, i'm going to have to make it a trip in itself!

my maternal grandmother (she of the Swiss Herings)

had ancestors that settled in this area of Ohio.

 Jacob and Barbara Hering built a grand place
on top of a hill overlooking the countryside.

they were both buried in a family cemetery on the property,

although their son (my great-great grandfather) was buried in town.

long story short (mainly because i don't know it),

the land was sold, the house disappeared,

and - because no one claimed it or was maintaining it -

the graveyard is now under someone's front yard.

i, actually, have the exact address of the gravesite, from the Greene County Historical Society, who also graciously sent me photographs of the old cemetery from before it was demolished twenty-odd years ago.  i do not believe that they moved the graves.  there were no gravestones, per se, just rocks, really.  it is sad but not uncommon.

 

the view from the top of the hill.

the view from the bottom of the hill.

i had traded emails with the director of the historical society, but she didn't have much more additional information for me.  nonetheless, i stopped by and was able to copy pages from a book she had that described the life of my great-great grandfather and, even, mentioned my grandmother.

Albert Franklin Hering, my great-great grandfather

 

 while i did that, Mike took some photos in the little museum.

Xenia, Ohio

 

 we drove through downtown Xenia on our way home.

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it seems we are always driving through beautiful West Virginia quickly - on our way home, the last haul before we sleep in our own beds.  the gps appeared to have a lot of difficulty with the state & thought we were frequently driving on imaginary roads.  but, somehow, we did make it home!

this video is blurry, which is a fine rendering of our happy exhaustion
at the end of a trip well-lived

and the return to a home we love.