We had a delayed Christmas celebration with Betsy's side of the family, as we got together at Salt Fork State Park in Cambridge, Ohio over the third weekend in January. This picture shows the whole family...Amma and Pop (Betsy's parents)in the middle surrounded by our family and my brother Rick's family. Going to the lodge was something we've not done before, but it was fun. We did have some excitement while we were at the lodge, excitement we certainly never expected. We were waiting for Rick and his family to arrive on Saturday afternoon when the fire alarm went off. We got our shoes and coats on and headed outside, thinking some kid somewhere had pulled the alarm. As we walked out the door my dad commented, "There really is a fire -- see the smoke." Yep, a room off the kitchen had in fact caught on fire and the temperatures outside were right around 19 degrees. We were glad we grabbed our coats. Then we realized just how warm our coats were when we saw a couple of people coming out in their swimming suits wrapped up in blankets with no shoes (they had obviously been swimming in the pool in the lodge and were also evacuated). Long story short, no major damage to the lodge and no damage at all to any of the rooms. Molly was very concerned about Tidbit, her stuffed animal dog she sleeps with each night, but even Tidbit was safe and sound. If nothing else, the fire alarm story makes for an interesting experience. Later that evening Paul commented about how fun it is to get away mid-winter and that we ought to do it again next year. Without much hesitation Molly chimed in by saying, "Do you think we could find a hotel that doesn't catch on fire?" Oh that Molly!
