Tag Archives: Lebanon Ohio

Happiness Is . . .

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Happiness is a shop cat.

Meet Winnie, the manager of Mulberry Street Books in Lebanon, Ohio. Winnie is a beautiful cat who takes seriously the responsibility of this job.

Winnie greets every visitor to the shop and sometimes follows them around to provide ample opportunity for shoppers to do the right thing and offer up ear scratches.

Winnie has truly unique markings and beautiful, knowing eyes that make you want to just sit on the floor and relax a while.

Shop cats draw me in and this one made me want to stay!

Happiness, indeed.

Lebanon Mason And Monroe Railroad

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My dad and I set out for a day of adventure in Lebanon, Ohio yesterday. When I was searching for a Father’s Day gift for the man who has everything, I decided it would be best to give him an experience rather than more stuff. So I gave him three options and, of them, he chose a ride on the Lebanon Mason and Monroe Railroad.

This non-profit scenic railway gives visitors a peek into what travel was like in yesteryear. We rode in a deluxe car called Mingo County that a railway volunteer said dates to the late forties or fifties.

Concessions are located in an old Army Medical car and, yes, there’s a caboose too.

The ride last for about 75 minutes – long enough to travel a few miles out of town, stop and travel back in reverse. The gentle swaying of the car as it click-clacked down the tracks was incredibly relaxing. It was almost like being rocked to sleep.

The volunteers and staff on the train are super nice and even the passengers in our car were extremely cordial. The group even joined in singing Happy Birthday to five year old twins who were visiting with their grandparents. Decked out in bibbed overalls and engineer’s caps, the little red haired boy and girl seemed excited to be there.

While it is called a scenic railway, I think it would be better enjoyed in fall than this time of year. You travel past the backs of some less than scenic buildings and some fields of crops but most of what you see is brushy. There’s a lot of green brush everywhere you look here in southern Ohio so that’s not exciting. However, I imagine the trip is beautiful in October. You do catch a glimpse or two of a stream that’s pretty.

All the same, Dad seemed to enjoy it and I certainly did. This was his first train trip so I was excited to give him that. He joked that he has now traveled by plane, train and automobile!

The thing I liked best is that it was like stepping back in time. Aside from the fashion choices of fellow passengers, it’s hard to discern the year just from looking around the rail car. It encouraged me to consider what travel would have been like back in the day when rail was the quickest and cheapest means of transport and how exhausting those trips must have been.

If you have a chance, go for a ride someday and experience it for yourself. Click here to find just the right ride for you!

Lebanon’s Horse Drawn Carriage Parade And Festival

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Lebanon, Ohio has the neatest Christmas celebration.

On the first Saturday of each December, they host an outdoor festival complete with live Christmas music, vendors and specials at some downtown businesses.

The highlight of the event is a pair of very special parades- a daytime parade and a candlelit night parade that both feature horses. There are no bands, floats or fire trucks – just horses pulling an assortment of wagons, sleighs, carts, Conestoga wagons and stage coaches. They have cute little ponies, majestic Clydesdales and everything in between.

It’s a sight to behold and I have wanted to go for sixteen years. Unfortunately a work commitment at a holiday event in my own hometown always prevented my participation – until this year, that is!

I spent Saturday roaming around town, browsing the shops and just soaking it all in. I spoke with a few locals including one woman who told me about the year Martha Stewart came to town and featured the parade on her show. She said it was always a great event but it really took off after receiving Martha’s unofficial seal of approval.

A lot of the participants go all out with decorating their wagons and dressing up the horses (and themselves) while playing recorded music. The sound of jingle bells could be heard all around too.

It’s just a fun, festive way to embrace the lighter side of the holiday season. Plus it’s free!

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about Christmas at nearby Clifton Mill. If you wanted to, you could squeeze both events into a day or maybe make it a weekend! Meanwhile, here are some parade photos!

If you go, the town has a ton of free parking but a high volume of festival goers can make parking a challenge. Some local organizations were selling parking for $10 so remember to take cash in case you need parking money. When I got there at 11 (the event started at 10:30 and the first parade wasn’t till 1), parking was already becoming an issue.

Also, lots of people put out their chairs early for the parade. You may want to do this to reserve yourself a front row seat. I opted to stand and managed to find a good spot but the parade was almost an hour long so a chair would have been nice.

This is a fun, festive environment where you see lots of people in their ugly Christmas sweaters, elf shoes and Santa hats so feel free to embrace your inner child and wear something Christmasy. Over the top will fit right in here!

Finally, remember that this is a busy, crowded event during peak hours. It’s also Christmas so chill, be kind to others and remember to just enjoy the hustle and bustle of the day. Seeing all those horses clop down the street will make it all worthwhile!

Check back tomorrow and we’ll go to Clifton Mill!

Mickey and Minnie

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I spent part of Saturday wandering around the Christmas festivities in Lebanon, Ohio. I’ll tell you about their horse parade soon but thought you’d enjoy this picture today!

It was taken outside a local barbershop that was once a filling station called A Man’s Place.

Happy Saturday!

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Today will not be an Adventure Day so I’m going to relive last week’s fun with a few pictures. Happy Saturday, everyone. I hope you get to do something that makes you happy.

A Man’s Place

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Downtown Lebanon, Ohio has the coolest barber shop I’ve ever seen. I thought you might like to see it too. Look at that tile! And the Texaco letters! The whole thing is just fantastic. If I were a guy and lived anywhere near Lebanon, I’d go there just for the atmosphere! Which begs the question- do men go places for the atmosphere? Feel free to tell me in the comments.