Photo Friday: Gardens, Wine & Art = My Trifecta

We are on a mission to do more weekend getaways, as our state has so much to offer. Despite the blustery temps, we spent the first weekend in May visiting some places we've never been:

Our destination was Dawes Arboretum in Newark, Ohio. It began as a retreat for Beman and Bertie Dawes in 1918. The family's permanent residence was in Columbus and Beman made his money as an executive with the Pure Oil Company. What started out as 293 acres grew into 2000 acres of trees and gardens. There are limited tours of the home, which we did not take.

There was a Japanese garden that was extremely minimalistic, compared to others we've visited.
 

We were impressed by the bald cypress swamp, accessible by boardwalk. It is one of the most northern of its kind in the world. The only other ones I've seen were in South Carolina and the Everglades.

I was proud of myself for climbing a wooden tower to see the hedge letters. It spells out 'Dawes Arboretum.' Of course, you'd need a drone to actually read it. 

Me, happy to be there, despite being cold!

At least the azaleas were in bloom! And they were huge!

You would not expect to find a cemetery in an arboretum, but there it was.

It was small and we had the place to ourselves. We roamed around and read each tombstone. One thing I enjoy about old graves is that they usually list how long the person was alive by years, months, and days. I was a little teary eyed to see baby graves that listed how many hours they were alive.

As the above sign said, there were some Revolutionary War veterans buried here. There was also a garter snake resting in peace to the left of the star.

For lunch, we headed to Rhonemus Cellars in Lancaster, Ohio. The winery has only been open for 18 months and is the project of a retired couple. 

It is built on the grounds of a former golf course. The entire back of the building is windows, and this was the view from our table. 

We enjoyed some delicious potato leek soup and this charcuterie board and toasted to the weekend, which marked 42 years since the day we met. Afterwards, one of the owners was kind enough to answer our questions about their vines and the grapes they are currently growing in Napa and the Finger Lakes. She gave us the grand tour, including their cave and private dining room. The entire building was modeled after Quintessa in Napa. I looked it up and was surprised how much alike it truly was.

Then we were off to check in to the Granville Inn in Granville, Ohio. This historic inn was built in 1924 and completely remodeled in 2013 after being purchased by nearby Denison University. We also walked around the town of Granville which was just about the cutest small town you could imagine.

Our room was small but nicely appointed. That evening we had a lovely dinner in their Oak Room and an after-dinner drink in the historic, wood paneled pub. We saw a few couples in Kentucky Derby attire, which only added the atmosphere. The next morning, we had a nice breakfast in the pub area and headed off to drive around Denison University. I didn't take any pictures, but it was a beautiful campus.

Our final destination was actually Kenyon College, ranked #8 in the most beautiful college campuses in the USA. It was a splendid, clear day and we were absolutely delighted by it all. There is a 'Middle Path' that runs the length of the campus, from the dorms to the academic buildings.

Sculptures were all over the place!

Middle Path dead-ended into this building. Near the cross way between the two main roads through campus was a quaint restaurant, some shops, and a really cute coffee shop that looked like it belonged on Nantucket.

The building on the right is their art museum, and we were lucky to find it open on a Sunday.

A student greeted us at the front desk and welcomed us to look around.

How clever are these paintings of a Royal Dansk cookie tin with the bottom showing its inevitable end use as a sewing kit?
 

I do not know what this chair and children's books represent, but that's the beauty of modern art. It's up to our own interpretation. Maybe it has to do with Charlotte's Web?

Is this art or real life? A curated student desk.

Then it was time to head home, proud of ourselves for checking some places off our bucket list. Are there any spots in your state that you want to visit?