Our long weekend in Ohio kept going after the 4th of July holiday with two very busy days checking out some very “Ohio” sites. The weather was pretty good Thursday with just a bit of scattered rain and Friday was stunning – about 70 degrees and sunny. This place can be truly charming in the summer!The Kent State shooting on May 4, 1970 is something we learned about in school – many of our teachers acutely remember the tragic day. Sean hadn’t really heard of it and we used music – the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song “Ohio” that we have on vinyl to be exact, to learn more about it. I try to remember the anniversary every year, as it was not only a turning point in the war as it was seen and felt in US, but also important that we understand our government can and will shoot us – and that that is in no way right. We should always be able to peacefully protest in a free society and the Kent State killings are a reminder to not take that for granted and to be able to fight for that right if we need to.
There is a memorial at Kent State along with a small museum that Sean and I wanted to visit. We took my mom and spent a lot of time at the memorial site, learning how the events unfolded that day on the various locations on the campus.
From kent.edu:
The May 4 Memorial is built on a two-and-one-half acre site. A granite plaza, measuring 70 feet wide, rests on the crest of the wooded hillside adjacent to Taylor Hall overlooking the Commons. Bound by a granite sidewalk and bench to the east; to the north, a series of four black granite disks lead from the plaza into the wooded area where four free-standing pylons are aligned on the hill.
Engraved on a plaque near the sidewalk north of the memorial are the names of the four students killed and nine wounded on May 4, 1970. The plaque reads, “In loving memory of: Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder. Respectfully remembered: Alan Canfora, John Cleary, Thomas Grace, Dean Kahler, Joseph Lewis, Donald McKenzie, James Russell, Robert Stamps and Douglas Wrentmore.”
Engraved in the stone floor where visitors step onto the plaza are the words “Inquire, Learn, Reflect.”
This sculpture had a bullet from one of the Ohio National Guard go through a panel and it was never fixed. 
In this picture, we are almost at the spot from where the Ohio National Guard fired into a dispersing crowd of unarmed student protestors in this park lot. 
Those markers in the park lot spaces are where the bodies were of the dead and injured. Horrifying. If you don’t know much or anything about this important historical event, you can read more here (and I encourage you to): https://www.kent.edu/may4
Being completely honest, I was crying quite a bit in the museum. It was a somber, meaningful experience to me to visit this place, and to do so with Sean. We did explore some of the new areas of Kent afterward and stopped to have lunch.
Me and my mom in downtown Kent, Ohio.
We got back to Champion in the early evening and decided to stay in, make dinner (turkey and kale enchiladas, yum!), and relax.
Friday we took Sean up to Geneva-on-the-Lake, a favorite spot of ours for pretty much my whole life. The state park there has a nice beach and I was looking forward to swimming. However, it was really windy and the waves were HUGE. My mom went in for about 10 minutes and got pretty beat up. The big waves also meant the water was really murky and muddy close to the shore. I decided to enjoy the scenery from the comfort of the beach.
Downtown Geneva is a total throwback. Set up almost like a boardwalk, there are arcades, shops, diner-style eateries, wineries, bars, divey motels and cute bungalow rentals. It was also SO busy that day, which was great to see. It’s a lot of fun to go up in the winter, especially to see the lake frozen, but most things are closed up save for a few restaurants and wineries. 
We had hotdogs are Eddie’s Grill, an awesome open-air diner that reminded me of my childhood (and probably more so for my mom). Sean loved it, as evidence by the 2nd picture below. 😉
The drive up and back from Geneva on SR 535 goes through beautiful farm and Amish country. This covered bridge can be seen from that road so we venture over to drive across and then get some photos. This is quintessential Ohio and I loved every minute of it.
Horse-and-buggies were everywhere in Mesopotamia for the annual Ox Roast, transporting the local Amish residents.
After a quick cleanup once home, my mom and I headed to Youngstown to pick up my sister for dinner and to stay the night. Ron and Sean rode together to the restaurant, a family favorite called Vernon’s Cafe that serves delicious Italian-American food.
Sean and Ron showed up looking pretty matchy-matchy which we all thought was hilarious. 
Family photo at Vernon’s Cafe – we all had great meals though I think Sean won with a mushroom and fontina ravioli with truffle oil. Yum.
Back at the house, me, mom, Angie and Sean played our favorite card game, Hand and Foot, and my mom and I kicked butt. It was a really wonderful couple of days getting to see and do both new things and nostalgic things with my family. <3
