Castles, Caves, and Close Calls

The kids and I joined our future neighbors, the Dworczyks, on a road trip to West Liberty yesterday. This little town is "famous" for its castles and caves (not much else). It was a windy, rainy day which made driving a little treacherous, but I was intrigued by the whole American castle idea. On the 1 1/2 hour drive there I narrowly avoided a car accident. I happened to follow the Dworczyk's mini van as they approached some train tracks. They slammed on their brakes to allow an approaching train to pass, but at the last second changed their minds. I too slammed on my brakes which caused my tires to skid and slide on the rain-soaked road. I stopped before the train tracks, but nearly drove down an embankment in the process. As the train whizzed by, the reality of what happened sunk in. It really was a close call!



Once we safely arrived in West Liberty, we were surprised to find this castle in the middle of farmland:



We were free to take a tour inside the beautifully preserved Piatt castle. Many of the rich furnishings were still in tact and on display. This odd chair sat in the library:



The Piatt family loved art and music, though none of them really played instruments. Here is one of the many instruments in their conservatory:




And another...



This particular sofa was made of horse hair!



Many of the frescoes had been stenciled by a Swiss artist named Oliver Frey.



This "lawn jockey" was used in the underground railroad. Mrs. Piatt would put a scarf in the statue's hand to signal safety.

This was the master bedroom (I believe). Notice the chamber pot at the foot of the bed.

I thought the pram and cradle were so sweet...

It was very popular for ladies to collect seashells for their home in Victorian times.

Emma was a perfect little nanny to little Quinton.

Dallin (age 6) though Jake was pretty cool.

Here is the second Piatt castle. We didn't go inside this particular site because the kids were fed up with the history portion of our trip.

Instead, we stopped to play and picnic. The fun on the playground lasted 5 minutes. The picnic took place in the car. The weather sorta ruined our fun.

Always with the karate...

Next we took a tour of the Ohio Caverns.

We had to wait in the gift shop for quite awhile before our tour began. Emma and Jake were happy to entertain the little guys...

The rocks around Dallin's neck are held together by magnetic power. Pretty cool, eh?

My guess is that they have you wait in the gift shop so that your kids will beg you to buy stuff. I held strong though!

We learned that stalactites hang from the ceiling and stalagmites form from the ground up. This particular cave is unique because of the variety of color.

The path is fairly unchanged since it was created a hundred years ago. We walked single file most of the time.

When stalactites and stalagmites grow together they're called columns. Some of the stalactites are called straws because they are so slender and delicate. They're also hollow like a drinking straw.

The Crystal King...

Once outside, the temperature dropped in comparison with the cave. Look at those rolling hills in the background! Beautiful!