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| Just another rainy day here. |
The rain has kept the folks close to home. Saturday, they ate lunch at a Chinese buffet. They have yet to find one in this area that they really like. They visited Wolfgang Candies. There was conflicting information as to whether there were tours given. The only employee that was working was not friendly. She stood with her arms crossed and just stared at them as they shopped. Mom was scared to ask her about a factory tour. BOL! They bought some candy and left. If it was up to Mom, they wouldn't have bought anything. There was no thank you, just SIGN WITH YOUR FINGER. Yep, she definitely loves her job. They stopped at the Amish market and found a "I Love My Greyhound" sign. They had to buy that. They also bought scrapple. Mom fixed it on Sunday, but she didn't like it. They bought some last year and thought it was good. Saturday night, they ate at the Corner Stable. The restaurant is really small on the inside and the parking lot is even smaller. Their ribs are from Denmark and they are excellent according to Mom. I had the chicken and it was great! Dad said the crab cakes are the best he has ever had. There is another restaurant, Pappa's, who many say have the best crab cakes. They ate there Sunday just to compare. Dad says Corner Stable has the best.
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| Ribs, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and apples |
Sunday was supposed to be a sunny day. It was mostly cloudy and windy. The folks decided they were going to go to Ladew Topiary Gardens anyway.
Harvey S. Ladew purchased the house and property in 1929. The farm house was built around 1747. It needed a lot of updating. Harvey enjoyed traveling to England and spent 20 or so winters there. His passion was gardening and fox hunting. His house is full of fox and hound items. The house remains as it was when he died in 1976.
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| Windows purchased in England. |
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| Harvey Ladew |
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| This is the table Harvey stood in front of for the above painting. |
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| Feet of 1st and 2nd foxes that he killed. |
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| This is the dining room. The walls are from a barn that he bought because he wanted a plant that was growing on the side of it. The owner wouldn't let him have the plant, so he bought the barn. |
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| All the plates have fox and hound scenes. |
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| Greyhound statue that Mom spotted but couldn't get close enough to for a good photo. |
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| The mantel is not marble, but it is wood painted to look like marble. |
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| Stitched art table. |
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| A stitchery wall hanging. |
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| Harvey's bedroom. |
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| Picture is of Harvey. Mom liked the plate. |
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| Nice book holder. |
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| A few trinkets. Some were won at carnivals. |
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| Beautiful window over door. |
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| Library that he added so that a desk he bought would fit in his house. This is a secret door that he used when he didn't want uninvited guests to find him. |
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| See, the door has disappeared. |
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| Front of house. |
The gardens were inspired from those he saw in England. He may have been the first to create "garden rooms" here.
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| Mom liked this hanging plant. |
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| The house can be seen from here. |
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| See the hounds (shrubs). |
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| Lead dog is getting close to the fox. |
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| The fox. |
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| Full scene. |
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| Scottie dog. |
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| Camel |
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| See the giraffe? His head is missing. Oops! |
Unfortunately, many of the plants were not in bloom. There is a rose garden that is probably beautiful, but it was too early for it. The butterfly house was not open. Too cold, I guess. It has been chilly here....50's.
The folks enjoyed the house and the gardens. They thought the price was a little high though. It was $18 per person for everything. The gardens were $13 on their own. Dad said he would have been disappointed if they had not toured the house. One of the things that the folks got a kick out of was that Ladew was friends with the owner of Hampton Mansion. They played poker one night and Ladew won the family's silver. The folks toured the Hampton Mansion last fall, so they felt a connection having been there too.
Joey,
The Greyhound Who Saw The Sun Last Friday
