Great place to hike!

Joe and I just got back from a 4 mile hike at the Wellington Reservation on Jones Rd. in Wellington, just 10 miles south of Hallauer House and the first thing we did upon our return was to drop our feet into the pool to cool them off! I wore my Crocs, which were great for the first 3 miles but the crushed stone trail began to take it's toll after 3 1/2 miles. Remember next time to wear the trusty walking shoes with socks! But what a beautiful place to take a peaceful walk. During our 4 mile journey, we saw only 1 family and that was at the very beginning of the trail. The rest of the time we meandered through the grassland fields, the wetland habitats, and the meadow. We skirted the forest and swamp, imagining that we might see a croc like in Florida! HaHa! We were in awe with the amount of Queen Anns Lace, Burdock, daisies, and other beautiful wildflowers that I cannot name. I see them in my garden and want to pull them out as weeds! Maybe next year I should leave them and see what comes up! But so pretty they are on the prarie. The trees, the grasses, the birds, the wildflowers are just awesome!

There is also a 21-acre lake formed by the Wellington South Reservoir that people were paddling around on in their four-person pontoon boats and we could see fishing poles hanging over the sides! Can't wait to try that! Any non-gas motorized boat is allowed so next time we could go fishing and maybe catch some Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish and I'm sure, a lot of Bluegill! We could also take the canoe down and paddle around or go in circles since we haven't canoed in a while! And if you are our guest here, we'll let you take the canoe down and go in circles!

The Visitors Center features a large meeting room with windows overlooking the water and it can accommodate up to 76 people. What a great place to have a family reunion, bridal or baby shower, or a reception.

So my point on the Blog is to let you know that Lorain County has a lot to offer visitors! Wellington Reservation is only one of our many Metroparks. We invite you to come and visit. See what great things are available and happening in Lorain County and while you're here, stay with us at Hallauer House Bed & Breakfast. We gaurantee that you're tired feet will be thrilled with a dip in the pool!

Oberlin College First Year Student Orientation

Just a quick post to all of the parent's whose son or daughter will be attending Oberlin College as a First Year student this August. If you still need accommodations or you are booked at a hotel and want to be closer to Oberlin, we just had a cancellation for the nights of Aug. 28 to Aug. 30. The available room is the Confederate Room with a queen bed. See the website for all the details.

2007 Lorain County Fair

Mark your calendars and plan a mini vacation to visit the Lorain County fair during the week of Aug. 20-26, 2007 where the main headliners in the grandstand will be Bill Engvall, Diamond Rio, and Le Ann Rimes! Wow! What a treat that will be!

Why not take in several days at the fair and stay a few nights at our Hallauer House B & B. We're located just 8 miles north of the Wellington fair grounds right off of St. Rt. 58. Enjoy a great breakfast, spend some time in the heated pool and then off to the fair, or eat, go to the fair, come back and swim, and then go back for the grandstand show! This could be a really great mini vacation!

Monday's fair schedule inclues the 4-H dog show, judging of many events, Harnass racing with betting, Draft horses, plus much more. The evening headliner is Bill Engvall, a stand-up comic with a TV sitcom on tbs Tues. at 9:00.

Tuesday - more animal judging, more Harnass racing with betting and at 7:30 the headliner will be Diamond Rio, the award winning country artists who have sold more than 10 million albums, have had nine #1 hits, and have been six time winners of "Vocal Group of the Year' at the CMA and ACM. This group is not to be missed!

Wednesday - judging of poultry, goats, ponies, horses, and rabbits, more Harnass racing with betting, and then the main headliner in the evening is none other than LeAnn Rimes! Her credits, just to review, include 2 Grammy Awards which includes best new artist. She has sold 37 million records, won an American Music Award, 3 American of Country Music honors and 12 Billboard Awards. And if that's not enough, she has written children's books and acted in film and television!

So there you go! Three fabulous evenings back to back of star performances!

Thursday evening you can watch the celebrity donkey races and Friday the Ohio State Tractor Pull will be featured followed by square dancing. Saturday is the combine derby and fiddle contest with the domolition derby closing the fair on Sunday at 6pm.'

For complete information and schedules go to www.loraincountyfair.com and to purchase tickets for the grandstand shows. You can also call 440-647-2781.

This is a county fair you don't want to miss and we would love to have you stay with us where you will come as a stranger but leave as a friend!

Blog link from new website!

Thanks to our 4th daughter, Emily, our new website was uploaded over the weekend. We hope you like it! I added a direct link to our Blog from the navigation bar so that we could keep in touch about Inn specials, happenings at Oberlin College and in the Oberlin community. I started the Blog back in January but took time off from it to work on the website and learn Dreamweaver, which wasn't easy! Many times I wanted to quit but kept going back and trying again. We could have hired a professional web design firm but where's the fun in that! Wanted to give it a shot so if you like what you see, let me know. If you don't, then I guess we'll have to go shopping for a pro!

Because operating costs keep going up, we found it necessary at this time to raise our rates by $20.00 per night IF you stay only 1 night. BUT--- We are giving a discount rate to stays of 2 or more nights. Be sure to check the Reservation page on the website for complete pricing details. A lot of B & B's are going to 2 night minimums especially on weekends, but we chose to go with NO minimums and just charge a bit more for 1 night to help offset the higher cost of cleaning and maintenance on one night stays. You still will receive a full, fantastic breakfast, and no extra taxes added on! We know you'll have a great experience, whether you stay 1 or more nights. So give us a try!
And through the months of Dec. thru Feb. we will be offering other discounts so check back on the Blog for all the details.

Oberlin College is a busy place hosting many summer youth camps. Parent's are busy driving to and from, dropping their children off and then picking them up a week or so later. So parents, why not take a mini vacation and stay a few days at the B & B! Relax and unwind before making the long drive home. The swimming pool is really great! Warm and refreshing. Sit on the mini beach with your feet in the sand and the sun overhead. In the evening, put a fire in the chiminea and sit back and watch the moon and the stars. And anyone looking for a summer camp for your child for next summer, check Oberlin College and see what they have to offer.

Bye for now. Next installment soon!