Can Do In Canton

After the hustle, bustle and business of Chicago, it was nice to board the bus and arrive in Ohio. Seven hours later, I'd gone from skyline city to farmland fabulous. Ohio is famous for producing corn, apples and pumpkins and with Halloween just around the corner, those beautiful orange orbs are just about everywhere.

Ohio also offers the Carmeny family and my accommodation for the six days I am here. Courtesy of Lydia and Tim Carmeny, who I met while at Appel Farm, I have been welcomed under the roof of their 'Gram' who is just about as cute as a button. Imagine the kind of grandma you'd want if you were featuring in a cartoon, turn her voice up a few pitches and put her in a chair playing Boggle. And where ever Gram goes, Buddy the rescue dog must also follow. Gram's house is a bit like a hostel in itself, people are always coming or going or staying. She keeps a guest book in the foyer for those who are visiting to sign and like any good host, is constantly checking in to see you're happy and satisfied (your stomach that is).

Not that I need to be satisfied. Ohio itself offers everything the weary traveller needs. Beautiful vistas of green trees, slowly starting to turn yellow and red with the change to fall. Once abundant crops of corn now singed to gold as they drop their leaves. Ohio is about as picturesque as a postcard and even more so now that fall is starting to poke its face around the corner. Even now, in the late September, I can see the slow change of seasons as the trees begin to morph their colours. The houses in Ohio are dressing their front porches with orange, yellow and red festivities with haunting jack-o-lanterns burning bright in the evening light.

It must be quite an experience to be here through October and November - the trees burning up in the frost and dropping their leaves until they're left naked and bare, the streets full of kids in their costumes as they call for trick or treats and everything covered in snow as warm bodies celebrate Christmas around stoked fires and plates of pumpkin pie (of which I just had my first taste).

The aesthetic of fall is just as romantic as all those movies depict.

Ciao for now. xo