Brett Purmal,son of Kathie and Dick Purmal of Mentor, was a digital animator for the hit film Avatar. His parents will spend the holidays with him in New Zealand where the film was produced. Kathie, executive director at the Lake County History Center, has promised to email me so I can keep readers up to date with this blog. Read Mark Meszoros' review of Avatar in Friday's TGIF.
Traveling Down Under is especially challenging over Christmas with gifts in tow. The Purmals had to repack after they learned that they could carry 70 pounds of luggage from LA to Sydney, but only 50 pounds from Sydney to Auckland. "We’re down to two changes of underwear, blue jeans and tee shirts," Kathie writes.
An overnight in Las Vegas was in their plans to help moderate the jet lag. Sydney is 12 hours ahead of us and one day later.
"First surprise- all car rentals in Vegas require boarding a large shuttle bus to the “major car rental center.” Being thrifty travelers, Dick booked a company called “Fox” Car Rental. Unfortunately, they were not at “Major Car Rental Center”- however, a quick reread of our email directions determined we needed to go to the shuttle curb for the“Fox” van. Highly recommend these guys. Very accommodating, good equipment and only $12 per day.
Then came the “Timewarp”

We drove down the Las Vegas strip for the first time in 30 years. We couldn’t look eft and right fast enough andfeel like you arein the center of a Mardi Gras parade. Huge, larger than life images on both sides of Las Vegas Blvd. Near our hotel, the MGM, the new “City Center” is opening this weekend. It is a huge complex of high rise condos, condo hotels (the Mandarin Oriental and others) and thrown down Las Vegas Blvd. in front of these buildings looks like a bunch of children’s blocks, on their sides, edges, sitting flat, but covered with amazing graphics boasting that these are actually stores (Tiffany, Gucci and the like).

There is the Venetian, looking like someone had ripped it from the dirt of Italy. The detail on the buildings is amazing. Construction is still going on everywhere. Between all the lights and sites, we by-passed the MGM as we couldn’t figure how to get in and kept going down the blvd. A hint of the past on the right as we came to the old familiar Riviera. Looking small and user friendly, we almost expected old blue eyes to walk out. Turned around and called the MGM Mirage (not Grand)- it’s now covered in green panels so it glows in the night. They gave us landing nstructions and we headed down Tropicana Ave. to the entrance. From the moment we pulled in, all was taken care of. Car attendant: appeared immediately. Baggage: no problem. A cart appeared out of the night with instructions to call when we got to our room. We walked into the incredible lobby like a king and queen and were immediately hit with an incredible aroma. Roses- hundreds of roses- done in giant red balls, looking like Christmas ornaments.

The lobby was decorated for the holidays in white and gold. Check-in was smooth and friendly and all the people in line looked so very normal. No European royalty, but zillions of Asians having a grand time in large groups. All for $39.95 per night. I now realize why retired people travel out of season. We have a room on the 24th floor, overlooking the lights of the city. They added a package for $20 per person per day for their “All Day Buffet” pass. This gives you complete access to the MGM Grand Buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We headed down to dinner and the casino after check-in. (Dinner alone was $60 for two)

Timewarp #2- no quarters- no ka-ching of money- no handles to pull!!! Refined, quiet, what’s going on? Watching folks at the machines, we realized we had no clue how to use them We have a bachelors and masters degree between us and we were confounded. Dick- the daring one- finally realized people were putting cash into the machines and pushing buttons. This he could do, only he pushed the wrong button Never hit MAX PLAY unless you know what that means. $5 was gone in a flash.

We wandered and watched,finding a lot of hilarity and noise at a table with little horses on sticks having a race. You bet on the winning horse #1 & #2- (we had to ask) But it took quarters-- all ten pounds worth I had brought from Cleveland. But a crazy group of 20 something cowboys (the rodeo is in town) had taken over the table. Eye lids heavy - off to sleep.

Dick and Kathie Purmal

We began calling it "the Prom" as we decided what we would wear to Friday night's Festival of Trees fundraiser for BigBrothers BigSisters of Northeast Ohio at Quail Hollow.
The formal night would be quite a departure from our usual 6 a.m. gathering at Mentor Heisley Racquet & Fitness Club. We're all in the middle of our lives, mostly women and a few men, who do aerobics, work out with weights and other exercise equipment early each weekday morning. The sense of support we bring to our workouts has, over the past few years, extended to other parts of our lives. So when our workout colleague Kathie Hartman Frisby (at right, standing) invited us to the Nov. 20 Festival of Tree gala we began making our plans.

We agree with Kathie that taking care of the younger generations is vitally important and a look at the success that BigBrothers BigSisters has in doing that is convincing. Kathie is a Big Brothers board member and a tireless supporter of the cause. Their matches of adult mentors with children have had amazing results in the lives of kids from this area. I wrote about a few of the organization's programs a few weeks back and came away even more impressed with its impact. (See www.news-herald.com ; Nov. 8 )
The Festival of Trees was lots more than a great night out. Gorgeous Christmas trees, many decorated by pros, were auctioned off. Silent auction items ranging from spa services to ski weekends and even a hot water heater were represented at tables around the room.
Ohio wines were poured and hors d'oeuvres passed as we oohed and ahhed over how nice we all cleaned up. We couldn't help but notice how those abs and lats we work on at Heisley fit dress-up clothes.

Big Brother Joe Dalhausen and his Little Brother, Kyle of Mentor, spoke to us briefly about what their involvement has brought to their lives. It's clearly a win-win scenario for both of them and other Bigs and Littles.
Most of us had never really seen each other except without makeup, with our Tshirts and shorts drenched from working out. Now we were all glitter and shine, hair in place and elevated by heels; the guys resplendent in tuxedoes.

One of the tallest trees was a Wine Tree, with each of seven levels filled with bottles of wine. One level also included a week's getaway to Hilton Head while another included eight cases of wine. Raffle tickets were $20.
The evening's Dessert Dash was a really fun element. Elaborate desserts from a variety of food professionals overflowed a central table in the middle of the dance floor. Each 10-person table filled an envelope with donations and the top fundraisers got the honor of dashing for their choice of desserts.

A runner was appointed by each table. Since we work out together we knew that Nancy Crissinger (standing second from left, in photo above) was one of our speediest members. Nancy took off her shoes so as not to slide out of control on the dance floor and waited for the signal. But our table was not among the top donors, so she had to wait for others. She returned with a great plate of goodies which we all devoured. The next table, however, shared the cake it scored in the Dash.
The Dessert Dash alone raised $6,800 for BigBrothers BigSisters.

I'm hoping a blog reader involved with the group will send a message telling us how much the evening raised for the organization.
We all agreed that the Gala was a lot of fun. But since most of us are up every day around 5 a.m. to make it to the gym on time, we faded fast. I didn't even stay long enough to learn if I won any wine.
That's the down side to being an early riser.

Welcome my colleague Jason Lea, who blogs today to tell us about the wonderful food he found in Ohio's Hocking Hills region, which is close to straight south from Mentor:

On a recent long weekend in Hocking Hills I expected gorgeous foliage, secluded cabins in the woods, zip lines, rock climbing, ATVs, and no cell phone service.

I expected rustic fare — stick-to-your-ribs meatloaf and local produce.

What I got was fine dining.

Here’s a look:

The Inn at Cedar Falls:
If you spend a night this Logan, be sure to order the Wife of a Chef.

I don’t like to use the foodie cliché “decadent.” But this cocktail made from Chambord, Ciroc vodka and Godiva chocolate shavings is decadent. It tastes like a liquid chocolate-covered raspberry. To say it’s the best thing you can ingest at The Inn is not a slight to the other options.

For entrees, I recommend the shellfish pan roast (scallops, jumbo shrimp, asparagus, potato gnocchi and beurre blanc). For dessert (and you should get dessert), either the chocolate torte or the peanut butter creme brulee.

Cost: Expect to spend at least $25 for a meal at The Inn, especially with a dessert or a cocktail.

Glenlaurel:
Glenlaurel, a Scottish-styled inn in Hocking Hills, provided my best (also most expensive meal) of the four-day trip.

The rack of New Zealand lamb was so good I had to take its picture, but the best dish was a smoked Gouda and riesling soup.

Eating is an event at Glenlaurel. A bagpipe calls you to the main hall. Some nights Innkeeper Emeritus Michael Daniels recites poetry as you eat.


Glenlaurel has no menu. If you’re a vegetarian or have special dietary needs, let them know in advance. They serve a pre-set six-course meal — appetizer, soup, salad, sorbet, entree and dessert. The main course is dictated by day. Six courses framed Saturday’s rack of lamb.

Note: Glenlaurel is in a dry municipality and you cannot buy alcohol there. If you want wine, bring your own.

Cost: Six-course meals: $49 per person; seven-course meals, $59.


Ravenwood Castle:
Ravenwood Castle’s decor might be kitschy, but the food is dead serious.

You will love Ravenwood’s frozen pumpkin parfait. If this dessert were any thicker, it could qualify as a cheesecake. It ousted The Inn’s peanut butter creme brulee as my favorite dessert of the trip.

Ravenwood, like Glenlaurel, has no menu. It makes a three-course meal, except on Sundays when there is a seasonal buffet.

The entree for my meal was filet mignon, topped with crab meat and a bearnaise sauce. (It’s as good as it sounds.)

Cost: Three-course meals: $25 per person. The Sunday supper buffet: $18.

Etta’s Lunchbox Cafe
Find rib-sticking fare in Hocking Hills at Etta’s Lunchbox Cafe and Museum in New Plymouth.

Think bowls of chili so big they require two hands to transport, greasy-good sandwiches to fill your calorie quotient for the day and pizzas that put some Italian bistros to shame.

Its primary attraction isn’t the kitchen but the lunchbox museum. Owner, LaDora Ousley, and general manager, Tim Seewer, filled the shelves with metal and plastic pieces of nostalgia. No matter what your era, there is something in the museum that will remind you of your childhood. For me, it was the X-Men and Ninja Turtles lunchboxes. For many of my lunch companions, it was the Muppet Show or plain plaid boxes.

Cost: Meals start at $6.

Hocking Hills info: www.1800hocking.com.

Join reporter Jason Lea, guest blogger who’s just back from a ghost hunt in Ohio’s Hocking Hills..


I’m standing in Ash Cave — the biggest recess cavern in the state — and holding a Geiger counter.

It’s night, so I can hear the waterfall but not see it. I also can’t see most of my companions or the guide who brought us here.

If it were day, or if I had more light than a few lanterns scattered throughout the cavern, I’d be able to see the series of cliffs that lead to Pulpit Rock, which towers over the cavern.

Pulpit Rock is so named because pastors used to stand on it and preach to their congregation who would gather on the cavern floor below. (Tecumseh supposedly spoke there once.)

But there are no churches tonight. In fact, during the dark ages, people were burned at the stake for what we’re doing.

We’re on a ghost hunt.

Pat Quackenbush is a skeptic by nature. He’s a naturalist for Hocking Hills State Park in southern Ohio and quick to tell people that a shrieking noise they heard is more likely a barn owl than a phantom.


But he’s also heard his share of ghost stories. He’s heard about the dead mother who shouts the name of her lost son near Rose Lake and the spectral Oldsmobile with a flat tire that patrols Ash Cave. He’s even seen a woman wearing a 1920s dress who joined one of his Ash Cave tour groups and mysteriously disappeared.

“Not to scare you, but she likes groups,” he warns.

He’s not kidding either.

Quackenbush works with the Haunted Hocking Hills group investigating ghost stories in the area. They’ve searched Old Man’s Cave, Ash Cave, Conkle’s Hollow, the Moonville tunnel and Rose Lake. The hunts lookfor different energy types that might indicate paranormal activity. This means they scour the supposedly haunted areas with everything from electromagnetic field detectors to dousing rods (better known as divining rods.)

Hence, my Geiger counter. I’m searching for nuclear energy and finding nothing.

A few of my companions get excited when a compass shifts suddenly atop Pulpit Rock. They think it’s a ghost. Quackenbush suggests that it’s more likely the iron oxide in the cavern. Just to be safe, he snaps a photo with his camera, which is customized to take photos in infrared.



Hocking Hills has its share of scary stories. The Moonville tunnel is thought to be haunted by a brakeman who was struck by a train in the 1800s. Ghost stories about those who fell to their deaths in Old Man’s Cave proliferate. Conkle’s Hollow is thought to be haunted by its namesake, William Conkle, and the Shawnee who lived there before him. The now closed asylum in nearby Athens is supposedly still visited by posthumous patients.

The Haunted Hocking group formed to investigate some of these stories. They spend a lot of their time debunking myths — Quackenbush told us about one time he identified a pair of “fairies” as flying squirrels — but they’ve also seen some things they can’t explain.

Vortices rising from a lake, compass needles spinning like a top, unseen voices shouting the name of a child who died in the same place half of a century earlier — the Haunted Hocking group document the phenomena on their Web sites and let people draw their own conclusions.

The Geiger counter doesn’t register anything, neither does the EMF, but the magnetic tools — the compass and divining rods — have some minor reactions inside Ash Cave.

“No ghosts,” I snicker.

“Not tonight,” replies Cole Quackenbush, Pat’s 14-year-old son. He’s as certain about ghosts as my little sister is about Santa or Richard Dawkins is about evolution. Other people on the Haunted Hocking team are more skeptical, like his father.

As our tiny group returns to the parking lot, we walk slowly and close together. It’s not just because it’s raining either. The slightest noise stops us, and we search the trail, looking for a woman in a pale dress.

“Scared?” Cole teases me after one such stop.

We didn’t see any inexplicable floating orbs or hear any disembodied voices while scouring Ash Cave. This isn’t a skeptic-turned-believer story. I still don’t believe in ghosts.

But if I were to ever meet a ghost, it would probably be in the dark of Ash Cave on a rainy, cold October night.

I know I wouldn’t be the first.

“Today we took a walking tour of Kinsale, a lovely seaside town,” writes Debra Fitzgerald. “We have the most delightful group of people.”
We're sharing this blog with the tour she and husband Tom are escorting in western Ireland. They're the same folks who operate Fitgerald's Irish Bed & Breakfast in Painesville.
Seven members of the Morek family of Mentor are among the 36 folks now traveling in western Ireland with the Fitzgeralds. In this photo the Moreks are seen in front of Blarney Castle.
After passing through the town of Clonakilty everyone had the opportunity to kiss the famed Blarney Stone — called the stone of eloquence.

The lushness of the landscape is apparent in this photo of Bantry Bay, where the group just spent two nights at the most southern point in Ireland.

Fall color blazed the way into Kirtland Country Club for the annual Children’s Guild craft show on Tuesday, a benefit for northeast Ohio children’s charities. The 74-year-old guild brings together 47 area artists and crafters who meet in each other’s homes throughout the year to create gifts, children’s items, edibles, jewelry and holiday decor for the sale — its major fundraiser.
“Our members include professional artists and hobbyists,” said Guild spokeswoman Kathy Mahovlic.
After being called to their tables by the club’s Chad striking a four-note xylophone, a seated breakfast of chicken crepes and fruit salad was served to 280 women.

They gathered at elegantly napped tables in the ballroom and on the balcony at the country club. Two adjacent rooms were filled with tables showcasing the items that would go on sale from 11:30 to 2 p.m.
“We expect to sell 95 percent of what we have here,” Mahovlic said. “Anything remaining will be donated to a church holiday bazaar so the church can benefit.”
The group’s signature beads — a brightly crocheted necklace — were worn by several women and displayed on stands offering them for $20 each.

A winsome Beatrix Potter knitted mouse doll was accompanied by a shawdowbox house telling one of the stories. Wonderfully colorful tutus, sure to be the envy of any little girl, awaited purchase for would-be ballerinas, as did an orange and brown gingerbread house with a Halloween theme.


Jams, candies, and confections joined dozens of stocking stuffer gifts for friends and little ones.

The Cleveland BoyChoir, directed by Brooke Hopkins, sang on the balcony then moved downstairs as the breakfast was served. The choir was the recipient of a $7,000 donation from the guild that was raised from its summer golf outing.
“We could not exist without the support of organizations like this,” Hopkins told the group. “Through the discipline and music education of its regular rehearsals and concerts the BoyChoir opens doors to boys from third grade through high school.”
Mahovlic can answers questions about the Children’s Guild at 440 256-8844

Debra and Tom Fitzgerald are now in Ireland with 38 folks who signed up to share with them a visit to the rural west coast, where the scent of peat fires, still used to heat, hangs heavy in the air. They're the Painesville couple who established their Fitzgerald's Irish Bed & Breakfast after falling in love with the land of their ancestors on several bicycling trips there. Now they take others to Ireland, departing Thursday for their most recent journey.
I invited them to share by email some of their experiences and agreed to post it to my blog. Here's what they've written:

We arrived safely on Friday morning and although we got a rainy start at the Cliffs of Moher, it turned out fine. We ferried across the Shannon River on the Tarbert
Ferry, stopped in Listowel for lunch, then arrived in the center of Dingle where we're staying at The Benners Hotel, where we had dinner after an afternoon of naps and individual explorations.


The next morning, we arrived in shifts at the Dingle Music School to learn to play the bodhran, the traditional Irish drum. Our education into Irish music surprised us with the news that the bodhram was introduced
in the 1950’s.
After lunch and some free time, we toured around the Dingle Peninsula to Slea Head, one of the most beautiful locations in all of Ireland. At the end of our bus tour we stopped at the Dingle Crystal factory for a personal demonstration by
the owner, Sean Daly, a former Waterford Crystal master cutter.
Afterwards, we could not resist the temptation to own a one-of-a-kind
pieces of Irish crystal. With the closing of Waterford Crystal last January, Sean
is one of just a few crystal artists remaining in Ireland. After dinner we went
to a local pub for traditional Irish music.