Mitch from Grumpy’s invited us out to see a show at the Fremont Community Theatre last night. It was a short half hour drive away and we brought a few friends along with us…

I’m no theatre critic, but “Leaving Iowa” was pretty great. It was a simple production with only a few actors, but the acting was top-notch and the stage was perfectly minimal. I suppose you would call it a light comedy… with a thoughtful, moving end that I really appreciated.

“Leaving Iowa” has three (3) more shows, Jan. 28, 29, and 30th. Check their online calendar here.

Fremont Community Theatre | 1551 Dickinson Street, Fremont | (419) 332-0775

This is a guest post from our neighbors, T. & A., who also enjoy Toledo. Sorry for the delay in getting this up!

Goaded on by the uncommonly warm weather and a Columbus Day off, we headed up to Michigan in search of pick-your-own apples at Spicer Orchards. We managed to just miss the time frame for PYO apples, but what we found was arguably better: free tastings of Spicer wine, a delicious panini, and pick-your-own fall raspberries.

Before heading out to the berry patch, we sampled some of the wines at Spicer Carriage House Cellars. Served by a knowledgeable hostess, Kristina Marks, we tried some zingy fruit wines like Cranberry &Red Currant and a Cabernet Franc that was surprisingly bold and dry. Of the whites, we liked the Pinot Grigio and the Traminette, which is similar to a Gewurtztraminer. We had to talk ourselves out of leaving with a case. Nice job, Michigan grapes!

While in the winery, we split a savory-sweet panini, which was filled with gooey white cheddar, tart green apples from the orchard and sautéed onions.

Fortified by many little “tastes” of wine and glasses of house-made hard cider, we tottered out to the berry patch.

The bounty:

Spicer Orchard | 10411 Clyde Rd Fenton, MI 48430 | 810-632-7682

A little over an hour south of Toledo lives the little town of Lima. And in Lima lives three (3) of the five (5) remaining Kewpee Hamburger joints left in America. According to legend (ie. Wikipedia), Kewpee is the second fast-food hamburger chain in America and many claim the predecessor to Wendy’s.

Our friend, C., hails from Lima and after sharing with us stories of these amazing burgers whose namesake comes from a somewhat-creepy plastic doll, was able to convince a group of us to jump into a borrowed van and head south. We got into downtown Lima at the cocktail hour, so a quickie at Roxy (or was it Stormy’s?) preceded our hamburg pilgrimage.

This location was opened in 1928.

Hamburg pickle on top, makes your heart go flippity-flop!

The interior is a small diner with seemingly little updates over the years and according to a sign on the wall, “Your grandpappy ate here”.

D. and I picked out some burgers, chili and iced tea to share.

And this is what D.’s burger with “everything” looked like as it was unwrapped. Looks great, right? I can attest that it tasted even better.

There were no complaints from us, nor our fellow travelers. So, here’s a daytrip idea for your next lazy day off.

Kewpee Hamburgers | 111 N Elizabeth St. | Lima, Ohio | (419) 228-1778

This weekend included a drive to Port Clinton for a visit to The African Safari Wildlife Park. It’s one of the parks you drive around, in your own car, and animals come up to your windows to say hello eat snacks (available at the gate). I had never been to one of these parks before and was surprised at how pushy the animals were. It was a lot of fun, even when an elk stuck his whole head inside our car. How much you keep your windows closed would be up to your own comfort level — I had my window all the way up when we came to the buffalo, which were HUGE.

There were all sorts of animals, including zebras, goats, elk. My favorite part was feeding carrots to a giraffe. We had the sunroof closed, thankfully, or that would have been a little awkward. Prepared to get your car messy (inside and out), but there is a strip mall before you turn into the park with a car wash.

tip: bring napkins/wet naps.

African Safari Wildlife Park | 267 S Lightner Rd, Port Clinton | (419) 732-360