Tuesday July 26 (Sauder Village)

I am having trouble sleeping again so only had a few hours. Lisa asked about going to Sauder Village and I was up for it. I waited for her to shower, then was up and after a quick breakfast we were on our way.

It is another warm day although not quite as warm as it has been and it was less humid! We arrived at the village and it was very busy, we had trouble finding a parking spot. 

As Lisa works for the Doughbox which is part of Sauder, we got free entry and reduced rates on the rides.

On the sheet that outlined the events on today we noticed the Buggy rides finished at 2 pm so, as it was 1.30, we headed there first. 


The buggy ride was not going on for very long due to the heat. We waited for it to return and had a short but pleasant ride round a part of the village.

We chatted to a family who had come through from a place near Fort Wayne they and loved it. They actually came through yesterday but it is closed on Monday's, lol, they spent the day in and around Bryan instead and had a god time!

I wanted to have my photo taken with the horse and Lisa commented that it would be good if the horse turned a wee bit. The driver tried to do this and the horse thought he was to turn so I had to skip out of the way, lol, all was well though!

After that, we went to the museum. This was closed last year as there had been a severe flood in 2014 and they were renovating. The renovation is still not complete but there have been many changes. It looks more like a museum than it used to and it is much better organised.


The story begins with the area in and around Archbold and how it developed from very early times. A very interesting part of the museum was an exhibit about the Black Swamp, what it was like originally and how it is today with the amount of agriculture going on.

The renovation is not fully finished so it will be interesting to go back in a year's time! However, what they have done so far is indicative of a huge step forward, most impressive!

We then wandered out and went to have a cup of coffee at Stella which is first and foremost a chocolate shop!! They make their own and i is very expensive. 

While we were there we got in conversation with a couple of ladies, retired, who had an RV parked in the Campgrounds that are situated next to the village. They were lovely people and Lisa was giving them ll the lowdown on the area. They hail from Huron, OH!

We decided to do the train ride and as we were leaving we could not quite remember how to get to the entrance. The people we had met on the Buggy ride came out of the shop in front and we asked them for directions, they had a map, I should have grabbed one, lol!

The train ride travels nearby the early settlers area as well as some of the small farms. It also travels close to the Campgrounds, it is a very pleasant run and I took a few photos.

After this, we walked to the exit and noted that the NZ Flag was flying on one of the three flagpoles at the entrance to the village. Apparently, Lisa had set this up, lol!! We stopped at the Doughbox and Lisa bought some goodies for the two ladies we had met so we headed off to deliver them. They were very grateful, lol!

Then we headed back home to have a rest as we were both heading into the Doughbox tonight. I always try to go there at least once when I visit!!