What a difference a day makes. Today dawned bright and early (lots of Punky kisses) but with much warmer temperatures even though it was partly cloudy. Our plan was to visit the small town of Hudson about five miles west of Streetsboro then move on to the small town of Peninsula which is in the heart of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We took our time with a leisurely breakfast walking the dogs etc., before heading out. We got to Hudson and like the town of Burton, there was another large oval roundabout surrounding a beautiful town park with large mature trees, pathways, gardens and a large gazebo. We parked in front of one of the stores lining half the roundabout (the other side having homes and City Hall. We walked down the business side visiting several shops and eventually went around the block to walk up the back side. Amazingly as we turned the corner to start back up the alleyway to our left was a brand new town center complex with high-end shops, hotels, restaurants and another large park still being developed. Surrounding the business complex were several large housing complexes with apartments, condos, town houses and several new single family areas. Once we completed our walk back to the end of the older business district a stop for coffee was called for before returning in the car. Back on the road we explored the surrounding community discovering many beautiful stately homes along tree lined streets before heading for Peninsula.
As we pulled into the small town of Peninsula we drove down a side street past the train depot and visitors center. Turning around we parked in the “Number 29 Lock” parking area, a trailhead entry point for the “Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail”. It is also home to the Cuyahoga Scenic Railway which runs for 110 miles between Cleveland and Canton following the river all the way. The towpath trail follows the historic Ohio & Erie Canal route through the Cuyahoga River valley and continues both north out of the park and south to Akron and beyond. We hooked up the kids and went for a walk along the river on the trail which is nicely paved and has informational placards placed at strategic points describing historical events. 
We kept it to a short walk crossing several small bridges across the old canal works and up to a spot looking across the canal at the old Mill building site, then went back to the car and got our lunch to take back to a picnic table along the river. We had lunch beside the river then walked back to the visitor center. While we were there a big semi came around the corner with a lowboy trailer. The train had “Thomas The Tank Engine” piggy backed on the trailer and sat on a set of rails. Apparently the Park will be celebrating a May festival and Thomas will be pulling a passenger car for children’s entertainment. It was fascinating to watch the big rig position itself over the tracks to let old Thomas down. 
Since it would take another couple of hours to actually get Thomas off the trailer we got back in the car to drive around and explore the area a little more. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is incredibly rich in recreational opportunities from cross country skiing and horseshoeing in the winter to camping, horseback riding, hiking, biking, fishing and swimming. It is also home to the Cuyahoga Scenic Railway which runs between Cleveland and Canton following the river all the way. We took several runs up into the hills and it was all very beautiful. Eventually we decided to call it a day and headed home. To see all of today’s photos click on the following link:
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