the Villages of Van Buren

Last weekend I went to visit the "Villages of Van Buren." My friend Amber from Nursing school grew up here and wanted to show me around the old town and see the historical monuments. So... off we went and found this lovely old church.

Of course we went inside to see it. . .
And climbed up into the loft...

... and rang the bell!

It was built in 1802 and at one time was the only church in that area. It has been donated to the historical society and is always open (lucky for us!)

The old organ

Amber plays us a "selection"

Then, we went to the hotel that was built in 1789. It is still a working hotel with a Sunday afternoon buffet! It is right on the river and I must say that the years on it show- but in a good way.

Next was the pottery shop. They make all kinds of things- these were a few of my favorite.

This is how she makes rugs!

The "Old Town"

In front of the seasonal produce

And the old railroad bridge across the river. They turned it into a walkway, which was very sturdy. But, on either side of it was not much left of the original bridge.

Looking over the bridge

Aaaahhh... beautiful fall!

The General store again.

There was a beautiful garden in the area also. They kept the old stone frames from some of the buildings and planted flowers in them.

Trying to decipher the sun dial. Then, it was time for lunch. We went to the local restaurant. They were having a Catfish special, so we ordered up two.
As we walked down the old town, we came across a sign that said "Maggie May's Fudge." Well, that was enough to beckon us and we sure found some fudge!

We sampled..... every one of them.

But, we were good. We bought some after we sampled!

Then, it was time to walk some of that fudge off, so we went to the State Park and walked 4.2 miles around a lake- my kind of afternoon!

It was a great day! We saw a lot and had a lot of fun!