Just Have a Little Faith

I was looking for fun and unique date ideas when I came across a Groupon for a couples massage class with a Quiet Spirit Massage. I thought "couples" massage now that could be interesting or really awkward depending how the class was set up, but I thought what's the worst that could happen. So with a little faith I bought it anyways and took our sore muscles south to explore Barberton. 

If you are looking for something to do this weekend it's Mumfest in Barberton. I'm not sure what it entails but could be a nice fall event.  There will be free chair massage with a view of the lake and mums! 

*Lake Anna, Barberton Ohio*

Our adventure started with a few directional setbacks the GPS sent me to drive into a glacier created lake. With no signs for the place we ended up circling the block over and over. All we could see was a church, houses, sketchy allies and overgrown parking lots. With 5 minutes left to our appointment I gave up and called...no answer, great. The voice mail mentioned it was in a gym but no more information. hmmm ok we decided wander up and down the street.  In front of a church was a sign: "FAITH GYM featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not"...what did I get ourselves into? 

We skeptically entered the doors and could not believe our eyes. It  was a church turned into a gym! The theme was really cute and the message throughout was all things can be done with a little faith. The choir loft is turned into a cardio room, the nave into the weight room and the narthex a smoothie bar. I'm still not sure why it's in Ripley's Believe it or Not though.  

*Faith Gym weights area, lounge, and ceiling*

 The massage class was great. It was to learn the basics of massage and techniques to work on trouble areas (phew) and was a private lesson (double phew). It was a little odd to be constantly asking is this better or this? I felt like I was in an eye exam. HA I will say this experience has ruined me for any future massages. It was heavenly to have two people giving you a hand and foot massage at once!

After the massage we attempted to geocache in a few locations nearby but failed miserably. Two separate Did Not Finds (DNFs). There was one listed on the gym property in the bushes. I spent about 15 minutes looking like I was swallowed by a bush on a street corner....nothing to see folks move along.

*I'm sure I looked at lot worse than this*

photo traveling with whippets

 The second fail was an Earthcache (a geological feature and with some education gives you a task). This one proved to be a bit more intense than the tools we had on hand so gave up.  

It was fun to learn a little bit of geological history of Barberton. Lake Anna is actually classified as a “kettle” lake. A kettle lake is a lake which is formed by a piece of glacier breaking from the front of a glacier and being covered by dirt. As the glacier melts, the sediment sinks into the water leaving a hole which is usually circular. Lake Anna is fed by a natural water spring and is about 34 feet deep. 

source: Lake Anna Earthcache

The view  of the lake was beautiful and a nice walk around the perimeter too! The local fire department was testing out their newbies and doing water rescue training today so it was fun to watch them dragging (or attempting) dummies in and out of the water. 

When I told family I had been to Barberton everyone asked if I had stopped at White House Chicken. Apparently Barberton Chicken is famous. I guess it's like KFC but better. 

White House Chicken has been around since the 1940's and claims that Barberton is the "Chicken Capital of the World serving over 7 1/2 tons of chicken per week". Hmm not being a huge fried chicken fan maybe the next time I venture to Barberton I'll check it out. 
source: White House Chicken

It was a great  unique date and we had a wonderful time exploring the area. You'll never know what you'll find on an adventure. We are looking forward to test out our newly learned massage techniques after a long day of work.

Happy adventuring!