By Dave Hutchinson: photos by Dave Hutchinson
On Sunday, February 27th our Club group of 35 members and guests toured Solomon’s Castle. It is in Ona! I noticed when we left the Castle a sign saying that Ona was still 7 miles away! This very unique structure in the middle of nowhere is the culmination of artist and businessman Mr. Howard Solomon’s imagination and dreams. We did two tours with lunch wedged in between at The Boat in the Moat. Our early tour was through the castle to observe Mr. Solomon’s wacky art
work - metal sculptures made from unimaginable things like oil drums and bike chains, miniature trains and planes. Mr. Solomon passed away a few years ago, but his stories are now told by his very witty, humorous tour guides. The afternoon tour was a visit to his interesting collection of pre-1935 antique autos, mostly Fords. Our tour was guided. The docents were wonderful and made the visit a highlight of our tour. Our group lunch was in the lighthouse building at the Boat in the Moat on the property. A broad menu of reasonable burgers and other entrees were served. Here, if you are hungry you will eat at the Boat in the Moat since any other dining is miles away. Oh, and did I say cash? Only cash was accepted for tours and food. Absolutely no credit or debit cards were accepted. There is an ATM on the property. I had a corned beef on rye which was good with a side of their spinach casserole. I thought that the spinach casserole was pretty bland. It was a beautiful day for a group outing.
