On the Road in Ohio

67°f/19°C, clear but I think the Canadian smoke is making a haziness in the skies. Our eyes are constantly itchy, I am guessing from the smoke.

On the way north I chose a route that took longer, but avoided going through Cleveland. Instead, we drove through rural Ohio, most of which was farm country. 

We found ourselves in Mesopotamia! Not the biblical region, however. This was deep in Amish country, and the location of the End-of-the-Commons general store i showed in yesterday's photos. 

On the porch of the store, this huge wood carving.

And across the street, this horse and buggy gave a different perspective of a "stick pony"!

The store's name come from the fact that it sits at the end of the "common", a large, grassy public area with a gazebo, benches, etc. Apparently these are common in northeast Ohio, as we saw several other commonses (is that a word?) on our trip.

I am not sure what the "Construction Zone" was. Apparently it was some sort of tourist attraction.

We bought some delicious bread and pimento cheese spread at the store for our lunch, and had the best raspberry chocolate chunk ice cream cone I think I have ever had. I also picked up some bulk rye flour and yeast, and looked for spelt flour for one of Angie's recipes, but I was out of luck there.

A carload of older Amish women arrived as we were eating our ice cream, and friends, they made me swear off of ever eating an Amish diet! I am no lightweight myself, but these ladies were quite rotund. I wondered if perhaps they were all related, and it was just hereditary. 

I had been driving until we reached Mesopotamia,  so that's why there are no photos before that stop. Then Larry took over. His hands had been hurting pretty badly, so I gave him 2 of my Meloxicam in the morning , which helped a lot. I was glad to turn over the driving.

Soon after leaving the store we found ourselves driving through wine country. 

Geauga (pronounced, I was told, Jogga) county proclaims itself as Ohio's wine country. We saw miles of beautifully kept vines, and several wineries, but since Larry was driving we didn't stop. Because, you know, he's destination-driven on trips, whereas I might meander a bit. And of course take longer to get there.

And because he didnt meander, we arrived in much less time! I will say, I didn’t stop anywhere either, except that store, on my portion of the drive. Unusual for me!

There was the water I yearned for, as blue as I remembered.

Our motel was a funny set-up.  There was no staff on the premises at all. We had to go down the street to get our room key at a different motel, apparently owned by the same people. A pool was advertised,  but it too was down the street at the other motel.

Our room was small, but had everything we needed: bed, coffeemaker, mini fridge,  nice big shower, and best of all, it's was right on the lake. A covered porch ran along front, so I could sit out there and look at the water to my heart's content. Which I did, for 3 hours straight.

Finally I was ready to move. We were getting hungry!

We chose a winery for dinner. First criteria for a place to eat was that it have a lake view. The Firehouse Winery offered one better: outdoor tables, and live music. I chose their "Reflections of Lake Erie" white wine and was well pleased with it.  Yes, a bottle came home with me. Given the blue bottle, I think it may be a type of Riesling. 

Larry had beer and a big bowl of chili, while I ordered a wrap that featured salmon with a bacon mustard dressing, lettuce, tomatoes, onion and I forget what else. It was huge, and delicious. The music was fun, the ferris wheel was kept busy, and our sweet server, a young man from Lithuania, was excellent. We stayed to watch the sunset to end a perfect evening. 

A few sights on the way back to the motel:

Combo wine bar, psychic readings, head shop, etc.

Direction to a veritable plethora of wineries! Next time, I think we'll do a winery tour.

"The Strip" as it's called has all kinds of things for kids and families to do---arcades,  rides, climbing walls and so on.  Many people rent golf carts to ride around in during their stay. This little town seems nostalgic, a throwback to when ocean beaches were simpler, like this.  It was not at all crowded, and the atmosphere is completely laid back. A great place for families.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

On Lake Erie

I suppose I am starting this travelogue backwards, but it's my blog so I guess I can do that, right?

After leaving my friend Lorna in Buffalo I followed my GPS carefully out of the city and on to Interstate 90. But I soon realized that I was missing something I wanted very much to see: Lake Erie. Now on the way up to Buffalo I had veered off course to find the lake but was only able to see a little bit of it. I didn't want to miss it on the way home too, so I left the interstate and found Route 5, which traveled right along the edge of the lake. The exit I chose led me to Westfield and a small harbor.

Anchored in the harbor (called Barcelona or Portland, take your choice), I found this:

What is it? I wondered that too, but a sign explained its provenance:

Click the picture to read the details. Basically she was built as a replica, sailed, was admired by Queen Elizabeth II and now needs donations to restore her to her original glory.

The fog was impressive; the lake was so socked in that there was very little visibility. Somehow, this felt right and made me understand the need for a lighthouse. The Barcelona lighthouse was built in 1829 and was the first to be powered by natural gas that was run through wooden pipes to the light. It was decommissioned many years ago and today is private property, with no signs to tell its history. (While I respect the property owner's rights, I think it would be a nice public gesture to provide a little information about such an imposing landmark.)

I left the lake reluctantly and drove on, enveloped in the thickening fog. Soon I came upon this sign:

Really? Ripley, WV is the town closest to where I live, but this was Ripley, NY. And it was a completely different kind of place,

with fog shrouding a tiny downtown and no people or traffic visible when I passed through. A very small town indeed.

I pushed on down Route 5 and eventually the fog lifted. I followed the signs to a public access point on the lake.

Ahhh. Blue water, an almost limitless horizon, water lapping gently at my feet...it was just what I was looking for. I dawdled, picking up stones,

 

admiring driftwood,

 

picking up sea glass

and watching a gull bob on the water.

I'd had my water fix, so it was time to re-set the GPS and make tracks for home.

I brought back a few stones and sticks from the lake to create something to remind me of the small amount of time I spent by its shore. Maybe one day I will return to spend a week getting to know this lovely place. For now a few sticks, a bit of glass and some pebbles will serve to remind me of a place and a time that seemed suspended in the fog and the sun.