Pictures from the Road

Various Bigger Things

So we awoke this Tuesday morning to a beautiful sunrise over Stonelick Lake.

Stony and Buckeye were asleep in the RV, Stony tucked on the bed right at our feet, and Buckeye curled up under the dinette.

David got up and shot some photos, hoping (unsuccessfully) to catch a gray heron we had heard in the night.

 

We let the cats out (alas, no litter box in the Airstream), but after a breakfast of canned tuna, both were content to sit on our picnic table and wash themselves - it's where we last sighted them as we drove away to spend some time visiting Cincinnati.

Our first stop was at a Starbucks in the city; now, I am not a huge Starbucks fan, and try to bring my business rather to small independent coffee shops when possible. But one of the frustrating aspects of travel is how often we have no computer signal, and so, with both of us needing to do some work online, we made our stop there. After about a half-hour, I heard David, who was across the table, quietly calling my name... looked over, and he nudged his head to the right and said, "That's Mitt Romney."

Oh, yes. Mitt Romney came into OUR Starbucks. What's the chance of a union-lovin' Maine girl meeting the conservative governor of Massachusetts in Cincinnati?  He was accompanied by someone I assume is his campaign manager, as he was the one who spoke to people coming up to chat, and a Secret Service agent stood solidly with his back to the exit door. Of COURSE, I could not simply sit there with this golden opportunity at hand - got up and went over with my iPhone.... the campaign manager asked, "Would you like me to take a picture of the two of you together?" QUEL SURPRISE MERVEILLEUX!!!!!!! The photo shows my utter delight to find myself,a dedicated true-blue, dyed-in-the-wool Democrat about to attempt to rescue two feral cats, sitting beside the current woowoo Republican Presidential frontrunner who once drove to Canada with the family dog tied to the top of his car. 

About the governor... He most definitely did NOT feel like chatting. He was sitting looking at his iPad (and not drinking coffee - he was there for the signal like we were). He reluctantly shook my hand and posed for the pic, then abruptly turned his back to me. I said, "I'm a Democrat, but I appreciate your talking with me." Which he did NOT. He sort-of nodded in my direction, eyes on the iPad. If only I'd thought to peek at what he was viewing! Current poll numbers?

One would expect anything to come after that to be a bit of a let-down, but no, that wasn't the case at all. That's because we decided to visit the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, which overlooks the beautiful Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati.

This is a museum dedicated to the many souls, especially those living on the Cincinnati side of the Ohio River
(Ohio was a "free state" at that time), who helped slaves escape in the 1830's-1860's. People risked their lives to bring others to freedom via the secretive Underground Railroad, a route to safety strung together by courageous souls and creative hiding places.

The center is extraordinary, highly recommended for anyone traveling in this area. The displays are so very well done, the material brilliantly presented, and a number of short films bring these difficult stories to life. The one caveat: bring tissues. These are not easy history lessons. The center also includes an exhibit on the current slave trade throughout the world.

 

After our time there, and before returning to the Buglet, we stopped to have AUTHENTIC Cincinnati 5-way at Camp Washington Chili. 

While we were there, we had the pleasure of meetng one of the original owners!

He's a Greek immigrant who arrived here in the 1950's - his uncles had immigrated to the area a couple of years prior, and invited him to join them.

Soooo delicious, and yes, those Greek spices are there, with just the right amount of heat. We will most definitely miss Cincinnati chili when we are back in Maine!

 

 

Back to the RV at dusk, and alas, our kittens were not there. Stony did come crying up from another RV down the road, and we fed her, but then turned and made her way back to the other RV... We walked down to meet the people there and saw that Buckeye was hiding under their Airstream. They said they were NOT feeding the cats, did not want them there, but that they'd been hanging around all day. Yet neither cat followed us back. Then, as we sat at our campfire, ANOTHER cat approached us, a large orange tabby whom we named "Harriet." She is terrified of people. She approached when we put down cat food for her, but there's no way she would allow herself to be too close.

 

We were disappointed that Stony and Buckeye didn't return to us for another night in the Buglet. Will we be able to bring these girls home? Or maybe only Stony? We are so mixed about this - Stony is the only one who will come and sit beside us, loves being patted. But little Buckeye seems to depend on Stony, too. What will happen to her if we take Stony home with us? We're not sure what to do... more to come.

Little Things

Our plan in leaving Hocking Hills State Park this Monday morning was to start with a bracing hike at Ash Cave, which people have been telling us is pretty dramatic and spectacular, and then drive on to our next stop... but as we were getting the rig ready to go, the rains began. Given how slippy-slidey the rocky paths at Old Man's Cave were when things were otherwise DRY there, we decided not to risk life and limb, and simply headed for our next state park.

Another pretty drive through farmland and Ohio's gentle towns. We can't help but notice that there are many, many boarded-up, but nice, homes here. Reminds us of photos a friend has sent us of Detroit... Apparently parts of Ohio are having very rough times financially.

We stopped for lunch at the first opportunity we came across to taste Cincinnati's "Way Chili" and Cheese-dogs, and they are both quite wonderful!. We'd been told that there are dueling Way Chili masters here, Skyline and Gold Star, and the Skyline sign came just as we realized our tummies were grumbling. One can have chili here a number of ways: 3-Way is spaghetti, chili topping, and cheese.... 4-Way means the addition of raw chopped onions.... 5-Way means red beans are added to the mix. Of COURSE we had to try the 5-Way, and it was.... sumptuous!

Our source mentioned that Skyline chili is made the old Greek way (yes, I said Greek - apparently it was a Greek immigrant who brought this dish to Cincinnati), so it has spices such as allspice and nutmeg in it. They are subtle, and add wonderful flavor to the hot spices. Gold Star is said to have more savory flavors - well, we'll just see about this, won't we? We also have the names of a couple of small, more intimate shops that are said to make excellent versions. We'll be trying these, too. We plan to eat LOTS of chili while here. AND we bought several cans of the Skyline chili to take back to Maine.

We got to our lovely campsite beside a lake - just gorgeous, and very isolated, with very few other RV's in this off-season time. We settled in, quiet day ahead. So imagine our surprise when, an hour or so after our arrival, a kitten came mewing toward us! We could only assume it had been dumped by someone, and that was affirmed when some locals who were walking in the area said they'd been seeing "that cat" for the past few weeks, and that campers had been feeding it.

And imagine our surprise when about an hour later, ANOTHER kitten came mewing up! We gave both some cheese and water, and decided then and there that if we can, we will try to bring these little ones home with us (after all, God seems to have sent them to us). "Stony" is pure black and very brave and smart. "Buckeye" is tiny and scared of everything. She tends to follow Stony (we think they are both females), and when Stony went into the RV, Buckeye followed! They ended up sleeping with us for the night.

Now... how on earth will we convince two little kitties that they should come home to Maine with us? Especially when one of them won't let us anywhere near her? And how, logistically, will we travel all that way with this furry cargo?

Stay tuned...

 

More Big in Little

Hobbling along the campsite this Sunday morning, our aching hips and crampy calves informed us that this was to be a gentle day. One cannot be consorting among cliffs and caves every moment, they warned.

And so... a gentle day it would be, as we aimed the car toward the city of Columbus, and visited their Museum of Art. It's another little gold link in what we've seen of the Ohio museum chain.

This museum has the best children's section, hands down, that we've ever seen. Ancient art pieces (Greek pottery, Mexican clay figures, etc.) are set in cases only 2 feet high, right down there at a child's eye-level. Activities there are smart and fun, and build the imagination in ways the kids doing them seemed to love. We, too, had a good time - yes, adults are welcome to participate - and Dave's Calder-ish mobile, and Jacquie's twist-tie stick pieces took their place among other amateur art pieces.

Because of a fundraising event on Saturday night, about half of the museum's exhibit halls were not available for viewing, unfortunately. But what was left to see was mostly excellent.

The one disappointment? Well, we eagerly bought our tickets to see the Caravaggio exhibit, only to discover that it included only ONE piece by the artist. All other paintings were take-offs of his work by other painters of his time (and a bit later). Not to say that these didn't have their own merit; it's just that the exhibition could have been more properly titled "Caravaggio Covers," or "Caravaggio Redux." 

A slow (achy still) walk around Columbus's arts district on a beautiful warm day, ensued. Jacquie gathered fallen leaves to press, and Dave shot photos. Good gentle kind of day.

Holy, Holy Batcave

We woke to the sun lifting the mist out of the forest around us. It would be a good day for a hike.

A wee diagram on the Hocking Hills State Park campground map informs us that there's a hiking trail nearby that leads to "The Gorge Overlook Trail." Well, it's finally stopped raining, a sunny day is dawning, and we've been driving for a long time. We need a hike. So we cheerfully embark on the trail, commenting on how woods are most beautiful in autumn's slanted light.

 

We are unaware that we're about to go shake God's hand.

 

 

We hear people down somewhere below us as we tromp along - another campground not far away, we surmise. One with lots of loud kids. And a bit later, we hear water. Big water. And then we see rock. Big rock. And then we see the sign to "Old Man's Cave," and not long after that is when we meet God.

What's to be said about this? A simple gasp might express it best. Children scream it. The wise stand and reflect.

The procession of hikers watch their footing carefully along these unprotected ridges and crags, and the sun hits it all and bounces, and the water reflections on rock wall render you speechless. 

Big Things, Surprising Packages

The Wexner Museum of Contemporary Art was at the top of our list of things to do here - it has a big name among those who love modern art, which we do. What we didn't realize is that it's kind-of a teensie museum.  Which isn't in any way to suggest that what's inside isn't BIG.  It's housed in part of Ohio State's vast realm (and it was a joy to see all of the bright young students bustling around - a city of students!).  The exhibits were excellent - we particularly loved the work of artist Alexis Rockman, whose paintings are hard to describe - sort of a realistic rendering of surreal botanical/animal scenes.  Muted, even witty, exposition of not-so-subtle environmental commentary - these are beautiful and clever paintings. Apparently, as a boy, Rockman loved visiting natural history museums; this is reflected in the work, as his subjects encompass the entire litany of life - there are little nematodes and big old brontosauri and critters most people would never be able to identify. Alexis Rockman

Seeing the Wexner is like being given a delicious "small plate" in a Parisian bistro. Absolutely satisfying, and one is left with energy to either keep on eating, or go explore the city.  Which we did. Both Cleveland and Columbus are feasible cities.  They are not huge and daunting or frightening. They are amazingly clean; in fact, everything in the parts of Ohio we've seen looks clean. This isn't to say we haven't seen some impoverished places, run-down and even boarded-up areas - clearly Ohio has its part in the struggling American economy. But there's obviously a lot of effort to keep the state's roadsides and sidewalks tidy, and we travelers do appreciate this. 

As a bit of sun began to peep through the clouds, we returned "home" to the campsite with glee, knowing we could FINALLY throw something on the grill for dinner.  It would be our first outdoor meal, sitting around a sizzling (wet) fire in our damp outdoor chairs, but hell, those pork ribs were good! Hocking Hills State Park is a nice little place, an awful lot of people here, though, during off-season, nothing like the state park near Cleveland. Why so many people here? Well, we'd find THAT out… tomorrow.

Landscape

Driving through miles and miles of farmland, we wonder how it is that our years in Maine have given us the impression that Ohio is an industrial state.  I'm certain there must be industry here, especially with the state's proximity to Detroit, but we've seen very little of it.  The endless winding roads of green and cows and silos and cornstalks have been a delicious surprise.

Traveling south from Cleveland toward the Columbus area turned out to be the pleasantest of drives, even with the persistent rain that's accompanied (dogged?) us throughout this trek.  We're aware now that the Amish community is far more prevalent than we realized - the watch-for-the-buggy signs that dotted our route in upper-state New York and Pennsylvania, are a regular feature on Ohio's back roads.

Who knew there were brick roads anywhere except those leading to Oz?  But here, in some little town we passed, were brick roads.  They gave the Buglet a bit of a jolty ride, and our hair stood on end as we considered what such roads must do to snowplows (and vice-versa).  But they are very pretty indeed, these bricked pathways, and we're delighted someone's seen fit to not pave over them.

We arrived at Hocking Hills State Park, just outside of Columbus, toward nightfall, time enough only to eat a quick dinner before hitting the sack.  Rain remained in the forecast for the next day (Friday), so we knew it would be a city day.  And yes, we awoke to the wet and the glumness, and hightailed it out of the campground seeking at least the cheeriness of city lights.

 

 

Rock 'n Roll!

Our Wednesday in Cleveland was just fun! We spent the day at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where we lolled for about four hours on the bottom floor alone (there are six stories), wending through the history of early rock-n-rollers. Being children of the 50's and 60's, we knew most of these early influencers, but there were some we'd never heard of and realize we should have known, as their input was huge. The height of our time there was watching a longish documentary on the Beatles, and yes, seeing Paul's old round-collar Beatles jacket and John's eyeglasses... John's bright-green Sergeant Pepper costume... John's report card from school! ("A very intelligent boy...")

In the afternoon, we made our way through the other exhibits (a terrific one entitled Women Who Rock), then took in a 3-D movie featuring a concert U2 gave in Argentina - VERY cool, best seats at the concert for us! We are generally not 3-D fans, but this was beautifully done. The best use of 3D we've ever seen. We ended the day with arms full of t-shirts for loved ones back home, wishing only that they could have been there with us to view the displays! Jacquie's musician brothers and Dave's music-loving brothers, our daughter who came of age in the time of punk/grunge, our drummer son-in-law, even our grandchildren (who'd have ewwwww'd loudly over Lady Gaga's meat dress), would have found things to enjoy.

A quiet Wednesday evening of eating warmed leftovers in the Airstream, and putting our noses into novels we'd brought along until we fell asleep to the drumming of rain on our aluminum roof, a happy sound. Tomorrow, we move to another state park, new adventure!

OH.... Ah!

We started this cool-autumn-weather trek to OH with mixed hearts: a few days prior to departure, Dave's elderly Aunt Charlotte had a heart attack and was immediately hospitalized. Thence came a period of watching and waiting, as we were told she was stabilized, but we didn't want to leave the state without being certain she was okay. Finally, with no worsening in her symptoms, and after a couple of phone conversations with her, we decided to go ahead.

This trip to Ohio has as its ultimate purpose a trip to the Airstream Factory in the town of Jackson Center. The Buglet has a few booboos we're hoping to have repaired, and well... we've needed some time away, have never seen this state, and are just ready for some new adventures. And seeing the Factory is hugely exciting for us! We've been fantasizing with the thought of viewing all their models in a grand "showroom," but have since been told they don't have showrooms; apparently, it's just a factory... Still!

We left on a sunny Saturday morning, the roads through Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont lined with trees in variegated autumn turnings - foliage not as bright as in some years, but pretty nonetheless. Our first night was spent in a small Springfield, Vermont campground: cozy, clean, and comfy, and with wonderful owners. The next morning before resuming our trek, we were invited to a coffee-and-donuts gathering in the campground's "meeting cabin," and loved talking with a man who's lived in Springfield all his life. He shared with us an overview of the town's history (the town was on Hitler's bombing list, because of the wartime activity of the tool factory in which this man had spent his working years). The story of Springfield is very much like the boom-and-bust stories of many New England (and American) towns in the past 20 years.

The owners of the campground are a couple pf brothers whose family includes a long line of artists. This wonderful welded sculpture that now can be seen there once graced the grounds of the Connecticut State House.

Onward Sunday to and through upper-state New York to a state park in Seneca Falls (which is home of the first Women's Rights convention in the 1920's). Not much to say about the park - its lake was pretty, but with poor weather and visibility and a pair of tired driving puppies, it was mostly an overnight parking spot. We loved the New York travels, though, delighted to find ourselves unexpectedly at one point in Amish Country, as we shared the road with their horses and buggies. Their farms are so beautifully bucolic, always does the heart good to remember there are quiet ways of living in the world.

Monday we crossed into Ohio - which looks very much like upper-state New York. We made our way to Punderson State Park, which is very quiet right now (not even park rangers here!), and VERY lovely. Our site overlooking a lake was truly pretty, although again, poor weather kept us from being able to sit outside to enjoy the view.

Tuesday we decided to explore Cleveland, about an hour away from the state park, and a pleasant drive into the city brought us to the Cleveland Art Museum. This is a quiet little gem!  Unfortunately, some of the exhibits weren't available due to reconstruction, but what we could see was impressive, including an incongruous-but- cool exhibit of medieval armor (why in Cleveland?).

One of our favorites exhibits was Brian Ulrich's "Retail - Thrift - Dark Stores" show. Over ten years, Chicago native Ulrich has photographed people shopping in "big-box" stores ("Retail"); then he shifted his focus to thrift stores and their vast swampings of big-box discards ("Thrift"); and finally, a series of photos of empty strip malls and once-thriving business places such as Circuit City stores ("Dark Stores"). Powerful and a telling overview of, well... the boom-and-bust story we'd just heard from our Vermont friend, and see everywhere on our travels.

Next-door to the Art Museum is the Cleveland Botanical Gardens site, which because of heavy rainfall, we couldn't tour in the way we'd have liked to. Still, we toured the indoor exhibits, which were charming - many gasps at the weird big old baobab tree (the kind that's in story of The Little Prince), bizarre plants and flowers of Madagascar, butterflies, birds, weird little critters. We just loved this, and our next visit to Cleveland will include a longer visit to the outdoor gardens.

We decided to get dinner in the city, and were blessed with one of the most delicious meals we've had in years! Moxie Restaurant, in nearby Beachwood, is tucked into an unimpressive space - one of those ex-strip-mall places Ulrich might have photographed - hardly welcoming. However, the staff was warm and genuine, and the food.... the food!!! Our appetizers were a sweet little oyster-mushroom tart and a "hot-pear" salad, and our entrees, a couple of rich, redolent autumn-ish braised meat dishes. NO ROOM for dessert, of course. Why cover such savory sumptuousness with anything more than a cup of dark coffee?

 

The Brakeman Cometh

Our Friday was spent entirely at the campground today, as David donned his mechanics' hat and took on the repairing of the Airstream's booboos.  Fortunately, it was a beautiful day weather-wise, with cool temps and a bright sun keeping everything well-lit and relatively bug-free!

While Dave clanked and yanked and replaced parts, Jacquie did a bit of embroidery (a piece to finish for an aunt's birthday in August), and read, rode her bike. It's hard not to feel a bit guilty about having free time when your love is engaged in such a big-deal project! But Dave wrapped up repairs by mid-afternoon, leaving time for us to go bike riding and to work a jigsaw puzzle together on our picnic table while sipping coffee and breaking off bits of chocolate bars.

A day of repair, recuperation, reclamation of the kind of ease we'd had earlier in the week. We finished our day by grilling up pork ribs and then crawling into our cozy little bed to watch Mad Men episodes on Dave's computer. Life is good... again.

 

 

Odds, Ends, New Bike

We knew our Thursday in Grand Isle would require a search for tools and brake parts, as Dave would have to complete the Airstream wheel repair begun by the roadside mechanic the day before. So, after waking early, we headed into Burlington, Vermont's largest city (which isn't saying much: it's tiny and clean and lovely). We started with a delicious breakfast at Penny Cluse Cafe, and then walked for a bit along beautiful Church Street.

Our daughter went to college in Burlington and loved living here, and it's a favorite city of ours, too. Church Street, the central "avenue," has changed somewhat since our last visit; the infiltration of J. Crews and Banana Republics is here, but there are still many wonderful local shops, restaurants, and coffee houses.  The street itself is lovely, completely blocked to traffic and filled with benches and comfy places for people-watching.

After a bit of meandering, we made our way to a local bicycle shop a few blocks down the hill. We've long wanted folding bikes to take along on our Airstream trips, something that wouldn't take up much space in the car but would allow us to ride the sweet roads of most state parks we visit.  A bit of luck (a friend wanting to sell her new, unused one) brought one to Jacquie a couple weeks before leaving for our vacation, but Dave was still in need of one, so we went searching, and alas, found one he loved very quickly, and on sale!

From there we sought out RV repair places, trailer repair places, car part stores, etc., as Dave got the necessary brake parts and tools he'd need for fixing the Buglet.

Finally, we stopped at a place we come to with every visit to Vermont - beautiful Shelburne Farms, home of what is hands-down the most delicious cheese made in the country. (Our humble opinion, but must add we've never been to Wisconsin!)  This is a working farm, and their cheeses have won numerous national awards - it is just scrumptious stuff. It's not uncommon for us to leave Maine with orders from family members who also want their cheese fix! There are always cool events happening at the farm, too, as visitors are invited to tour the working buildings, pat (or milk) the cows, ride on hay wagons, learn about other aspects of farming, etc.

With our car full of cheeses and brake parts, we headed back to Grand Isle State Park just as a light rain started sprinkling down. For folks in Northwest Vermont, more rain is not a welcome thing. Lake Champlain has been above flood stage for quite a few weeks now, as we saw on our way back to our campsite.

No mind, as a pot of homemade tomato soup and grilled sandwiches made with Shelburne Farms cheddar would be the perfect ending to our day.