Monday, April 04, 2011
I don’t normally make reservations but the Louisville KOA Deal persuaded me to break my practice--bad move. I made it to Sheperdsville before the Thunderstorm, high winds, and Tornado Watch struck. Seems I reached the middle of nowhere. To the west the guns of Fort Knox boomed when Odin wasn’t hammering on the roof of the world. I soon discovered that high-speed internet has passed by this part of the world. Those bits and bytes are carried by snails here. Photo-finishes aren’t necessary here but the unpaved laneways have a Kentucky Derby Theme. After the cold front came through the temperature plummeted nearly 30 degrees.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
The day dawned with an azure blue sky with only a few fleecy clouds, light breezes, but cold. After the usual preparations drove over to the commercial area of Shepherdsville adjoining the highway and took the road between MacDonalds and Wendys as directed to find Krogers. Decided that since this is my second such visit that perhaps I should possess their loyalty card. This is only the 8th such card I’ve picked up in my travels; some stores use guest cards but not this one and the savings are quite significant--10% of my grocery order. The aisles of this store were blocked with what appeared a truckload of newly arrived goods and goods returned to a freezer that had recently been repaired. Add people in power-assisted carts and staff and getting around was difficult. Always interesting to note the items unique to an area. Big chains tend to even things out but there are always a few items that stand out. Like the catfish in the fish section and the fact that there was a fish market. Often items in the ready-made section stand out. Alas the selection of beers here could have appeared in any major grocery store across America.
At the gas pump outside I used my card again to save 3¢ a gallon though gas at $3.61 a gallon hardly seemed a bargain.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Drove up to Cincinnati. After Louisville I-71 was one big long construction project. At least it wasn’t a long drive. I’ve become accustomed to following the GPS so I hadn’t noticed that one doesn’t enter Ohio until one crosses the river and enters Cincinnati. The city seemed to drag on forever but eventually I reached the suburbs and my Hamilton County Campground.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
A beautiful day for a wonderful seven-mile bike ride around a spectacular park. Spring is happening and the birds, flowers, trees, frogs and fish are active. This park is an oasis of quiet close to such a large urban centre, the only sign of the world at large being the whistles of a distant train. Pumpkin Pie ice cream is good. A wren sat on the seat of my bicycle and serenaded outside my window.
Friday, April 08, 2011
The predicted rain has not obtruded to any large degree but the sky has remained largely overcast save for a brief stroke of sunlight in camp before I left this morning. Stopped at an Ohio Visitors Centre to pick up a map of the state and other info. Getting through the city of Dayton was tense but after that my route passed through rolling countryside. When I got off the highway at Wapakoneta I discovered that the town hosts several major truck stops. For once the KOA Kampground was exactly where the MS Streets Map placed it and the owners opened the office to welcome me. I was directed to a discount grocery store however I was not warned that the place accepts cash and debit cards only.
That evening I drove 5 miles east on Ohio 33 to find a former middle school which is now home to The Famous Tradition Music Company. The former classrooms and hallways are home to the largest collection of stringed instruments, antique clocks, storage cases, and vinyl records I’ve seen anywhere. At six I went back in to witness the 3-hour Blue Grass Jam and don’t expect to hear better banjo or mandolin playing anywhere. The folk/country jam down the hall in the kitchen was larger and had a mike but I returned to the Blue Grass. Best of all, the ‘show’ was free. Backing into a strange site with a tree nearby in the dark was tense but I managed it.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Toured the Neil Armstrong Space Museum opened in 1973 five years after the moon walk in July of 1969. A gentleman and his teenaged son who were doing the tour with me was born on the exact day. The museum was remarkable for the fact that all the ‘toys’ still worked. The docking simulator, the Eagle Lander, and other gadgets all performed. Outside was a jet which Armstrong once flew along with a mock-up of the Apollo Capsule. Inside was Armstrong’s first open-wing plane, an early jet; seems at sometime he flew virtually every craft that had wings. The museum is filled with a collection of memorabilia including his high school yearbook, baby pictures, team shots, various uniforms, disgusting looking tubes of food, awards and certificates, and pictures with everyone from Khrushchev to Nixon. Behind a door marked private was the paraphernalia of elimination in space. The 25-minute movie was projected on the inner wall of a moon shaped dome that sticks out of the museum built into a side hill. The only credit was an ad at the beginning from the producers. A tour of the town revealed a market town for the surrounding countryside with the usual impressive civic buildings and banks. The railway runs through the middle of the town and is a very busy line.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
After my hostess called the pastor I found my way Sunday morning to St Marks Evangelical Lutheran Church on Pearl St. The ringing of their carollonic bells on an exposed thirty-foot tripod first attracted my attention. I was greeted by a council member who eventually sat with me because his wife works a 4 AM shift at Wal-Mart. About 130 people were accompanied by a pipe organ and choir in singing though the Cantor managed to fumble chanting the Psalm. An excerpt from the movie Jesus of Nazareth was projected on a screen in lieu of the reading of the Gospel Lesson of the raising of Lazarus. The sermon was marked by a power-point presentation. My friend failed to recommend any place in town to go for brunch so I rode home.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Was awakened by cacophonous rainfall if not the thunder that preceeded it. Not having an interest in driving in it I went back to bed and slept until a robin pecking at its reflection in my rear window woke me at 10:30. The drive up to Toledo was unremarkable save for the wind that developed just as I was arriving in Perrysburg. The KOA Kampground in a stand of second growth forest was serviceable but nothing special. The two for one deal made it acceptable. The wind continued overnight and blowing from the north was like to return me south Tuesday Morning. Tonight’s overnight low of 32 feels ominous.
I don’t normally make reservations but the Louisville KOA Deal persuaded me to break my practice--bad move. I made it to Sheperdsville before the Thunderstorm, high winds, and Tornado Watch struck. Seems I reached the middle of nowhere. To the west the guns of Fort Knox boomed when Odin wasn’t hammering on the roof of the world. I soon discovered that high-speed internet has passed by this part of the world. Those bits and bytes are carried by snails here. Photo-finishes aren’t necessary here but the unpaved laneways have a Kentucky Derby Theme. After the cold front came through the temperature plummeted nearly 30 degrees.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
The day dawned with an azure blue sky with only a few fleecy clouds, light breezes, but cold. After the usual preparations drove over to the commercial area of Shepherdsville adjoining the highway and took the road between MacDonalds and Wendys as directed to find Krogers. Decided that since this is my second such visit that perhaps I should possess their loyalty card. This is only the 8th such card I’ve picked up in my travels; some stores use guest cards but not this one and the savings are quite significant--10% of my grocery order. The aisles of this store were blocked with what appeared a truckload of newly arrived goods and goods returned to a freezer that had recently been repaired. Add people in power-assisted carts and staff and getting around was difficult. Always interesting to note the items unique to an area. Big chains tend to even things out but there are always a few items that stand out. Like the catfish in the fish section and the fact that there was a fish market. Often items in the ready-made section stand out. Alas the selection of beers here could have appeared in any major grocery store across America.
At the gas pump outside I used my card again to save 3¢ a gallon though gas at $3.61 a gallon hardly seemed a bargain.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Drove up to Cincinnati. After Louisville I-71 was one big long construction project. At least it wasn’t a long drive. I’ve become accustomed to following the GPS so I hadn’t noticed that one doesn’t enter Ohio until one crosses the river and enters Cincinnati. The city seemed to drag on forever but eventually I reached the suburbs and my Hamilton County Campground.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
A beautiful day for a wonderful seven-mile bike ride around a spectacular park. Spring is happening and the birds, flowers, trees, frogs and fish are active. This park is an oasis of quiet close to such a large urban centre, the only sign of the world at large being the whistles of a distant train. Pumpkin Pie ice cream is good. A wren sat on the seat of my bicycle and serenaded outside my window.
Friday, April 08, 2011
The predicted rain has not obtruded to any large degree but the sky has remained largely overcast save for a brief stroke of sunlight in camp before I left this morning. Stopped at an Ohio Visitors Centre to pick up a map of the state and other info. Getting through the city of Dayton was tense but after that my route passed through rolling countryside. When I got off the highway at Wapakoneta I discovered that the town hosts several major truck stops. For once the KOA Kampground was exactly where the MS Streets Map placed it and the owners opened the office to welcome me. I was directed to a discount grocery store however I was not warned that the place accepts cash and debit cards only.
That evening I drove 5 miles east on Ohio 33 to find a former middle school which is now home to The Famous Tradition Music Company. The former classrooms and hallways are home to the largest collection of stringed instruments, antique clocks, storage cases, and vinyl records I’ve seen anywhere. At six I went back in to witness the 3-hour Blue Grass Jam and don’t expect to hear better banjo or mandolin playing anywhere. The folk/country jam down the hall in the kitchen was larger and had a mike but I returned to the Blue Grass. Best of all, the ‘show’ was free. Backing into a strange site with a tree nearby in the dark was tense but I managed it.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Toured the Neil Armstrong Space Museum opened in 1973 five years after the moon walk in July of 1969. A gentleman and his teenaged son who were doing the tour with me was born on the exact day. The museum was remarkable for the fact that all the ‘toys’ still worked. The docking simulator, the Eagle Lander, and other gadgets all performed. Outside was a jet which Armstrong once flew along with a mock-up of the Apollo Capsule. Inside was Armstrong’s first open-wing plane, an early jet; seems at sometime he flew virtually every craft that had wings. The museum is filled with a collection of memorabilia including his high school yearbook, baby pictures, team shots, various uniforms, disgusting looking tubes of food, awards and certificates, and pictures with everyone from Khrushchev to Nixon. Behind a door marked private was the paraphernalia of elimination in space. The 25-minute movie was projected on the inner wall of a moon shaped dome that sticks out of the museum built into a side hill. The only credit was an ad at the beginning from the producers. A tour of the town revealed a market town for the surrounding countryside with the usual impressive civic buildings and banks. The railway runs through the middle of the town and is a very busy line.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
After my hostess called the pastor I found my way Sunday morning to St Marks Evangelical Lutheran Church on Pearl St. The ringing of their carollonic bells on an exposed thirty-foot tripod first attracted my attention. I was greeted by a council member who eventually sat with me because his wife works a 4 AM shift at Wal-Mart. About 130 people were accompanied by a pipe organ and choir in singing though the Cantor managed to fumble chanting the Psalm. An excerpt from the movie Jesus of Nazareth was projected on a screen in lieu of the reading of the Gospel Lesson of the raising of Lazarus. The sermon was marked by a power-point presentation. My friend failed to recommend any place in town to go for brunch so I rode home.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Was awakened by cacophonous rainfall if not the thunder that preceeded it. Not having an interest in driving in it I went back to bed and slept until a robin pecking at its reflection in my rear window woke me at 10:30. The drive up to Toledo was unremarkable save for the wind that developed just as I was arriving in Perrysburg. The KOA Kampground in a stand of second growth forest was serviceable but nothing special. The two for one deal made it acceptable. The wind continued overnight and blowing from the north was like to return me south Tuesday Morning. Tonight’s overnight low of 32 feels ominous.
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