Recently Rated:
Stats
Travels with Dewi--interesting place names in Ohio
Dewi and I left Madison yesterday morning and spent the night outside Toledo, Ohio--it was a long day of driving with only a couple of stops. It was sunny and quiter warm--even had the car windows down when I was in town.
Today we drove from Toledo to Akron (usually 3 hours) in about the same 9 hours--we took the scenic route along Lake Erie to begin with, driving under (hand to God, these place names are true) Fangboner Rd., on the way to Put-in-Bay, which is near Port Clinton. You connect the dots and creat your own punchline.
We also went to Lakeside--a quaint littletown that hosts a Chattaqua in the summer, but is like aghost town this time of year--not even a place to get breakfast! Then we went to Marblehead to see the lighthouse, whichwas pretty, but would have been more interesting if it had been open.
Also, it was noticeably colder, greyer and windier today. By time I stopped for lunch at 1 pm, there were even a few stray snowflakes coming doiwn! I wanted to go to a paper warehouse (don't ask) so that took a couplw hours after lunch. By time I finished there, we were having a real blizzard--it snowed 3-4 inches in about 4-5 hours and driving the last hour took me 2 hours and it was near-white-out conditions! This is the part of thge trip where we cross River Styxx Road--now who would name a road that? And put houses there? Did not see the Boatman. He probably thgought Hell was freezing ovder. 
The snow finally let up, but everything is covered-it looks like a Christmas card and the roads are all slushy.
If SJ is reading, we may have photos of Dewi in another Welsh-naamed town--if we can get credit for "Valley City, OH"--it is no more a city (less of one, even) than Valley, Wales. We made a U-turn just for the photo op outside the old train depot. Let me know--photos will probably have to wait til the end of April. We also came across a Muffler-Man-like thing up by the lakeand took a photo--don't think it was an actual Muffler Man, but similar.
Visited a couple of cousins tonight, then founda cozy hotel. More cousins tomorrow and maybe Friday morning, then on to Cleveland for the NAFOW planning meetings.
Stay tuned for any other interesting sightings. And, photos later.
Mona and Dewi
LOL! Multi-colored dragons! Those'll set Swansea Jack off, I'm sure!
It dropped into the 40s last night here--about 45-50 degree difference when the front came through. We went out for Indian food--I had Chicken Tikka Marsala--it was hot, but yummy. Off to drive home this morning.
Looking forward to more pictures. We too have had odd weather; the weekend was very hot and summery and now we are back to drizzle. Over here, we blame Gordon Brown.
I noticed in the the window of Carmarthen Tourist Office that there's a red dragon with a green breast and belly. I wonder if the green dragon that flew off had a bit of fun with a red one before he left.
BT#W, Gaynor, I have also been to Hell, Michigan (yes, aniother detour) and have a t-shirt that says, "I've been to Hell and Back"
Thanks, Gaynor. was a quick trip. I was home for a day and aa half and left to drive 600 miles the other direction--west to Iowa and then Nebraska. I am back in Iowa and driving the rest of the way home tomorrow. We went to Lucas, Iowa on Friday to see the John L. Lewis Museum. http://www.coalmininglabormuseum.com/ Very interesting. Then on to the Great Plains Welsh Heritage Centre in Wymore, Nebraska, for a board meeting. Dewi and I managed to visit 3-4 placith Welsh town names, so I will upload photos asfter I get home (and file our taxes). It was 93F here in Iowa when we got in about 2:30 pm. Tonight it is droping to aabout 47, so it is very windy. At home in Wisconsin, there is athreat of tornadoes with this big front going through. Last week I was complaining of 4 inches of snow in Ohio. I can hear Swansea Jack--'There's just no pleasing that woman!" LOL!
What a trip! Well done, Mona. And the place names don't bear examination really!! At least you got to the other side of the Styx and are here to tell the tale. Would have liked to see Dewi on the train but the pics were good.
Dewi and a "Muffler Man" at Marblehead, Ohio. Muffler Men were used to advertise (what else?) car mufflers, but any remaining ones are now generally re-purposed. You can read about this one HERE . There was a gas station and a Subway sandwich shop behind this Muffler Man, but he doesn't seem to be advertising anything now. I've seen a few along old Route 66 in Illinois, and other backroads in my travels. Some age better than others.
World's Largest Rubberstamp, Cleveland, Ohio. This was just behind our hotel--we would have been able to see it from our room, but there is another building between--I could see a corner of the park from our room, but not the stamp. Read more about it here.
Dewi in front of the depot at Valley City, Ohio.