On the Road to Sandusky, Ohio

Yesterday morning we packed up the trailer in-between the passing rain squalls and the flashes of lightning.  All during our travel north on the freeway, and east on Hwy 24, we were under a thunder storm.  We were able to outrun the storm once, and then we stopped for lunch, and thereafter we were back under the storm, till we stopped for the day.  We traveled through the heartland of Illinois and Indiana, and we passed through many small towns, some so small that there weren't any fast food franchises.  A lot of these towns have some really old brick buildings downtown that have the name of the first owner and the date when built on the front face, and a lot date to the late 1800s.

The drought has hurt the corn for hundreds of miles in all directions, and as we drive along, we notice that some fields are hurt really bad, and a few miles down the road, the corn looks the normal green.  There must have been small local rains from passing storms, at just the right time to dampen the soil in some areas to keep the crops growing and green.

When choosing our route of travel, the secondary road of US24 was the straightest route, and saved us 30+ miles of travel, and we also avoided the toll road across the top of Indiana, and Ohio.  This route through the heartlands has saved no time, and is taking longer to travel, but it is new road for us, and gives us interesting views of the countryside.  We drove on the toll road in northern Indiana a few weeks ago, and the cost was $10.00 for less than 30 miles, remember our trailer has three axels.  The same distance for the van alone is $1.80.  We don’t avoid toll roads entirely, and a short trip is ok, but a few hundred miles of toll road fees would add a lot to an already expensive travel day.

The water here just outside of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a lot better than that of the RV Park in Champaign, Illinois.  The coffee couldn’t even cover up the bad smell and taste from their well water, and the shower and hot water made it a challenge to want to want to get clean in the mornings, I’m glad we have moved from Champaign.

When we were checking in at the RV Park last night, the girl at the counter asked about our travels, and when we said Sandusky, Ohio, she got really interested and asked if we were going to Cedar Point Amusement Park, the Roller Coaster Capital of the World.  Seems that this is quite a destination, kind of a Disneyland of the Great Lakes.  To be honest, I only looked at Museums, and Landmarks, and points of historical interest around the local area in choosing this town.  I have looked at some of the roller coaster rides that Cedar Point has to offer, and they just sound mean, I think that I’ll pass on them, for fear of getting another stroke.  We might visit the park, it is huge, 364 acres and they have 60 or so gentler rides to try, other than the roller coasters.