OHIO!

We are in Ohio to visit family and friends and attend Golfer's 50th high school reunion.  Also on schedule are an Indians' game, some golf, some shopping and some sightseeing.  And some great food.  :)

But I get ahead of myself.  Before all this good stuff could happen, we actually had to get here.  We left home on Tuesday about noon.  We like to go up and around D.C. and then take the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  We ran into worse congestion and traffic around the D.C. area than usual, but we had no major problems.  Got to our hotel.  Walked to Olive Garden for some soup and salad.  Then Wednesday morning the fun began.

We had breakfast and headed out.  We always stop in Breezewood to fill up the gas tank and then enter the turnpike.  Very fortunately !!!!! we saw the sign that said the entrance was closed.  It was really closed.  Eighty-five miles of the turnpike were closed due to an accident.  An eighteen wheeler - do not get me started on trucks - overturned and closed the Eastbound lanes and most of the Westbound lanes.

So.  Golfer got us on Rt. 30 and away we went.  Behind all the trucks and other traffic heading West.  Going up hills and down hills and around curves.  Going about 20 to 25 miles per hour.  On two lane roads.  Yay.  #%!!@#**&!! 

To make it more interesting, at one point we were two cars behind a guy with a trailer hauling some kayaks.  Going up one of those hills he lost his load.  Kayaks started falling off and sliding all around the road.  No place to stop, or pull over.  Golfer got us around just fine.  The guy drove another two miles before he realized he lost his load and turned to go back.

Finally we made it to Ohio, over three and a half hours later than we planned.  Let's just say stress levels were high and we were exhausted.  But all is well now.  And Golfer has found another route that we will be trying!

One good thing about all this is that the detour took us past the Flight 93 Memorial site.  We weren't going anywhere any time soon so we stopped.  It is very impressive.  The site is not finished, but we got to walk down to the crash site and we saw the wall of names.  If you are ever in the area of  Stoystown, PA, take time to stop.

As we were creeping along, I was looking at the scenery and reading the signs.  I love the names given some towns and would like to know how they came up with them.  One in particular is Hoffsopple, PA.  I'm sure there's a story there.  :)

I mentioned food.  Golfer's brother works part-time for Amish Door Restaurant, in Wilmot Ohio, as their driver.  This is in addition to his regular full time job.  Since Amish folks don't drive, they sometimes need a driver to get to their jobs.  Lar picks them up and takes them to the restaurant for their jobs.  He drove us all around the area and we had lunch there.  I had the BEST fresh peach pie I've ever had!  Also on this trip we checked out a fresh produce stand, and small bakery shop at someone's house, and bought the Trail Bologna and cheese we always get to take home.  It was a fun day!

Sadly, even though it was a fun evening, the Indians did not win last night.  :(  But there was a lot of traffic!  Can't get away from it! The Browns were playing last night, too.  And there is a lot of construction going on in Cleveland.

Golfer just left to play golf.  I am heading out soon to visit my niece and have lunch later.  This evening Golfer and I are going to have dinner with a friend we haven't seen in forty years.  He was stationed in Germany and worked with Golfer when we were there.

I hope everyone is well and happy.  Stay safe!