Highlights

Instead of publishing a long day by day journal, I’ve decided to focus on some of the highlights of our trip. Hope you enjoy - feedback welcome!

1st Week, July 2018

Cincinatti to Versailles

Our adventure started at 5:00am when our hotel was struck by lightning and the power went out. Promises of thing to come. Cold shower, no breakfast, but who cares - this is the day we return to the RV.

I recorded Glen opening the RV door for Twitter but it doesn’t really show the emotions we feel being back home in our “happy place”

Our first night reservations were for Versailles State Park. Not far but the clouds were building up. We stopped in Lawrenceburg IN, and went in to a daring little cafe named Sweet Retreat Bakery Cafe. What happened inside was amazing. We were welcomed into a hidden gem of a tea shop and served delicious soup by the owner and her grandchildren.

While we were there our cell phones suddenly started buzzing and a lady at the next table told us that it was signalling a tornado watch! Kudos to the wonderful women in the cafe. They taught us the different between tornado watch & tornado warning, the way to pronounce Versailles like a local (Ver-sale-s) fed us soup and free cookies. The two lively granddaughter even lined up chairs by the front door so we could watch the storm.

We must have been there over an hour before the rain and lightning slowed down enough for Glen to get the RV and bring it back to pick me up. Then on to the camp site and our first night in the RV

Versalles to Lebanon

How magical to wake up in the RV! Cloudy skies but no rain yet. We head into Versailles for their Saturday Farmers Market. Small but nice, we stocked up on giant zucchini, onions, zucchini bread and fresh pork burgers. This is the way we love to shop on the road. On to Madison. We visited this town on our last trip but wanted to go back for some Christmas shopping. Beautiful town. While I hit my stores Glen wandered into a music shop and wandered out with a mandolin! Finally! He’s needed one to keep in the RV for a long time.

Sun is shining with the odd rumbling from overhead clouds, we continue on to Coventry for a street party. Clouds opened up just as the music was about to start so we had dinner in the RV to wait it out. Turned out to be a waste of time. When we finally got to the street party it wasn’t as good as advertised so we drove into Cincinnati for a tequila festival. This was more like it! As the rain poured down we donned our slickers and listened to some really great music and watched dripping wet partiers dance on the sidewalk.

Home was a KOA in Lebanon, a 30 minute drive.

Hocking Hills State Park

Woke up this morning to a shot of coffee - literally. Glens coffee maker blew up just as I was stepping out of the bathroom and I look a full hit of wet grinds in the face! No harmful damage but it got into my hair not to mention the walls, floor and ceiling. Took us awhile to wash down the RV.

We spent the afternoon hiking the Ole Man’s gorge right next to the park. We hiked almost 5 miles past beautiful waterfalls and incredible overhangs referred to as caves. The first couple miles where crowded with tourists which detracted from the ambiance of the area. Luckily the majority turned back at the lower falls and we were able to continue to the Whispering Cave in relative silence. We walked over 5 miles in total.

Cleveland

The Heart of Rock and Roll is definitely in Cleveland. We found a convenient cheap parking stop next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and excitedly entered just before noon. We tried to get here earlier but the morning in the RV park was just too nice to rush. We crawled out of the museum when it closed at 9:00pm, saturated with info and emotions even though we didn’t see everything. Debated returning the next day but decided to tour the steamship William G. Mather instead. I had never been on a freighter before so it was a great opportunity to play on one. Since this was also my first sighting of Lake Erie, it was very interesting to leave about Great Lake shipping from the docents.

Sandusky

We learned the power of living next to the Great Lakes. Drove into Sandusky to attend a street party. It was a beautiful evening as we sat on a restaurant patio to have dinner and watch the entertainment. When we left the restaurant we finally noticed that the street had been blocked off and the roof was missing from the building two lots down! A local told us that during a fairly mild rain storm last night, a small waterspout developed, came ashore and destroyed two buildings. Nothing else was damaged. Sad to see an old building being damaged like this, it was about to start another life as a condominium but it’s doubtful it can be saved now.