Michigan to Ohio ... A Nail Biter For A Country Girl!!

It was another beautiful day in Taylor/Dearborn Michigan as we hooked up the toads and hit the road South to duck around Lake Erie.  We passed a huge Ford Plant, but I couldn't get my camera out fast enough!!  It was a freeway day ... ALL DAY ... with my shoulders ending up around my ears.  Thanks to Tom's steady 55mph, it was doable!!!

The trucks max out on the freeways here going 70 mph ... even these eight axle guys.  They are not the biggest however, because I've seen 9 axle trucks!!  The weight limits out here must be HUGE!!

It didn't take long to hit the Ohio border.  The states are a lot smaller on the East Coast and you can cross one before you know it!!  In Ohio if you want to move along, your best choice is the Turnpike .. a toll road.  As we pulled up to the first gate, I didn't expect to have to pull a ticket from a machine.  It was hard enough squeezing through the small opening without crunching my rear view mirrors.

Down the road when I needed fuel, we had to pull off the Turnpike directly into a ticket station, pay $3.25, fuel up at a Shell station for $3.79 a gallon and return through the same station for another ticket in order to get back on the highway.  Not that the Ohio Turnpike is any better as far as road surface, but it is easier to navigate ... except half of it was under construction.  I think we threaded the needle for about 10 miles with barriers on either side of a narrow one lane roadway.  When we finally passed most of it, this amazing bridge came into view.  The cables seem to be only on one side, but holding up the entire bridge.  I held my breath over this one!!

The second half of the turnpike cost us $8.50, when we exited and headed towards Cleveland.  Again with the construction, fast trucks and narrow lanes.  The building on the far right hand side is the Cleveland Indians Baseball Stadium.  Wish I had a better picture, but my camera went sailing off the dash, hit the tile floor and skated down the steps to the door.  I'm pretty sure it died an awful death!!

So I-Phone it was as we crossed over this river, half of which was under construction.

Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the "Women of Rock and Roll" exhibition at The Henry Ford was the closest we were going to get.  I just wanted to get back to two lane roads!!

People didn't appear to read very well when driving ... the sign that said "Trucks Right Lane Only" didn't phase the truckers who stayed in the left lane (for cars only), nor did the "50mph Construction Zone" signs have any meaning at all, other than to fan us as trucks driving 60 mph made them rock back and forth.  So no wonder they made these signs highly visible!!!  These aren't off-ramp signs ... there is a bend in the freeway around the corner requiring you slow down!!!

They run three trailers out here also and think they own the road.  As much as we had to fight with them for lane changes, they always won!!

At 5:00 we pulled in to the Elks Lodge #208 in Ashtabula Ohio.  Whew!!!  I can finally relax!!  It's hard when a country girl drives a big rig out here ... I never know whether to speed with the crowd or follow the speed limits!!  

We have a 110 plug for fans and TV, which is perfect as we sit 100 yards from Lake Erie.  Dinner at the Elks was excellent!!  My poor camera isn't feeling well and wouldn't give up the pictures I took of the Lake last night, so maybe I'll have some for tomorrow.  Today we pick up a geocache in Ohio, with Buffalo in our sights for this afternoon!!