The Bridges of Ashtabula County ...

No, not Madison County, and I doubt Clint Eastwood has ever been here in Ashtabula Ohio, but it IS well known for it's covered bridges, as well as being the third most notorious saloon-bordello town in the world, rivaling the Barbary Coast of San Francisco.  Located on the shore of Lake Erie, it had direct access to the shipping corridors and ports of the world, and you know how those sailors of old were!!

This is the view as you walk towards the Elks patio.  We decided to stay one more day here in Ashtabula while Barbara works on some internet problems.

The weather is cooperating gloriously ... it's been sunny and in the high 70's.  

Looking for an Ohio geocache for one more notch in my belt, we went to the museum at Point Park, overlooking the Ashtabula River.  This was a major port for shipping coal around the world.  Trains brought it in on the far side of the river, this huge conveyor transferred it to THIS side of the river, where it was loaded on ships ... and still is to this day!

A couple blocks to the right is the vehicle bridge that crosses the river.  It was raised and lowered three times in about 30 minutes.  This is also Bridge Street, aptly named, the infamous part of town!

Not so notorious now, there's an ice cream shop, a choclatier, a coffee shop ... small businesses trying to stay afloat.  The buildings are covered in gingerbread with those beautiful tin ceilings inside.  Most of the original doors and hardware are still intact ... a great place to walk and admire old world craftsmanship!

Barbara and Tom directed me to this corner in Geneva (a few miles south) where there used to be a cache.  Watch out for traffic here ... the "Walk" sign doesn't give you enough time to even get halfway across before it says STOP again!!  

No worries, around the corner on Liberty Street is the Liberty Street bridge where a cache was found.  You see Ashtabula County is known for the longest and shortest covered bridge.  This was a culvert in a small ditch that needed to be replaced.  They got this great idea, let the school kids design, engineer and create the 18' span, then place it here, along with a guard house to collect tolls.  Really, it's just a replica guard house ... they don't charge to cross the creek!!

While the Westerfields went to the Verizon store in the morning, I checked out the longest covered bridge.  This Smolen-Gulf bridge is relatively new, having been built by the County.  

Down a long narrow dirt road, I found a "real" covered bridge.  This one built by the Olins, who lived just across the way on the right.  They even made their old house into a Covered Bridge Museum, but I didn't have time to check it out.  In the old days, whoever built the bridge, charged for crossing by the number of cows, chickens or horses you were taking with you.  

It was a beauty to be sure, now held up by concrete pillars in the water.  

While out geocaching, we tried to navigate on Barbara's new (free) toy from Verizon, but it appeared the processor just wasn't fast enough to keep up with my Jeep and the County Bridge Map needs definite overhaul.  After making a few wrong turns, we finally found a couple more bridges.  This one is also held up by concrete pillars, since cars weigh a little more than horse and buggies.  The saggy windows reveal it's real age, but don't ask me what that is.  The writing on the map is so small none of us could read it!!

This bridge does have a weight limit, so about 20 feet away is a modern day bridge for truck traffic.  These bridges are all in use ... they're not just to look at, so listen for cars coming when you're standing in the middle of the road taking pictures!!

This one was the best of those we saw.  It's a REAL covered bridge with no concrete pillars.  Another car stopped at the same time, and they complained about the tree and bushes being in the way ... and about the signs on the bridge, but we thought it was beautiful!!

Just look at that laminated beam on either side!!  

The waters were barely moving, making for great reflection images, except I couldn't get close enough to the water.  I could sit here for hours and watch the cars go by ... 

But we had to get on to the next bridge.  This is the first piece of big equipment I've seen out here.  Smolens of the longest bridge fame??  This is their farm ... a beautiful immaculately groomed one at that.  They're harvesting what looked like wheat or barley.  

A couple hundred yards away was the last bridge of the day.  This one has a little perspective problem that makes it look crooked, but in reality we don't think it wasn't falling over.  The creek it crosses is just a small one.

Unlike California where you don't see much in the way of flowers, this country is covered with them. These were behind the guard rail from the bridge, but they line the roads everywhere.  Not wanting to pick up any critters, we left them alone ... but they would look nice in a vase on my table!!

Today we head for Buffalo New York and hopefully a full hookup.  We're both short and long on water (if you know what I mean) and I had to buy some clothes, since all mine are dirty!!  We'll be there a couple of days, so we should be able to catch up!!

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!!

THE Henry Ford!!

Shhhh it's a secret ... yesterday was Tom's birthday!!

I guess the name Henry Ford is pretty familiar to everyone around the world, but here in Dearborn Michigan, you don't even have to describe what this is or where we went today.  The huge museum complex is simply called The Henry Ford.  It's rather different and contains some unexpected sections.  There's the expected section of old cars, then there's the old (and some newer) farm equipment.  There are lots of the biggest steam engines I've ever seen, and maybe the largest in the world ... then there is the section on furniture.  Just as you think you've got it down, up pops pewter and silverware, a section on clocks and the Weinermobile!

There were many examples of farm equipment from all different ages, but mostly from back East.  We expected to see a Fresno plow, but maybe that's a California thing.

I can only guess that the reasoning for including some old and some new was to see the progress from an invention standpoint.  I'm sure this tractor was much stronger and faster than horses, but I'm not sure the ordinary farmer could operate such a complicated piece of equipment!!  I wouldn't even want to try this beast!!

In Made In America Power, the steam engines brought here from all over the world are probably some of the biggest ever built.  From hauling water to powering a ship on the Great Lakes to providing power for an entire town, every kind imaginable is here.  I'm pretty sure this section wouldn't be interesting to most women, but you have to admire the builders of such gigantic equipment that made life easier.  

Here's one that did work for us ... a water motor.  Just attach it under your sink faucet and turn on the water, which moved the wheel inside and the gear outside, that when hooked to your sewing machine with a belt, let you sew with ease!!  Course it doesn't mention your sewing machine sitting in the middle of the kitchen or the wasted water.

There were tons of cars ... I skipped most of them ... to see what the early steam models looked like.  This is the oldest American made car in existence.  

There were lots of cutsie ones I wish I owned ... wouldn't you just love to drive this around town??

This Packard is the second car ever to drive across the United States from coast to coast.  

There were pink cars and blue cars and white cars .... I know, I'm bad for not taking more car images. There were Fords and Chevys (surprise) and Jeeps, a Volkswagon camper bus and a Corvair, a couple of race cars ... you get the picture, right??

In one corner of the building is an exhibit that changes from time to time.  This one was called Women Who Rock ... and featured this giant guitar out front.

From Billie Holliday to Lady Gaga, there were outfits worn by the women of rock 'n roll, along with a short story about each piece.  I'm not sure how Loretta Lynn fit in since I thought she was a country singer, but her beautiful pink dress was here.  Some of the outfits were pretty crazy, I mean what were they thinking??  

There was Janet Jackson, Cindy Lauper, Rhiana, Cass Stephens, Madonna, many that I recognized and many I had never heard of.  Cher's Indian Headdress outfit was here, but the silver body just didn't work for me.  Bob Mackie's original drawing is on the left.  On several screens around the room, you could watch the original performances.  

Henry Fords friend Buckminster Fuller got the brilliant idea to build a round structure of aluminum alloy, suspended from a central pole.  He needed a $10,000 investment to get this company going, but could only raise $3,000.  He built two, one of which is on display here.  One couple bought both, lived in this one for a short period of time and moved out.  It does have some interesting advantages, like a revolving chest of drawers and a water catchment system ... rain water runs down the INSIDE of the ceiling and is collected at the bottom.  It doesn't touch the ground ... it is suspended in air.   

Not my cup of tea, it apparently wasn't anyone else's either, and I imagine it was partly because this is the entire kitchen, with a sink about 15 inches wide ... and you think your RV is small!!!

Then there is the display of airplanes, including a DC3 called Heroes of the Sky.  This one is mounted upside down as if in the middle of a wing walking performance!!

Planes, trains and automobiles ... someone spends many hours cleaning here.  I did not see one spec of dust or dirt on any of the exhibits, although a few oil pans were visible to catch the drips!!

I think this was my favorite of the whole museum ... a steam engine that pulled stagecoaches down the tracks.  

An interesting concept to say the least, but whoever had to sit on the tiny seats in the middle I'm sure didn't have a comfortable ride.  

Then there was the real thing, the Pittman Brothers stagecoach!!

In the Driving America section they had a Chevy with a neon McDonald's sign and not to be left out, A & W Root Beer and White Castle.  Lamy's Diner just behind was resurrected and continues to serve sandwiches in the museum .... pretty good ones too!!

I missed Fully Furnished ... all about furniture design from old to new, the chair Lincoln was sitting in when assassinated and Rosa Park's bus.  This place is just huge and my feet were talking to me the entire time since walking about 20 miles the day before through Greenville Village.

Several Presidential cars were starting with Teddy Roosevelt's brougham, pulled by two horses. 

And Franklin Roosevelt's "Sunshine", a 1939 Lincoln, the first car built expressly for a President.

Dwight Eisenhower's bubble top, a 1950 Lincoln ... do you see a pattern here??

This was President Kennedy's 1961 Lincoln, the car he was assassinated in.   I imagine they leave the top up so as not to be "quite" so morbid.  There were more presidential cars you can see if you visit the museum.

Barbara and I did a quick walkthrough of the clock section.  They definitely have LOTS of tall clocks and mantel clocks ... even some early alarm clocks.   None appeared to be working, but I imagine it would have been a full time job to keep them all wound!!

There was so much more to see, but it was time to head out.  Believe it or not, it's TOM'S BIRTHDAY!!!  I didn't ... because when he said "tomorrow's my birthday", I thought he was kidding.   He wasn't.    Happy birthday to you ... happy birthday to you ... happy birthday dear TOM, HaPpY BiRthDaY to you!!!!!  Hope your free hamburger at Red Robin was the BEST!!!