On to Maryland from Mock Family Historian Conference

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Thursday, October 20th. Left for Gallipolis, Ohio from the Waverly Wal-mart. Starting mileage was 18517 and it was still raining.

Traveled back down highway 35, a very nice 4-lane, toward Gallipolis and turned off to Bob Evans Farm to check if they had found my shirt. No luck. Continued on from there on a narrow windy farm road to enter Gallipolis from the north. Gallipolis sits right on the Ohio River and has some interesting old historic buildings. The town was originally laid out by a party of French aristocrats known as the "French Five hundred." They were escaping punishment after Bastille Day. However, the French were swindled in the deal by an American Company and G. Washington had to send men to help them out by building log cabins and setting up a town.

We were headed here to meet with a group of individuals that all have some variation of the German Mock name as an ancestor for what we call a Mock Family Reunion. It was held from Friday morning the 21st until Sunday night the 23rd at the Quality Inn. We have attended a couple of other reunions and have met many of the people who came this time. We met some new "cousins", one of which was really a new cousin, but many times removed. Our common ancestor lived 5 plus generations back in the 1700's.

The woman who hosted the event had arranged with the nearby community of Chester to serve us lunch on Saturday at the community center. One Mock family had moved here in the 1800's from Virginia and had been very active in settling the town. We toured the church that Mocks had helped to establish and build and took pictures of the power plant that now dominates the area. Because of its' pollution the plant has purchased the town and has begun to tear down some of the homes making green spaces where they had been.

A good time was had by all!

Sunday, October 23, 2011 Quality Inn at Gallipolis, Ohio. Starting mileage is 18590. 53 degrees at 11:45 am.

Spent time talking with friends over breakfast. Studied the Ohio map and decided on a route using county roads to Chillicothe to finish up any family research. We had a few days to kill before heading to Washington, DC to pick up my son Christopher who was coming in from Singapore on the 27th to visit his sister and then ride with us back to Atlanta.

Heading through farm country on these small windy roads that are pure Appalachian in feel. Many signs to watch for buggies are posted on the road as Amish families live in the area--saw at least two. Arrived at Lake Alma State Park to find the park had REALLY celebrated Halloween that weekend with contests and haunted trails. RVs had competed in decorating their spaces in Fall and Halloween themes. Nice campground on a lake, loved by a large flock of Canada Geese, with nice facilities for camping. There were even small cabins that could be rented.

Monday, October 24th, 2011 Lake Alma State Park. Starting mileage is 18641 with temperatures at 48 degrees and skies very cloudy.

Continued through small communities, heading to Chillicothe, the first capitol of Ohio, to check out the library’s old newspaper collection for any obits. Pike County was part of Ross County so the early news was printed in that county's newspaper. At the library, I found there was only one reader and I could only reserve it for an hour at a time. With many people waiting to use it, we saw it would take all day to get another turn. Needless to say, it was a very frustrating experience. After looking during my hour time limit, and not finding anything, we decided to head on up the road toward MD. Rosie II's generator was acting up so, looked up a Roadtrek dealer in the direction we were headed and made an appointment for service on Wednesday.

Cut across on highway 159 through the town of Lancaster and then north toward Zanesville. Got gas in village of Kingston at $3.259 per gal taking 15.283 gals for a total of $49.81. We discovered that Lancaster is the birthplace of General Sherman and about 40 miles further northeast on highway 22 was his home. We bypassed Zanesville proper and joined Interstate 70 toward Wheeling at that point. This area is an interesting section of the country and I would like to explore it more. Besides being the home of the famous Roseville Pottery, the boyhood home of John Glenn and Zane Grey are nearby, both with museums.
Pulled into Barkcamp State Park right off Interstate 70 at exit 208 and found a place to set-up that didn't have black walnut, "green bombs", all over the ground of the parking spot. Somehow, I thought they might be a bit noisy in the night!!!

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 Barkcamp State Park so named because there was a camp at this location where they peeled off the bark of trees prior to floating them down the river. CCC did a nice job here and the lake is quite extensive. Clear and cold with temps at 50 degrees at 9:45. Mileage to start was 18814.

Lots of robins, squirrels, and woodpeckers out this morning being very busy. Drove down to the boating area and looked at a number of fishermen out on the misty water. Watched a hawk of some sort swoop low from her/his perch on a nearby tree and fly over the water. Really nice picnic area and many trails for hiking.

A lot of Quakers settled in this area of Ohio and so it was a very active route in the underground railroad with "The South" being just over the Ohio River . Drove north to the community of Flushing that had advertised a museum of this activity in the area. We found the museum doors locked even though we were there during the times posted on the door that said it was supposed to be open. Stopped into a hardware store next door and the woman said she had a key and would let us in. She locked up her store and talked with us a bit as we looked around at the poor little "museum". Not at all what we had expected is a significant understatement. Thanked the lady for her kindness and then went down the street to a little grocery store and got bread and snacks.

Rejoined Interstate 70 and Valerie fought truckers, road construction, and poor roads into Hagerstown, MD. Got gas at 19081 for $3.499 per gal and took 14.29 gals for a total of $50. Drove around Hagerstown and then found the Wal-mart. When driving into the lot and looking for a good spot to park, we were stopped by some RVing snowbirds from Quebec who needed a jump on their towed car. After helping them and politely refusing a drink later on, we settled into our spot for the night.

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