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Published: October 21st 2012
Wipers fixed!
Not only did Buddy fix the powersteering but also did the water pump and replaced the motor for the wipers so they worked properly. We are so fortunate to have found an honest, economical mechanic.We were looking forward to a fall trip to see family and friends, and do it
beforethe snow came. When we came back from our trip to NC and FL in August, we took the RV to our trustworthy mechanic, Buddy, and he fixed the power steering and installed a new plate to tighten up the steering wheel. He had to drop the engine to do this and in the process, replaced several belts so we would be running smooth. On Monday morning early, we loaded the cats and headed north. We had gone about 7 miles when we noticed that we still didn't have heat from the engine. We pulled over and called Buddy and his response was, "Oh oh. Better bring it in." We turned around and took it in to him. He looked it over and discovered a leak in the line from the water pump. I asked him to also look at the wipers because they were sounding funny and working in a hurkey-jerky manner. Buddy promised to get right on it and we put the cats in the car and headed home.
A bit later we had a call with good news/bad news. Good news
Shelf clouds in Kentucky
When we first looked, we thought we had mountains ahead of us. Then we realized these were unusual shelf clouds, signaling a front moving in. Sure enough, in about 30 minutes we had a wicked storm and pulled off the road to a truck stop to wait out the wind and rain. was he could get the parts that day and have the RV ready. Bad new was it needed a new water pump and hose, new wiper motor and all this meant money. But what could we do? We went over at the end of the day, paid up, and thanked Buddy. Again, he pulled our tail out of the fire and we could take our trip. We opted to wait till the next morning since we would not have gotten far before dark.
Our original plan was to spend the first 2 nights in Lexington, KY area and see some horse farms, Fort Boonsboro, and relax. That went out the window with the delay so we pushed to get as close to central OH as we could. It was beautiful drive and the fall colors were just starting in AL and TN. As we approached KY we saw the sky darkening and at one point, the shelf clouds made wonderful patterns that looked like mountains in the distance. But the wind picked up, the rain started and we realized we were in for a real blow. So we wisely pulled off and into a truck stop, got out food,
Student Union
OK, I showed my age. I told Trish she had to see the "new" student union. We went in, and she commented, "Hmm, this building was built in 1968; where is the 'new' student union?" Duh.... and had lunch. The storm really raged and we noted even truckers were coming in to take a break.
After about an hour, we picked up and continued on to Cincinnati. That is one lousy city to drive through...particularly at rush hour....in a rain storm. Trish wanted to know why I didn't take the beltway east of the city. I thought it would be longer. Hmmm, maybe. But through the middle of the city was tough with crazy drivers, lanes suddenly becoming exit only lanes, and hustling drivers pushing and then veering to the left just as a lane exited. We finally got out of the main traffic, and then got off I-71 and headed to a Walmart to spend the night in Wilmington, OH.
After a good meal and some rest, we spent a reasonably quiet night and then started the next day for Wooster. We stayed off of I-71 and took US highways through Circleville, Mt. Vernon, Newark, and Loudonville up to Shreve, just south of Wooster to our campground. It was fun to see broad farms, graceful barns, and true "middle America." In Pickway County, there is a race for Sheriff. Saw signs and failed
The Pit
Really cozy spot in the winter. NOW they have WiFi through out and special lounge chairs with swing out shelves for laptops. sigh Some things have really changed. But it is still a comfortable place to be, even for an old far*. to stop and take a picture. "Lawless for Sheriff". That's OK, here in Alabama, we have a woman running for head of Public Utilities Commission name Twinkle and a judge in another county name Lust.
Once in the campground and set-up, we had lunch and then headed out to Kidron to Lehman's Hardware. This is one of the largest hardware stores for Amish you will find. They have a website and catalogs. If you want something non-electric, they have it. It's a wonderful store and lots of fun to explore. They have a large parking area, both for cars and buggys. Large tour buses come and the town makes the most of it all. We had a couple of things we needed, got those and did more shopping, then came back to the campsite. I called my friend Bill "Bails" Bailey and we made plans to meet the next afternoon.
I graduated from Wooster...long ago. I had not been back since 1993, when I was there for an afternoon. There have been a lot of changes and most of them were good. We got a parking spot finally (lots more cars for students than I recall) and went
The Shack
This was the hangout on campus for those who needed a break from the chapel service 4 days a week. It's still there, but much different inside. to the student union. First stop was the book store to buy some memorabilia. Shirts, jacket, hat, Christmas tree ornament, etc. Then we walked around the union and I told Trish some of the things I remembered, or thought I remembered, about the school. We were hungry so went upstairs to the large dining hall. Yes, we could eat there. Or, it was suggested, we could eat in the faculty lounge. Both were interesting, but one was too noisy and the other, too formal. I checked at the snack bar downstairs, but they didn't have what Trish was looking for. So we opted to walk to the Shack. This is a Wooster tradition, going back to at least when my uncle was there in the late 1950's. It was a hang out, complete with (gasp) a pin ball machine. It was technically off campus and served as a retreat for students not wanting to attend the mandatory chapel services held four days a week. My recall was it was smokey, noisy, and full of the far left hippies (60's) students who were "out there". I rarely went when I was in school...honest. Well, times have changed. There is no longer
Inside Shack
The Shack now serves alcohol. Food was awesome!! Hand made burgers and great chili for us that rainy day. The Underground (didn't see it) is where they serve beer on campus (!?!) mandatory chapel so now it is mostly profs and townies using The Shack. They serve liquor and will soon have license to sell beer. But the food was awesome!! One of the best burgers I've had in a long time. The place was not noisy or smokey and we saw a number of professors some meeting with students while we had lunch.
After lunch we walked around campus. Many of the buildings have had a face lift or been replaced. The chapel came down the year I graduated and a new in the ground modern monstrosity took it's place. Great for convocations, I suppose, but lacking the charm of the Gothic cathedral like structure it replaced. Over to the Speech and Theater building (my major) and a huge new theater complex. I had a chance to tour the radio station with a professor and met one of the students who had a show going. No longer any LPs, now all is digital. In fact, I wondered where the personal touch was as the person relied on pre-programmed sets. I tried listening in the car and couldn't discern the college station from dozens of others. I further learned that Broadcasting
Main classroom
The old trees that towered over the "quad" apparently were getting bad. So they took them ALL down and replaced them all at once. Eventually, the quad (where graduation used to be held) will once again have towering trees, only not elm this time. is no longer an emphasis, just a workshop. Sad. In talking with the professor, I also learned that theater is now a separate major, apart from speech and not required for a speech major. More sad. But, as Bob Dylan sang in the 60's, the times they are a changin'.
We strolled across campus to see the dorm I lived in but now all buildings have electronic locks and you can only get in with a special pass key. Good for safety and security but really crimps the style if you are organizing a panty raid. (I wonder if they do that, or even know what it was??) We ended up back at the Student Union for one last look at memorabilia and then made a call to Bails to see if he was free. He was so we headed to his house to catch up.
Bails was a year ahead of me at Wooster and we were in the same frat. We also worked on the radio station together. Bill had been a PoliSci major and gone into teaching out of school. He also continued his work in the probation office in Wayne County, eventually giving up
Beall Avenue
This street runs through the middle of the campus and is a major road. (Well....it USED to be.) These dividers make it more scenic and with the cross walk lights, make it much safer for students. Cars actually stopped for pedestians! teaching to be a county probation officer. He went on and got a law degree and then finally was elected Probate Judge. His wife, Vicki was a school teacher in the county. I was best man at their wedding in 1970 and Bill returned the compliment a year later by being my best man. So we go back a long way.
After talking for a bit, they suggested a drive in the country and then dinner at an Amish restaurant in the town of Walnut Creek. First we drove downtown and saw one of two huge billboards Bill has up in is re-election bid for Judge. He had retired earlier, but after being away from it for a short time, a number of citizens, both Democrat and Republican, begged him to run again and restore hope and sanity to the courts. (Actually, they didn't but it quite that way, but I've borrowed from Jon Stewart's rally a few years ago.) Bill took a picture of me by the billboard and posted it on Facebook. We drove through Wayne and Holmes counties (site of one of the largest concentrations of Amish in the world) and stopped briefly at a country
VOTE BAILEY FOR Judge
Bill Bailey stayed in Wooster, working in the Juvenile Courts and eventually was elected judge. He is running again and we were glad to see his sign outside of the town. store for cheese, chocolate, natural bacon and popcorn to take home. Then to Walnut Creek for a buffet at a wonderful eatery. We stuffed ourselves on chicken, swiss steak, potatoes and gravy, ham, fried fish and more. We topped it all off with ice cream sundaes. We came out from dinner and took time to admire the changing colors in central Ohio. It was truly wonderful.
We got back to their house and sat and had coffee and chatted till late in the evening. We had more driving the next day, so finally called it a night, thanking them for their hospitality and wising Bill well on the election. I hope we don't have to wait so long to see them and spend time with them again. Then it was back to the campground and feed the cats.
Next morning the rain from the previous 2 days had passed and it was cool but clear. We cleaned up the coach, added water to the storage, and kept our fingers crossed that we could back out over the grass (and mud) and get out of the site. We had no problem and made one last stop, at the office
Amish Country, OH
Bill and Vicki took us for a ride through Wayne and Holmes Counties to see the farms and fall foliage. of the campground, where the owner agreed to put up a Bailey for Judge sign at the entrance and have some handouts at the check-in desk. Then it was off to Geauga County and a chance to see John's family.
We made one stop on the way, in Medina, to find the grave site of my sister, Karen, who passed away in 1977. I was teaching at the time and the school board would not grant me time to go home for the funeral because it was the end of the year. (Another good reason to leave teaching two years later.) In previous trips home, we had come a northern route from Pittsburgh area and I had never had the chance to look for the grave. But this trip was different. Armed with a map from my Dad, sent before we left AL, we parked in a church lot across from the cemetery and proceeded to walk through the section until we found the grave. Trish and I pulled grass from around the edge of the marker; we paused for a bit in quiet remembrance, and then we headed on up to our next campground. I was sorry I
John, Bill, and Vicki
We hadn't seen Bill and Vicki since they visited us in DC in 2000. It was great to spend time with them and catch up. Some people you can go years without seeing and find you are still as comfortable with each other as you were 40 (OMG!) years ago. We're keeping our fingers crossed for his success on election day. couldn't have been there 35 years ago, but glad I finally made it.
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dad
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like your first chapter.......
We were concerned when we learned of your rough start, but the trip unfolds very nicely. Of course we have heard the details, but you sumarize beautifully. Less talk about food than usual? The Amish country takes us back to many trips and the scenic shot is perfect. So glad you got to Medina.