JOHNNY'S JOURNEYS: OHIO, INDIANA and KENTUCKY 2018

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AUGUST 17, 2018 (Friday)

The 3:45 alarm clock tells me I had less than 4 hours of sleep. One hour later and we're off to the

airport. Check-in went smoothly. I'm soon boarding another American Airlines plane for a flight to

Dallas – Fort Worth, TX. At 6:00 the half filled plane is airborne.

The passenger in front of my window seat is 3 or 4 years old. A few times, she reached back and

touched my leg. I was rather surprised when she placed a Gold fish cracker on my leg... and then

another. Ah, such innocence.

Breakfast / snack is a cup of Cran-Apple juice and a pack of Biscoff. It is touted as “Europe's

Favorite Cookie With Coffee”. After about 90 minutes, we land at DFW. A train takes a loop to the

different terminals. Three stops later I'm exiting at Terminal C. On the television type screens I see

where the Cincinnati flight is at Gate C-10. Arriving there, passengers are just starting to board for

Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac). Next is a flight to Philadelphia. Yes, I have a 2 hour & 45 minute layover.

I got to talk to someone from New Jersey. After 20 years living in Texas, she still has a Jersey

accent. And we chat about our two favorite baseball teams: Cincinnati and Philadelphia. That flight

leaves and I'm waiting a little longer.

There is a slight 10 minute delay as our flight takes off at 10:35. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep

for about one hour. I set my watch to Eastern time. We do reach the Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky

airport at 1:45. After retrieving my luggage, I take a shuttle to the Thrifty Car Rental place. For the

next few days I'll be driving a Chevy Sonic.

About 2:45 and I drove across the Ohio River into the Buckeye State. I drive through beautiful

downtown Cincinnati. Just relaxing and taking in the views. I drive around, taking it easy, before

arriving early at the Great American Ball Park. It has been 7 years since I was here, watching the Reds

play a game. Parking prices are $20, $15 and $10. I get some exercise with a $10 space.

Tickets range in price from $12 up to $295. I can see the same baseball game with a $12 ticket. And

if there are empty seats, I might change locations. Actually, I wandered around the ball field and sat in

five different places. From the upper deck, you can see the Ohio River!

First pitch between San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds was at 7:10. The announced number

of fans in attendance was 19,540. With a capacity of 42, 319... it is not even half full. Between innings,

the FAN CAMS are shown on the big scoreboards. Yes, I made it to the big screen! A few innings later,

I caught a souvenir red rubber ball (sponsored by Cincinnati Bell). At twilight, 2 dozen geese flew over

the stadium.

I took lots of photos around the ballpark. My favorite was “WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS: 1919,

1940, 1975, 1976 and 1990”! The game is tied up after 9 innings. In the bottom of the 11^th inning,

Phillip Ervin, who was born in Mobile, AL hits a solo homerun. And the Reds win it 2-1. It was nice to

see fireworks after the ballgame. A barge in the river launches fireworks after a Reds victory. I'm back

at my hotel at 11:10 and in bed before midnight. I've enjoyed my first day here.





August 18, 2018 (Saturday)

I woke up at 4 a.m. and had to turn on the heater. It is cold in Ohio. At 7:00 I go down for breakfast.

At 8:00 I've checked out and am driving to Indiana. I need to stop and take photos of the Indiana and

Ohio state signs. There are other interesting and historic signs and markers. There's Indiana's Historic

Byways; Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway; Ohio River Scenic Byway and the birthplace (4.5 miles

away) of Hannah Milhous Nixon. She was the mother of President Richard Milhous Nixon. I had seen

her farmhouse in Vernon, IN 40+ years ago.

There are many miles of rural driving today. Reaching Lawrence County, it is observing its 200^th

birthday, 1818-2018. Driving into Bedford, I try to ascertain if anything looks familiar. I lived here in

1976. This city of 13,000 is known as “The Limestone Capital of the World”. Rock from the nearby

quarry was used to build the Empire State Building, the Pentagon, Washington's National Cathedral and

35 state capitol buildings. That is impressive!

About 10 miles south of Bedford is my destination, Mitchell. I came here to visit an old friend, Leon

Williams. He now resides in Mitchell Manor. I had sold a book to his wife, Wanda, in 1976. I've stayed

in touch over 40 years. They are some of the kindest people I've ever met.

I see 2 horse and buggies outside this long term care facility. A few local Amish families are visiting

a family member, whose buggy was hit and tossed into a ditch two weeks ago. She's a young girl... so

sad. I have a most pleasant visit with my 89 year old friend. We say good-bye after about two hours.

Next is a trip to Virgil Grissom Park to take some pictures. Fortunately I see a paper sign about his

childhood home. Only on Saturdays... from 11:00 – 3:00. So at 2:20 I start my tour. 42 years ago, as I

came up these very steps, I met Dennis and Cecile Grissom, the parents of astronaut Virgil. He was the

second American in space. He will most be remembered for his Apollo I mission. A fire in the capsule

left him and two others dead in 1967.

It was an interesting visit through this modest home. I saw Virgil's bedroom, a slingshot, his stamp

collection book, a shotgun, varsity letter jacket, etc. A sweetgum tree in the backyard got my attention.

It was grown from a seed which orbited the earth on a Space Shuttle with a local Bedford astronaut in

1984.

A long awaited trip to Bluespring Caverns is next. It's part of the Indiana Cave Trail. I was invited to

go see this in 1976 by a Purdue student. However, my roommate and I had a meeting in Chicago that

next day. The highlight here is the Myst'ry River Voyage. It's the longest navigable underground river in

the country... at 23 miles. The electric boats could hold 20 passengers and actually travel for about 1.5

miles in. I saw stalactites, water drips and cave booms. The visitor center offers a nice collection of

rocks, minerals and souvenirs. And I had to buy a special bag of dirt and wash it in the sluice. Got

several pretty samples; then I bought a bag with arrowheads in it. Very enjoyable.

In the town of Vallonia, I visit the longest covered bridge in Indiana. Built in 1875, the Medora

covered bridge spans 460 feet and crosses the East Fork of the White River. It was a part of US Route

50 until 1935. Now, it is closed to vehicular traffic. There are lush, verdant green cornfields nearby.

This rural area is pretty farm country.

I return to Ohio and enjoy Skyline spaghetti for supper. Yes, this is the same as last nights supper. I

like the 4-way: spaghetti topped with chili, cheese and beans. Returning to my room, I washed and

dried the semi-precious gemstones. For $8, I got two bags. They yielded 30 rocks / gems and seven

arrowheads. I'm pleased and make it to bed at 11 p.m.





August 19,2018 (Sunday)

Somewhere in the early morning hours, I needed to turn off the a.c. Up at 7:45 and I went for one

cup of yogurt. This is a light breakfast today. I took a photo of my new arrowheads and gemstones...

before bagging them. The touristy sticker on the bag says Myst'ry River Gemstone Mine @ Bluespring

Caverns. And I check out before 10:00.

In north Cincinnati, I drive to the Sabor Peruano Restaurant. I'm even wearing my Peruvian Machu

Picchu tee-shirt. This was the restaurant we ate at in 2011... twice. And I've waited a long time to

return. I did not expect the place to be closed for remodeling. I'll just have to come back here again.

Okay, I'll drive south across the Ohio River to Williamstown, KY. A sign designates this stretch of

road the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway. The ARK Encounter opened two summers ago, and I'm

excited about the opportunity to come here. I'll start at Emzara's Kitchen at noon. There are a few dozen

taxidermy animals here in their semi-natural habitat. Food is served buffet style. I find spaghetti, fried

chicken, meatloaf, fish and plenty of veggies. For dessert, there's banana pie, coconut pie and straw-

berry pie.

This is a full-sized replica of Noah's Ark. It spans 510 feet long, 51 feet high and 85 feet wide. A

long ramp brings you up to the belly of the ark. The sounds of animals in cages greeted us. The

designers took artistic (Arktistic) License with this exhibit. Noah's wife and the wives of his three sons

are not named in the Holy Bible. But here, they are given names which would have been common 4400

years ago. That feature seemed to bring them to life.

Bible verses are carved onto wooden plaques and displayed on colorful banners. The clay pottery

containers of food are neatly arranged. There are informative diagrams showing the number of animals

and animal kinds that were brought aboard. There were several exhibits on each of the three levels.

Two different short movies are shown. And I took lots of memorable photos. Three llamas were

brought in from the petting zoo. Of course, I had to pet each of them. Their fur was so soft.

It was interesting to see a comparison called: One World... Two Views. It differentiated the Biblical

Creation Model from the Naturalistic Evolutionary Model. In the Living Quarters, we see where the

four married couples lived; and how their private area was furnished. One of the last areas I saw was

the Rainbow Covenant. For more info, check out the Book of Genesis or www.arkencounter.com. This

place is just loaded with exhibits.

Upon leaving for Ohio, I found an Oldies station on the car radio. And it featured a replay of an

August 1975 broadcast of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 music. I had researched several options /

opportunities for this trip. And I decided to stay the night in Lebanon, OH. This city of 21,000 sits half

way between Columbus and Cincinnati. My family had driven through there on a 2011 trip to

Cedarville. (Our daughter enrolled in a 5-day high school Geology Camp at Cedarville University.) On

the main road through town sits the Golden Lamb Inn. It is the oldest hotel in Ohio, established in

1803. What originally got my attention was that 12 U.S. Presidents have stayed here!

I obviously chose the Ronald Reagan room. We shared the same February 6^th birthday. There are

only 17 guest rooms on these four floors. And about 8 dining rooms. There is a photo with a biography

on the doors of the former presidents. John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, William Henry

Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, Ulysses S. Grant, James A. Garfield, William Howard Taft, William

McKinley, Benjamin Harrison, Warren G. Harding, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush are at the top

of elite guests. Other famous visitors include Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Henry Clay, Betty Crocker,

Harriett Beecher Stowe and Daniel Webster. I just soaked in all this history!

I decided to walk several blocks and look at historic markers and buildings. Happy to have found a

Whit's Frozen Custard store for a cold treat... covered with hot fudge. Walking to the old train depot,

there were thousands of black-eyed susan flowers growing there. Returning to my room, I went to bed

early this evening.





August 20, 2018 (Monday)

I had scheduled a 6:00 wake-up call. Either it was not sent... or I might have slept through it. I did

awake at 6:30 and enjoy a continental breakfast. There's juice, fruit pastries and granola bars. After I

check out, I'm heading to Caesar Creek State Park. This is a place where Janet, Bethany and I looked

for fossils seven years ago. This is a great place to find Ordovician Period fossils, from 444 to 485

million years ago. What did I find? 510 fossils!!!!! Some are matrices with numerous fossils

entombed. In about 4 hours I picked up brachiopod, gastropod, crinoid, horn coral and bryozoan

specimens. The trilobites were elusive today. I was thrilled to find all these little treasures!

As I drive back through Lebanon, I stopped at an antique store. I found a little souvenir for Janet

last night while window shopping. It's a jewelry box with a 100+ year old painting beneath the glass

top.

It's time to drive south, towards the airport. I stop for lunch in Mason at the Dolsot Korean Bistro.

I had my first bowl of bibimbap. (?) It's a rice bowl topped with sauteed vegetables, bean sprouts, a

fried egg, sunny side up, chicken and sprinkled with sesame. Yum!

I return to Kentucky and turn in my Thrifty rental car about 3:00. Ten minutes later and a shuttle

takes a few of us to the Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport. Having a TSA Pre-check

made it simple. The flight is on time and we fly out at 4:55. In less than two hours we arrive in

Charlotte, NC. There are a couple of hours to wait before flying back to Mobile. We arrive at 9:00 and

so does my luggage. This has been a very enjoyable 4 day weekend trip!

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Photos

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Great American Ballpark

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My 4th time to watch a Cincinnati Reds baseball game!

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Mr. Leon Williams.

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Mitchell, Indiana.

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Medora covered bridge.

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Golden Lamb Inn... Lebanon, Ohio.