I'll likely post a blurb over at HC.com about having been there and thanking Levi and Michelle again for their hospitality ("horse brutality?!"), but I won't get a chance to write a long diatribe about the rest of my week. I feel comfortable doing that here, so here I do that.
Wednesday the 28th, Ivy and I were already packed and sorted, so we loaded up the Jeep and headed out at about 11am DST. We swung around Chitown on the west and headed down into Indy. After torrential rain and hellish traffic north of the 'apolis, we got to our hotel in Shelbyville, and were greeted with positively balmy weather! It was in the mid-50s and cloudy, but what a break from all the cold!
We got checked in and called Catfish33, and headed down to his place. We got turned around in Hope, thanks to their teeny-tiny street signs, but made it without further incident. We met up with him, his fiancee Sabrina, his sister Amanda, and her husband Eric. (and Kaiser, the killer kanine. Yes, it really is a dog, although half the size of a proper cat at the moment.) They showed us the sweet trailer and garage Cat had bought, we bs'ed about bikes and dogs, and then went out to dinner. Watching karaoke CAN be fun- I felt like I was Simon on American Idol!
Made it back to the hotel safely, and went on our way the next morning. We made it to Cincy around 2pm, and it's a damn good thing- the hotel was a) in one of the worse parts of town, very depressed, and b) it was FUCKING DISGUSTING! The first "non-smoking" room we got reeked of cigar stench, so we asked for a different one. The second one we got still had the sheets from the previous tenant on the bed... we knew this because there was still the previous tenant's PUKE on the side of the bed!!
Needless to say, that ain't gonna fly. We drove up to Sharonville north of Cincy, and found a Red Roof Inn room there. We did some laundry, and headed out to meet up with EnemyAce and his wife, Jen. They showed us their awesome place (almost like a slice of country in the city), then took us to dinner at a chili joint. After dinner we cruised around the city as they showed us wild and interesting places, and some gorgeous old houses in their neighborhood. A side note- the Scion xB has a LOT of room in it, and accelerates really well with four adults in it- I was impressed.
We left Cincyville and took the spur south to the Ohio River, and followed 52 on the Ohio side until we got to Aberdeen, then crossed over to the Kentucky side and continued east over there. Another side note- there are NO places to go eat off highways 8, 9, or 10, or any of the roads connecting them. As such, when we got to South Portsmouth, we had lunch, and then turned north again and followed the Scioto River on 23.
When we reached Waverly, Ivy decided to take us on a little "grey-road" detour (on the Rand McNally atlases, all the small insignificant roads are grey). It was simple- take 335 northeast from Waverly until we reached Omega, then turn northwest on park rd 4 and come out at the Scioto Trail State Park entrance. Simple, right? Not for such intrepid travellers as ourselves!
Needless to say, we missed the turnoff at Omega, a town so small that it doesn't even appear on the maps (at least not just now when I checked... maybe it was Brigadoon?), and continued out on 335. Up, down, up, down, left, right, hairpin turns, all over the damn place. Ivy said she felt like she was on a slow-speed roller-coaster! We were truly and thoroughly lost in the sticks of Ohio... and LOVING it!
Partway along the road, some jamoke in a Pontiac was riding my tail (obviously a local, on a road like that), so we pulled into a gravel drive to let him pass. I turned my head to the left, and spied a HUGE assemblage of.. MOTORCYCLES! There were frames, rolling chassis, full bikes, piles of bars, a shed probably full of engines, wheels EVERYWHERE... it was amazing! Ivy wanted me to go because she was afraid they'd think we were casing the joint. Go we did, and sadly on my part- I'd love perusing a joint like that.
We continued on our way, and 335 finally came out on 32 at a great little town called Beaver... not as fun as Beaver Lick, OH, but with that name already taken, Beaver is just as good. Beaver's almost always good. But I digress. We took 32 back to Piketon, and hooked up with 23 a good 11 miles SOUTH of where we'd turned off!
We continued north on 23 until we got to Chillicothe (for those uninitiated to the town, it's pronounced "chill-a-COTH-ee", not "CHILL-i-coath" as I had been saying incorrectly for the last couple years... locals are very particular about that), and sacked out in the Comfort Inn and Suites- nice place, if not a little stuck in the 80's. Also, Cristy's Pizza on Water St. is good, but something in the crust or the sauce made it REALLY sweet. Don't try it without a healthy supply of beer.
The next morning we noodled around Chilli, and found Ivy's Garden and Home, so we had to stop in there. Nice kitschy store, I glazed over in the first 5 minutes after I'd seen all the military miniatures they had. We headed out for Levi's around 11, and made pretty good time, as we got there about 2pm. Awesome land on the road between Chilli and Zanesville.
<continued next message>
Nick
"All things are possible with a sawzall, grinder, torch, and welder." -- MotorcycleJack
Wednesday the 28th, Ivy and I were already packed and sorted, so we loaded up the Jeep and headed out at about 11am DST. We swung around Chitown on the west and headed down into Indy. After torrential rain and hellish traffic north of the 'apolis, we got to our hotel in Shelbyville, and were greeted with positively balmy weather! It was in the mid-50s and cloudy, but what a break from all the cold!
We got checked in and called Catfish33, and headed down to his place. We got turned around in Hope, thanks to their teeny-tiny street signs, but made it without further incident. We met up with him, his fiancee Sabrina, his sister Amanda, and her husband Eric. (and Kaiser, the killer kanine. Yes, it really is a dog, although half the size of a proper cat at the moment.) They showed us the sweet trailer and garage Cat had bought, we bs'ed about bikes and dogs, and then went out to dinner. Watching karaoke CAN be fun- I felt like I was Simon on American Idol!
Made it back to the hotel safely, and went on our way the next morning. We made it to Cincy around 2pm, and it's a damn good thing- the hotel was a) in one of the worse parts of town, very depressed, and b) it was FUCKING DISGUSTING! The first "non-smoking" room we got reeked of cigar stench, so we asked for a different one. The second one we got still had the sheets from the previous tenant on the bed... we knew this because there was still the previous tenant's PUKE on the side of the bed!!
Needless to say, that ain't gonna fly. We drove up to Sharonville north of Cincy, and found a Red Roof Inn room there. We did some laundry, and headed out to meet up with EnemyAce and his wife, Jen. They showed us their awesome place (almost like a slice of country in the city), then took us to dinner at a chili joint. After dinner we cruised around the city as they showed us wild and interesting places, and some gorgeous old houses in their neighborhood. A side note- the Scion xB has a LOT of room in it, and accelerates really well with four adults in it- I was impressed.
We left Cincyville and took the spur south to the Ohio River, and followed 52 on the Ohio side until we got to Aberdeen, then crossed over to the Kentucky side and continued east over there. Another side note- there are NO places to go eat off highways 8, 9, or 10, or any of the roads connecting them. As such, when we got to South Portsmouth, we had lunch, and then turned north again and followed the Scioto River on 23.
When we reached Waverly, Ivy decided to take us on a little "grey-road" detour (on the Rand McNally atlases, all the small insignificant roads are grey). It was simple- take 335 northeast from Waverly until we reached Omega, then turn northwest on park rd 4 and come out at the Scioto Trail State Park entrance. Simple, right? Not for such intrepid travellers as ourselves!
Needless to say, we missed the turnoff at Omega, a town so small that it doesn't even appear on the maps (at least not just now when I checked... maybe it was Brigadoon?), and continued out on 335. Up, down, up, down, left, right, hairpin turns, all over the damn place. Ivy said she felt like she was on a slow-speed roller-coaster! We were truly and thoroughly lost in the sticks of Ohio... and LOVING it!
Partway along the road, some jamoke in a Pontiac was riding my tail (obviously a local, on a road like that), so we pulled into a gravel drive to let him pass. I turned my head to the left, and spied a HUGE assemblage of.. MOTORCYCLES! There were frames, rolling chassis, full bikes, piles of bars, a shed probably full of engines, wheels EVERYWHERE... it was amazing! Ivy wanted me to go because she was afraid they'd think we were casing the joint. Go we did, and sadly on my part- I'd love perusing a joint like that.
We continued on our way, and 335 finally came out on 32 at a great little town called Beaver... not as fun as Beaver Lick, OH, but with that name already taken, Beaver is just as good. Beaver's almost always good. But I digress. We took 32 back to Piketon, and hooked up with 23 a good 11 miles SOUTH of where we'd turned off!
We continued north on 23 until we got to Chillicothe (for those uninitiated to the town, it's pronounced "chill-a-COTH-ee", not "CHILL-i-coath" as I had been saying incorrectly for the last couple years... locals are very particular about that), and sacked out in the Comfort Inn and Suites- nice place, if not a little stuck in the 80's. Also, Cristy's Pizza on Water St. is good, but something in the crust or the sauce made it REALLY sweet. Don't try it without a healthy supply of beer.
The next morning we noodled around Chilli, and found Ivy's Garden and Home, so we had to stop in there. Nice kitschy store, I glazed over in the first 5 minutes after I'd seen all the military miniatures they had. We headed out for Levi's around 11, and made pretty good time, as we got there about 2pm. Awesome land on the road between Chilli and Zanesville.
<continued next message>
Nick
"All things are possible with a sawzall, grinder, torch, and welder." -- MotorcycleJack
