We may travel a lot, but many of our longer trips include a lot of work days for Steve and some for me. But this time, it’s true vacation mode with us both off work. Lots of travel and interesting adventures. Here is the first week, as remembering everything is overwhelming. One day I will take more notes on the road, but for the meantime here are the first week highlights of an amazing trip.
Since we previously learned by leaving after work on Friday we can get a head start on a long drivie, we booked a Harvest Host stay at The Meadow Garden Mercantile in Manheim, PA (Lancaster County). We picked the location for convience, as it was close to our route and welcomed late arrivals. We did part of the drive and then set up our table with dinner on the road.
Our youngest, is a seriel entrepreneur and has recently added meal prep to his offerings with D&D for Hire, or as a seperate service. We decided to take advanatage of this and ordered food to meet our dietary needs for the trip, some for the first few days and some to put in Spud’s freezer as needed. The first nights sinner was an amazing dish wiith mushrooms and rice. I had made some cole slaw to use up some veggies before we left the house, so that, some cherries and we had a rolling feast.
The Mercantile was simple, nothing special, with a little road noise, but we were soon asleep and didn’t notice. In the morning we met another couple also parked there for the night and their cat. We made ourselves some breakfast and as soon as the Mercantile opened went into explore. They are mostly a plant nursery but also sell some local products. We picked up some pretzels for our friends we would be visiting on the trip and a gluten free sour dough starter for me, we’ll see how that goes.
Then on the road, as we had a drive of at least six hours ahead, but we knew it would turn into more. Most of the stops we did were rest stops. At one we did meet another couple with a RoadTrek and spent sometime sharing stories and adventures. By the time we got hungry for lunch we figured we were making good time, so decided to stop for lunch. If you go back to my Pittsburgh post from a few years back you’ll read about Waffles InCafffinated. They have several locations outside of the City and we were able to easily reach one. They offer gluten/dairy free waffles with lots of choices for fillers and toppings, so we enjoyed a filling, pleasant lunch on their patio.
As the Pennsylvania Turnpike brought us to the Ohio Turnpike, we were texting with our Harvest Hosts for that night at Chagrin Valley Alpacas. Originally they were expecting another guest for the same night and had asked us to try to arrive around 5 PM. As we got closer they said the other guest had cancelled, and they were dealing with some downed branches. We offered to De Tour to the nearby town of Chagrin Falls and then get there a bit later. This worked out well. Chagrin Falls is a cute town, with a series of waterfalls at the center of town. There is a shop, Chagrin Popcorn, that has been in existence for over 70 years and is a big draw with its many flavors of popcorn as well as ice cream. We found one vegan flavor of popcorn to try. There were a number marked gluten free and a few vegan but the only one labeled both was plain.
When we had strolled town a bit, we headed over the alpaca farm, our Harvest Host. There was a big open field for parking. We settled in and then took a stroll around. The family that owns the farm owns another property where they keep the bulk of their 300 alpacas. There were only six on this property and that evening we saw them from a distance, along with the farm’s donkey. We also wandered down to the other end of their lane where ASM ( American Society for Metals) has their headquarters, which features a very large metal dome.
In the morning we walked again and discovered a few things. The alpacas were in the barn, so closer, but their guard dog barked loudly every time we got close. We visited the store to buy some of the alpaca products they carry, showcasing yarn from their herd, items woven by the owner and alpaca items from other places. When we came out the donkey was nearby and showed off for some pictures.
When we took another walk down to ASM we found we hadn’t gotten close enough the previous evening and discovered, not only were there lovely gardens, but all through the gardens were large rocks labeled with their mineral content. It was quite fascinating. Before we left we pulled spud up to get some pictures with the dome.
It wound up that friends we were going to visit lived only about 20 minutes away from where we stayed, in Solon, Ohio. We hadn’t seen them in a long time, so we had a lovely day together and camped in their driveway for the night. They took us for a walk through Liberty Park Nature Area that has interesting geographic features and after a few false starts on finding them, we reached an area called “the ledges” where there is a glacial cave you can walk into.
Our friend, who has lived in the area since she graduated college in Miami (where she went for warmer weather after New Jersey, then meet her now husband from Cleveland – so much for warm weather). She told us she had always wanted to do one of the boat tours from Cleveland on Lake Erie, so our visit gave her an excuse to finally do so. The four of us had a lovely time sailing the lake, seeing the bridges, lighthouses and scenery. There was a narrated tour over the speaker system, but it was hard to catch much of it.
After a nice Thai meal at Thai Story in Chagrin Falls and some more chatting, we took lovely indoor showers and retired to Spud. In the morning we bade our goodbyes and headed for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because, well Cleveland! I always say my musical taste, except for maybe show tunes, stopped in the 70’s, so there were lots of artists portrayed that I didn’t really know, some I know by reputation, and of course many like Beatles and Elvis who of course I know well. There were two special exhibits, one on McCartney and Wings , that had just opened and was very interesting. Even more engrossing was a fascinating film and exhibits on how Saturday Night Live went hand in hand with the growth of Rock and Roll, from featuring new artists to tying well known artists into comedy sketches when they appeared. There was also an area with the voices and films of those who saw rock and roll as a fad that was destroying teenagers and their values. There was so much more, you could easily spend a whole day there – and they are expanding.
Before heading out from Cleveland we went to check out the West Side Market. There were a lot of produce stalls, but didn’t see any organics and we were pretty well stocked. The other building was stalls with prepared food, meats and other cooking ingredients. Quite a few were closed for the day or for a Summer vacation, so we were able to explore quickly. We came upon a stall with multiple flavors of hummus, as well as related foods. We bought some horseradish hummus, after a taste, and another with babaganosh. Then at another booth we bought an olive bruschetta. Once we were back in the van, we took out some chips, sliced some veggies and set up a delicious lunch on our traveling table. as we made our way West.
We stopped at a few spots along Lake Erie to view the Columbia Beach Falls and the Main Street Beach at Vermillion, Ohio. That night we had reserved a spot at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. Not a fancy place but it worked for our next destination and had everything we needed.
In the morning we went to the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation and Technology. There are actually a number of attractions as part of the complex but we decided to just concentrate on the one massive museum. Despite the name, the museum didn’t focus on the man, but how the technology, he and later the company developed, shaped the course of American manufacturing and change. It included many other inventors and inventions and told the story of those who lead the movements for women’s suffrage, rights for people of color and the various wars and how they impacted American life. In an era when the government is trying to erase historical truths they don’t like it was refreshing.
I found out later, that the one truth the Ford Museum didn’t cover, was Ford’s neo-Nazi tendencies and support for Hitler. The following day, in another museum they did tell the story of Charles Lindberg and his similar Nazi connections, which some believe led to the kidnapping and murder of his son. Again, our history isn’t perfect, but we should learn from it, yet hatred against Jews, people of color, and immigrants still flourish in certain sectors. Someday hopefully all humans will treat each other as equals. The other things these museums taught, and I’ll tell of next is how so many inventions we depend on were developed to promote fighting more effectively. We could be so much further in innovation if only the same amount of effort was put into promoting peace, health and discovery that benefits all humans then developing the tools of war.
After thoroughly exhausting most of the exhibits at the Henry Ford, we found a nearby vegan restaurant, the Unburger Grill, in Dearborn Michigan, for a late lunch to take on the road.
That night we stayed at Cherry Creek Winery, a small but lovely winery in Brooklyn, MI. The woman pouring our flight was really nice.
When I bought some dairy free chocolate they had, she told me about making some changes in diet for health issues, so I even brought her some samples of dairy free cheeses we had in the van. She told me about the small chocolate business in a nearby town that made the bar. We visited later. We sat on the Cherry Creek patio sipping wine and playing a card game, even after the winery closed for the night.
We are generally not big museum people but the next morning when looking do ideas we came across the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo , Michigan. It seemed unique and we decided to check it out. I already mentioned some of the things I learned or saw due to overlap with Henry Ford, but they also had some unique areas, including kids rides, a workshop where they restore planes, including one pulled after many years from the bottom of Lake Michigan and more. Why is it called the Air Zoo? We found out about halfway through the exhibit;
“The Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum opened its doors to the public at 3101 East Milham on November 18, 1979. The museum became popularly known as the “Air Zoo” because of the distinct animal names of the aircraft in the original collection, including a Wildcat, Hellcat, Bearcat, and Flying Tiger.” (from their website)
Once we left the museum, we headed to our campground for the next two nights, Weko Beach, stopping on the way for lunch. We explored one restaurant, but the items listed on their menu had changed and then we found Chinn Chinn. They were an Asian restaurant with lots of gluten free / dairy free items and excellent food and service.
We weren’t really sure what to expect of Weko campground, but it wound up to be one of the nicest. They had a beach just a little walk from the campsite. Day visitors could park at the beach for a fee, but being campers we could walk there and enjoy for free. After we settled in we went to take advantage of a cool dip. The campsite sat in a valley between two big hillsides and twice we spotted deer above us grazing. The second night we got back too late for a swim but got to the beach to watch the sunset.
On the day in between our two nights at Weko Beach we headed to Indiana Dunes. There is both a State and a National Park there, but we opted for the National Park since we have the Lifetime America the Beautiful pass. We also stopped on the way for breakfast out at Oaks Eatery in a lovely small town.
We learned some lessons about researching hiking trails a little better before going. The place was very spread out and the advice we got on a nice trail turned out to be not only not as scenic, but the end was straight up a dune and by that time I was too burned out to manage it. I can walk a long time but as my daughter always says, “up is hard” and I try and know my limits. Instead, we walked back to the van. We did meet a cool turtle in both directions. Back with Spud we decided to drive to the end of the park in Gary, Indiana. Someone online had told me about a cool thrift store/ artist store, Miller School Shops. It did have interesting things and made for a good break.
When we headed back to the park we went to an area where you could drive close to the dunes and walk out on a pier over the lake. Then we drove to the other far end of the park, back toward our campground and found one more short trail that started in a parking lot with one of the giant dunes that gave the park it’s name and brought us out with a short walk to a sandy beach where I cooled my legs.
Of all the days on the trip, it was probably our least successful and even then it worked out well. I had researched a place in Michigan City right next to the park that had a gluten free fryer and batter for frying pickles, fish and other items, Fiddlehead Restaurant. Unfortunately, once we tried to order they were out of the perch that they use in their fish and chips, which is a regional specialty. I was not only disappointed but the noise level in the restaurant was giving me a headache. We ordered some friend pickles to go and while Steve waited for them, I walked outside and instantly my head felt better.
We started driving back to Weko, eating the pickles, which were really tasty and debating if we wanted to get more dinner or make due with what we had in the fridge, the idea of cooking after the long hot day was too much. On the way back, I found a cool place that specialized in tacos and arreps, Tapa Taco, which wound up being a bar in a nice hotel. We ordered some food to take back to camp with us that was very tasty.
As the first week of our trip ended, we had good memories and excitement for more ahead. Michiganers refer to their State as “The Mitten”, so in Part Two, we head up and around the Mitten.
