July 20 - Through West Virginia, Virginia and some of NC

On the night of the 19th, we looked for an appropriate motel.  Throughout our trip there has always been a conflict between price and quality.  We have had several rooms that left a lot to be desired on a comfort level, but didn't cost much.  Jeff stopped at a former Motel 6 that had seriously deteriorated.  As we walked upstairs to check out a room, the guys on the steps offered us a warm Budweiser.....that was enough for me.  I exercised my veto power and headed back to the truck. (Me, I wanted to have a meet and greet with the boys -J) We ended up at a Hampton's that had big fluffy beds, ice cold air conditioning, pay for view movies, easy internet access, and lots of plugs for charging batteries.  Jeff and I recharged our batteries too.....I really wanted to live there for the next few days.  But off we went to see more of the southeast, and travel to David and Shelley's.

We soon passed into West Virginia.....Mountain Mama!  It was absolutely lovely.  Lots of rolling hills, valleys and little towns.  We stopped at a roadside attraction, Tamarack, that had unusual architecture and was filled with West Virginia crafts.  We walked around for about an hour and admired pottery, glassware, furniture, paintings, weaving's, and jewelry.  We looked, but didn't buy.  Jeff saw an $18,000 coffee table that he had a hankerin* for but I was able to talk him out of it, actually not talk, just think.  But it was a nice cool respite.

Back on the road, we went through a long tunnel, up and down hills and mountains and into and through a corner of Virginia.  Our destination:  Mt. Airy North Carolina, childhood home of Andy Griffith and the model for Mayberry in his TV show.  We found another Hampton Inn, hauled in our stuff, had a nice cool swim, and went out to find real southern cooking.  Jeff asked a local about his recommendations on good Southern cookin' and he looked away to give a spit of chaw and then said, "Depends on how deep yur pockets are."  When I mentioned how I was in the mood for some real fried chicken, he lit up and said how a new KFC had just opened on the 601. We moved on, looking for other food critics.

Great BBQ, found, consumed, happy!

A town caught in the 60's

After dinner we got directions to the Andy Griffith statue near the Andy Griffith museum and Andy Griffith Theater.  You can tell they love their native son in Mt. Airy.   When we arrived at the theater/monument/memorial, we heard a very loud (loud enough that you had to raise your voice to be heard) chirping coming from the tree's.  Turns out the Cicada's are out for their seven - tenual visit.  Pretty neat to hear their cry/song.  I guess I would be crying too if I had to wait 7 years between conversations - frustration, anger, confusion - who knows, just something to ponder.

Inside the theater

Andy's biggest fan.

After our tour, we went back to the motel to relax and enjoy the coolness.  Jeff napped, I edited and we prepared for our debut on the eastern seaboard.  After being awakened by the alarm clock (not set by us) 4 times before 7 am, Jeff wasn't in the best of moods.  Checking out, the clerk asked how our night was.  When mentioning the alarming alarm fiasco in a polite and non threatening manner, she became alarmed and gave us our night for free.  Sometimes negatives can actually become a false alarm.

Tuesday, July 19th- Rock and Roll!

We woke to find the airbed deflated and the weather still hot and muggy.  A thunderstorm in the night did nothing to relieve the heat and only added to the humidity.  Going outside was like walking into a sauna.  Breathing was similar to trying to breath through a wet wool blanket.  If I could have stripped down and had a nice place to sit, I would have enjoyed it, but as it was.....miserable.  We sat in the coolness of Dixie's house and had coffee and Uncle Jerry went out for kaiser rolls, cream cheese and lox.  What a nice breakfast with wonderful people for company!

Jeff, Uncle Jerry and Dixie

Dixie's house--side and front views

Jeff and I had several errands to run, and people to see before leaving town, but a big priority of the day was visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.   First we went to Davis Bakery to pick up an order for Shelley.  Some of you will remember the coconut bars and russian tea cakes that Jeff brought home from Cleveland last summer.  And some of you are lucky enough to be able to visit regularly.  At any rate, the baked goods are rivaled by none and the smell as you walk in should be bottled and sold as perfume.

We then crossed the street to visit Berger & Silver, Jeff's cousins jewelry store.  Jeff bought me a diamond.  My heart was filled with joy, the glitter, the sparkle, the love.  It was a necklace of a musical note....oh, you guys thought it was something else. The betting pool goes on, sorry David.

Finally we drove downtown to the R & R Hall of Fame.  It really was a dream come true for me.  My whole life I have loved music:  listening and appreciating and playing.  And this is one of the things that Jeff and I have in common.  We both have varied and eclectic tastes and love music with a passion.

We got inside and besides the glory of air conditioning, the atmosphere was amazing, and so was the sound system.  We went downstairs to the main display area.  Here was the entire history of rock and roll spread out before me.  There was a focus on early influences, another long display of artists from cities and towns that were influential, and special areas for individual artists and groups.  There were computer terminals that were interactive so you could look up various artists and find out more trivia then any person has a right to be able to access (Jim Morrison was circumcised.)  The Cleveland room featured a lot of memorabilia from Leo's Casino, Jeff's fathers nightclub.  A tear was seen on Jeff's cheek as memories flashed by.  I saw Michael Jackson's glitter glove, the guitar that Pete Townsend wrote the music for Tommy on, the green suit that John Lennon wore on the cover of Sgt. Pepper, Elvis' '59 Imperial and so much more.  We could have spent many more hours or even days there, but my feet and tummy needed relief, so we hit the store for souvenirs and went out into the heat once more. 

Jeff makes friends with the locals, trying to get access to the really good stuff

Ready to leave the land of R and R.

We went looking for food and found a deli, but it was just closing, so we found another.  It was also closing, but they took pity on us and fixed the thickest rueben sandwich and most wonderful chicken soup I ever had.

We made final stops to see Aunt Jan and Uncle Fred, and then to Aunt Julia and Uncle Joe.  We wanted to stay longer, but also wanted to make some miles on the way to North Carolina and Shelley before nightfall, so off we went, south on highway 77.  We made it down to Coshocton, Ohio before pulling to the side to fall asleep with visions of adventures yet to come.

Monday July 18--We're havin' a heat wave....

Whew!  It has been a whirlwind of activity in Cleveland, and the weather has not been conducive to relaxing.  It has been steamy hot and forecast to get hotter.  We heard that Satan comes here for vacation as it reminds him of home.  We slept Sunday night in the camper again, but the poor fan had a hard time keeping up with the hot air outside.  The good thing seems to be that we sweat off all the calories, and then some, we have ingested during the day. 

We decided to have a day off  and do some chores and stay in air conditioning as much as possible.  Jeff got up early and let me sleep in.  I emerged from the camper at about 9 and went in the house to chat with Dixie and have coffee and cereal.  Dixie was worried about the 10 kittens she had in her cattery.....they were having a hard time with the heat, even though she keeps it as cool as possible.  Jeff and I went to see them and were overcome with their cuteness!  Jeff wanted to bring 3 home with us but I had to use my veto power.

Dixie, the not-so-crazy, cat lady

Trying to take pictures of ten kittens is like......well, trying to herd cats.  Impossible.

After breakfast, showers and starting a couple of loads of laundry, hunger forced us out into the heat.  We drove downtown to Coventry, which is the "hippie" part of town, and went to eat at a veggie restaurant called "Tommy's".

The Greek salad was delicious, the veggie burger a delight, the service excellent and the ambiance, a step back to our past.  After that we went exploring.  Jeff knew some of the shops and we rambled and shopped until the heat forced us inside again.  We found an internet coffee shop and updated the blog and checked emails.

Your correspondents from J & K Adventures, (Tie dye by K creations)

We knew we had to go outside eventually, so we dripped and wadded back to the truck and headed for a cinema....the respite of many hot and sweaty mid westerners.   The selection of movies, or starting times wasn't to our tastes. Neither of us felt like watching anyone get blown up or a kid's cartoon movie.  Finally we found relief in a bar with a pool table and adequate beer with great music.  It also had one of those mid-century bowling games.  It was so ancient it would have fetched a good price on Antique Roadshow, but amazingly it still worked.  It was fun to play and Jeff beat me (of course) (but I never can tell if she let's me win to assuage my large male ego). 

We played a game of pool and then went to the Eastside to meet Uncle Jerry for dinner.  We bantered with the waitress from Parma (home of the Polish contingent) and had a great dinner at Mitchell's fish house......our culinary enjoyment and weight gain continues!  Finally it was back to Dixie's and an attempt to find a cool place to sleep.

I admit I had an emotional breakdown at that point. We tried to make a bedroom in Dixie's family room. The airbed had gotten wet in the thunder storm at Lake Winnie, the batteries in the blower were practically dead, and even though Dixie is a wonderful person and generous and caring beyond fault, she smokes.  The smell of cigarettes, being constantly hot and sweaty, and the exhaustion of  moving around so much and meeting so many new people (who I admittedly was trying to impress) finally got to me.  I became a quivering mass of tears and sobbing.  Thank goodness Jeff got his second wind and had the strength to hold and comfort me.  ( I am unsure that it was truly a breakdown and more an excuse to cuddle).   Finally we got settled and got to sleep.

BTW, the 18th was my Dad's 83rd birthday.  Happy birthday, Daddy and I hope you have many more. 

Sunday July17th Cleveland or how to fit 25 hours into the day

So many good people to see, so little time!  That is the problem, the solution - time management, caring, planning and breaking every speed limit posted while ignoring all normal rules of the road.

We were up by 7:00 but only had coffee as I counseled K that today would be known as the day we threw out our diets, The Longest Meal, The Night of the Banana (with ice cream), The Day the Earth Stood Still (Due to significant weight gain), Psycho (over baked goods), Gone with the Wind (or the day I ate too much bean dip) and on and on.....

We met my Uncle Joe, Aunt Julia and their daughter, (my first cousin) Amy, husband Mitchell and daughter Kayla and son Brandon, at the Beachmont Country Club whose motto is,

                                     Conspicuous Consumption:  It's a Good Thing

The buffet was everything we could ask for and then some. Lox and bagels, omelettes, fried salami, chicken livers, potato pancakes, blintz's, waffles, salad bar, fruit and any other food category you can dream up and some you couldn't.   It was great to spend time with my family and my Aunt whispered to me how K had passed inspection.  The tour continues, (tip of the hat to Robbo).

Aunt Julia and Uncle Joe

Mitchell and Amy

The Lobby of the Beachmont

The valet parking guys didn't know quite what to make of the truck/camper when we pulled up and handed them the keys.  We told them to park it with the other campers, and they just laughed.  But when we opened it up to show the kids the inside, the valets saw the value, not your basic Lexus but nice.

From the "Club", we headed out to the far reaches of Mentor (Creswell to Springfield) to spend some time with dear old friends Anthony, Claudia and their daughter Jessica.  Last year we sat out on their deck which faces a woods - today, it was so hot that after 15 minutes, I heard a noise and realized that the noise was actually the sound of my skin snapping, lips crackling and eyeballs popping.  Muddled thoughts made me feel like a bowl of cereal, but Anthony's clearer thinking brought the party inside and the food was superior to anything General Mills put's out.  I blame the sun for frying my brain so we didn't get any pics.  But we had a great time catching up on news and talking over old times.

Our last stop on our magical gorging tour was heading back across Cuyahoga County to meet my (other) cousin Amy and hubby Sheldon for dinner in Hudson, Creswell to Blue River) at a very fine Thai restaurant.  Again, lots of laughter and making warm memories. And we enjoyed meeting their cute kitties.

Sheldon and Amy

So, let's review - breakfast/brunch from 12 - 1:45, American bar-b-que from 2:15 - 6:15, Thai from 7:00 - 10:15.  Yes, food is love and there was a ton of both in conspicuous amounts.  We left Amy/Sheldon and only got lost once before we got back home.  My smart phone came to the rescue one more time.

Saturday, July 16, Cleveland

I was up by 7:00 and let the dogs out, sorry whoever sang that song...(Baja Men K. says)  Made some coffee and pried my lids to a semi open position. 

More coffee and conversation with Dixie who has a refreshingly straight, pragmatic view of the world – don’t waste your time trying to please everyone as it won’t  happen.  Do your best and walk away from those who settle for their worst. And finally, don’t keep them guessing, let folks know what you are thinking.

We left around 10:00 and our first stop as every Jew born in Cleveland can attest was Corky and Lenny’s – a Deli of legend, the home of the 4 inch thick corned beef sandwich.  Their motto, “If we can’t clog your arteries, no one can.”  K had her omelette with a bagel and a smear.  I went more traditional with eggs, onions and chicken livers.  Yes, dear reader, you may be puzzling over the combination but I am here to say, - remarkable!

We then went over to visit my folks and a bunch of my relatives over at Hillside.  I had a very one sided conversation filling folks in on what’s new in my life and introducing K.  Even though Hillside is the local cemetery,  everyone seemed to like K – at least I did not hear any negative comments.

I then took K on a tour of my early years, home, school, shopping, favorite make out spots.  Cleveland has some exceptional neighborhoods with large brick, stone homes, sprawling yards and large parks.  We covered a lot of downtown and then K suggested something that no one in Cleveland has ever done – go to the top of the Terminal Tower – the tallest building in America until the Empire State Building supplanted it.  On the 42^nd floor on a clear day with a 360 view, we could see for miles and appreciate the Cleveland, the mistake on the lake, the armpit of America, the city that never sleeps – it snoozes.

The Terminal Tower

Up we go....

Browns Stadium and Lake Erie

The truck and camper in the big city

Looking South

We had a Chinese dinner and then cruised through parts of town that K politely described as sketchy, I described them as places where no sane white person in a P.U. camper should ever or should be – whoops wrong turn and let’s get the Hell out of here.  Leaving the Wild (mid) West behind, we stopped at the center of Cleveland culture – pronounced call ture – Severence Hall what the Cleveland Orchestra calls home and the Cleveland Art Museum which boasts the only “Thinker” by Rodin that some art critic planted 3 sticks of dynamite and blew off it’s base – classic independent “Thinker”.

Pond in front of Art Museum

Nice Ass

Nice Ta-Ta's

We then stopped by my Aunt and Uncle’s home for a visit but cut it short due to exhaustion and over stimulation.  On the way home, K mentioned how good some ice cream might be for the soul as well as the mind.  Me, always being cooperative and kind ,as well as in serious need of cool mint chocolate in a sugar cone medication,  complied.  We headed East to Chagrin Falls, a sleepy picturesque town who boasts Tim Conway as being a native son.  Chagrin Falls has been “discovered and it was wall to wall tourists complimented by large African American men on large Harley’s whose one joy and purpose in life was to fill the air with noise and potent exhaust that did not mix well with any flavor of frozen dessert.  We moved off to enjoy our cone and then headed back.  Unfortunately, 33 years of being an Oregonian has faded and in places, erased my sense of direction.  I proceeded to make a 10 minute ride into a 45 minute jaunt of "f" squared – fear and frustration.  We survived and I give K much credit as the term “stupid m-f” was never used once although I cannot totally vouch that the thought was unspoken.

July 15--Sandusky to Cleveland

Well as my Mom used to say, “You make plans and God laughs.  My idea was to get up early, pack and drive to Cleveland for a breakfast of monumental proportions at the Tick Tock Café.  All was humming along and we are 30 miles closer to hot coffee, cinnamon buns and other taste treats when I turn to K and asked about my medicines that Dr. Vic had prescribed.  She looks at me, I look at her and we do a 180 back to Sandusky and the Discomfort Inn.  Now breakfast is really looking like lunch.

We hit the Cleveland West side and pulled into the old Tick Tock  around 11:30.  The Tick is a working man’s bar on one side and a central European restaurant on the other.  Dinner’s range from $6 – 13, portions large and dishes like stuffed cabbage, goulash, pierogi’s, city chicken (breaded pork on a skewer, fried and slathered with gravy and mashed potatoes) my hearts delight and not so much delight and other ethnic treats.  K had ribs which they are known for and I went for the artery clogging afore mentioned faux chicken.  Total bill, $15.00, amazing.

After lunch, we headed through the city with me giving a running commentary on every memory I could dredge up from my past life.  I give K credit for her patience as most folks would have stuffed a dish rag down my throat after the 5^th hour.

We headed out towards the far eastern reaches and got to Holden Arboretum around 1:00.  The arboretum is 100’s of acres of meandering paths filled with flowers, tree’s, ground cover, lakes, wild life and all of it (except the wild life) is carefully labeled.  The various attractions are a wild flower area, Rhody concentrations, butterfly habitats and on and on.  We had a mellow stroll highlighted by stops along the way where good conversation wafted in the air as gentle, sunlit breezes cooled us like the best natural balm available on the market.

We then drove to my Aunt Dixie’s/Uncle Jerry’s home which is out in the country.  K had an immediate bond with them and we relaxed and renewed.  Dixie has an informal country home, (much like K’s) where she boards dogs and operates a kitty shelter where she works to have unwanted kittens adopted by good families.  It is a load of work taking care of 16 cats and 3 – 10 dogs but she does it and does it with style and grace.

My Uncle J then drove us over to Corky and Lenny’s where I stocked up with lean corned beef, pickles, coleslaw and rye bread that could make a Eugene baker blush over the shoddy product they declare as bread.  We dined with my Uncle Fred and Aunt Jan.  Although they have both faced considerable health issues, those faded and laughter and joy filled the apartment.  My Aunt Jan (who is an astute judge of people) fell in love with K and could not stop saying how I had found the flip side of life – I have to agree.   Aunt Jan gave K Yiddish lessons and it was almost 10:00 before we left.  

Aunt Jan and Uncle Fred

Fred, Jan and Jerry

We set up the camper next to the cattery and settled down to watching two episodes of Taxi, (thank you Robert  and Betsy) and enjoyed the sounds of crickets and bullfrogs who sang us to sleep.

July 14-Raleigh Hills to Sandusky, Ohio

Up early to pack, coffee,  Dennis' great oatmeal and some hard so-longs, never goodbyes. K & I both felt a true sadness at not having more time, but a true joy at having the time.  Thanks to my family for truly being our family.

Down I-75 and back to my roots, Buckeyes--where it is the norm, not the odd sighting, to see Indians, Browns and Ohio State T-shirts.  Rolling fields filled with hip high corn, beans and various unidentified veggies.  City names passing by, Toledo, Bucyrus, Tiffin....,names from the past with memories long forgotten but none the less, part of me.

We got to Cedar Point at 11:10, exactly 3 hours after leaving Detroit.  I was impressed as Dennis told me it would take 3 hours.  Parking  - $10.00, entrance fee - $92.00, 2 hot dogs and 2 small diet cokes - $17.00, going on the Millenium  Roller Coaster where the laws of gravity are defied,  teeth rattle, loose change and pocket debris lost in 360's,where grown men weep like little girls, where butts pucker and bladders can empty - priceless.

We really had a great time except the fact of waiting anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes to get on a ride.  We did recharge our resources with chocolate (me) and strawberry (K) milkshakes.  We took a path less traveled and walked along the beach and walked through the historic "Breakers" hotel whose walls were covered with black and white photo's of times gone by - reminded me of "The Shining" but Jack Nicholson was no where to be found.

Lake Erie

The famous Breakers Hotel

A view up into the rotunda

It was going on 5:00 and we were pretty done with the old, "Up & down" so we headed out to discover Sandusky.  We checked in to the Comfort Inn and then went out for Italian at "Danny's" which was actually very good.  One negative we have found so far is that Ohio's idea of a good beer falls somewhere between Bud and Miller.  K is jonesing for a Porter or stout.  We will need to seek counseling to help her through this.

We then went back to the old Comfort Inn for a Moonlight swim.  The moon was hidden by tree's, the pool was filled with aggressive children who came from the Demon Seed, the hottub was so dirty that I can actually report that opaque would be the best description.  We went back to our room for a shower and tried to remove any toxic elements.  The shouts, screams, music(?) and cry's of anguish continued to around 2:00 when my sense of outrage crumbled and I fell into an exhausted sleep with two pillows over my head.