Phasing from II to III

Getting some perspective at a rest area on I-10 in New Mexico

Alert readers of the PazTrips blog may recall that our summer is playing out in three phases.

In a previous post Betsy expertly chronicled Phase I (Wisconsin) in impressive detail. My task now is to recap Phase II (moving Tex from Arizona to Virginia) and gently ease readers into Phase III (really getting to know Ohio).

Check out the brewer in the photo

In late July we spent four leisurely days in Chandler, Arizona; some of it helping Tex load up his possessions in our truck and his van; but mostly just sitting in the SanTan pub drinking great beer and eating good food.

It wasn’t as hot as we thought it might be. In fact a couple of overcast days were downright pleasant. We stayed in the deeply-discounted San Marcos “resort” hotel next to the pub in “downtown” Chandler and everything went exceptionally well. It was fun. On previous visits we had admired the San Marcos and downtown Chandler and it was a nice, comfortable place to spend a few days.

 

Not sure about Tex, but we are going to miss San Tan

Tex’s “stuff” fit easily in the two vehicles and we made it to San Antonio in two days of relaxed driving on I-10. Basically, the whole move was a piece of cake.

Tex did not seem too distressed about leaving Arizona. Betsy and I have gained some appreciation (not to be confused with affection) for Greater Phoenix in our occasional visits over the last three years, but I doubt it will be cropping up on our future travel itineraries any time soon.

The three of us spent about five days in San Antonio unloading and re-loading the vehicles (a lot of those books will be staying at the house) before continuing the eastward journey. We stopped in Atlanta (Tucker) for a nice visit with Betsy’s brother (except when Betsy was glued to the television watching Phil Mickelson finish second in yet another Major Championship). BTW, a great sporting event, in case you missed it.

Finally, after three solid days of driving, we reached the outskirts of Charlottesville. The town’s population is only about 40,000 and the entire county is about 100,000 but it seems a lot bigger than that. I think I may have finally, sort of, figured out the crazy-quilt streets but negotiating them was still a bit of adventure.

Moving Tex into his apartment was a breeze. It’s a decent-size, first-floor, two-bedroom in large complex that is about a half-mile walk from the law school. We met his roommate, a pleasant, well-spoken, Floridian/Boston College guy whose parents had supplied him with a new sofa, lounge chair and a set of china?

Although it is not affiliated with the school lots of law students and MBA students live in the complex.

With the “work” portion of our three-day, two-night stay in Charlottesville over quickly we mainly just hung around the rest of the time exploring the town, the law school and the UVA grounds.

I think all three of us have a good feeling that, for Tex, this is the right place at the right time.

He seems intent on approaching law school as a fun academic challenge and has an open mind about where it may lead. 

Law school, especially an elite school like Virginia, is basically a funnel that pushes students down a career path and there will be critical decisions for him to make in the not-too-distant future. But for now UVA Law is a leafy, brainy, casual, collegial place that seems perfectly suited for Tex and he for it.

We finally let Tex get on with his life and drove from Charlottesville to Louisville and checked into a hotel within walking distance of the Kentucky State Fair. I don’t have my list with me, but I think this was state fair #11 or 12 and it will definitely rank in the top one-third.

We spent the entire day there on Friday August 15 and it was very nice and a lot of fun. The Kentucky Exposition Center near the Louisville Airport is a great facility; spacious and comfortable. The Ag exhibits were, I think, the best I’ve ever seen; every animal and plant you can possibly imagine; from pigeons to tobacco plants to Kentucky bluegrass.

And, oh yes, Kentucky Bourbon!

It may not be quite as good as Minnesota or Iowa or Texas; but Kentucky has a pretty damn good state fair.

Finally, on Saturday August 16, we arrived in Ohio and settled into the Maumee Bay State Park on the shores of beautiful Lake Erie to begin our quest to “really get to know” Ohio.

We’ve stayed in a lot of state parks over the years and this place may not be the very best of them, but it definitely ranks in the top five. The RV camping sites are beautifully designed to give a feeling of privacy, it’s clean and impeccably maintained and there are miles of great asphalt trails for biking/jogging, through woods, fields and along the shore of Lake Erie.

The park is about 10 miles east of Toledo and served as our base for “really getting to know” northwest Ohio, including: 

• The 162^nd annual Sandusky County Fair
• The 49^th annual German American Festival (just down the street from the park/we stayed an extra night to take it in)
• The Toledo Art Museum
• A Toledo Mud Hens AAA baseball game
• A visit to the Museum of the Great Lakes
• A visit to the Rutherford B. Hayes library, home and grave
• Visits to War of 1812 battle sites at Fallen Timbers, River Raisin and Put-In-Bay
• A stop at the Maumee Bay Brewing Co. (located in the oldest building in downtown Toledo)

The Perry Memorial at Put-in-Bay

Perhaps our most ambitious day was spent exploring Put-in-Bay/South Bass Island and Kelley’s Island on bicycles (via ferry from Port Clinton). There are four islands in an archipelago that extends into Lake Erie north of Sandusky and they are within sight of the southernmost tip of Canada.

Ever since I was a kid I have wanted to visit Put-in-Bay and the National Park Service memorial to Commodore Perry and his great victory over the British fleet in 1813; so that was quite a thrill and a great view.

 

Take a close look at this contest entry at the Sandusky County Fair

Only one soldier at the River Raisin Battle was brave enough to wear shorts in January

When the Libby Glass Company moved to Toledo in the 19th Century the city became known as "Glass City" and Libby paid the favor back by donating land and endowing the fabulous (and free!) Toledo Art Museum housed in the building across the street from the Glass Pavilion where this photo was taken

The view from our seats at Fifth-Third Field as the Mud Hens crushed the Columbus Clippers in downtown Toledo Sunday night.You may be wondering; why is it called Fifth-Third Field? I'm not making this up. During the Depression the Fifth National Bank merged with the Third National Bank and they were concerned that calling it Third-Fifth would suggest a link to liquor, which was prohibited at the time.

Glacier-caused grooves on Kelly's Island

Betsy and Muddy were photo-bombed by a cop at Fifth-Third Field

The contest here in the Steintossen is to hold the mug of beer at arms length for as long as possible. None of these people won. The winners were at another table and the winning time was about four minutes.

Betsy was thrilled to find so many Germans in Ohio

Friends of the Blog (FOBs) may be concerned that we will die from drinking the algae-infested water here in northwest Ohio. It is a concern we share.

Unfortunately our fears were not allayed when we read an article in the Toledo Blade under the headline; “Chemical increase needed in city water; Consumer may notice film, odor”.

A spokesperson for the Toledo water department – Lisa Ward – assured readers that the toxin levels in the water at the treatment plant “did not quite reach” the threshold at which a do-not-drink order would have been issued. Ward went on to say that increased alum in the water is to blame for a “harmless” film that people may notice on top of the water in their drinking cups.

Yesterday a rumor spread on social media that the levels had been exceeded and there was a run on bottled water.

Yet another good reason to drink beer I say!

Other than the water and the confusing (often under construction) streets we have been very impressed with Toledo and northwest Ohio. The people are nice and friendly, things are generally clean and well-maintained, the art museum is fabulous and the downtown baseball stadium is great.

We like it here, but probably will not come back to see what it’s like in the winter.

 

Our neighborhood nuclear power plant