Into Ohio....Cleveland Rocks!

In a nutshell, we’ve been busy!

As I write this, we’re at a campground just west of Cleveland. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was on today’s agenda….It took about five hours to see the museum, chock full of guitars, stage costumes, photos, film, and of course recordings. We love those oldies from the 60’s and 70’s; they made us smile and dance in place. The contemporary museum building is right on the shore of Lake Erie, a dramatic location. We highly recommend it if you haven’t been.

On Tuesday (9/29) we went sightseeing in Buffalo, NY, a town whose heyday was made possible by the Erie Canal. Many of you already know I’m a Frank Lloyd Wright groupie. In Buffalo, we saw two Wright houses, both built for the Darwin Martin family. Graycliff was the family’s summer residence, built on a cliff overlooking Lake Erie. The winter house is in Buffalo proper (we saw the exterior only). Wright was a genius, albeit a pompous character, but we LOVE his architecture. We also saw the Buffalo Historical Society Museum, which gave us an overview of Buffalo history and industry.

Other news: Sunday (Sept 27) was a banner day, full of firsts. Our first shower in Mia (the shower stall is larger than the one in our Islesboro cottage, so showering felt luxurious even though water management is complex), the first emptying of the gray water (sink waste) and black water (unmentionables), first use of the stove top (sweet potato chili) and our first use of the TV. We watched the Ken Burns PBS documentary about national parks, which was full of interesting information and rich visuals about places we definitely plan to see during our journey.

On Sept 28 we were in Rochester, NY but discovered that “everything” is closed on Mondays. From the outside, we saw the iconic Kodak office tower and the historic district - which includes a falls (smaller of cousin of nearby Niagra Falls and formerly the source of power for many Rochester factories). Fifteen minutes away from Rochester is LeRoy, NY, home to the Jello Museum. (I kid you not.) We learned that Jello was manufactured in LeRoy for many decades, starting in 1897.

We’ve been taking turns driving, although Bob has done the majority. While he’s at the wheel, believe it or not, I have PLENTY to do: program the GPS, check the map, study guide books about upcoming sightseeing, call ahead to campgrounds to make reservations, and of course (very important) – get lunch and snacks from the kitchen! Having the kitchen at our fingertips is handy. Same with the GPS. The GPS has been a godsend, worth its weight in gold. Its ability to guide us anywhere, accurately, has saved us all sorts of time and aggravation, although every so often, it gets weird and sends us on a short, peculiar, unexpected route. Generally we’ve been traveling on country roads, avoiding the interstate highways when possible.

A word about the RV campgrounds…they are quiet at this time of year, but nevertheless, fascinating. Some of the campgrounds are neat and clean, although there usually isn’t much privacy because each motor home has just a sliver of parking space. Some campgrounds, though, are scruffy. Some people live on site permanently, complete with built-on decks and refrigerators (sometimes two ) out on the deck, plus other adornments: furniture, grills, toys, colored lights, flower pots, flags. Hanging out is the main activity. For us, this is a slice of America we hadn’t seen before.

Our routines are slowly but surely getting established, we’re feeling more at home on the road, and we’re learning quite a lot about history and culture.

Love from both of us. Patty