Cincinnati Blue Ash, Ohio
September 26, 2020
A comfortable night sleep in the back of the truck at Tygart Lake State Park. If I had had more time, there is plenty to do at this park. Hiking, biking and fishing were there to be had.
My drive started out with going through Grafton, a town of around 5,000 people. Time has taken it's toll on the town - it looks rundown. At one time, this B&O train station must have been quite a sight. It sits empty now.
Factoid - Mother's Day started in Grafton, so, of course, there is a Mother's Day Shrine.
This DQ was not open yet when I drove by, which was fine with me. I'm a diet.
Route 50 was a four-lane road in the western half of West Virginia. Not much sign of fall yet.
Deer Walk, West Virginia. Not much to see. I thought this photo captured the essence of the community.
Of course a place like Deer Walk will have a road named "Fawn Road."
Crossed over the Ohio River to go from West Virginia into Ohio. It reminded me of early in my career when I managed my company's ownership in a 37 MW run-of-river hydro plant on the Ohio River. It was located in New Martinsville, West Virginia at a Corps of Engineers lock and dam. A plant that size is a bit of a toy compared to say a nuclear power plant but it makes it easier to learn all about it. Spent a lot of time maximizing the output of that plant - which many times meant sending pizza to the Corps' folks controlling the flow over the dam - or preferably through our two turbines. Project was financed with a leveraged lease and was one of the most complicated financings I ever dealt with.
Coolville, Ohio.
Clearly I had a thing for dead-end signs today. Got a chuckle out of the "Cemetery Street" and "Dead End."
This sign was a first. Variable speed? I prepared myself for anything!
Sticking to my plan of taking Route 50 as far as I can. I'm comforted by the fact that 50 is covered in Blue Highways.
While the trees aren't showing much color, some of the fields are. This part of Ohio is very agricultural.
Amish?
Quaker?
I was tempted by this fish fry set up in one of the many small towns I passed through. But what kind of fish do they fry in Ohio? I decided not to find out.
Jason?
This situation had real potential for being a great photo. But the clouds had rolled in and after waiting 30 minutes for the sun to illuminate the corn field, I decided it was time to move on. So I got this average shot. Bummed.
But of course the sun came out 15 mile down the road. I came away thinking this was a soybean field.
Route 50 in Ohio.
I arrived in Cincinnati several hours after I had planned to. I was greeted by this great sign.
As I worked my way into Cincinnati I came into Milford and a community called Indian Hills. Very upscale. Indian Hills had enormous homes situated on several acres apiece. I later found out that many of the Reds' and Bengals' players live there.
After striking out at three state parks (all camping sites taken) before Cincinnati I ended up checking into a Courtyard by Marriott. Note to self - campsites are at a premium on Friday and Saturday nights. You would think I would have remembered that.
Here is a closer look at my route for the day:
