The Great Western Road Trip 2017....Part Thirty Three/Day Twenty Five & Twenty Six--The END

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

The morning after visiting the Serpent Mount we had breakfast at the motel.  They had a pretty nice brekkie set up.........

I wanted to have a bowl of oatmeal but when I went to put hot water in the bowl I pressed the wrong button and started putting COFFEE in instead.  ick  I realized my mistake and finished putting hot water in but the whole think tasted of coffee(side note-I don't drink/like coffee).

Then I saw this breakfast roll/bun.  Of course I had to take a "Raisin Snail". lolz

We left the motel for our next stop but I noticed a Rite-Aid across the street from where we stopped to gas up the car.  I guess I have Rite-Aid Radar or something. ;-)

Hubs cleaning the windshield while I sat and pointed out spots he missed. lol  I am ever so helpful.....

Hubs wanted more coffee and they had a Tim Hortons nearby so we swung through the drive-thru.

I think this was a prison we passed down in Southern Ohio.  It's been almost 7 years so  I may be mistaken.

Approaching the big city from sleepy Southern Ohio.......

                  

We made it to Columbus pretty quickly. 

                   

 I saw that there was a World Market in Columbus and it was on our route so we stopped for a brief look/see.........

"Kittea Infuser"  A cute gift for the tea drinking cat lover in your life.

And for the dog lovers, "Pug in a Mug".

And what is this I spy?  Why it's a tiny ceramic giraffe.........

In a Giraffe patterned mug.

I bet many a coffee lover has felt the anguish of "Perkatory". lol

                                       

And I found my mug, well it should say "Mrs. Almost Always Right". lolz

I guess they clearance-d out all the Fourth of July items, like these "Party like it's 1776" decorative napkins since it was August now.

                                                

Ok, don't get triggered by the price of gas sign in Summer 2017 we passed.  Most people around the country would like even $3.11 per gallon of gas now.

We stopped to visit with another online friend, Chris and her hubby, yet another Dan in our universe. lolz

Dan made us dinner while Chris, my Dan and I chatted.  Then we had ice cream and went to bed.  It is so nice to meet people in person after getting to know them online!

Dan also made us all breakfast the next morning.

 Hubs snapped this photo of me and Chris in front of her ginormous fireplace painting that she got for a good deal and she loves.

                                                

 We said our goodbyes and thanks and hit the road.  We had one more stop to make that day North of them.

More Tim Horton's???  Is Canada taking over Ohio or something? lolz

                                           

I spied this water tower painted to resemble a pumpkin(or some similar squash)on the drive to our next stop.

Fairly quickly we were out in a rural area of Ohio.

And just like that!....another Rite-Aid appeared.  Seems parts of Ohio are lousy with them just like Pennsylvania.

We made it to another town in Ohio and to see Rachel, another online friend and her family.

Here we are posing with her kids.  Boy, have they grown up since then!

And one more photo of us two.

Rachel made us a yummy meal(pasta if I remember correctly), we visited for awhile and then she sent us on our way.....

                                       

But not before gifting us some yummy zucchini Bread.

                                       

Back on the interstate and Eastward Ho....

        

Passing an old long closed Goodyear Factory.  They don't call this part of the country the "Rust Belt" for nothing.

Getting onto I-80 and heading toward PA.

Lots of folks seem to move in the Summer.

And just like that we hit the state line.

But we had a 5+ hour drive once we got to PA since we lived on the other side of that often traveled and too long state.

So we booked a hotel room near Grove City.

And you know what Grove City is known for?

Outlet shopping!

Not that we really needed anything but we walked around for a couple of hours, I went into the Vera Bradley Store and found some new purses.......

Then we went into a bookstore for Hubs and browsed the selection.  I think Hubs found something to buy too.

After dropping our luggage at the hotel we went down the street for a light late dinner.

I couldn't help but laugh at the ginormous sweet roll on their glossy menu.  All I could picture was Jerlyn's breakfast back in Nebraska, earlier in the trip.....

I think I had an unsweet iced tea and a salad and don't recall what Hubs had but it wasn't very big.  And NO Sweet Buns for us!!!lolz

We slept, rolled out of bed, dressed and it was back on the Interstate to home.

We hit heavy foggy in Central PA.

Stopped for gas in Clarion where our Daughter attended college for one year.

Got home and snapped a photo of the mileage on the car before we turned it in.  7.416 miles on this "before we left" brand new rental car.  Oh my!

It was a great trip!  Full of sights and fun times with many great people that I won't soon forget.  But it was good to be home and sleep in my own bed again. '-)

Sluggy

The Great Western Road Trip 2017.....Part Thirty Two/Day Twenty Three & Twenty Four

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Thirty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Heading out from Northern IL, we headed South......

57 miles until Peru, IL.

A crop dusting plane or something of similar size.  There are farms down here so I figured a crop duster.

The Paw Paw Exit.  I love these unusual place names.....

We stopped to see some old friends at our usual meeting place, Cindy's Home Cooking in

Oglesby, IL.

I always get Walleye here, this time in a sandwich. Nom Nom

Me with the "Chef".  Man was I fat! lolz

A group photo of me, Hubs and Robin and Pam.

After lunch with them we headed to see Hubs' sister.  She needed a bit of help so we took her shopping to Walmart to pick up some needed food and toiletries stuff.  I think we took her out to eat that evening too.

We stayed at a hotel in her town that evening.

I loved this sign in the bathroom, letting you know the prices of items if you "took" them home with you.

Yeah, I don't think I could fit an Ironing Board in my suitcase if I tried. lolz  Geez, I could get most of this new in a store for less.......

The next morning we headed out through Indiana, toward Ohio.

The back of a truck seen along the highway......

"a free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, 

but they should have sufficient arms & ammunition

to maintain a status of independence from any who

might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government"

                                                           -George Washington

                                     

Welcome to Indiana

Heading toward Indianapolis and Interstate 70.

Notice that Indiana is NOT very welcoming.....their Welcome Center is closed.

A cute little trailer like one of those teardrop shaped travel trainers.....

Stopped for gas and I browsed the convenience store to stretch my legs.......

This one made me chuckle, because it was in the North! lolz

Back on the road........

And we are out of Indiana......

This billboard tells me we are in Ohio. lol

Skyline Chili anyone??

Mt. Orab.  Anybody know where this is?

Entering Amish territory in OH.

And HOG territory too....lolz

Hubs wanted to stop here for awhile at the Serpent Mound earthen works in Peebles, OH.

                                           

This mound is the largest known serpent shaped effigy in the world.  The mound was built most probably by the Hopewell and/or the Adena prehistoric cultures and radiocarbon dating suggests it's at least 2000 years old.

Hubs with the Ohio state marker at the site.

There was an informative museum there as well and you could learn about these prehistoric cultures and how and why they built earthen mounds.

The fascinating thing about this earthen mound(besides the shape)is that there is a triple coiled tale on the end.

Learning about the living arrangements of these prehistoric tribes....

A painting of a tribal ceremony.  That's me pretending to participate.  I do have a bit of Native American blood afterall.

A comparison of famous monuments.

A couple of examples of clay pottery found in the area, one is a whistle or flute of some kind.

A chart showing the Daily Life of the Ohio Hopewell...

More clay items found in the area that were made by these ancient peoples....

So after the museum we hit the trail to the Serpent......

A stone monument about the Serpent Mound.  Might I add that it was late August and hot as F**k outdoors.....

There was a viewing tower(think fire tower out West)and Hubs climbed it to get an areal look at the whole mound.  He also took my photo.  With my bad knee I was not about to attempt that climb(and descent).

Here's one of the photos he took.  Pictures really don't do it justice.

I think this sign was where you could view sunset during the Summer Solstice at the mound.

I felt ambitious so I took off along the paved loop around the mound.

Hubs caught up with me near the tail.  You can sort of make out the triple coil of the snake's tail behind him.

And me again, next to the stone monument after walking all the way around the mound.....and melting in the heat like the Wicked Witch of the West. lolz

There were little signs all around the area, next to other mounds reminding you that these were sacred areas to long gone indigenous peoples.

We finished our trip to the Serpent Mound and heading toward the motel we stayed at that night.

                                        
I may be juvenile but I had to snicker at the name of this creek we drove over. ;-)

Made to the motel out in the middle of nowhere aka the Southern tip of Ohio.

Our last two days of the trip coming up next.  

Sluggy