Last Day In Ohio

Yesterday was our last full day in Ohio, and what a full day it was! We crammed a lot into just a few hours.

Terry and I got up early and went back to the Caesar Creek Flea Market again. This time we only browsed the outdoor vendors, since they had all kinds of interesting junk, while most of the indoor vendors are selling manufactured junk we can find at any flea market. Even though it was cloudy and rain was forecast, there was a good turnout of vendors and bargain hunters.

We were not looking for anything in particular, but this old Marksman BB gun brought back some memories. My dad always kept one in the glove compartment and I can’t tell you how much money and free beers he made with that darned thing over the years. Dad would bet somebody that he could shoot a dragonfly out of the air with it within three shots, and darned if he didn’t do it just about every time! Now, my old man was pretty handy with a six gun, but even I was impressed every time I saw him do that. I was a grown man before he ever told me the secret; the BBs flew so slow out of the old gun that the dragonflies, voracious predators, would try to attack it and basically shot themselves down. I can’t remember if Dad said he tweaked the gun to make the BBs fly faster or slower, but I know there was a secret that helped him win so many bets.

Terry did find something that made her happy at the flea market; an end feed boat shuttle used on a production line somewhere back in the old days. It needs a bit of refinishing, but at $6 it was a good deal.

Back at the campground we barely had time for a potty break before we took off again, this time with Greg and Jan. We wanted to browse the shops in downtown Lebanon, but when we got there we discovered that there was a blues festival and car show going on and the place was packed. Folks were charging $10 to park in any empty lot they had within walking distance of all the action, but we drove around a little bit and managed to find a spot on a curb just a couple of blocks away where we could park for free.

This neat old fire truck was on display, along with the usual complement of old Camaros, Chevys, a couple of Mustangs and even an oddball or two that I had not seen before.

Terry and I popped into the Golden Lamb Inn, which I wrote about a few days ago, and spent some time peeking into some of the rooms on display. I asked one of the housekeeping staff about the many ghost stories associated with the old hotel, and while she wouldn’t go into specifics, she did tell me that Room 1 on the fourth floor freaked her out and she would not go into it.

The thunder was beginning to rumble ominously, so we got back in the Explorer and spent some time driving around the residential area. There sure are some impressive houses in Lebanon!

We also stopped at a used bookstore, where this sign greeted us. I guess this is what you call a bad day at the bookstore!

Last week Davy Boggs introduced us to the Acapulco Mexican Restaurant, and everybody was so impressed with it that it was our choice for our last dinner together. And like the first time, the service was great and everything was delicious.

Back at the campground, I gave Greg several bundles of Gypsy Journals to pass out at campgrounds in their travels, and then I checked all of our tires and used my Craftsman air compressor to bring them up to the proper pressure.

Today we leave for the Hershey (Pennsylvania) Thousand Trails preserve, which is 450 miles from here. We’re not planning to make the whole trip in one day as that’s harder than we want to push. So we’ll find someplace along the way to send the night, though I’m not sure where yet. Since it’s only one night, we may just boondock in one of the service plazas on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Hopefully it will be someplace with a decent signal so I can post a blog.

Today is your last chance to enter this week’s Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Big Lake Blizzard, the fourth book in my Big Lake mystery series. To enter, all you have to do is click on the Free Drawing link and enter your name in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening.

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