2003 Q1 Random Vacation
(40°25.409' N, 83°21.293' W - Richwood, Ohio, USA)

Day 7: 19 Feb 2003 (Wednesday)

00:00 UTC - 02:00 UTC (Where to Go?)

So, the original plan was to visit Marilyn for dinner and then stay in her extra room.  But because I had to wait for the rental car a few hours earlier, I was several hours behind schedule.  I would not be able to get to Marilyn's place until way late.  I called Marilyn.  After some discussion, it was determined that it was too late for dinner, and Marilyn needed to get to sleep for work, and while I could stay at her place, she basically would not have time to see me.  And that just didn't make sense.  So I decided not to even try to get to Marilyn's place that night.

So, it was either stop at a random hotel/motel once I got tired, drive all the way back in one stretch, or perhaps...  I gave Ron another call.  I'd stayed at his place on the way west, and he had said I could stay again on the way back if I needed to.  Ron's place was a bit further, but still within easy reach.  And sure enough, Ron said it was fine to come on by.  So that would be the plan!

02:00 UTC - 03:00 UTC (Denny's)

But first, time to eat.

Yum!

03:00 UTC - 04:00 UTC (Wrong Turn to Ron's)

After dinner it was time to just get to Ron's.  I wasn't far.  Except I missed my exit off the turnpike.  I just wasn't paying attention.  I wizzed right by it, and my GPS started to yell at me.  It rerouted me, but it was almost a full extra hour, going to the next exit, then backtracking on small roads back to Ron's.  I was very tired, so this aggrivated me.

But I did pass this thing.

And then as I got close to Ron's, this place...

And then I got to Ron's.

04:00 UTC - 05:00 UTC (Packing at Creepy Classics)

As I arrived, Ron was in the basement with his friend Bob, packing orders to be sent out for his Creepy Classics business.

You see, Ron runs a business called Creepy Classics.  He sells all sorts of old time horror movies and associated merchandise.  He has lots of stuff in inventory...

There are many shelves like that in the big CC shipping center.  :-)  Lots of stuff and Ron is often very busy.  This evening Bob and Ron had dozens of orders to pack and get ready for shipping.  I should have offered to help.  I know I should have.  I was taking advantage of the hospitality after all.  But I was really tired.  So I begged forgiveness, and headed off to the room Ron had set up for me.  (Same place I stayed on the way out.)

05:00 UTC - 06:00 UTC (Email)

Of course, I was all exausted and all, but I still had to wind down a bit.  Cranked up the laptop, got onto the internet with my cellphone, and spent a little time reading and answering email.  But before long, the tiredness got the better of me.

06:00 UTC - 15:00 UTC (Sleep)

ZZZzzz...

15:00 UTC - 16:00 UTC (Email and Get Up)

So, first thing when I woke up, I did more email.  But then after that I got up and got ready for the day.

16:00 UTC - 18:00 UTC (Food and Post Office)

I headed downstairs, and was immediately freaked out by the view.

Well, OK, not so much freaked out, but I thought it was cool.

Ron's friend John joined us, and we headed to lunch at a local pizza joint.

Pizza went quick.  Then it was time for the post office.  Ron was mailing orders.

It took the post office guy a long time to p[rocess all those packages.  John and I waited patiently.

18:00 UTC - 21:00 UTC (Shanksville and the Missing Ark)

I had been hoping to make it home this day, and I was already running behind schedule for that.  So I said goodbye to Ron and John and Latrobe and headed on my way east.

As I was driving along to the east, I saw a sign and suddently realized I was only a couple miles away.  Given where I had started Day 0 of this vacation, I thought I would take the detour.  I followed the sign, and in just a couple minutes, with only one pickup truck parked a couple dozen feet away in addition to myself, was the Flight 93 September 11th "Temporary Memorial".

This was the "Field in Pennsylvania" as they always put it.  The contrast to the hustle and bustle of Ground Zero in Manhattan was striking.  I paused a couple minutes on the small snowy road through the field, there was no other traffic to worry about.  I did not pull into the small parking lot next to the pickup to get out and walk around.  Just sat in the car a bit.  Then I slowly drove past and headed out.  Having been near and around the WTC site in NY many times since 9/11 it has lost a bit of ther emotional impact over time, each trip past being more "normal".  Driving slowly past this still had a strong emotional impact.  Brought me right back to the raw feelings of that day.  I had to leave.

As I was nearing the main road again, one last thing, a metal angel pointing back toward the site, wrapped with a flag, fluttering in the increasing wind and snow...

As I headed back on to US 30, there was one thing I knew I was also close to, and hoped to get some pictures of.  "The Ark".  You see, back before the Pennsylvania Turnpike, there had been a restaurant built on the site of Mt Ararat in central Pennsylvania on US 30.  Given the biblical name of the mountain, they made their restaurant in the shape of a giant Ark, overlooking a view down the side of the mountain into the valley, just off a hairpin turn in the highway.  Cool, huh?

Well, when the turnpike was built, travel on  US 30 declined.  Eventually the restaurant went out of business.  The Ark was abandoned.  But there it stood.  Gradually falling into disrepair.  I've been passing by the ark occationally since about 1990.  It has been in disrepair and pretty bad shape that whole time, and probably for a while before then.  I had never actually stopped though.  Just driven by.  This time I was going to stop and take pictures!

Then I got there.  There was a sign.

The Ark was supposed to be there, right to the left of that sign.  But there was just the little look out tower.  No Ark.  No ark at all.  Just some empty land, and then a drop off down the mountain.  No ark.  This was horrible!  It was supposed to look like this:

(Picture taken from http://www.roadfan.com/sanlhpa.html, Picture by Barb B.  Thanks!)

Looking at the info from the site above, it appears that the place burned to the ground 26 Oct 2001.  The site above links to this story in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that has lots of details of the fire, and the history of the place.  It has been there over 86 years.  It is very sad that it is gone.  The appearantly plan to build a small scale replica on the site.  But it won't be the same.  So sad.

OK then.  That was the last landmark.  Time to get home!

A few miles past where the ark had been I got onto the PA turnpike.

21:00 UTC - 00:00 UTC (Eastern PA on the Turnpike)

Of course, I took a few pictures as I drove down the turnpike.

And tunnels rushed by at high speed...

And large formations of geese...

Then it started getting dark, and I was on the homestretch.  But it was clear I was not going to make it home on Day 7.  This vacation would stretch to a Day 8.  But I would still try to get home as quickly as possible.  I was tired.  I wanted to be home. 

Then the traffic got bad.  Then it stopped.  There was something wrong up ahead.  And then Day 7 ended.

2003 Q1 Random Vacation
(40°25.409' N, 83°21.293' W - Richwood, Ohio, USA)

Samuel Minter abulsme@abulsme.com http://www.abulsme.com/