Oh Ohio, and beyond

I have been using the Harvest Hosts program to find places to stay on my travel days, they are great locations, wineries, museums and other cool spots. When I was planning the travel day after leaving St Joseph, MI I had picked a host called “Wood County Museum” in Bowling Green, OH which was about the right distance and direction and I am always up for a good museum stop. Usually the night before I leave I go to google maps and review the route for the next day and send the directions to my phone so I’m all set in the morning.

Well this time I happened to notice in the reviews of the museum that it was the former infirmary and home for the violently insane. hmmm seems like a good spot for a haunted house, no? I wouldn’t mind visiting (during the day!) but the thought of staying overnight creeped me out, so I cancelled and rebooked at a state park nearby. Yeah, I’m a big scaredy cat 😳

So glad I changed spots, because Maumee Bay State Park in nearby Oregon, OH turned out great! Right on the shore of Lake Erie, it has great hiking and biking trails that you can take all through the campgrounds and up to the beach. They even had a little free library! I had a very nice campsite with water and electric hookups and since it was a weekday I had the whole section to myself.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Next morning I was off and heading to North East PA, not just the direction, the town is actually called North East. For tonight I would be staying at another Harvest Host location, Arundel Cellars.

I got a great spot under the trees and popped into the winery for a tasting and dinner. They make one of the best French dip sandwiches I’ve ever had, it was so good and I was so hungry that sadly I broke the foodie rule of taking a photo (or multiple photos) before eating so sorry you’ll just have to take my word on it this time.

Next morning I crossed into New York state just minutes after hitting the road.

I only had around 100 miles to my next stop in Darien Center NY so I took the scenic route. So glad I did! Hwy 5 or the Seaway Trail follows the shore of lake Erie and winds through the countryside and all the little villages and townships of Western New York, places with names like Van Buren Bay, Dunkirk, Farnham, Athol Springs.

Once again, I’m smitten. The lake side cottages are beautiful and the countryside… oh the countryside! It is lushly green with rolling fields of corn and sunflowers. Farm stands are everywhere, if you need sweet corn, peaches, firewood or farm eggs you just pull over and make your selections and put your money in the honor box. I stop and buy a wheelbarrow of firewood for $10, then down the road I can no longer resist the siren song of “sweet corn” and have to stop for some, oh and some watermelon too, oh and are those heirloom tomatoes? This stand is staffed by a nice young lady of maybe 10 years old I ask her how the watermelon is and she replies “I got in trouble for eating too much, its so good”. Solid endorsement.

Pretty cool and not the picture I had in my west coast brain of what New York, FRICKIN NEW YORK would be like at all. I mean where are the skyscrapers? The crowds, the angry pedestrians hitting the hoods of yellow cabs in the crosswalk while yelling “Can’t you see I’m walking here?!!” Admittedly my dated Vinnie Barbarino version of NY was due for some updating here.

As little buddy here says…

I had chosen the campground at Darien Center NY due to its proximity to Buffalo, Niagara Falls and also because my dear friends Eamonn and Randy would be visiting the area to celebrate Eamonn’s 50th birthday with friends and family. Happily I would be close by so I could crash the party too.

I arrived at the campground around 1pm, check in not allowed until 3pm, the ranger at the gate told me I would have to pull over to the nearby parking lot and wait until exactly 3pm to check in. Um, ok. After clearing security it turned out to be a nice campground. I do have to say this was the most challenging spot I’ve had so far and leveling the trailer was concerned, the uneven site was a real challenge.

Its hard to see in the picture but the passenger side slopes down quite a bit more than the drivers side and then it also slopes down at the front, my front jack was at its limit and I had to go to town for more leveling blocks to get this one done. I’m glad that I have gotten lots of practice with setting up and leveling, now I feel like I can handle most any situation!

There is a nice small lake at the campground. Great for a leisurely paddle.

Next up, a visit to Buffalo and the Pierce-Arrow museum, and Niagra Falls. As they say on the news, stay tuned…