this roadtrip has seven days: day seven

Pittsburgh, PA to Amherstburg, ON

Had I followed my original plan, the subtitle of this post would swap Amherstburg for Cleveland, as I had intended to spend a night by Lake Erie. When I saw the first mileage marker on my way out of Pittsburgh, I realized it was going to be a short drive to Cleveland...which also made me realize that I was well within driving distance of A'burg. As fatigue was creeping on me, I decided I could save some energy (and a few dollars) and head home.

With this new plan, I also decided to switch routes. I had been to Cleveland several times, but never through central Ohio, so this seemed like a good opportunity to explore as I slowly drifted back to the Great White North. One stop at a Welcome Centre later, I was off the Ohio Turnpike and onto the back highways.

First stop: Kent.

Several pictures from the site of the 1970 Kent State Massacre. Wandering around, I couldn't get Neil Young's song out of my head..

A set of pillar marking where one of the four victims fell. The others had stones formed in various patterns within the rectangle.

From Kent, I headed southeast. Had I decided to stay the night, I might have explored Akron (where Goodyear headquarters looms over the freeway) and Canton (for a stop at the Football Hall of Fame). Instead, going with an earlier theme in the trip, I headed along route 39 through Ohio's Amish country, which my parents visited a decade ago.

Yes, you can experience a block of the wonders of Switzerland in Ohio. I didn't stop in Sugarcreek, instead stocking up on more preserves and sauces at various spots down the highway in Berlin.

This stretch of the state also seems to be home to many oddball street name. I suspect Mad Anthony St. in Millersburg is named after General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, a commander in regional native wars in the 1790s. No explanation for Tom, Dick and Harry Alley in Perrysville. At first I thought it was a vanity sign, but it is a legitimate roadway.

Two pictures from downtown Mansfield. On the left, an interesting old bank. On the right, a lame attempt by the billboard company for street credibility. The downtown parking meters remind motorists to drive carefully to save lives.

After a stop in Toledo (to be covered in a future post, as it involves a piece of my childhood that has decayed), I sped back to Detroit, filled up on Mexican food and crossed back into Canada with no incident. Turned out the guard was a former student of Dad's who admired him, so the likelihood of a repeat of the incident going into the US was unlikely.

I drove back to Mom's and thought about where to drive in 2008.

Full photo set on Flickr.