(POP Tiffin MS, Part 2)
By about 3:30, I had all my things packed up and was trudging, pack mule style to my car. Once dumping my supplies back in Matt's auto in the passenger seat, I situated myself behind the wheel on the driver side and composed my thoughts. There were several things to consider, not the least of which was how the heck to get back to the route north toward Fremont. Relying on my never ending supply of optimism and infallible sense of direction, I set out to make my way in the nebulous "north" direction (on the one way street grid of Tiffin) with the intention of reconnecting with Rt 53 and proceeding on to Fremont.
The turns I made as I left the area around the school felt "right", so I proceeded with a moderate level of confidence, although little was familiar, landmark-wise. As I passed the courthouse, it seemed that even the statue in the lawn in front was aware of my predicament, as he stood high above the traffic on the street, pointing off in some direction that I did not think I wanted to go (needless to say, I did not take HIS advice!) As I passed under his outstretched arm, I seemed to see him watch and shake his head….he, as so many others before him, indicating his incredulousness at my seeming ineptitude as far as navigation is concerned.
With congratulations to myself, I did manage to make my way back to Rt 53 and on my way out of town without losing my way ONCE! I drove for about five miles, sites seen on the way south earlier in the day further reassuring me that I was indeed where I wanted to be, when without fanfare or warning, all heck started breaking loose inside my purse. My cell phone indicated by its lovely “receiving text messages” tone that I was getting a boatload of them (only ended up being 6, and four of them were reminders to go to the event in Tiffin **rofl**) and the Blackberry vibrated dutifully to let me know that someone was working WAY too hard today and sending email to my work account. I pulled out the cell phone to make a quick call (can you say “communications withdrawl”?) to check to assure that all was well at the homestead. No worries there, so I continued on with my drive, intent on sightseeing and enjoying the brilliantly sunny and crisp winter day in Ohio.
My first stop of interest was an old cemetery that is situated at the side of the road in Ballville Township called Hill Cemetery. It is not situated on a hill, as such, so there must be some “Hill” family affiliation somewhere. I pulled off the road to take a few pictures (these types of places are intriguing in the antiquity to me) and then headed on my merry way.
My next point of serious interest was the “Fremont Airport”. This little patch of land with one large plane situated to face the road was interesting in the fact that I could observe no hint of a landing strip anywhere in the vicinity of the planes. There was one “hanger” with two small planes in or near it, and a sign, also situated by the road, indicating the availability of “Rides”. Hmmm…the next time you think you are inconvenienced at your major national airport with your national carriers, think of it this way…..you could be flying out of FREMONT.
While driving toward Fremont, I considered my options. I often think that I would like to take a little trip over to the Hayes Presidential Center there, as I have not been there in “a coon’s age” (whatever that is”). The ex, the firstborn and I were known to go there with some frequency when the firstborn was young, to make use of the extensive genealogy library they maintain there with records pertaining to the founding folks of that area. At that time, we were extensively involved in researching the history of my dad’s family. With help from the ex’s uncle, Henry Timman, historian for Huron County, and acknowledged genealogy guru, we were able to flesh out a family history for me (and the boys) about my dad’s side of the family, that did not exist in any form, to my knowledge. In the process, I also became acquainted with a real living distant relative, as well, who provided a lot of information that went very far back, so the Presidential Center has some very pleasant memories for me. With that in mind, when the sign came that indicated the turn off Rt 53 toward the Presidential Center, today, I did not drive by; I turned.
The short drive to the Presidential Center, on the grounds of the Hayes home, known as Spiegel Grove, was nice enough. The center is located in an area of Fremont that is obviously older; large stately homes surround the Hayes Center, and the facility itself, with the Presidential Library, the Hayes home and the grounds, sits on a very substantial piece of property in this residential neighborhood. As I approached the gates, I recalled so many other times of passing through, the young one not even a twinkle in the eye yet, and the firstborn most likely asleep in his car seat, lulled into submission during the forty-five minute or so drive. I drove up the shaded winding driveway to the parking area at the Presidential Library and paused a moment there to take a photo. Memories continued to come back of walking the grounds, and becoming familiar with all the staff and resources at the center as we spent so many hours there working. I was saddened to realize how long ago that was, and considered with regret the possibility that some of the people there who had been so kind and understanding to us with our young tag-along had likely passed on. With a hint of sadness at that, I proceeded up the driveway toward Spiegel Grove.
In the afternoon sun, filtered by the tall pines, Spiegel Grove stood, dignified and beautifully understated. This photo really does not do the home justice…to fully appreciate it , you really need to see it in person. I continued on my drive around the automobile accessible parts of th grounds and then taking one last look at the home, I directed myself back to the imposing front gates and headed back toward Rt 53 and home….so I thought.
Once back on Rt 53, I noted a plume of very white “something” in the distance. As I headed toward my ramp to proceed on Rt 20 back toward Toledo, the nature of the something became clear….Davis Besse Nuclear Power Plant, on Rt 2 was executing a regular release of steam and the cold winter air allowed the released water to maintain its snowy white appearance for an extended period of time as it wafted away from the cooling tower. Oddly enough, I had recently been engaged in discussion with a friend about just an event such as this, as they too were all too familiar with the processes that can be observed when you live around a nuclear power plant. Deciding that this was too good a photo opportunity to pass up, and although I had no idea how I was going to get there from where I was, I decided to follow the plume to get some pictures. At the first country road that headed in the general direction of the plant, I turned, and off I went, totally clueless as to where I was going other than knowing that I was going to keep turning toward the cloud of steam.
I felt OK about this….I was heading north after all…and north was the GENERAL direction I wanted to head in anyway. I knew that I would eventually cross the turnpike (one landmark) and hit or cross other major roadways, so I figured that this excursion was a low risk deal at best. The only thing I did not check was level of gasoline in the tank (in retrospect, that would have probably been a good idea – lots of rural roads and all that) but as it happened, I passed through several small towns on my travel, including Oak Harbor, so I was very seldom totally out in the “boonies”. And as long as the cooling tower continued to loom larger in my field of view as I drove, I knew I was going in basically the right direction.
And loom it did….as I continued to drive, the plume became more and more prominent in the sky and the facility itself was much easier to see. The tower poked high into the clear blue sky and the brilliant white steam floated steadily from the top. As much as I was totally interested in the sight, I observed as so many people driving on the roads with me were totally oblivious…in my tiny little mind, I wondered how they could not be interested in such a cool looking thing going on in the sky just above their heads.
Route 2 goes past the plant, and is one of the direct routes to the Sandusky area (Cedar Point) from Toledo. There are a lot of cool things to see beside the power plant, including several wildlife preserves and parks. This ironic picture is taken of the entrance to the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. No birds falling from the sky, but some can be observed flying….my question…does Blinky the three-eyed fish live here? I also drove past a sign for Bono – not the singer, but the town. There are a couple more photos of Bono-esque items in the Flickr photo album, right.
My last little bit of fun came as I got closer to Toledo, and realized that my trip on Route 2 ended me up at Route 280 as my way to proceed the rest of the way home. All the Toledo folks will tell you that Route 280’s current claim to fame is the slalom track you have to drive under the construction for the new bridge over the Maumee River, which has a name, but I forget what it is. It reminds me very much of the Clark Bridge that I was so enamored with when I visited Alton, Illinois awhile ago….that photo still resides on my computer as my desktop picture. There are some really great photos of the construction area and the progress on the bridge work in the Flickr album, but this one is by far my favorite (I even amazed myself on this one!)
The rest of the drive went by without incident or sights of interest to snap photos of. Once home, I moved all the photos off my camera to my computer and relived my day by looking at them. I’m glad I took the time to explore a little of my part of Ohio yesterday, and I am happy that I have this opportunity to share it all with you.
Hope you enjoyed it…and enjoy the photos in the Flickr album…..back tomorrow with a much shorter post….till then, much love to you….
v
