Road Trip Stop #1: Toledo, Ohio

It was a late start heading out of West Virginia. Sleepiness that is hard to put aside when you wake up on a dark and rainy day contributed minimally, but it was the overturned pick up on Rt 119 that really put me behind. My mom called and let me know, allowing me to sleep an extra forty-five minutes. Excellent for me!  I still hit traffic but was quickly on my way to my first stop: TOLEDO, OHIO.

Toledo may seem like an unlikely way point on a cross country trip. My friends, Joel and Micha, currently live in Toledo or the surrounding area and it had been some time since I’d seen them last. Unfortunately for me, the trip between West Virginia and Toledo was somewhat uneventful. I took interstate and toll roads the entire way except for the winding two lane road I drove to leave town. Let me tell you something about toll roads: I hate them. I get the idea behind paying to drive them in order to maintain the roadway, but I spent a total of $13 just to get through Ohio. Plus, it was nothing but rain storms and flat fields for most of the trip. However boring the trip there may have been, it was balanced out by how great a place Toledo turned out to be along with the people there.

 

Toledo Day 1 and 2:

I arrived several hours behind schedule. It worked out in my favor because little time was spent sitting around. There was grilling followed by a Toledo Mudhens game. I had no clue what a Mudhen was. It was Googled. The team’s mascot, however, was kind of a weird looking chicken in a shirt-dress with no pants. Exactly what a real Mudhen wears. Check it out here.  Beers, baseball, and then the bar with people I’d just met through Joel. Alcohol seems to bring strangers together in many instances and then put everyone to sleep.

The second day started around lunch time with Barry’s Bagels, followed by wandering around a really excellent metro park called Wildwood. It is located on an old estate once owned by the co-founder of Champion Spark Plugs. There are great trails, animals running around everywhere, information about the former owners (the Stranahans), and some unique restrooms located in the former stables. 

 

It was also National Donut Day. We drove around for almost an hour trying to find a local donut shop to celebrate such an important holiday. Sparky's Donuts and Ice Cream was the final stop.  We picked out a dozen, informed the girl working behind the counter of the holiday, snapped some photos and celebrated the holiday. I ate three and my favorite was the one that looked like a bratwurst.

That evening, we went to a party at Joel’s friend’s place. Again, alcohol brings people together. To keep it short I’ll list some of the events of the evening (in no particular order):

1.       Beer drinking (regular)

2.       Eating

3.       Beer drinking (pong style)

4.       Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey watching

5.       Drinking (Pittsburgh Penguins out of the playoffs style)

6.       Bets being introduced regarding goose catching abilities

7.       First edition book discussion

8.       Moonshine “tasting”

9.       Terrible website name ideas

10.   Wearing of an Iron Man mask

 

11.   Something about a naked lady painting

 

 

 

12.   Drinking (flip cup style)

13.   Reggae music. Yeah. Reggae. I don’t even know what to say about that.

14.   Drinking (winding down style)

15.   Arrival of police

16.   Our departure.

There was a lot more. Really. But maybe it’s one of those times that less is more. Or something like that.