Hitting The Road!

 We got an early start - aiming for 8 am and pulling out at 8:05!   It was a gorgeous morning - sun shining brightly.  Car packed and on our way!

We've been noticing just a slight change in color in the leaves along  the roads through West Virginia - even on the highways - were really pretty.   As we were crossing into the state I grabbed a pic of the welcome sign and I love the words on the truck - why yes, we WERE following you!

I LOVE bridges and this beauty was West Virginia University colors!

This one is over the Ohio River - which was really pretty.

We don't do long drive days anymore so we were safely in our hotel by 3 pm.  

September 4

We awoke to another gorgeous day!  But there is a bit of chill in the air this morning.  We drove from Athens to Toledo and I was reminded of driving thru Ohio to my brother's undergrad graduation at Miami of Ohio.  I remembered it being flat, and long straight shots of roads.  Well, my memory seemed to be pretty on point.  At least we did see some pretty farms along the way.  We arrived at our destination - the National Museum of the Great Lakes and paid $17 to see both the museum and the boat that is open for touring.  

This boat is the Col. James M Schoonmaker and is 617 ft. long and 64 feet wide.  It was built in 1911 and could haul 15,000 tons of cargo - often coal or iron ore.  It was a very interesting self tour and there was a man in the Pilot House who was a wealth of information.  

I mentioned that this was our first look at Lake Erie - and he corrected me and told me it was about 3 miles out.  Way to make a fool out of yourself Sue!  

You know I love bridges, and this one reminded me of Tampa. 

This was a museum chock full of information and it was well worth a couple of hours.  Then on to our hotel just a few miles away and the best pizza at ZaZa's Pizza for dinner!  Tomorrow we get into Michigan!