The Adventure Begins
It was a dark and stormy night . . .
Well, basically it was. I left DC at 4:30 pm on Thursday, May 11 -- just in time for rush hour traffic. :) Not only that, it was starting to rain, which always paralyzes traffic in the DC area. This enabled me to enjoy one of the great perks of having a hybrid (a Toyota Prius I bought for this trip and to have in California) -- I got to use the HOV lane and zip past the parking lot of the non-HOV lanes on I-270.
While I was ordering a filet-o-fish in Frederick, MD, the skies opened up. For the next several miles it was rush hour traffic in a torrent that made visibility about 10 feet. The skies pulled back to just rain that lasted until New Staunton, PA, and then alternated rain and dry to Cleveland. It was night and it was raining or overcast -- I saw little besides the lights of the semi's. This leg of the journey was straight through (aided by a triple-shot latte) because my cat, Venus, was mewing pitifully in a carrier on the passenger seat. She is going to be at Camp in Cleveland (home of my beloved, Anne) while I meander toward the West Coast.
I'm in Cleveland for a few days, visiting Anne and addressing tasks that were not accomplished in the effort to leave DC. A wonderful aspect of this is that I get to experience spring again. DC had gone full-on summer foliage by the time I left -- Cleveland is just in the height of dogwoods and azaleas.
Saturday, Anne and I drove to Hudson, which is just south of Cleveland and is one of the places my mother lived while growing up. It is a cute little historic town, with a clock tower that is on the National Register of Historic Sites, a band stand, shops and restaurants in the historic buildings on Main Street and American mall standards (Jos. A. Banks; the Gap; Ann Taylor loft; etc.) on 1st Street. We went to Mary & Ted's for lunch, and learned that Mary and Ted had moved to Hudson from Albuquerque in 1951 -- the same year my parents moved to Albuquerque.
After touring Hudson, we drove to a heron nesting site on the Cuyahoga River, in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Three large trees were chock full of nests, many of which were populated by young blue herons with their prehistoric-looking parents standing watch. We then went to a spot along the Ohio & Erie Canal (Lock 26 to be precise), purportedly to take a walk. Little walking happened, because there was just too much to see. The air was thick with songs and calls of birds. In the space of a few hundred yards, we saw a white-crowned sparrow pecking delicately in the grass, swallows and a blue heron flying overhead, a cardinal chasing a blue jay, a yellow warbler, a Baltimore oriole, three wood ducks -- one a male with a stunning crest, blackbirds, grackles, a cat bird, a beaver, and a number of unidentified birds. There also was an unconfirmed sighting of a flying squirrel. The canal is no longer functioning, but had low, still water covered with water lilies and other green water plants. Everything was incredibly lush, with all sorts of wild flowers blooming. At one point we followed a trail toward the river and were stopped by a large field of yellow iris growing in treacherous-looking mud. Having grown up in the desert, and even after 16 years in DC, I find all this green and color and conspicuous life just astonishing.
My task now is to plot out the next phase of my journey. To be determined, but I'm pretty sure the first destination will be Fostoria, Ohio, childhood home of my maternal grandparents. It is my intention to update this blog every day or two, so check back in!
Well, basically it was. I left DC at 4:30 pm on Thursday, May 11 -- just in time for rush hour traffic. :) Not only that, it was starting to rain, which always paralyzes traffic in the DC area. This enabled me to enjoy one of the great perks of having a hybrid (a Toyota Prius I bought for this trip and to have in California) -- I got to use the HOV lane and zip past the parking lot of the non-HOV lanes on I-270.
While I was ordering a filet-o-fish in Frederick, MD, the skies opened up. For the next several miles it was rush hour traffic in a torrent that made visibility about 10 feet. The skies pulled back to just rain that lasted until New Staunton, PA, and then alternated rain and dry to Cleveland. It was night and it was raining or overcast -- I saw little besides the lights of the semi's. This leg of the journey was straight through (aided by a triple-shot latte) because my cat, Venus, was mewing pitifully in a carrier on the passenger seat. She is going to be at Camp in Cleveland (home of my beloved, Anne) while I meander toward the West Coast.
I'm in Cleveland for a few days, visiting Anne and addressing tasks that were not accomplished in the effort to leave DC. A wonderful aspect of this is that I get to experience spring again. DC had gone full-on summer foliage by the time I left -- Cleveland is just in the height of dogwoods and azaleas.
Saturday, Anne and I drove to Hudson, which is just south of Cleveland and is one of the places my mother lived while growing up. It is a cute little historic town, with a clock tower that is on the National Register of Historic Sites, a band stand, shops and restaurants in the historic buildings on Main Street and American mall standards (Jos. A. Banks; the Gap; Ann Taylor loft; etc.) on 1st Street. We went to Mary & Ted's for lunch, and learned that Mary and Ted had moved to Hudson from Albuquerque in 1951 -- the same year my parents moved to Albuquerque.
After touring Hudson, we drove to a heron nesting site on the Cuyahoga River, in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Three large trees were chock full of nests, many of which were populated by young blue herons with their prehistoric-looking parents standing watch. We then went to a spot along the Ohio & Erie Canal (Lock 26 to be precise), purportedly to take a walk. Little walking happened, because there was just too much to see. The air was thick with songs and calls of birds. In the space of a few hundred yards, we saw a white-crowned sparrow pecking delicately in the grass, swallows and a blue heron flying overhead, a cardinal chasing a blue jay, a yellow warbler, a Baltimore oriole, three wood ducks -- one a male with a stunning crest, blackbirds, grackles, a cat bird, a beaver, and a number of unidentified birds. There also was an unconfirmed sighting of a flying squirrel. The canal is no longer functioning, but had low, still water covered with water lilies and other green water plants. Everything was incredibly lush, with all sorts of wild flowers blooming. At one point we followed a trail toward the river and were stopped by a large field of yellow iris growing in treacherous-looking mud. Having grown up in the desert, and even after 16 years in DC, I find all this green and color and conspicuous life just astonishing.
My task now is to plot out the next phase of my journey. To be determined, but I'm pretty sure the first destination will be Fostoria, Ohio, childhood home of my maternal grandparents. It is my intention to update this blog every day or two, so check back in!
posted by Annventurer | 9:35 AM
2 Comments:
Hi Ann --
Congratulations. I'll be looking for new posts all the time. This is a trip like I would love to take some summer. Keep smiling and posting. And let us know how it all feels.
YR!!
-- Dayle
Re: synchronicity -- Today I really started, by finally leaving Cleveland. I heard on the radio that what else took off today was the Godspeed -- a replica of one of the 3 ships that brought settlers to Jamestown, VA.
Re: HOV lanes -- to encourage the purchase of energy-saving low-polluting automobiles, persons driving a hybrid can use the HOV lane even if there is only one person in the car. (However, I DID have a passenger -- my cat Venus.)
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