Phew!

After the problems with uploading photos last night, Blogger is running quicker this morning, so here is my latest post from yesterday....

This was day 31 of the tour, which saw me in the states of Ohio and Indiana.

I saw this fire hydrant and it immediately reminded me of the fireman’s helmet I took a photo of in Rochester....(see here for comparison)....

Coming from the UK, I had heard of drive-in movies before and on this tour I have seen a few old but sadly derelict ones. But today, in Oregon, Ohio, what a surprise – a shiny and obviously still being used drive-in movie theatre (US = theater)....

I stopped for petrol (US = Gas) in Bowling Green, Ohio and this place gets my vote for the best looking gas station on the tour so far....

Following the great advice from Jimmy to use Route 424 as it offers a much more scenic ride than Route 24 (and he was 100% right, so thanks Jimmy) my journey today took me through Grand Rapids, Ohio which is on the Maumee River. I looked at the rapids and I personally didn’t think they were very grand, but that’s just my opinion. The town does have a military gun at the site of the war dead memorial....

The town also has a very old but great looking railway bridge over the river....

The Leading Ladies having a rest from the sun. By now it was getting hot....

I rode passed a very large soup factory....

I cannot remember where this was – it was opposite one of the many places I stopped today to drink something because it was so hot. I liked it's grand looking appearance....

Did I mention it was hot? This was my thermometer as I rode along. Of course, it wasn’t quite this hot because the thermometer was in the sun, but it was bloomin’ hot anyway!....

I didn’t think I rode that far today....

Cool old fire truck just parked on the street with its engine running....

Is this a church? No it is a public library. Either the architect was very confused when the building was designed, or it may have been built as a church and had a change of use later? This was in Florida, Ohio....

A small dam on the Maumee River....

Here is the sign for Indiana, the 11th state I have ridden in on this tour. I can see I am going to have to get one of those “these are the states I have visited” maps for my blog....

As I left Ohio I reflected on the huge amount of road construction that I saw – no major new roads, but repairs and improvements were happening across the state. I saw signs indicating the work was being funded by the American Recovery and Re-Investment Act, which I am guessing is part of President Obama’s policy to inwardly invest to help maintain jobs during these difficult financial times. Great to see this investment, but can you please eliminate the grooved and stepped pavements until after I have gone through?

I have discovered something good on my Garmin GPS unit. There is a selection in the “Points of Interest” section called Lodging. This gives directions to the nearest hotels, motels, B&B’s, Inns and the like. It gives the name of the place, how far it is and in which direction. I used it today when I reached a certain point where I had had enough of the heat. I selected a nearby Holiday Inn, not because I wanted to stay at there, but it was near, would have air conditioning, as shower and maybe a pool. It had all of these and FREE WI-FI. Yeah!

Plus, it has a guest laundry. One of the things that is a pain when you are on the road is washing your clothes. Some riders use the wear it twice, throw it away and buy a new one policy, but I do not subscribe to this. I carry enough clothes for 9 or 10 days and after a week start looking for a laundermat. Simple things sometimes bring pleasure and I was delighted to see the Holiday Inn had a guest laundry. So, instead of washing my clothes in a laundermat as usual, my clothes are being washed upstairs as I type this, my blog. What a luxury!