The Long Way to Ohio - December 16-19, 2009

It's hard to believe, but it's that time of year again. Time to head north for the winter. Wait! There's something's wrong with that! Aren't we supposed to be heading south? Anyway, on Wednesday, we started our annual trek to Columbus, Ohio, to spend the holidays with the Marine's family. The Marine finished his last final exam at 10am and we were on the road by 11am. Before we (read the Biologist) took up waymarking, we used to be able to make it from Jacksonville, Florida, to Columbus in about 12 to 13 hours. Well let me tell you, those days are over much to the Marine's chagrin as it now takes 3 to 4 days!

DAY 1: Because of our late start, we only made it to Calhoun, Georgia, today. We had no waymarking goals on this first day. Our only plan was to put as many miles behind us as possible before nightfall. However, we did manage to snap some photos and coords of the Stowe, Vermont, U-Haul Graphic so we could visit it. Hey! We're not proud. We'll take what we can get!

DAY 2: Brrrr. It sure was cold when we left Calhoun this morning. The thermometer in the car read 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Yikes! We were wearing short sleeves in Jacksonville just yesterday and were comfortable. Thank goodness the car has seat warmers... or as the Biologist likes to refer to them, butt warmers. After passing though Tennessee and Kentucky, we stopped shortly after arriving in Indiana to find our first geocache in this state. It was an easy grab and go. Thank goodness. The temperature had risen about 10 degrees, but it was still REALLY cold! Next we made our way over to Illinois in search of an Illinois Historical Marker at the former village of Wanborough. The only thing that remains of this historic village is a small, well tended Worldwide Cemetery! After a short wander (because it was small, but mostly because it was COLD) through the cemetery, we hopped back in the car and made our way back to Indiana.

Once we crossed back over the state line, we found three Indiana Historical Markers: two about the Wabash and Erie Canal and a third about the Buffalo Trace. By this time, it was getting dark so we made tracks to the nearest city, Vincennes, to find a hotel and a place to get a nice, hot meal.

DAY 3: Today, we headed to Michigan. If you're going to go north for the winter, you might as well do it right! Right?! After arriving in Michigan, we immediately made a pit stop at the Michigan Welcome Center in New Buffalo where we spotted an unclaimed Michigan Historical Marker and found our first geocache in this state. We also found an Accessible-Designed Recreational Location here. It was An "Able to Play" Playground, which was designed to be accessible to children of all abilities. We also visited the Landlocked Lighthouse located here. Then we hopped back in the waymobile (formerly the cachemobile) and made our way to the lovely little town of Three Oaks.

In Three Oaks, we visited the Dewey Cannon, a piece of Static Artillery with a terrific history. The cannon, captured in the Spanish-American War by Admiral Dewey, was presented to Three Oaks when its citizens raised $1,400 for a memorial to the men of the battleship Maine. A Michigan Historical Marker accompanied the cannon and there was a lovely little Gazebo here as well. A few miles away we stopped at a Michigan Centennial Farm, which has been owned by the Payne Family for over 100 years. A few miles further down the highway, we stopped at the Haslett Farm, which has been in that family for over 150 years, making it a Sesquicentennial Farm! We made one last stop for another Michigan Historical Marker at The Presbyterian Church in Edwardsburg. By this time, it was mid-afternoon so we started making our way to Columbus, Ohio. We ran out of steam as we reached Fort Wayne, Indiana, and decided to call it a night and get a hotel room rather than try to push through to Columbus. By the next morning, we had second thoughts about the wisdom of this decision.

DAY 4: This morning we awoke to about 2 inches of snow! Aaack! Maybe we should have kept driving last night and made our way to Columbus. We don't get this treacherous stuff in Florida (thank goodness). We got on the interstate and the road wasn't in the best of shape. After about 10 white-knuckled miles and after spotting several vehicles stuck along the side of the highway, we got off the interstate and got on US 30 (aka the Lincoln Highway). Fortunately this road had already been well tended and we had a fairly nice drive into Columbus. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take the time to enjoy the Lincoln Highway or look for any of its hidden treasures (aka waymarks). We pulled into the Marine's parents drive at about noon and breathed huge sighs of relief. It sure was great to have our northward waymarking adventure behind us and see the Marine's mom and dad!