Before we leave Marysville, OH, I have to post another photo. The parking lot at Walmart was settling in for the night and Sasha and I stepped outside for a "break". It was a day before the Full Moon/Blood Moon but the sight was wonderful. We both looked at it for......5 seconds or so.
Since we were already on US33 heading north, we continued on that highway toward Ft Wayne. Through Bellefontaine and Cherokee, and then on to New Hampshire (no, not that one). We turned west there, and went through Wapakoneta on our way to US127.
The road was divided highway through farmland for the most part, with sections of two lane here and there. The weather had turned wet and cloudy just after leaving Marysville, and it became an interesting drive across the freshly tilled fields.
Along the way we passed a large wind turbine facility, placed just behind a long forgotten home.
Ohio booted us out into Indiana and we creeped through the main street of Van Wert. I wish that photos had been possible as we went through a town that has so many stately, old mansions. I'm sure that Van Wert has a lot to enjoy.
Technically this lot is reserved for motorhomes that were built on a chassis provided by Spartan, but the Service Department "indicated" that very little was happening this week, so we "might" be able to "take a chance" on finding a spot for "a day or so". We figured we would chance it. The rain from Ohio and Indiana had disappeared, and the day was warm. We choose a site far away from the service area that only has an electrical receptacle, but the plant has a dump station and water supply nearby. We emptied some tanks, filled others, and moved in.
Sasha immediately made herself comfortable, as a young lady should.
There are two main reasons for visiting the little burg of Charlotte, and they both involve good friends. Some years ago we met Bill and Diane in Arizona and became friends. Over the years we've spent time traveling with them and enjoying their company. They spend the summers in northern Michigan, so we wanted to see them. Unfortunately, due to the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, rv sites were impossible to find, hence the stay at Spartan, but we still wanted to visit with BnD, so we elected to meet for lunch about half way between our "homes". We chose the town of Bay City, Michigan to host our party.
Bay City is located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron, about 124 miles from our "home", through Lansing, Flint, and past Frankenmuth. The city is divided by the Saginaw River and benefits from a deep water channel from Lake Huron that encouraged lumbering, milling, and shipbuilding in the late 1800's. It remains a thriving community of 35,000 plus, but still retains strong ties to its past. In 2010, a workman was grinding metal in the attic of the 113-year-old City Hall and the sparks started a blaze that caused the sprinkler system to run for nearly two hours, resulting in a multi-million dollar remodeling project to the historic building. Downtown has been restored as a destination for restaurants and shops, so we met at Populace Coffee on Saginaw St to get reacquainted. Populace has a different take on coffee, with special care and attention given to each cup. Each cup is prepared individually from beans ground just for that cup, and water quality, amount and temperature are strictly controlled. This is not a mass-production operation.
After good coffee and good conversation, we (some of us anyway) shopped for knickknacks and clothes at My Secret Garden just down the street, and then, after lightening the wallets and purses a bit we slid into Gatsby's Saloon for a late lunch. The food was very good, the service attentive, and the prices were very reasonable.
As I write this, Friday morning, the 28th of May, we are experiencing another thorough soaking rainstorm. It has been raining since midnight last night, and is expected to continue raining until mid afternoon. Hopefully that won't impact the second reason that we're in Charlotte: friends Dave and Tony. They also spend summers in Michigan, but travel throughout the rest of the year in their motorhome. They enjoyed a grandchild's school graduation yesterday, so a late afternoon visit is on the schedule.
More on that later, if the rain stops!
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