Wednesday May 8, 2024, I was up early after last nights storm, but I survived. It was a nice morning, sunshine and a breeze. My friend that I met last night has all ready gone, heading home to his girls. Interesting guy, he told me that he likes to get away and go fishing and camping by himself, it’s good for his soul he says. We had plenty of time to talk last night during the tornado warning, four hour tornado warning that is. He told me he has three daughters, from 14, 12, 7 I believe. His wife got wrapped up in some bad stuff and left him and the kids, a single dad raising 3 girls by himself. So it was understandable he needed some dad time, and it didn’t matter if there were tornado warnings and torrential rain, he was ok.
As I looked at the sky and checked the radar and weather reports, while it looks nice now, this evening was going to be a different story. So I decided to leave southern Indiana and head back to Ohio and head Northeast a little and see if I could miss the storms that were coming. I found a state park in the area I wanted to be called Kiser Lake state park in Conover, Ohio. It’s a pretty place in the rolling hills of Ohio on a large lake. I found my spot over looking one section of the lake, I set up my tent and took a bike ride to the ranger station up the hill, a steep hill! Cool little camp store, kayak and boat rentals. I checked in and rode back. I checked on the weather and realized the rain had found me. It started raining during the night , but my tent was secure and waterproof. I had planned on staying two nights And it wasn’t as bad as it had been in Brookville, so I just hunkered down and spent the day in my tent watching the rain. I had power so I had my computer and hotspot for internet, I was good.
The next day the sun was out and I packed up to leave. I tried to get ahold of my cousin but I had no luck, I left her a couple messages and headed out. On my way to Bowling Green ,Ohio I noticed The Neil Armstrong Museum right next to I75. I missed it on the way up, but knew I had to go somehow. After no response from my cousin I decided I would head to the Neil Armstrong Museum and figure out my next move from there. It was close to his home town of Wapakoneta, Ohio, close to where I was so I took off for Wapakoneta! The museum was awesome, full of history. Armstrong was a very interesting guy and his rise to being the first man on the Moon was incredible. He was a Naval aviator, a test pilot, and a college professor, along the way( actually the professor job after his trip to the moon). He was a very private person and at the end he didn’t want to be buried at Arlington or have some monument, so his final wishes were followed and he was buried at sea. I copied this from Wikipedia, Armstrong’s family released a statement describing him as a “reluctant American hero [who had] served his nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut … While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves. For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”[226]
I Enjoyed the museum but needed to keep moving. It was Friday May 10 Mothers Day weekend. I had spoke with my cousins Pam and Matt about coming to see them and figured Saturday afternoon would work for all involved, I would meet them near their home in Indiana, Greenfield was the spot. Now where will I stay? I checked for state parks in Indiana and found Summit Lake, near New Castle. They had one spot and for one night only, perfect, it’s just what I needed. So I headed back to Indiana to Summit Lake. It’s a beautiful park on another huge lake and it was packed! I found my spot and set up tent, I had two families behind and to the side of me with a few kids, there were kids riding bikes everywhere and did I mention it was packed! I was happy I only needed this place one night. That night was when the northern lights were visible, so I was looking forward to that. I got up about 2am and walked down towards the lake, and as is my luck it was cloudy and blocked by trees. Nothing to see here, except a light pink hue in the sky, I went back to bed.
I headed out the next morning, to Greenfield for lunch with the cousins. Pam and Matt were the children of my mom’s brother Reid and his wife Delores. They lived in Beech Grove growing up and we visited them often and of course they came to Florida too. We are only a few years between us, so as they say, your cousins are some of your first friends. We had a nice lunch and reminisced about our parents and the good times we had when the Aunts and Uncles, along with older cousins got together it was a hoot. It was great to see them, although I had seen them a few years before for our Aunt Kathryn’s 100th birthday, it was still great to see them. They had somethings to get done, so we said our goodbyes and I once again needed to figure out what I was doing.
I decided to see if I could catch up with my cousin Kay Ellen in Ohio, I got ahold of her and we planned on seeing each other on Sunday, Mothers Day. So off I went back to Ohio, Took the backroads and a little place I had seen on the way to Summit Lake on Friday called St Marys, Ohio. It’s not far from Wapakoneta and close to my cousins. I found a cheap hotel and stayed at a impressively clean cheap hotel. This place also had a bar, Now I haven’t been drinking for awhile. I might have a beer one in awhile, but it’s been rare. I thought I would check this place out, what the hell. The little bar was in a separate building from the hotel, I walked around and found the place and it was called Duffy’s, damn can’t get away from it. I went inside anyway and ordered a beer. It was a small place and also served liquor. The woman who worked there could walk right in to the place in Holmes Beach and fit right in if you know what I mean, LOL. There was a guy next to me at the bar who reminded me of a few AMI locals too, it was uncanny. The bar keep had to cut him off, but he was a kind man and causing no trouble. I drank a beer and went back to my room for the night.
The next morning I called my cousin to ask when I should head over. She told me she couldn’t see me, she was overwhelmed with emotions and wanted to be alone. She apologized, but just couldn’t do it. I totally understood , as I have been in that same place too.
As sad as I was, I knew it was time to keep moving and so I did.
