Tuesday, July 26, 2011 Bowling Green, OH 48 miles

Erie Canal Lock

It’s hard to believe we’ve come so far. After zig-zagging around corn and beans for what seemed like weeks, we’ve emerged into “normal” farmland with houses and barns close to the road, and trees and filling stations on the route. With such a short day, we were asked to wait until 8:00 to start. After back tracking a little through Defiance (disappointed that I didn’t do some sightseeing here yesterday), we followed the Maumee River along River Road/Ohio By-Way going due east. Five miles out we veered off into Independence Dam State Park. Here we took pics of the old Erie Canal lock and then took a short ride along the Maumee by Independence Dam (named for a town in earlier Ohio history). From the river’s edge I saw several blue herons enjoying the water. From here we began following the old (unimproved) tow path that took us about 2.5 miles over a heavily rooted dirt path. I think everyone finished the path in one piece. I, for one, couldn’t enjoy the woodland views for watching out for the roots!  

Napoleon Courthouse

Sherry at Spengler's

Part of the Coffee Mug Club

Shortly after the tow path we came to Napoleon where we tried taking pictures of their beautiful courthouse - very ornate and very French in style. Too much traffic, though, to stand in the middle of the street for the best pic. Here in Napoleon, we found a wonderful and quite colorful restaurant/pub/coffee shop where several local men gather on a daily basis to visit and enjoy their coffee. I’m sure Spengler’s turns into a very active pub at night. It was established in 1879 and still has the beautiful tin ceiling. We all enjoyed having breakfast. The young man in the picture is one of six corporate jet pilots for a huge conglomerate; the gentleman with the John Deere cap is his father; the gentleman with the red suspenders is 87 and still rides his bike everyday; his 87 yr. old wife is an EMT first responder. No grass growing under the feet of these seniors! 

Ornate exterior

Riding out of Napoleon, we rode by the humongous Campbell Soup plant where V-8 Juice is also bottled. By size, think Honda plant near Canton, MS, or the Toyota plant at Blue Springs, MS.  

Further down the road we wandered into the town of Grand Rapids. For some reason, I thought this was a city. Actually, though, it’s more of a village. Restoration of this old logging town began in 1975. All of the old buildings on Main St. have been restored and turned into shops (gifts, ice cream, antiques, floral) and restaurants. And, there’s a beautiful park along the Maumee River.

Log cabins to wind turbines!

Then, it was on to Tontogany and then to Bowling Green. Along the way, we were treated to more wind turbines (forgot to mention that we saw tons of these yesterday along Stateline Rd. {Indiana and Ohio}) which really fascinate me. I’d like to see one being erected. . . Once in Bowling Green, we spotted the Café of the Canyons, and on the recommendation of several local folks, went in and had lunch. From there it was a short ride out to the Best Western which, by the way, is such a treat after the smoky Super 8’s. Rooming with Karina A. Today was a treat, too, as we had time to take our time and really “smell the roses,” something that we just can’t do on the really long days.

Grand Rapids

Original cabin in Gr Rapids

Lovely to look at and delicious!

Menu: Spareribs and Gravy, Swiss Chard with Onion and Black-eyed peas, Yukon Mashed Potatoes, Salad, Homemade Bread (baked in the Dutch oven), Fresh Cherries and Blueberries.