Indiana and beyond

A few days after we got back from our failed Wisconsin trip, the old coot calls me. "You know," he says to me, "I've been through Indiana by Interstate, but not really by backroad." "Well," I say, "you realize it's going to look like most of Illinois. Flat and cornfields. There's a reason they have interstates in Indiana." "It's ok," saith he, "Let's go east, and go through Indiana." Now, not all of Illinois is flat. You get north of I88, it's hilly. You get by a major river (read as Mississippi, Ohio, and maybe Wabash) you get some uneven and pretty scenery. Other than that, corn and soy beans. So, I got us on 24 out of Illinois. We followed that well into Indiana. Almost to Fort Wayne in fact. And yes, Indiana looks like Illinois. Bleah. We switched to 224 near Ft Wayne and continued into Ohio. Even North Central Ohio is pretty boring. We ended in Findlay for the night. Where the hotel is is a very interesting area. You're near the edge of town, with like 3 other non full serve hotels. There is sort of a square effect going on, with highways/interstates making up 2 perpendicular sides and hotels on the other two sides and a manmade lake in the middle. Not a real big section of water though; it has a1/4 mile circumference. But there are restaurants sharing parking space with the hotels there. Neat setup. And nice hotels.
We got back on 224 the next day to 13 (went through another Attica) and followed 13 south to 33. We jogged on 33 til we hit 7, which is by the river Ohio. And we followed that into Gallipolis. Gallipolis is across the Ohio from a little city in West Virginia known as Point Pleasant. Now, the historical truth about this area is this: December 1967 the Silver Bridge collapses killing 46. Cause of collapse was an eye-beam giving out causing structural stress and making the bridge fall. The legend is: Mothman had something to do with it. He was seen in the area for roughly 13 months and allegedly was seen over the bridge earlier that day in december '67. So, being a little of a geek for the unknown, I've always wanted to get that way and at least see where the bridge used to be. We crossed some bridges and went to Point Pleasant. I will say this, the people really believe Mothman was there. I reserve judgement; I believe it may be possible (why not you know?), but I wasn't there, so I can't say whether Mothy lives or the people were cracked out. Fact is, they believe it. There were numerous sightings of something. And it was big. Were they seeing something that wasn't there? Were they confusing one thing for something else? Sure. It's possible. It's also possible they saw what they say they saw. Unfortunately, the city isn't thriving, even with this as a "draw" if you will. So, if they are just trying to drum up tourism, it doesn't seem to be doing that great a job. It's a half dead town. I don't know about Mothman, but the area is beautiful. Of course, most river areas are. The Holiday Inn in Gallipolis was an interesting dichotomy. The parking area and actual lot of the hotel was pretty, the restaurant/bar area was gorgeous, but you go off the lobby into where the rooms are, and it turns into a slightly rundown hotel. It was kind of weird. Not that the rooms were bad or messy by any means, but it looked like two different buildings. Like walking from some expensive french food joint (Chez Wha) into a McDonalds. The conversation at the bar was pretty good though, so I got over it.
Next day, we did a marathon drive. But it was almost worth is. Something like 8 or 9 hours driving. We crossed back into WV, and followed 2 along the river in the fog at 7:30-8:00 AM. Fun time. Right. It was all right when the fog was burned off by the sun and we gained a little altitude. We did go through Huntington, which is like the corner of the tri-state area (WV, OH, and KY). Huntington is also home to Marshall university, made famous (unfortunately) by a plane crash that killed its football team in the early 70s. Absolutely gorgeous area though, with the cliffs and the hills and the trees. WOW!! We followed the river into Kentucky on 23 and followed it to 10. We followed that as it became Hwy 10/9 and got off at 22 to avoid Cincinnati. 22 (pretty sure I'm on the right stretch of road...long day driving) is a weird stretch. You're sort of up in some hills and theres like a curve every 500 feet. Just as you start getting up to speed, you have to slow down a bit to make a curve. Pretty area of KY, just nuts for driving. Any rate, we followed that to 227 and into Carrollton and 36. We crossed into Indiana, and I will say that part of Indiana is pretty. We connected on 7 to 50 west to 37 north into Bloomington. Got to see IU. Another pretty campus. We splurged and stayed at a Crown Plaza for the night. Beautiful hotel; expensive, but beautiful. The hotel bar was pretty happening. It was slow when I first wandered over, but it picked up. Kinda cool when people at the hotel bar are in town for a Victoria's Secret function at the University. Too bad we were leaving the next day. LOL But good fun.
And thus ends another road trip as we ended up at home the next day.