715 Miles to Boston
Since we didn’t have time to tour the islands of Lake Erie last night, we got up early and explored. It’s a little strange seeing lighthouses and waves and not scanning the shoreline for whales, but while Lake Erie may look like the ocean, around here perch and walleye are the big draws.
The oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes
We split up for a little while this morning due to a late start to our day. Mike wanted to check in to the Sandusky Harley shop, and I needed to spend some time at the Merry-Go-Round Museum. Yes, I needed to. This was a must-see stop, not a maybe-see stop.
The Merry-Go-Round Museum is housed in the historic Sandusky Post Office Building
I was dropped off and waiting at the door right at 10:00 when a volunteer turned the lock. I paid my $10, walked in, and didn’t know where to look. Every area of the walls was lined with historic carousel animals, labeled with the year, maker, and location. One of my favorite displays highlighted the painstaking process involved in creating a hand-carved carousel animal. I probably circled the museum three or four times before deciding that, yes, I had seen everything. Then I went around once more to be sure. I did not want to miss a single thing.
I couldn’t choose just one picture
Finally, I decided that it was time for my ride. The volunteer punched my ticket, opened the gate, and I had the entire carousel to myself. I smiled, laughed, looked in the mirrors, snapped a selfie, deleted it, snapped another selfie, and gazed in amazement at the thought of having all of this to myself. The music played, and the animals zipped around and up and down at a dizzying speed of nine miles per hour instead of the usual two to three.
Selfies are hard while spinning at 9 miles per hour
Before I left, the volunteer pointed to a carved pig and suggested I send my husband a picture. “We’ve got HOGs here too,” she laughed at her own joke.
The HOG. I don’t think he thought it was as funny as we did.
By the time we reached Cleveland, gawking at the sights gave way to pure endurance as the heat index soared past 110. We were thrilled when we finally left the city, and the highway opened onto rolling farmland. One thing is certain about Ohio: it has a distinctive style of houses. Think A Christmas Story, but everywhere.
New York had us thinking of home with the fields of grapes, and a sign announcing New York’s oldest estate winery had us pulling over for a taste. The whites were refreshing and the Pinots a little more peppery than in Oregon, but both the wine and the air conditioning were a welcome respite.
Buffalo Harley Davidson came into view not a moment too soon; we were ready to call it a day. Buffalo-style pizza, a cool hotel room, and the chance to peel off our sweaty gear beckoned after a day of chasing carousels and outrunning the heat.
Buffalo Harley Davidson is a mini-museum of Harley Davidson history
Carousels and Curiosity 
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