September 15, 2009

Today's journey started in Newcomerstown, Ohio. We traveled across Ohio on Route 250, an old Indian trail that intersects two other Indian trails in Wooster, Ohio. One of the interesting things along Route 250 is the large Amish community and their beautiful farms and horses. In respect of their religion we did not take any photos, but we did enjoy watching them as they tended to their travels and daily work. We passed several buggies and saw three different work horse teams plowing very large fields. One farmer was using three horses to plow. One other interesting thing about this area is the large number of small oil wells that dot the countryside. Our first picture shows a storage tank and pump located just outside Strasburg, Ohio. You also see a lot of wells in the northern part of West Virginia. Several years ago these wells set idle because oil was very cheap and it was not profitable to pump the small amount of oil that they produced. In the last few years that has changed and the pumping system has been modernized in order to collect the oil.













Our major attraction for today was the city of Mansfield, Ohio. We stopped here last year but part of the attractions were closed on Monday and we did not get to see everything. All children (no matter how old) know that this is the home of Carousel Magic and the Richland Carrousel Park (note the double r).







Our second and third photos
show two young children having a great time on the carousel. We did see them ride at least three times and they seemed to enjoy it more each time they rode. Their parents finally had to drag them to the car. People, young and old, come by bus loads to ride the carousel and also visit Carousel Magic. There were two bus loads of senior citizens visiting while we were there.








We also toured Carousel Magic which specializes in restoring carousel horses.

The fourth photo shows a new arrival that is waiting on repairs. Restoration can cost as much as $5000.00 for a large horse, depending on the amount of work needed.

The fifth photo shows a horse that is just about ready for its first coat of paint. This is a horse that was made from scratch for a customer that plans to do their own painting. Carousel Magic will finish the horses to several different stages in order for the customer to save on the purchase of a dream.

The sixth photo shows a completed horse ready to be picked up. It has received three coats of paint and a sealer.

Coney's was our choice of dining in Mansfield (photo seven). We ate here last year and had a photo of the exterior on our blog. This is another of our "step back in time" experiences. After lunch we started for Birch Run, Michigan. The traffic was a lot lighter this year and we were most appreciative!

As most of you know, I like good food, and tomorrow will be no exception. Rudy's Grill in Bay City, Michigan will be serving up breakfast. Whatever your heart desires with regard to eggs and how to fix them, Rudy's has it - from a plain cheese omelet to a Baker's Dozen (13 eggs) with everything but the kitchen sink in it. After breakfast and several Tums, we will start up the Lake Huron coast with a final destination of Alpena, Michigan.

Our sign of the day was sighted along Route 250 in Ohio and is certainly something to which we can all relate...too much stuff and nowhere to put it.

So until tomorrow, watch out for the kids on the runaway carousel horses!!

T&C

P.S. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.