Great Lakes Meandering

Good-bye New England, hello Great Lakes. We have been through these states a few times over the years, including earlier this year. Hum, what could we possibly see that is new and on our list? Why Big Ten campuses, good guess!

Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993. Three Big Ten schools (Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana) voted against PSU joining but the majority rules. So Penn State left the Eastern Conference and joined the Big Ten. Football games are played in Beaver Stadium (above). Around the corner and down the street is the basketball arena, Bryce Jordan Center. 

How much Big Ten history do you know? The conference was formed in 1896, and Ohio State joined in 1912. Ohio Stadium is their football home, with an interesting dome like entrance. The Schottenstein Center hosts basketball. 

Across the street from their basketball home is the  museum entrance to another noteworthy sports name. I did not know golfer Jack Nicklaus went to Ohio State. There is a sizable museum in his honor. Had we known, it would have been fun to check it out. Time constraints kept us moving!

Indiana University joined the Big Ten in 1899. The Hoosiers play football in Memorial Stadium. Across the street and able to share parking stands Assembly Hall, basketball home for Indiana. 

Our tour of Big Ten campuses is almost complete. What’s missing? No we did not do an in-depth tour. We check out the football stadium and basketball arena on each campus and usually do a little drive around, time permitting. It’s just fun to see where they play, which makes watching the games on TV more interesting. 

Almost Heaven

Wheeling, West Virginia. 🎵"Almost heaven, West Virginia. Blue Ridge Mountains...🎶" Are you humming that John Denver tune? It has stuck with me all day. 

We start the day on the western edge of Pennsylvania, waking up early to the sound of a rooster. Click on the rooster link to hear him announce the day over the hum of traffic on the road. We stayed in an obviously rural location in a log cabin lodge. It was another full-circle moment after our log cabin stay in Georgia, but Georgia was WAY better!

We drove a few miles into town for one of our daily “fixes” at a local coffee shop/cafe. Small town. We were definitely outsiders! A few people said a quiet hello. Then the server emerged from the kitchen and admonished the folks for not “playing nice with the new people.” Never had a server give a room-wide tongue-lashing for not greeting the strangers with a booming “hello” before. Good folks. Good food. 

Coffee fortified, it is time for a hike. The Falls Vista Trail in Wheeling, West Virginia (still humming?) was interesting. More incredible bridges like yesterday. This one had a labyrinth of bridges and stairs. They must have some talented local Boy Scouts or something to come up with that maze. The trail has signs posted that it could be muddy and slick. They have used thick cut tree trunk rounds as stepping stones to elevate the trail. Fortunately it wasn’t very muddy, but that also meant we saw diminished falls (falls video) due to lack of water. 

The trail itself was a bit tricky. Narrow. Lots of leaves in places. And some downed trees. Papa had a challenge ducking under a couple fallen trees while maintaining footing in the small amount of mud directly underneath. Balance challenge!

The majority of today was drive time with frequent quick, uneventful leg stretches. We have finished two audio books so far: Garrison Keilor’s Lake Wobegon Days, and a similar but more salty take on Midwest childhood by Nick Offerman of Parks and Recrestion fame called Paddle Your Own Canoe. Both books filled with humorous stories and personal insights that kept us smiling and helped pass the miles.