USA Road Trip 2005

Our final day was a cracker. Matt had the day off work again and we had decided, as the day was gorgeous, to go to a nearby lake and get some proper kayaking in – none of this mamby pamby rowing boat stuff.

As Caleb was at school, we only had Isabel to think of child-wise. Having checked out online what the law really was about how many people you can have in a canoe, we were determined that no park official was going to stand in the way of Matt & Jess taking her in a canoe.

We arrived at the lake just before the office opened and the woman was as helpful as the previous guy at Lake Hope had been apathetic. Pretty soon, we had a canoe and two kayaks in the water. Sheena had never kayaked before (which was news to all of us) and she found it surprisingly easy.

The lake, called Strouds Run (for some inexplicable reason), was gorgeous and was about two miles long. We set off in idyllic conditions – no chance of a repeat of the drenching we got from the rain on Lake Hope. Jessica was all set on going the full length of the lake to the dam at the other end. But it was so peaceful to just drift into the forested coves and explore that we settled instead on a leisurely amble up about two thirds of the lake. It was truly gorgeous.

We’d drift silently into the coves to see if we could spot any wildlife. There were plenty of fish around for sure and I was rewarded with a fat turtle at one point. Later we saw a solitary swan and were able to keep pace with it and get quite close. Mostly though, the forest was silent with crickets and the lake lapped gently against the shore.

After picking Caleb up from school later, we headed out to the outskirts of town to visit a special bakery that they knew. The Big Chimney Bakery is run by a man who, in my opinion has taste. Not only does Matt Rapposelli make the finest bread you can buy in the area but he also stocks real Stilton (albeit from Melton Mowbray, more famous for pork pies) and a host of other superb cheeses. The prices were very reasonable. We ordered two exceptional loaves of bread and three exceptional cheeses to consume with a bottle of wine we’d brought along. We sat outside and enjoyed the gorgeous day supping on our feast while the children played on the grass.

Eventually though, we had to get going. The plan was to return to the house, put the kids to bed, await the baby sitter who would stay overnight and then head into town for a last splash before the drive to the airport.

And that’s pretty much what we did ending up playing darts at a bar in town. The place was crawling with students, most of whom had come back to town that very weekend for the new semester. Matt took us on a drive through some of the areas notorious for student housing and there were literally throngs of people out on the streets. Most of them had drinks in hand and we actually followed a police car through some of these streets for a bit.

Imagine our shock on hearing then, that the legal age for alcohol consumption in Ohio is 21! Apparently, many states were pressurised into maintaining or raising the age limit to 21 to qualify for funding for roads etc. As a result, they are lax on penalising underage drinkers who would have otherwise been drinking legally.

After the UK had beaten the US in a close fought match of darts,

we headed for Columbus International Airport.

Athens would probably not be here in anything like its present state if it wasn’t the home of Ohio University. At just over 200 years old, it isn’t the world’s oldest but that’s still a fair pedigree in the US of A.

Scattered throughout the town are the university buildings and, after picking up Caleb from school, Jessica took us to see some of them and have a wander. Our little tour took in, the old mental hospital which stands, as if situated by some Hollywood director, on the hill overlooking the town. In the process of being renovated, the building is now home to small businesses and also a museum with a good display of Native American weaving. We then walked through the campus to a path that led into the forest.

It was a hot day and when we weren’t under the trees, it felt like it. We did however see some more wildlife. This time we scared the heck out of a fat groundhog who bolted for his hole across a lawn and we also startled a deer crossing our path further on.

Having almost killed ourselves and especially the kids by not having much to drink with us,

we staggered back to the car and headed home on a scenic road.

Our evening was spent at Jessica’s father’s place, another house he had recently finished in town.

We also met one of her step-sisters and her children there and spent a few hours talking, eating some quiche to rival Sheena’s, and celebrating another first: Caleb had lost his first tooth. Having only noticed it the day before, it had come out in record time at school today. Ever prepared, the school secretary had given him a box shaped like a molar to put it in. I think the tooth fairy forgot all about it though!

You really don’t want me to write about today. I think if you had had a choice, you would’ve avoided today too. But it had to be done. Here we are in the consumer centre of the world and so consumption was inevitable at some point. The morning was a bit of a wash-out. We just lazed around really until we had to pick Caleb up from school. The afternoon though, was for shopping.

And so off we set, to pick up Caleb and then hit Wal-Mart. It wasn’t until we were on the edge of Wal-Mart that we realised we’d forgotten all about Caleb (Jess is still getting into the routine!). She dropped us just short of it and headed back to get him.

Sheena and I walked along the road to Wal-Mart. Now, walking along the street just outside the very centre of town is not something the average person does in the US. So there we were, just us, on this long, pristine pavement, walking towards Wal-Mart with no one else to be seen without a car. It was amazing. We got there and Sheena started shopping as if there was no tomorrow which, for us in the US, is almost true anyway so I let her have her fun.

Meanwhile, Jessica had turned up and I needed to head over to another mall nearby to check out some other stuff we were thinking of getting. Jessica estimated it to be a ten minute walk and offered to drive me. No thanks, I said, I would walk.

Like I said, hardly anyone walks anywhere here. Using my legs along the ten minutes between Wal-Mart and the other mall I was going to I felt like I was some kind of social outcast. To be honest, I felt paranoid actually. That couple in that pickup were staring at me weren’t they? And didn’t that man just roll his window down to get one more look at this freak? I bet that family are talking about me right now… but I kept telling myself this was nonsense of course. Now, walking is a perfectly normal activity (isn’t it?) but here, it is so rarely done that I felt that I was doing something not quite illegal but certainly socially disruptive.

My walk turned out to be less than constructive actually as what I wanted to buy, they didn’t have. Back at Wal-Mart, I found Sheena deep in the throes of browsing and buying in what turned out to be over a four-hour trip. That much shopping can kill if you, like me, are inexperienced. There is so much stuff here that is either way more expensive or simply non-existent in Korea, so Sheena made the most of it and thankfully, there were no major casualties.

Today, another first: Caleb went into school on the bus for the first time.

You must have seen an American school bus on TV at some point. They’re these huge yellow and black waspish monsters that scour the landscape every morning devouring children only to spit them back up again several hours later. Seriously though, throughout this entire land, every morning, tens of millions of kids go through exactly the same routine on buses that look almost identical.

Caleb is blessed to be able to get his school bus right at the end of his driveway. The downside is that he is one of the first kids on and that means he has to endure a 45 minute ride to school and has to be waiting for it at 8am each day.

He was pretty excited as we waited in light rain at the top of the driveway today. After what seemed like forever, the bus appeared, yellow lights blazing and engine roaring. It pulled up right next to us and immediately a stop sign unfolded from the side with lights flashing. Out the front of the bus, a long yellow pole extended. We all wondered about this before concluding that this must force children to walk out in front of the bus far enough for the driver to clearly see them. “We’re obsessed with safety in this country,” Matt commented later.

Now they look huge to me but to a kid these school buses must look monstrous. It is a wonder to me that any 4 year old can happily say goodbye to m“o”m and climb those immense stairs. But Caleb did it, giving his parents no qualms about his ride to school.

Jessica does however have to pick him up from school as, this being pre-school, there are no buses at lunchtime. After we had done today, we met a friend of Jessica’s for lunch and then dessert back at her house.

Tracy had been all over our website so felt she knew us before we’d even met. Though she’d never been to Korea or Japan, she was very curious about our experiences there. Back at her house, she played the grandmotherly role, plying us with ice cream, drinks and toys… well the kids anyway. Showing us round, her house was a great collection of Americana with rugs, ornaments, pictures and furniture that gave the house a warm cosy feel. We’d love to show you a photo or two of it but we actually forgot our camera – for once!

Big day in the Moore household and we were on hand to get the details down: Caleb’s first day at pre-school. The teacher had, unlike in Britain, actually been round to the house to meet him previously. I thought this was a nice touch so that, on the day, both teacher and student recognise each other. Kind of breaks the ice – unlike the hell I went through when I first met a certain Mrs. Banister many years ago. Anyway, we were really happy to tag along and see how it all went but first though, we had to leave our firearms at home.

Today, Matt & Jessica took Caleb in. Usually, he would go on the bus. We drove in and Caleb seemed quite excited at the whole prospect. His school is the very same school that Jessica went to and, lo and behold, there was Mrs Norris who had taught Jessica in third grade not so many years ago.

Caleb’s classroom had a poster of all the kids’ photos outside and more pics on their cupboards to help them know where to put their stuff – another advantage of meeting the children before the first day. Caleb settled really quickly. Other children were arriving and exploring the classroom’s different areas. It wasn’t a particularly big room but seemed to be zoned into distinct areas for reading, home, etc just like a British classroom. One noticeable difference though was the large US flag hanging on the wall.

The very idea of hanging a Union Jack on the wall of a British classroom would cause problems in the UK. But every US classroom has a flag in it and, if you’ve never been in a classroom in an American school at the beginning of the day, you might well be shocked to see the children rise, face the flag and with their right hands over their heart recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I had to do it every morning for two years when I attended an American international school in Jordan years ago. I remember it well and it goes like this:

There is currently a hot debate in the US as to whether the pledge itself should remain at all and, more importantly with the constitution upholding the separation of church and state, whether children should recite the penultimate line with many asking for some sort of revision.

We used the time that Caleb was at school to do two things: head back to Donkey for another coffee…

…and then Matt and I got out some mountain bikes and knocked them into shape for a quick ride around the neighbourhood. This involved Matt valiantly killing a wasps nest he stumbled upon – the wasps here are big and nasty beasts.

We then headed out to pick up Caleb who said he had enjoyed his first day at pre-school.

It hadn’t taken long though for him to encounter the influence of modern-day liberal American thinking. Having mentioned to another kid something about God, the teacher had instructed him that although he could talk about God at his previous nursery because it had been a Christian one, but not here. Hmmm, perhaps that pledge is in need of some revision after all: “a certain amount of liberty and justice for all.”

Today, being Sunday was church. It was nice to have the opportunity to go to a church our friends went to. They go to Central Avenue United Methodist Church in Athens where they were married in 1997 and which they’ve been attending for years. The songs were really familiar. We even sang one song that we sing in Korea every single week (thought we’d get a break from it – had to think again!).

After church, as it was a beautiful day, they decided to take us out for a long walk in the Hocking Hills State Park. It was about 45 miles away – just a brief trip out – and on the way we saw a row of wild turkeys crossing the road. Matt & Jess said that it was very rare to see them. We’ve seen a ton of wildlife from the road on this trip: elk, deer, a bear, turkeys, a groundhog, Hell’s Angels…

The Hocking Hills State Park proudly boasts the best hiking in the state. Sure enough, we weren’t disappointed by the scenery. This was on a smaller scale than some of the stuff we’ve seen but nevertheless well worth looking at.

We spent a couple of hours tramping around the valley, a deep gorge cut into sandstone by a stream that was today, unfortunately, dry. Here and there small caves were cut into the rock, the forest overhung the cliffs and the path took us all the way along the stream and back along the cliffs above it. Finally, we ended up at Old Man’s Cave named after the hermit found living here in the late 19th century. This wasn’t so much a cave as an immense overhang of rock which made you wonder how on earth it was held up.

So, we got to worship God in a church and out in the open too appreciating the wonder of his creation.

Today we headed out to Lake Hope. Our desire to go either kayaking or canoeing was scuppered by State Law which stipulated something to the effect that “No possible combination of either the Grummitt or the Moore families are permitted to do anything entertaining involving either kayaks or canoes.” Well, the young man ‘assist’ing us stopped short of saying that actually but we got that impression. In the end we had to go with a movement-challenged rowing boat with oars that seemed to have shrunk in the wash.

Having pushed off Jessica took the oars and flailed wildly as the wind took us out towards the centre of the lake. Soon it became obvious that when Jessica said she had never rowed before, she was telling the truth. The wind was on her side though and we drifted aimlessly with her flailing oars until Matt took over. We made steady progress nowhere for a while before I took over and took us closer to the middle of nowhere.

By this time anyway, where we were going was of lesser importance than what the heck we were doing in the middle of a lake with two children under five in a torrential downpour. The heavens had opened, and the umbrella was in the car. All we had for shelter was a damp towel which we’d got from the car, ironically, to wipe down our seats before we’d got in. The kids thought it was a great adventure as rivulets ran down our faces and we simply laughed it all off.

It didn’t last long and by the time we’d got the hang of rowing (well, Sheena and Jessica did really) and had gone out to the other side of the lake, the sun had come out and it was a great day. Back at the boathouse, we tied up and then spent some time on the beach there before driving back into town.

We decided it was too late to head home and cook so had a great Chinese meal and then went shopping.

Now this was a run of the mill average supermarket in a small town in Ohio. But even here, one fifty metre aisle contained nothing but pet food. In another aisle there were something approaching 100 types of breakfast cereal and, if cereal didn’t grab you, well, there were also around 50 types of bread. While the volume of choice is simply staggering, Jagger-like, you can’t help feeling that there ain’t no satisfaction.

Decided on a day in Athens itself today. Matt & Jess had a lot to show us and we started, at Sheena’s request with a visit to a local thrift shop. These are known as charity shops in the UK or arumdaun kage in Korea: places where you take stuff you don’t want any more and where you can buy second-hand stuff.

We spent quite a while there and it was a real junk yard. Matt & I explored the books, a huge section which had no one in it except us. Matt lamented the lack of value people place on reading in his town. If we lived there, I’d be in there all the time picking up books for hardly any money. Matt contemplated buying this lovely mirror…

While Isabel simply found mirrors to pose in…

After lunch, we went down to Donkey. This is the coffee shop that Matt & Jess came back here to open after leaving Japan. It’s a long story now but their partners, another couple, run the coffee shop outright but Matt & Jess still visit pretty often. Inside the décor, designed by Jessica, is colourful and comfortable. They gave us a tour, introduced us to some of the staff and other hangers-on. It was amazing to be there after hearing so much about it.
Here, Matt & Jess talk to a friend in the coffee shop…

The kids really needed a nap so Matt & I took them home while the gals shopped for a couple of hours.

That evening we were out for a treat at the Parade of the Hills. This is a local summer fair that we happened to be here for and it was in the nearby town of Nelsonville which we drove to. It had been raining on and off all day and was drizzling as we walked to the fair but it held off enough to enjoy the evening.

For the kids, it was a barrel of laughs on the rides.

For us it was a fascinating experience watching small town America have a night out. We saw a whole load of people we’d only seen in films but who we now realise really exist. You know, the family who ride into town with the kids in the back of the pickup or the guy with the handlebar moustache, the cut off t-shirt and tattoos riding his Harley… it was great.

And the food was ‘great’ too. I put that in inverted commas cos it was far from healthy though interesting. Matt treated us to deep-fried Oreo cookies and funnel cake – deep fried sweet batter. There were other treats on offer too which we avoided such as elephant ears (like a giant flat donut), sugar waffles (like raised pie-chart shaped things which come with up to four fillings in the segments) and deep-fried Snickers bars. “Just how many calories are in a deep-fried Oreo?” I asked the woman serving us. “The oil burns all the calories out!” she replied with a wink.

Today was a nice and easy day. We had so much catching up to do. Matt barbecued some ribs outside and I showed Isabel how to shuck corn.

Matt & Jessica live in a house that Jessica’s father, Don, built. It has a stone floor and is made entirely of wood. It is built on a flat area among sloping hills and is surrounded by trees. They rent out one third of the house. The rest of the house is centred around a long lounge/dining room which actually has a fish pond with plants in one corner of it and a hammock strung across it! This gives the whole house a really bohemian feel. One wall of the lounge is glass from floor to ceiling which gives great views of the woods. The roof pitches steeply and inside the lounge this goes up in wood panelling about twenty feet.

The three bedrooms are nice little nooks tucked away on the edges of the house. We’re staying in their bedroom and they’re in the office which has a fold down bed. The kids’ room has got great built in cupboards that double as hidey-holes for them. It is wonderful to finally be in one place for a while and this is a great place to be.

Well, we’re here. Sorry that we haven’t kept you up to date recently. We promise to get some time to do this soon but we’ve been having a blast here in Ohio since we finally arrived at Matt & Jessica’s house!

We’ll put some more stuff on here really soon so keep coming back.