Our fall travel and marathon season is upon us. Over the next few months we’re heading east and have races and new adventures planned.
We left Michigan and headed to Dayton, Ohio with our sights on the Air Force Marathon.
While in the area we did a little biking and visited the Dayton Aviation Heritage Historical Park. Dayton was home to the Wright Brothers’ cycle shop, and their many accomplishments are celebrated across the town. At the National Museum of the Air Force, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, all forms of aviation are on display, including our nation’s space vehicles.
The marathon events began with an expo where we picked up Steve’s packet and took some fun photos. Early the next morning we arrived to the start line on the Air Force base in very warm weather. It was in the 70s at the start.
I took a free shuttle to see Steve at the 15 mile mark and by then the temperature was in the high 80s. The race had issued a red alert, indicating dangerous running conditions. Steve’s heart rate, normally around 130 beats per minute when he runs, was pushing 160. This, along with the prospect of even higher temperatures at the finish line, was enough for Steve to call it a day. Better to be safe than sorry. So, we’ll be back through Ohio next year to do another marathon so he can claim the state.
From Dayton we headed west a little to position ourselves for Steve’s next Nebraska Cornhusker game in Lafayette, Indiana. While waiting for Saturday’s game to arrive we visited a local Wolf Park to learn a little about these beautiful animals (trained foxes too!)
We also took advantage of the great facilities at Prophetstown State Park where we camped. A great bike/running path took us through the park and was decorated for the season with unique scarecrows presented by local organizations.
The Cornhuskers crushed the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, and Steve cheered them on as he always does.
Ashland, Ohio, my birthplace and hometown, was our next stop. We had not been back since a family reunion over 15 years ago. This stop was brief, but we made the most of it by hanging out with my cousins, Red and Judy, who let us park our RV next to the old barn.
There are still a bunch of Finleys/Shoemakers/Zimmermans in Ashland, and it was super awesome to see everyone. We were especially grateful to see Uncle Shoey, who will celebrate his 95th birthday in January. We even got to join him and Tom at the Dairy Bar for breakfast before we pulled out of town.
And before we left Ohio, we crossed one more National Park off the list. Cuyahoga Valley National Park is located just south of Cleveland. We stopped there to explore the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath via bike. Our 15 mile cruise took us along the canal that in the mid-1800s transported goods between East Coast cities and America’s rural heartland.
We’re now continuing our eastward path and have some pretty cool things ahead.
Marnie and Steve Travel 