Day 39 Richmond IN to Geneva on the Lake OH
300 Miles

Friday, June 5, 2009

KOA in Richmond IN on a beautiful early June morning.

Brilliant sunshine and cool when we left the KOA in Richmond. It’s probably a very nice place in full season, but over-priced at $40 this time of year. There were fewer than ten spaces filled last night

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We took I70 to I270 around Columbus then I71 to I271 around Cleveland then to I90 for a few miles to US20 for the last 30 miles. Ooooh, bad idea, the road is the main business area, with narrow lanes and traffic lights every block…took awhile to do that last 30.

Finding a campsite is a little different in the northern part of the country. Most are seasonal and basically set up for summer vacationers. We stayed in. or near, this town on another trip, it may even have been as far back as 1991. The Campground we are at is very large and well cared for. Most of the spaces are extended stays and I’m sure many of the families have been returning here for years. We are across the road from Lake Erie with beach access.

A beach on Lake Erie looking West

Looking East on Lake Erie


This is a beautiful area on the shores of Lake Erie. After we got settled, it was still early, so we took a ride along the shore. We headed toward Ashtabula. There are some gorgeous homes on the shore of the lake. I was enjoying the spring blooms. Irises certainly do well here! I also spotted some clematis vines that almost made me cry with envy they were so full of spectacular blooms. Mine struggle so in the heat, I was jealous. The sun was so bright today that all the colors were brilliant….the trees and the lawns were so green!

Iris near a small park on the harbor in Ashtabula Ohio

Jim saying hello to 'Sara' in Ashtabula. Dogs know...

The state of the economy is also very evident in this part of the country. Obviously, this is an area impacted by problems in the auto industry. We have seen many closed businesses.

Our campsite is by (what they call ) the ‘lake’. It’s a pond. There’s a bunch of Canadian geese, domestic geese, ducks and one swan. We bought a quarter’s worth of feed for them. Aggressive critters, those geese…

The dogs check out the geese at Indian Creek Campground

Tomorrow we are heading east toward Buffalo.

We may visit Niagara Falls. We have not been there since 1991. I’m sure it hasn’t changed much!