After I had some coffee and packed up the bike I called Phil to see if he wanted to get breakfast. He was too tired from working all night long, but he recommended that I go to the Fort Shawnee Diner and Dairy Bar about fifteen miles outside of town. I wasn't starving, so I went out there, and when I pulled up it looked like the place was closed, but the door was open so in I went.
I ordered the french toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs, and I am fairly certain that the eggs were the best I've had the entire trip. They were perfect, still a little runny, and I could tell they were farm fresh. The bacon was nice and thin and crisp, without being burnt, and the french toast was just cinnamony enough to be delicious. It was the perfect breakfast.
After that I rode north from the river on some wonderful roads through the hills. The scenery was wonderful, but I am sorry to say that nothing stood out as needing to be photographed, so there are no photos today.
I stopped in Greenfield for a break and while I was enjoying the half sun through the clouds a man in a pickup said, "You've come a long way, haven't you?"
I told him I'd come the really long way and that I still had a ways to go. He smiled and told me to be safe. I said that I would and started to turn away, but he said, "Here, this'll keep you safe." I turned around. "It's a buckeye," he said.
"Well, thank you, I appreciate that." I said as I pocketed the gift.
He nodded, started his truck and drove off.
That's when I decided to do the daily hunt for an iPhone 4. I have kept this mostly to myself until now because it has only frustrated me, but today I found one! In Washington Court House, OH of all places. So I rode up there and I made it there before someone else wanted it. Now I have a new phone that I don't feel like throwing across the room every time I use it (iPhone 3G + iOS4 = CRAP!), and the extra bonus is that I got to hang out with the folks in the store and chat about the trip. I just love it when people are interested. Thanks, AT&T people in Washington Court House!
From there I continued north to get to Defiance, OH. When I saw Defiance on the map I thought, "I have go there. That name is way too good to skip." The ride was pretty nice, but one unfortunate thing happened - the roads got straight and flat again. They even had 35 mph curve warning signs on 65 mph curves. These people have obviously never seen curvy roads. I think they should just have a yellow warning sign with a straight arrow on it to warn you that you will not turn…for 100 miles.
So, I managed to make it to Defiance for the 8:30 meeting. Trouble was that the 8:30 meeting had been moved to 7:00, so I'd missed it. Luckily, Randall had missed it too. Randall was visiting from Texas and was in front of the club when I pulled up. Without a meeting we decided to have our own out in front, and that was exactly what I needed, just some good one-on-one talking time. Thanks, Randall!!
Randall was also nice enough to ask his family about camping nearby and passed along that there was a spot called Shepherd's Pasture out on highway 15. They also had a phone number, so I called, but there was no answer so I figured I would just drive out 15 and see what I could find.
On my way out of town I passed the Central Fire Station and the guys were all out front talking to the Sheriff, and I thought, "If anyone knows their way around this place it's these guys." So I stopped and asked about a place to camp.
They all discussed my options, and sounded like they were coming up with nothing, so I said, "I've heard about this Shepherd's Pasture place, but don't really know where it is." And that's when the Sheriff, Chris, got on his radio and called his office to sake if they had a contact number for the owner. (This was getting good.) The office said they did have a number and he asked them to call and see about a spot for me. And they did!
When Chris got off his radio he said, "Just follow me and I'll get you there." Really!? Of all the things I thought might happen on this trip, a police escort to a campground certainly wasn't one of them. The last time I had a police escort it was back to my dad's house…and not friendly at all. Who knew?
When we got to the campground Chris had to run off for another call, but gave me his card in case I needed anything. I love small towns! Thank you Chris, and all the firefighters, not only for the help, but also for the job that you do every day, I appreciate it very much!
