After Michigan, we continued along I-80 to another tiny town, Conneaut, Ohio. We weren't sure how to pronounce it, though one might think it was "KO-NO" based on the French spelling. But I think the locals were pronouncing it "CONNIE-OOT," but I could be wrong. The man at the campground was talking so fast.
The campground had its share of long-term residents. Some of the trailer homes were well-loved with pretty gardens and patio furniture while others, in Stafford's words, "screamed mental illness."
Instead of reinventing the wheel, once again an email to my brother sums up our experience in this town:
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An update on camping...and this is huge...doggies are resting quietly in their crates in the trailer. Not a peep. This changes everything. If we can get them to not be hysterical in their crates, we can leave them and actually do things by ourselves for a bit. The key is wearing them out to the point of exhaustion.
I think that the problem before was that using crates in the trailer was a new experience for them. Plus, Yuki is a total foody, like her human mother. She will awaken at any sound or smell outside that represents food. But she is at least not a barker. The big problem is Finn, who watches her closely. When she's on high alert, he gets hysterical. Then Cloud goes nuts and breaks stuff just because. Sigh.
Hopefully they will get used to crates and us leaving them.
Last night during a walk in the woods, I happened to look up and see my first meteor ever. It was wonderous, spectacular, and gone in a blink of an eye. Staff was way ahead walking w/ Finny, and I was shouting at him and pointing up in a whispering sort of way because it was about 11p.m. during camp "quiet hours," and he was like "Yea, I've seen them before." I felt like Helen Keller when she first connected a sign to the thing itself. Of course, I've heard of meteors my whole life, but it's taken 44 years to actually see one. I've become a huge fan since.
If you happen to have energy, there is a meteor shower tonight. I think Aug 14 it peaks. It's the Perseid shower. We're going to drive over to the beach on Lake Erie to watch it tonight.
Well, that's all from Conneaut, OH. Tonight we'll go into Erie, PA for a visit and then who knows how long we'll stay here. Staff's hoping for wind as there's a huge shallow area inside the breakwater at the Lake Erie beach nearby. I'm fine most anywhere as long as I can run or bike. I went for a run this a.m. around a little lake here at the campsite. Lately running is more fun. My pace is slow. As one trail runner woman said, "I start off slow, and then I take it down a notch." That's me. Recently I happened to watch Dr. Oz, and he talked about running more on the pad of your foot first, more like a shuffle, so that the heel doesn't land hard first. The result is less shock to your knees and hips. He said our ancestors could run for miles this way, even the non-super-athletes I assume. (Maybe not our Irish ones, but you know, the ones way back.) I still kind of hate it at the start and half to walk a little sometimes, but my legs and feet are much less fatigued.
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Besides the meteor, the highlight of this town was that the dogs finally let us leave them alone long enough to go for a bike ride around town. They may actually release us from their doggy death grip.
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