Work required a trip to Cleveland this week, so I decided I'd drive up a day early and spend some time with my Dad and Mom in Dayton, OH. I left out Friday morning, arriving in Dayton mid-afternoon. Traffic was heavy through Cincinnati.... the Southbound side of 75 was backed up for miles - all the way from the KY side back to about 3 or 4 miles from the Ohio side. Glad I was going North (at least I was then....)
Saturday, Dad and I visited a huge flea market named "Treasure Aisles" south of Dayton, and I visited what has to be one of the nicest, but few remaining CB shops in the country. Located in a strip mall with very little room for even a bobtail tractor, this shop had a fantastic selection of radios, antennas and accessories - all at good prices. I didn't get to meet the owner, as he had someone filling in for him. Update: The name of the business is "CB Radio and Stereo Store", located at 2919 Cincinnati Dayton Rd, Middletown, OH 45044. Their website is www.cbstereoshop.com. The website pictures of the store do not do it justice. It's worth a trip to visit if you're anywhere near the area. We also drove by my old house and high school (West Carrollton Senior High - go Pirates! Class of 1980. Dear Lord, am I really that old???? Yep!)
After that it was time to visit someone who I hadn't seen since I was 16 years old - Wayne Riddell. Wayne allowed me to take an electric circuits class he taught at his and my dad's employer - Dayton Power and Light. I was 14 or 15 at the time. Big stuff for a kid that age. I learned how to use a Simpson 260 properly (I had a Eico multimeter (1000 ohms/volt!) and I thought that was big stuff, but a Simpson 260 - I was in the BIG TIME!), and basic/intermediate circuit DC circuit analysis. It was that class that kept me moving towards the path of becoming an electrical engineer. I was happy to tell Wayne that after being out of college for 30 years I had just taken and passed the Professional Engineer's exam in the state of Tennessee. I think he was happy that a small thing he had been a part of so many years ago would have a lifetime impact on someone. Dad and I drove by the plant where he and Wayne worked, and where I took the electrical circuits class. DP&L shut down the plant, and it's slated for demolition according to Dad. Here are some pictures I took during the visit.
Saturday, Dad and I visited a huge flea market named "Treasure Aisles" south of Dayton, and I visited what has to be one of the nicest, but few remaining CB shops in the country. Located in a strip mall with very little room for even a bobtail tractor, this shop had a fantastic selection of radios, antennas and accessories - all at good prices. I didn't get to meet the owner, as he had someone filling in for him. Update: The name of the business is "CB Radio and Stereo Store", located at 2919 Cincinnati Dayton Rd, Middletown, OH 45044. Their website is www.cbstereoshop.com. The website pictures of the store do not do it justice. It's worth a trip to visit if you're anywhere near the area. We also drove by my old house and high school (West Carrollton Senior High - go Pirates! Class of 1980. Dear Lord, am I really that old???? Yep!)
After that it was time to visit someone who I hadn't seen since I was 16 years old - Wayne Riddell. Wayne allowed me to take an electric circuits class he taught at his and my dad's employer - Dayton Power and Light. I was 14 or 15 at the time. Big stuff for a kid that age. I learned how to use a Simpson 260 properly (I had a Eico multimeter (1000 ohms/volt!) and I thought that was big stuff, but a Simpson 260 - I was in the BIG TIME!), and basic/intermediate circuit DC circuit analysis. It was that class that kept me moving towards the path of becoming an electrical engineer. I was happy to tell Wayne that after being out of college for 30 years I had just taken and passed the Professional Engineer's exam in the state of Tennessee. I think he was happy that a small thing he had been a part of so many years ago would have a lifetime impact on someone. Dad and I drove by the plant where he and Wayne worked, and where I took the electrical circuits class. DP&L shut down the plant, and it's slated for demolition according to Dad. Here are some pictures I took during the visit.
OK, this is not a good start. The roads had hardly been touched, with no salting or sanding. I kept hoping I-70 would be better. I-675 ended at I-70, and the roads were a bit better. I had to stop for gas and a cup of coffee. The snow was coming down so hard that I could hardly see to get from the gas pump to the building. Filled up and forged North. There were a number of accidents along the way - cars off the road after spinning out, or involved in an accident. By the time I arrived in Columbus, it was getting so bad you could hardly see the car in front of you. We crawled from Columbus North on I-71 at 20 to 30mph for about an hour or more. Cars were all over the side of the road - with chunks of automobile trim all over the road. It started to get a bit better near Cleveland, but the last 20 miles became almost impassable. I watched two cars spin out on the loop getting on to 480. OK, almost there, right? Got off 480W off Exit 3 and found myself on roads that had yet to be plowed with snow 3 to 4 inches deep between the tire ruts.... NOT GOOD. I finally made it to the hotel. Here are some shows along the way to Cleveland.... It's not real obvious in the pictures, but the roads were basically slush and ice most of the way. You had to be very careful you didn't get deceived by the road's appearance at times. I had to do a quicker brake than I would have preferred to at one point, and found out real quick just how bad the roads really were. Many of the people who had wrecked were standing outside their car with a "what just happened" look on their face. Unfortuantely, you didn't realize just how bad the roads were until it was too late.
Here's a view from my hotel door, and a shot out the bedroom window
Cannot complain about the hotel room!
When I checked in at the Residence Inn, the nice lady that checked me in informed me that today was their "first snow" of the year. She said they normally have snow around November, but it held off until today. Am I lucky or what? Maybe I should play the lottery?????? Nah.
Gabriel says "No better place to sleep. Enjoy the snow up there, I'll be thinking about you (NOT)!"
Gabriel says "No better place to sleep. Enjoy the snow up there, I'll be thinking about you (NOT)!"
Before heading back to Dad and Mom's, it was time to finally get a Cassano's pizza. If you've never had one, you need to make a trip to Dayton, Ohio... it's worth it!
I started looking at the weather forecast late Saturday evening. It didn't look very good. The forecast was for snow mid-afternoon Sunday. I had planned on driving the rest of the way to Cleveland mid to late Sunday afternoon, and figured I'd be OK.
I was awakened a couple of times by rain falling, but by 7am Sunday morning, my car had a light dusting of snow. I started thinking it might be a good idea to leave out around noon. By 8am the streets were completely covered, and the car had about an inch of snow covering it. I looked at Cleveland's weather forecast and it had changed from rain until early afternoon to heavy winds and snow starting around 11am. OK, time to pack the car and go.
The next 5 hours were spent in probably the worst driving conditions I've experienced in many, many years. I headed towards I-675. It's a good thing I knew the way. Blowing/driving snow had completely covered over all of the highway signs. Here's a shot at the beginnning of the trip. I had just gotten on to I-675 at US725.
I started looking at the weather forecast late Saturday evening. It didn't look very good. The forecast was for snow mid-afternoon Sunday. I had planned on driving the rest of the way to Cleveland mid to late Sunday afternoon, and figured I'd be OK.
I was awakened a couple of times by rain falling, but by 7am Sunday morning, my car had a light dusting of snow. I started thinking it might be a good idea to leave out around noon. By 8am the streets were completely covered, and the car had about an inch of snow covering it. I looked at Cleveland's weather forecast and it had changed from rain until early afternoon to heavy winds and snow starting around 11am. OK, time to pack the car and go.
The next 5 hours were spent in probably the worst driving conditions I've experienced in many, many years. I headed towards I-675. It's a good thing I knew the way. Blowing/driving snow had completely covered over all of the highway signs. Here's a shot at the beginnning of the trip. I had just gotten on to I-675 at US725.