Back to US-6 Part 4: Sandusky, OH to Cleveland

/

After a rather long detour, we’re back on US-6 in Ohio.

We woke to the proverbial ‘winter wonderland’ at John’s house. It had snowed during the night and Blanche was covered in 3-4” of the powdery, white stuff. It was dicey maneuvering the steep hill leaving John’s house, but Blanche remembered her early years and upbringing in Colorado and negotiated up and down the snow-covered hill like the trooper she is.

Blanche isn’t used to snow any more… Neither are we!

When we reached the main road, it was wet, but not slippery. It was a day without incident or amusement. A few more spits of snow fell throughout the day, but traffic was light and we made good time heading north towards Pittsburgh. We spent the night in Mars, Pennsylvania… a far better option than Uranus where we were a few days ago!

From Uranus to Mars… all in one trip!

Another cold, gray, gloomy day loomed ahead. Growing up in New England, I would have called this a ‘snow sky’, but no snow was in the forecast… yet. We continued heading northwest. Our destination was Sandusky, Ohio.

A cold gray day. All my pictures were black and white!

There have been several Costcos conveniently placed along our route for gas fill-ups. We reckon our gas savings alone have more than paid for our annual Costco membership. Today alone we saved over $8. Otherwise, we use Gas Buddy and I-Exit apps to compare fuel prices and find convenient locations. We also have a Love’s Travel Stop app which currently offers 10¢/gallon savings.

We made it to Sandusky by midday and headed directly to the Merry Go Round Museum, housed in a re-purposed 1927-vintage, Neoclassical style post office building. The building’s grand, unusual curved portico entrance is perfect for a museum dedicated “to preserving and promoting the art and history of the carousel.”

Sandusky’s old post office building now houses the Merry-Go-Round Museum

I love carousels and the menagerie of carved animals that go round and round on them. This museum has only one carousel, but a zoo-full of wonderful animals. Herds of spectacular horses, ostriches, pigs and boars, sea monsters, giraffes, frogs, rabbits, zebras, camels and more, all living peacefully in the old post office building.

The Museum’s carousel

A notable carousel bovine was the Jumping Cow created c.1888 by Gustav Bayol Co. and installed for the opening ceremony of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on March 31, 1889.

This Jumping cow used to graze at the foot of the Eiffel Tower!

We learned that the Golden Age of the Carousel was ~1879-1930. The popularity of carousels in Europe spread to the USA and in 1867, an immigrant cabinetmaker, Gustav Dentzel, set up a carousel manufacturing shop in Philadelphia. During its heyday, over 4000 carousels were produced in the U.S., today fewer than a couple hundred survive and are operational.  Major names like Dentzel, Loof, Herschell, Spillman, Illions and PTC (The Philadelphia Toboggan Company) competed in the carousel market.

We took a ride on the carousel (included with our ticket price of $7/senior). The animals that move up and down are called jumpers or gallopers versus the stationery ones aka standers or prancers and the benches are called chariots. I rode a jumping ostrich. David stuck with a horse. We’ve got a lot to learn about carousels.

A Host of Chariots

We could have lingered longer, but the building’s boiler had failed and there was no heat. We were chilled through in an hour and finally returned to Blanche to warm up.

I’d read about the “Boy With The Boot”, a statue in Sandusky’s Washington Park and an iconic symbol of the city of Sandusky. I was surprised it was close by. The statue cast by J. W. Fiske Ironworks in New York City made its first appearance in Sandusky in 1895. What stands in the park today is a replica cast in bronze after the original sustained damage in the 1990s.

Enough diversion for the day. We  headed to our next destination, Cleveland. On its way to Cleveland, US-6 hugs the shoreline of Lake Erie. During the summertime, this area would be congested with tourists and beach goers, but on a chilly day like day, there was little traffic and certainly no thoughts of taking a swim. The lake looked cold and forbidding.

Lake Erie looked cold and forbidding.

Despite our penchant for ‘going around things’, the sign enticing a Lake Erie circle route tour was ignored.

Cleveland, aka ‘The Land’, ‘CLE’ or ‘C-Town’, is Ohio’s second largest city and the largest city on Lake Erie. US-6 runs right through the heart of the city.

A cold and hazy Cleveland Skyline as we approach the city on US-6.

We stopped downtown to take pictures of the World’s Largest Rubber Stamp. Located in Willard Park, the “Free Stamp” as it’s called, is a 49 foot long, 28 foot high, 35 ton aluminum and steel structure.

Created by Oldenburg and van Bruggen in1985 for Sohio (Amoco), there was some controversy over the word ‘FREE’ when BP purchased Sohio the following year. The creators assured the new owners that ‘free’ was in celebration of the emancipation proclamation and the end of the Civil War. BP felt differently and had the sculpture removed and ‘incarcerated’ in a warehouse for several years. Eventually, it was gifted to the city and is now displayed prominently in the park. Read more about the history here.

The Browns were playing on this day and, despite the cold and wind,  ‘Dawg Pound’ fans garbed in orange and brown were heading to the stadium.

Dawg Pond fans heading to the stadium.

We passed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It was too close to closing time to warrant a visit especially at $39.50/pp entrance fee. Despite its fame, we decided we’d give it a pass this time around.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

We had planned to stay most nights at truck stops or rest areas but the snow flurries and dipping temps in the 20s and below discouraged our plans, so we found a hotel for yet another night. We had also planned to visit the free Cleveland Museum of Art in the morning, but alas, it was closed. Another reason to return to Cleveland.

Next time… Cleveland to Lin’s house in Rhode Island. Time to get ready to celebrate the holidays and a sister reunion. Join us!